CVE-2024-27559 in Stupid Simple CMS
Summary
by MITRE • 03/01/2024
Stupid Simple CMS v1.2.4 was discovered to contain a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) via the component /save_settings.php
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/29/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-27559 affects Stupid Simple CMS version 1.2.4 and represents a critical Cross-Site Request Forgery flaw that undermines the application's security posture. This vulnerability specifically resides within the /save_settings.php component, which serves as a critical interface for modifying system configuration parameters. The flaw stems from the absence of proper CSRF protection mechanisms, allowing attackers to manipulate the application's settings through maliciously crafted requests that exploit the trust relationship between the web application and its authenticated users.
CSRF attacks exploit the implicit trust that web applications place in browsers when executing requests on behalf of authenticated users. In this case, the /save_settings.php endpoint lacks anti-CSRF tokens or other protective measures that would validate the authenticity of requests originating from legitimate administrative interfaces. Attackers can craft malicious web pages or leverage social engineering techniques to trick authenticated users into performing unintended actions, such as modifying critical system parameters, changing user permissions, or altering security configurations. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-352, which defines Cross-Site Request Forgery as a weakness where the application fails to validate that requests originate from the intended user, thereby enabling unauthorized actions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple configuration changes, as it provides attackers with potential pathways to escalate privileges and compromise the entire CMS infrastructure. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability could modify administrative settings, disable security features, or establish persistent backdoors within the system. The attack vector becomes particularly dangerous when considering that authenticated users typically possess elevated privileges within the CMS environment, making even minor configuration changes potentially catastrophic. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078.004, which covers valid accounts used for unauthorized access, as the exploitation relies on legitimate administrative sessions to execute malicious actions without requiring additional authentication credentials.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2024-27559 should prioritize immediate implementation of anti-CSRF token mechanisms within the /save_settings.php component and other administrative endpoints. The solution involves generating unique, unpredictable tokens for each user session and validating these tokens upon form submission to ensure requests originate from legitimate sources. Organizations should also implement proper session management practices, including secure cookie attributes, session timeout mechanisms, and regular session invalidation procedures. Additionally, the application should enforce Content Security Policy headers to prevent cross-site scripting attacks that could compound the CSRF vulnerability. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other components, while developers should follow secure coding practices that incorporate CSRF protection as a fundamental requirement for all administrative interfaces. The fix should also include logging and monitoring of administrative actions to detect suspicious activities that may indicate CSRF exploitation attempts, ensuring that the system maintains proper audit trails for security incident response and forensic analysis.