CVE-2023-3253 in Nessus
Summary
by MITRE • 08/29/2023
An improper authorization vulnerability exists where an authenticated, low privileged remote attacker could view a list of all the users available in the application.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/28/2024
This vulnerability represents a critical authorization flaw that undermines the fundamental security principles of access control within the affected application. The issue stems from inadequate validation of user permissions during data retrieval operations, allowing attackers with minimal privileges to bypass normal access restrictions and obtain sensitive information about the entire user base. The vulnerability specifically affects the application's user enumeration functionality, where authenticated users can exploit weak authorization checks to discover the complete list of registered accounts without proper authorization.
The technical implementation of this flaw typically involves insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms within the application's user management interfaces. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability through standard authentication tokens or session identifiers to query user data endpoints that should normally be restricted to administrators or users with elevated privileges. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-285 category of improper authorization, which is classified as a critical weakness in software security. The flaw enables attackers to gather intelligence about the system's user population, including usernames, account statuses, and potentially other identifying information that could facilitate subsequent attacks.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it provides attackers with valuable reconnaissance data that can be used for targeted attacks against individual users. The ability to enumerate all users creates opportunities for credential stuffing attacks, where attackers can test stolen credentials against the complete user base, or social engineering campaigns that leverage the discovered user information. This vulnerability also represents a significant risk to user privacy and system integrity, as it allows unauthorized access to sensitive user data that should remain protected within the application's security boundaries. The attack pattern aligns with ATT&CK technique T1087.001 for account discovery, where adversaries seek to identify valid accounts within the target environment.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing robust access control mechanisms that enforce proper authorization checks at every data access point. The application must validate user permissions before returning any user-related information, ensuring that only authorized users can access comprehensive user listings. This includes implementing role-based access control systems, proper input validation, and regular security testing to identify similar authorization flaws. Organizations should also consider implementing rate limiting and monitoring for unusual enumeration patterns to detect potential exploitation attempts. The fix typically involves modifying the application's authorization logic to properly validate user roles and permissions before executing user enumeration requests, ensuring that low privilege accounts cannot access privileged information through indirect means.