CVE-2021-4130 in Snipe-IT
Summary
by MITRE • 12/18/2021
snipe-it is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/24/2021
The CVE-2021-4130 vulnerability affects the snipe-it asset management system, which is widely used for tracking and managing IT assets within organizations. This particular flaw represents a critical security weakness that allows attackers to exploit the system's lack of proper cross-site request forgery protection mechanisms. The vulnerability exists within the web application's authentication and authorization framework, specifically in how it handles user requests originating from external domains or contexts. Snipe-it, being a web-based asset management solution, processes numerous administrative operations through HTTP requests that should be validated for authenticity and proper user authorization before execution.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the application's failure to implement robust anti-CSRF tokens or mechanisms to verify that requests originate from legitimate sources within the authenticated session. When users interact with the snipe-it application, particularly during administrative operations such as adding new assets, modifying user permissions, or changing system configurations, the application does not adequately validate that these requests are genuinely initiated by the authenticated user. This absence of proper validation creates an exploitable gap where malicious actors can craft specially crafted web pages or emails that, when visited by an authenticated user, automatically submit requests to the snipe-it application without the user's knowledge or consent. The flaw specifically impacts the application's ability to distinguish between legitimate user-initiated requests and those generated through malicious cross-site techniques.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it allows unauthorized modifications to the asset management system's configuration and data. An attacker could potentially escalate privileges, add malicious assets to the inventory, modify existing records, or even delete critical system information. This type of vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and can lead to complete compromise of the asset management system. The vulnerability also creates potential for data exfiltration and system manipulation that could affect the integrity of organizational asset inventories and potentially provide attackers with insights into the organization's IT infrastructure. Organizations relying on snipe-it for critical asset tracking and management face substantial risk of unauthorized access and data manipulation, particularly if administrators frequently access the system from shared or public computers.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2021-4130 should focus on implementing proper anti-CSRF protection mechanisms within the snipe-it application. The most effective approach involves integrating anti-CSRF tokens that are generated per session and validated on each request requiring state changes. These tokens should be unique for each user session and embedded within all forms and requests that modify system state. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to restrict the sources from which requests can be made and ensure that the application enforces strict origin validation for all administrative operations. Additionally, regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in the application's codebase. The implementation of these measures aligns with established security frameworks such as CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities, and follows ATT&CK technique T1531 for privilege escalation through application vulnerabilities. Organizations should also ensure that all users are educated about the risks of clicking suspicious links or visiting untrusted websites while authenticated to the system, as social engineering remains a common vector for CSRF exploitation.