CVE-2021-26040 in Joomla
Summary
by MITRE • 08/24/2021
An issue was discovered in Joomla! 4.0.0. The media manager does not correctly check the user's permissions before executing a file deletion command.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/26/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-26040 affects Joomla! version 4.0.0 and represents a critical authorization flaw within the media manager component. This issue stems from insufficient permission validation mechanisms that allow unauthorized users to execute file deletion operations through the media manager interface. The flaw exists in the application's access control implementation where proper user authentication and authorization checks are bypassed during file manipulation operations.
This vulnerability falls under the CWE-285 permission checking category and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and privilege escalation. The technical implementation flaw occurs when the media manager component fails to verify whether the currently authenticated user possesses the necessary administrative privileges to perform file deletion actions. Attackers can exploit this by crafting malicious requests that target the media manager's delete functionality, potentially leading to unauthorized file removal from the server's file system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe as it enables attackers to compromise the integrity of the content management system through unauthorized file deletion. Depending on the files targeted, this could result in complete site destruction, data loss, or the removal of critical system files that would require extensive recovery efforts. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of the media manager and could be leveraged to perform broader attacks including the deletion of uploaded user content, plugin files, or even system configuration files that would impact the overall operation of the Joomla installation.
Organizations using Joomla! 4.0.0 should immediately apply the official security patches released by the Joomla development team to address this authorization bypass. System administrators should also implement additional monitoring of file system changes and media manager activities to detect potential exploitation attempts. The mitigation strategy should include verifying that all user accounts have appropriate access levels and that proper role-based access controls are enforced throughout the application. Additionally, network segmentation and web application firewalls should be configured to monitor and restrict access to media manager endpoints that are not essential for standard user operations.