CVE-2023-49446 in JFinalCMS
Summary
by MITRE • 12/05/2023
JFinalCMS v5.0.0 was discovered to contain a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability via /admin/nav/save.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/07/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-49446 affects JFinalCMS version 5.0.0 and represents a critical Cross-Site Request Forgery flaw located within the administrative navigation save endpoint at /admin/nav/save. This vulnerability allows authenticated attackers to perform unauthorized actions within the application's administrative interface without the victim's knowledge or consent, potentially leading to complete compromise of the content management system. The flaw exists due to insufficient validation of request origins and lack of proper anti-CSRF token implementation in the administrative form submission process, making it particularly dangerous as it targets the privileged administrative functions of the CMS.
The technical implementation of this CSRF vulnerability stems from the absence of anti-CSRF protection mechanisms within the navigation save functionality. When administrators access the administrative panel to manage navigation menus, the application fails to validate that requests originate from legitimate sources within the same session context. This omission creates a window where malicious actors can craft specially crafted requests that, when executed by authenticated administrators, perform unintended operations such as creating, modifying, or deleting navigation entries. The vulnerability specifically impacts the /admin/nav/save endpoint which handles administrative navigation configuration changes, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to manipulate website structure and potentially redirect users to malicious destinations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, as it can enable attackers to establish persistent backdoors within the CMS infrastructure. Successful exploitation allows unauthorized individuals to modify navigation structures that could redirect users to phishing sites or malicious content, potentially compromising the entire website's security posture. Attackers could also use this vulnerability to insert malicious links, alter site navigation paths, or create unauthorized administrative accounts, depending on the broader system permissions. The vulnerability's severity is amplified by the fact that it requires minimal user interaction from the administrator, as the malicious request can be triggered through social engineering techniques or by exploiting other compromised systems within the same network environment.
Mitigation strategies for this CSRF vulnerability should prioritize immediate implementation of proper anti-CSRF token validation mechanisms within the administrative endpoints. Organizations should ensure that all administrative forms include unique, session-bound tokens that are validated server-side before processing any modifications. The implementation should follow established security standards such as those outlined in CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities, and align with ATT&CK framework techniques related to privilege escalation and credential access. Additionally, organizations should implement proper origin validation checks and consider implementing additional security layers such as Content Security Policy headers, rate limiting on administrative endpoints, and comprehensive logging of administrative activities to detect suspicious behavior patterns. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify similar flaws in other administrative interfaces within the application.