CVE-2022-42246 in Doufox
Summary
by MITRE • 11/17/2022
Doufox 0.0.4 contains a CSRF vulnerability that can add system administrator account.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/30/2025
The CVE-2022-42246 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Doufox 0.0.4 web application framework. This vulnerability specifically targets the administrative account creation functionality, allowing unauthorized attackers to exploit the application's trust relationship with legitimate users. The flaw stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms within the administrative account creation endpoints, enabling malicious actors to craft crafted requests that can execute administrative actions without proper authentication. Such vulnerabilities fall under the CWE-352 category, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery issues, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004 for valid accounts and T1566.001 for credential access through social engineering. The vulnerability exists in the application's session management and request validation processes, where the system fails to verify the authenticity of requests originating from legitimate administrative users.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability occurs when administrators perform account creation operations through web forms that lack proper CSRF token verification. Attackers can construct malicious HTML pages or leverage existing attack vectors to trick authenticated administrators into executing unintended account creation requests. These crafted requests typically involve hidden form fields or javascript-based requests that automatically submit administrative account creation commands to the vulnerable application. The flaw demonstrates a fundamental failure in the application's input validation and request integrity checking mechanisms, where the system assumes all requests are legitimate without proper verification of the request source or user intent. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous as it allows attackers to escalate privileges and gain persistent administrative access to the system.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-42246 extends far beyond simple privilege escalation, as it provides attackers with complete administrative control over the affected Doufox application. Once an attacker successfully exploits this vulnerability, they can create persistent administrative accounts, modify existing user permissions, access sensitive data, and potentially compromise the entire underlying system infrastructure. The vulnerability's exploitation can lead to data breaches, system compromise, and unauthorized access to confidential information. Organizations using Doufox 0.0.4 are particularly at risk as this vulnerability can be exploited through simple web-based attacks without requiring sophisticated tools or deep technical knowledge. The impact is further compounded by the fact that administrative accounts can be created with elevated privileges, potentially allowing attackers to establish backdoors, modify system configurations, or exfiltrate sensitive data. This vulnerability directly relates to ATT&CK technique T1484.001 for account manipulation and T1003.001 for credential access through credential dumping.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-42246 should focus on implementing robust anti-CSRF protection mechanisms throughout the application. The most effective approach involves implementing unique, unpredictable tokens for each user session that are validated on every administrative request. Organizations should also implement proper request origin verification, enforce strict session management controls, and ensure that all administrative functions require explicit user confirmation before execution. The application should be updated to the latest version that includes proper CSRF protection mechanisms, as the vulnerability is likely to be patched in newer releases. Additional defensive measures include implementing web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious requests, monitoring for unauthorized administrative account creation, and conducting regular security assessments of web applications. Network-level protections such as strict access controls, intrusion detection systems, and regular vulnerability scanning should also be implemented to detect potential exploitation attempts. The remediation process must include thorough code review to ensure all administrative endpoints properly validate CSRF tokens and implement proper request integrity checks to prevent similar vulnerabilities from existing in other parts of the application.