CVE-2020-28403 in Practice Management Web
Summary
by MITRE • 01/29/2021
A Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability exists in Star Practice Management Web version 2019.2.0.6, allowing an attacker to change the privileges of any user of the application. This can be used to grant himself administrative role or remove the administrative account of the application.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/30/2025
The Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-28403 affects Star Practice Management Web version 2019.2.0.6, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the application's authentication and authorization mechanisms. This vulnerability resides within the web application's failure to properly validate and authenticate user requests, creating an exploitable condition that allows malicious actors to manipulate user privileges without proper authorization. The flaw specifically targets the privilege escalation functionality, enabling unauthorized modifications to user roles and access levels within the application's user management system.
This CSRF vulnerability operates by tricking authenticated users into executing unintended actions through maliciously crafted requests that originate from a different domain. The technical implementation of the flaw suggests that the application lacks proper anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms or fails to enforce strict session management controls. Attackers can leverage this weakness by crafting specially designed web pages or email attachments that, when visited or opened by an authenticated user, automatically submit requests to modify user privileges. The vulnerability manifests in the application's inability to distinguish between legitimate user-initiated requests and those generated through malicious cross-site exploitation attempts, creating a fundamental breakdown in the application's security controls.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and far-reaching, as it provides attackers with the capability to completely compromise the application's user access controls. An attacker could exploit this flaw to elevate their own privileges to administrative level, effectively gaining full control over the application's functionality and user data. Additionally, the vulnerability allows for the removal or modification of existing administrative accounts, potentially leading to complete application takeover or denial of service conditions. This privilege escalation capability directly violates the principle of least privilege and undermines the application's integrity, as it enables unauthorized users to bypass normal access controls and gain elevated system permissions.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for valid accounts and T1548.002 for abuse of cloud credentials in cloud environments. Organizations utilizing this application face significant risk of unauthorized privilege escalation, data compromise, and potential lateral movement within their network infrastructure. The exploitation of this vulnerability requires minimal technical skill and can be accomplished through standard web-based attack vectors, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users frequently access applications from untrusted networks or devices. Mitigation strategies should include immediate implementation of anti-CSRF tokens, proper session management controls, and comprehensive security testing of web applications. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as multi-factor authentication, regular security audits, and user access reviews to reduce the attack surface and limit potential damage from such vulnerabilities.
The presence of this CSRF vulnerability in a practice management web application is particularly concerning as it directly impacts healthcare data security and patient privacy. The ability to modify administrative privileges creates opportunities for attackers to access sensitive medical records, manipulate patient data, and potentially disrupt healthcare delivery services. Security professionals should prioritize patching this vulnerability and implementing comprehensive monitoring solutions to detect unauthorized privilege changes within the application's user management system. Regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other web applications and ensure that proper security controls are maintained throughout the organization's digital infrastructure.