CVE-2023-33409 in Minical
Summary
by MITRE • 06/06/2023
Minical 1.0.0 is vulnerable to Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) via minical/public/application/controllers/settings/company.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/04/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-33409 affects Minical version 1.0.0, a calendar application that is susceptible to Cross Site Request Forgery attacks through its company settings controller. This represents a critical security flaw that could enable unauthorized actions to be performed on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent. The vulnerability specifically manifests in the minical/public/application/controllers/settings/company.php file, which handles administrative configuration changes for company settings within the application's interface.
CSRF attacks exploit the trust that a web application places in a user's browser by leveraging the fact that browsers automatically include authentication cookies with every request to a domain. When a user visits a malicious website or clicks on a crafted link while authenticated to Minical, the attacker can trigger unintended actions such as modifying company information, updating user permissions, or changing system configurations. This flaw falls under CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities in web applications. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it targets the settings controller, which typically contains sensitive administrative functions that could significantly impact the application's security posture and operational integrity.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data modification, as it could potentially allow attackers to escalate privileges, gain persistent access to the system, or disrupt normal business operations. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability could alter company contact information, change administrative credentials, modify system parameters, or even disable critical calendar functionalities. This type of vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which describes the use of spearphishing attachments as an initial access method, though in this case the attack vector is more directly related to web application manipulation rather than email-based delivery. The vulnerability affects the application's integrity and availability, potentially leading to unauthorized data exposure or service disruption.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing robust CSRF protection mechanisms throughout the application, particularly in the identified settings controller. The most effective approach involves implementing anti-CSRF tokens that are generated for each user session and validated with every state-changing request. These tokens should be unique per request and properly validated on the server side to prevent unauthorized modifications. Additionally, the application should implement proper input validation, ensure that all administrative functions require explicit user confirmation, and consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to further reduce the attack surface. Organizations should also conduct regular security assessments of their web applications, maintain up-to-date dependency management practices, and implement proper access controls that limit administrative functions to authorized personnel only. The vulnerability highlights the importance of following secure coding practices and adhering to web application security standards such as those outlined in OWASP Top Ten to prevent similar issues in future development cycles.