CVE-2021-45017 in Catfish
Summary
by MITRE • 12/16/2021
Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability exits in Catfish
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/18/2021
The CVE-2021-45017 vulnerability represents a critical cross site request forgery flaw discovered in the Catfish content management system. This vulnerability allows attackers to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent. The flaw exists within the application's handling of web requests and authentication mechanisms, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit the system's trust in legitimate user sessions. Catfish, being a popular open source content management platform, serves as a target for attackers seeking to compromise websites built on this framework. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-CSRF token implementation in critical administrative functions.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability manifests through the absence of proper origin verification and anti-CSRF token mechanisms in the Catfish application's web interface. Attackers can craft malicious requests that, when executed by authenticated users, perform unintended operations such as modifying content, changing user permissions, or accessing restricted administrative functions. The flaw operates by exploiting the browser's automatic inclusion of cookies with requests to the same domain, allowing an attacker to leverage a victim's authenticated session. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in software applications. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it can be exploited through social engineering techniques where users are tricked into clicking malicious links or visiting compromised websites while authenticated to the vulnerable Catfish system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation to encompass complete system compromise potential. An attacker with successful CSRF exploitation could gain administrative control over websites running Catfish, potentially leading to data breaches, defacement, or deployment of malicious content. The vulnerability affects all versions of Catfish that lack proper CSRF protection mechanisms, making it a widespread concern across numerous installations. Organizations using Catfish without proper security hardening measures face significant risk of unauthorized access and potential system takeover. The attack vector typically involves phishing campaigns where users are directed to malicious sites that automatically submit forged requests to the target Catfish installation. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers social engineering tactics including spearphishing and credential harvesting through web-based attacks.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2021-45017 require immediate implementation of proper anti-CSRF token mechanisms throughout the Catfish application. Developers should ensure that all state-changing operations require valid anti-CSRF tokens that are generated per session and validated on the server side. The system should implement strict origin checking and ensure that requests are properly authenticated before execution. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to prevent unauthorized script execution and additional layers of authentication for administrative functions. Regular security audits and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components of the application. The fix should include comprehensive testing to ensure that all user-facing forms and administrative functions properly validate CSRF tokens, following established security frameworks such as OWASP CSRF Prevention Cheat Sheet recommendations. Additionally, implementing proper logging and monitoring for suspicious activities can help detect exploitation attempts and provide forensic evidence for incident response activities.