CVE-2023-48744 in Availability Calendar Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 11/30/2023
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Offshore Web Master Availability Calendar allows Cross Site Request Forgery.This issue affects Availability Calendar: from n/a through 1.2.6.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/17/2023
The CVE-2023-48744 vulnerability represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw within the Offshore Web Master Availability Calendar plugin, specifically impacting versions ranging from the initial release through 1.2.6. This vulnerability falls under the Common Weakness Enumeration category CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities that enable attackers to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. The flaw exploits the fundamental principle that web applications should verify the origin of requests to prevent malicious actors from manipulating user sessions and performing unintended operations within the application context.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of proper request validation mechanisms within the calendar plugin's processing endpoints. When users authenticate to the Offshore Web Master Availability Calendar system, their session cookies are automatically included with every request, creating a trusted context that attackers can leverage. The vulnerability manifests when an attacker crafts malicious requests that exploit the calendar's functionality, particularly around event creation, modification, or deletion operations, without requiring the user's explicit consent or knowledge. This occurs because the application fails to implement anti-CSRF tokens or other validation mechanisms that would ensure requests originate from legitimate sources within the application's own domain.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation to potentially compromise the entire calendar management system and associated user data. An attacker could exploit this flaw to add unauthorized events, modify existing calendar entries, delete important scheduling information, or even escalate privileges within the system if the calendar plugin integrates with broader user management functionalities. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in environments where calendar systems are used for critical business operations, resource allocation, or security-sensitive scheduling. According to ATT&CK framework category T1531, this vulnerability could enable attackers to leverage the compromised calendar system as a foothold for further reconnaissance and lateral movement within the network infrastructure.
Organizations utilizing the Offshore Web Master Availability Calendar plugin should immediately implement mitigations to address this vulnerability. The most effective approach involves implementing anti-CSRF tokens that are generated per user session and validated on each request to ensure legitimate origin. Additionally, implementing strict origin validation checks and ensuring that all state-changing operations require explicit user confirmation through secondary authentication mechanisms would significantly reduce the attack surface. The recommended solution aligns with OWASP Top Ten security practices and specifically addresses the prevention techniques outlined for CSRF vulnerabilities in web applications. Regular security updates and patch management procedures should be enforced to prevent similar issues from arising in future versions of the plugin, as the vulnerability demonstrates a critical gap in the application's security architecture that could be exploited by threat actors with minimal technical expertise.