CVE-2023-26574 in IDWeb
Summary
by MITRE • 10/25/2023
Missing authentication in the SearchStudents method in IDAttend’s IDWeb application 3.1.052 and earlier allows extraction sensitive student data by unauthenticated attackers.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/25/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-26574 represents a critical authentication bypass flaw within the IDAttend IDWeb application version 3.1.052 and earlier. This issue stems from a fundamental failure in the application's access control mechanisms, specifically affecting the SearchStudents method which is designed to retrieve student information from the system database. The missing authentication check creates an exploitable entry point that allows any remote attacker to bypass the normal authorization procedures and directly access sensitive educational data without proper credentials.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability manifests through a lack of proper input validation and session management within the SearchStudents method. When an attacker submits a request to this endpoint, the application fails to verify whether the requesting entity possesses legitimate authorization to access student records. This flaw aligns with CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues, and represents a classic case of weak access control where the application assumes all requests are legitimate. The vulnerability exists at the application logic level where authentication checks are either completely omitted or improperly implemented, allowing unauthorized users to perform queries against the student database through the exposed API endpoint.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it enables comprehensive student data harvesting that could include personal identifiers, academic records, contact information, and potentially sensitive educational details. Attackers can systematically extract large volumes of student information without detection, creating significant privacy risks for educational institutions and their students. This vulnerability particularly affects educational environments where data protection regulations such as FERPA in the united states or GDPR in europe require strict controls over student information access. The implications include potential identity theft, targeted phishing attacks, and unauthorized access to academic resources, making this a high-severity issue that requires immediate remediation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-26574 should focus on implementing robust authentication mechanisms throughout the IDWeb application, specifically ensuring that all methods accessing sensitive student data require proper authorization checks. The fix involves adding comprehensive authentication validation to the SearchStudents method and all similar endpoints, utilizing industry-standard authentication frameworks such as oauth 2.0 or jwt tokens to verify user legitimacy. Security controls should also include proper input sanitization, rate limiting to prevent automated data harvesting, and comprehensive logging of access attempts for monitoring purposes. Organizations should implement the principle of least privilege, ensuring that only authorized personnel with legitimate educational needs can access student information. Additionally, regular security assessments and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar authentication bypass vulnerabilities within the application ecosystem, aligning with the mitre ATT&CK framework's credential access and privilege escalation techniques that attackers commonly employ to exploit such weaknesses.