CVE-2022-24865 in HumHub
Summary
by MITRE • 04/21/2022
HumHub is an Open Source Enterprise Social Network. In affected versions users who are forced to change their password by an administrator may retrieve other users' data. This issue has been resolved by commit `eb83de20`. It is recommended that the HumHub is upgraded to 1.11.0, 1.10.4 or 1.9.4. There are no known workarounds for this issue.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/27/2022
CVE-2022-24865 represents a critical access control vulnerability within HumHub versions prior to 1.11.0, 1.10.4, and 1.9.4, where users compelled to change their passwords by administrators can exploit a flaw to access data belonging to other users. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-284 access control weakness category, specifically manifesting as insufficient access control during password reset procedures. The flaw enables unauthorized data exposure through improper session handling and privilege escalation mechanisms that should have been enforced during administrative password enforcement. The vulnerability exists in the authentication flow where the system fails to properly validate user permissions after a forced password change, allowing malicious actors to leverage this temporary access state to retrieve sensitive information from other user accounts.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate session management and insufficient authorization checks within HumHub's administrative password reset functionality. When an administrator forces a user to change their password, the system should immediately revoke any existing session tokens and enforce strict access controls to prevent further unauthorized access. However, the flaw allows the system to maintain certain access privileges during the password change process, creating a window where other users' data can be accessed through manipulated session states or API endpoints that should have been restricted. This issue directly impacts the principle of least privilege and demonstrates a failure in implementing proper temporal access control measures during critical user authentication transitions.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-24865 extends beyond simple data exposure to encompass potential privilege escalation and unauthorized access to sensitive enterprise social network data. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to access private messages, user profiles, shared documents, and other confidential information stored within the social network platform. The risk is particularly severe in enterprise environments where HumHub serves as a collaborative platform for sensitive business communications and document sharing. This vulnerability can lead to significant data breaches, compliance violations, and potential regulatory penalties under data protection frameworks such as gdpr and hipaa. The impact is amplified by the fact that this vulnerability can be exploited by users who have legitimate access to the system through administrative controls but abuse their position to access unauthorized data.
Organizations utilizing HumHub should immediately upgrade to versions 1.11.0, 1.10.4, or 1.9.4 to remediate this vulnerability, as no effective workarounds exist for this specific flaw. The fix implemented in commit eb83de20 addresses the core issue by strengthening session validation mechanisms and ensuring that forced password changes properly terminate all existing user sessions and re-authenticate users before granting access to any data. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts and monitor system logs for unusual access patterns during password change operations. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of the authentication flow to ensure that proper access controls are enforced throughout the password reset process. Additionally, organizations should implement continuous monitoring for similar access control vulnerabilities within their enterprise social network infrastructure and establish incident response procedures to address potential exploitation attempts. This vulnerability highlights the importance of proper session management and access control enforcement in collaborative platforms where administrative privileges can be leveraged to access unauthorized data.