CVE-2023-48331 in Bookstore Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 11/30/2023
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Stormhill Media MyBookTable Bookstore by Stormhill Media allows Cross Site Request Forgery.This issue affects MyBookTable Bookstore by Stormhill Media: from n/a through 3.3.4.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/17/2023
The Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-48331 resides within the Stormhill Media MyBookTable Bookstore plugin, representing a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of web applications by exploiting the trust relationship between users and web servers. This vulnerability specifically impacts versions of the MyBookTable Bookstore plugin ranging from an unspecified initial version through 3.3.4, creating a window of exposure where malicious actors can manipulate user sessions and execute unauthorized actions. The flaw manifests as a failure to properly validate and authenticate requests originating from legitimate users, thereby allowing attackers to perform actions on behalf of authenticated users without their knowledge or consent.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper anti-CSRF tokens within the plugin's web forms and API endpoints. When users interact with the bookstore functionality, particularly during administrative operations or user account modifications, the application fails to generate and validate unique, unpredictable tokens that would normally prevent unauthorized request execution. This design flaw aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities, and represents a fundamental breakdown in the application's security controls. The vulnerability creates an attack surface where an attacker can craft malicious requests that, when executed by an authenticated user, result in unauthorized modifications to the bookstore's data or configuration.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, potentially enabling attackers to compromise the entire bookstore platform's integrity and availability. An attacker could exploit this flaw to add or remove books from inventory, modify pricing structures, alter user permissions, or even delete critical database entries. The consequences for bookstore operators include potential financial losses, data breaches, and reputational damage that could result from unauthorized modifications to their digital catalog. This vulnerability also creates opportunities for more sophisticated attacks where the CSRF vector could be combined with other exploitation techniques to establish persistent access or escalate privileges within the affected system. The attack vector typically involves tricking users into clicking malicious links or visiting compromised websites that automatically submit requests to the vulnerable bookstore application.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-48331 require immediate action from system administrators and developers to address the root cause of the vulnerability. The primary remediation involves implementing robust anti-CSRF token mechanisms throughout all user-facing forms and API endpoints within the MyBookTable Bookstore plugin. These tokens must be generated uniquely for each user session and validated upon request submission to ensure that all actions originate from legitimate user interactions. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security measures such as SameSite cookie attributes, referrer header validation, and comprehensive input sanitization to create multiple layers of defense. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1566.001 emphasizes the importance of network security controls and user education to prevent exploitation through social engineering approaches. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities within the application's codebase, while automated security scanning tools can help detect potential CSRF flaws in other components of the web application stack.