CVE-2020-28406 in Practice Management Web
Summary
by MITRE • 01/29/2021
An improper authorization vulnerability exists in Star Practice Management Web version 2019.2.0.6, allowing an unauthorized user to access details about jobs he should not have access to via the Audit Trail Feature.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/30/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-28406 represents a critical authorization flaw within the Star Practice Management Web application version 2019.2.0.6 that undermines the system's access control mechanisms. This improper authorization issue specifically affects the Audit Trail Feature, which is designed to track and log system activities and user interactions. The flaw allows malicious actors or unauthorized users to bypass normal access restrictions and gain visibility into job-related information that should be restricted to authorized personnel only.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and insufficient access control checks within the application's authorization framework. When users interact with the Audit Trail Feature, the system fails to properly verify whether the requesting user has legitimate permissions to view specific job details. This weakness creates a path for privilege escalation where unauthorized individuals can exploit the system's trust model to access sensitive information. The vulnerability manifests as a failure in the principle of least privilege, where users can access data beyond their assigned clearance levels.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations using the Star Practice Management system, particularly those handling sensitive patient data or confidential business information. The unauthorized access to job details through the Audit Trail Feature could expose proprietary information, patient records, or internal business processes that should remain confidential. The audit trail functionality, which is typically designed to enhance security and accountability, becomes a vector for information leakage rather than a protective mechanism. This compromise undermines the integrity of the organization's security posture and could lead to regulatory violations, data breaches, and loss of stakeholder trust.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues in software systems, and represents a clear violation of the authorization principles outlined in cybersecurity frameworks. From an ATT&CK perspective, this flaw maps to privilege escalation techniques and credential access phases where adversaries seek to gain access to restricted information. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including enforcing proper access controls, implementing role-based access controls, and conducting comprehensive security testing of all audit and logging features. Regular security assessments and code reviews focused on authorization mechanisms are essential to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in future versions of the application.
Organizations utilizing this software should prioritize patching the identified vulnerability through official vendor updates and consider implementing additional security controls such as network segmentation, enhanced monitoring of audit trail access, and regular access control reviews. The flaw demonstrates the critical importance of robust authorization testing, particularly for features that handle sensitive data access and logging activities. Without proper remediation, the system remains vulnerable to exploitation by threat actors seeking to leverage audit trail functionality for unauthorized information gathering and potential further attacks.