CVE-2023-38520 in Pinpoint Booking System Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 06/04/2024
External Control of Assumed-Immutable Web Parameter vulnerability in PINPOINT.WORLD Pinpoint Booking System allows Functionality Misuse.This issue affects Pinpoint Booking System: from n/a through 2.9.9.3.4.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/04/2024
The CVE-2023-38520 vulnerability represents a critical external control of assumed-immutable web parameter flaw within the PINPOINT.WORLD Pinpoint Booking System, classified under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-471. This vulnerability enables attackers to manipulate parameters that are expected to remain constant or immutable during application execution, creating a dangerous functionality misuse scenario. The affected system versions range from unspecified initial releases through 2.9.9.3.4, indicating a broad impact across multiple iterations of the booking platform. The core issue lies in the application's failure to properly validate or sanitize input parameters that should remain unchanged throughout the booking process, allowing malicious actors to alter critical booking attributes.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when attackers can manipulate web parameters that are typically assumed to be immutable, such as booking IDs, pricing structures, or user permissions. This misconfiguration allows for unauthorized modification of booking details, potentially enabling attackers to create fraudulent reservations, alter existing bookings, or bypass security controls that rely on these assumed-constant values. The vulnerability's classification as external control of assumed-immutable parameters directly relates to CWE-471 which specifically addresses situations where applications fail to properly validate parameters that are expected to remain constant, making this a fundamental flaw in the system's input handling mechanisms.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to the Pinpoint Booking System's integrity and security posture. Attackers could leverage this flaw to perform unauthorized booking modifications, potentially leading to financial losses, service disruption, and data corruption within the booking system. The impact extends beyond simple parameter manipulation as it could enable more sophisticated attacks such as privilege escalation, data exfiltration, or denial of service conditions. The vulnerability's presence across multiple versions suggests that organizations using the Pinpoint Booking System may have been exposed to this risk for an extended period, potentially allowing attackers to establish persistent access patterns or conduct long-term surveillance of booking operations.
The security implications of CVE-2023-38520 align with tactics described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the 'Command and Control' and 'Persistence' domains, where attackers can manipulate system parameters to maintain access or conduct unauthorized operations. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including input validation, parameter sanitization, and comprehensive testing of all web parameters to ensure they cannot be externally controlled. The vulnerability underscores the importance of proper parameter validation and the need for security controls that prevent external entities from manipulating assumed-immutable system values. Additionally, organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their booking systems to identify similar weaknesses and implement robust access controls and monitoring mechanisms to detect unauthorized parameter modifications.
The remediation approach should focus on implementing strict input validation controls, parameter immutability checks, and comprehensive testing of all web parameters to ensure they cannot be manipulated by external parties. Security teams must also establish monitoring procedures to detect unusual parameter modifications and implement proper access controls that prevent unauthorized entities from altering booking system parameters. This vulnerability serves as a critical reminder of the importance of treating all web parameters as potentially manipulable until proven otherwise, following the principle of least privilege and defense in depth security practices. Organizations should also consider implementing automated security scanning tools to identify similar parameter manipulation vulnerabilities across their web applications and booking systems.