CVE-2020-35972 in YzmCMS
Summary
by MITRE • 06/04/2021
An issue was discovered in YzmCMS V5.8. There is a CSRF vulnerability that can add member user accounts via member/member/add.html.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/07/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-35972 affects YzmCMS version 5.8, representing a cross-site request forgery flaw that permits unauthorized account creation within the member management system. This vulnerability exists within the member/member/add.html endpoint, which processes requests for adding new user accounts without adequate validation of the request source or authenticity. The flaw allows attackers to craft malicious web pages or emails that, when visited by authenticated users, automatically submit requests to the vulnerable CMS to create new member accounts without the user's knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-forgery tokens or origin validation mechanisms within the member account creation form. When a legitimate user accesses the member/member/add.html page, the application fails to verify that the request originates from the legitimate website rather than from a malicious third-party domain. This omission creates an exploitable condition where an attacker can construct a crafted HTML page containing a hidden form submission that targets the vulnerable CMS endpoint, thereby executing unauthorized account creation operations on behalf of authenticated users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple account creation, as it provides attackers with a potential foothold for further malicious activities within the CMS environment. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF flaw can establish multiple user accounts with varying privileges, potentially leading to privilege escalation or persistent access to the system. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it operates at the member user level, which could provide access to sensitive user data, content management capabilities, or other restricted functionalities depending on the CMS configuration and user role assignments.
Security practitioners should note that this vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery issues in web applications. The flaw demonstrates a failure in implementing proper request validation mechanisms and demonstrates how the absence of anti-forgery token implementation can compromise application security. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving credential access and privilege escalation, as unauthorized account creation can lead to unauthorized system access and potential data compromise. Organizations should implement comprehensive CSRF protection measures including the use of anti-forgery tokens, proper origin validation, and request verification mechanisms to prevent such attacks from succeeding.
The remediation approach for this vulnerability requires immediate implementation of proper CSRF protection mechanisms within the YzmCMS application. This includes implementing unique anti-forgery tokens for each user session that must be validated on every state-changing request, along with proper origin validation to ensure requests originate from legitimate sources. Additionally, developers should review all form submissions and state-changing operations within the CMS to ensure they implement robust authentication and authorization checks. The vulnerability highlights the critical importance of validating request sources and implementing comprehensive security controls for all user-facing administrative functions, particularly those involving user account management and privilege modification operations. Organizations should also conduct thorough security assessments of their CMS installations to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities that may exist in other components or modules of the system.