CVE-2022-3274 in rdiffweb
Summary
by MITRE • 09/22/2022
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) in GitHub repository ikus060/rdiffweb prior to 2.4.7.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/22/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-3274 represents a critical cross-site request forgery weakness discovered in the rdiffweb repository management system developed by ikus060. This vulnerability affects versions prior to 2.4.7 and exposes the application to unauthorized actions that could be executed by malicious actors without user consent. The flaw resides in the application's failure to properly validate and authenticate request origins, creating a pathway for attackers to manipulate user sessions and perform unauthorized operations within the repository environment. The vulnerability specifically impacts the authentication and authorization mechanisms that govern user interactions with the repository management interface, potentially allowing attackers to execute commands that modify repository configurations, access sensitive data, or perform administrative actions on behalf of authenticated users.
This CSRF vulnerability manifests due to the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens or origin validation mechanisms within the application's request processing pipeline. The flaw operates by tricking authenticated users into executing unintended actions through maliciously crafted requests that leverage their existing session credentials. When users visit compromised web pages or click on malicious links, the application processes these requests without sufficient verification of their legitimate origin, thereby enabling attackers to perform operations such as repository modifications, user privilege changes, or data access manipulations. The vulnerability demonstrates a clear weakness in the application's security architecture where the system fails to distinguish between legitimate user-initiated requests and those generated by malicious third parties. This weakness aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities in web applications.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure to encompass potential system compromise and unauthorized administrative access. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could gain persistent access to repository resources, modify file permissions, delete critical data, or establish backdoor access points within the repository infrastructure. The implications are particularly severe given that repository management systems often contain sensitive source code, configuration files, and development artifacts that could be leveraged for further attacks against the broader development ecosystem. The vulnerability creates a persistent threat vector that could be exploited repeatedly, especially in environments where users maintain long-lived sessions or where the application lacks robust session management controls. The attack surface expands significantly when considering that repository management systems frequently integrate with continuous integration pipelines, automated deployment mechanisms, and other critical infrastructure components.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-3274 should prioritize immediate implementation of proper anti-CSRF token mechanisms within the application's request handling framework. Organizations should ensure that all state-changing operations require validation of anti-CSRF tokens that are unique per user session and properly generated and verified by the server. The implementation should follow established security patterns such as the use of synchronized tokens, origin header validation, or referer header checks to prevent unauthorized requests from being processed. Additionally, comprehensive security reviews should be conducted to identify and remediate any other potential CSRF vulnerabilities within the application's attack surface. The upgrade to version 2.4.7 or later represents the primary recommended mitigation, as this release includes the necessary patches to address the CSRF validation weaknesses. Organizations should also implement additional monitoring and logging mechanisms to detect suspicious request patterns that might indicate CSRF attack attempts, particularly focusing on unusual or unauthorized modifications to repository configurations. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of maintaining current security practices and regularly updating applications to address known vulnerabilities. The remediation process should include thorough testing to ensure that the anti-CSRF protections do not introduce functional regressions while providing adequate protection against the identified threat vector.