CVE-2024-41475 in Gnuboard
Summary
by MITRE • 08/12/2024
Gnuboard g6 6.0.7 is vulnerable to Session hijacking due to a CORS misconfiguration.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/28/2026
The vulnerability in Gnuboard g6 version 6.0.7 represents a critical session hijacking risk stemming from improper Cross-Origin Resource Sharing configuration. This misconfiguration allows malicious actors to exploit the application's lack of proper origin validation mechanisms, creating opportunities for unauthorized access to user sessions and potential privilege escalation within the vulnerable system. The flaw exists at the web application level where CORS policies fail to adequately restrict which origins can access session resources, enabling attackers to craft cross-origin requests that bypass authentication mechanisms.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the application's failure to enforce strict origin validation on session-related endpoints. When legitimate users authenticate and receive session tokens, the application does not properly validate the requesting origin before granting access to protected resources. This creates a pathway for attackers to leverage malicious web pages or scripts hosted on different domains to make requests against the vulnerable Gnuboard installation. The CORS configuration lacks proper restrictions such as specific allowed origins, credentials handling, and appropriate preflight request validation that would normally prevent unauthorized cross-origin access to session data.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability exposes the system to significant security risks including unauthorized user impersonation, data theft, and potential complete system compromise. Attackers can leverage this flaw to hijack active user sessions without requiring valid credentials, effectively bypassing authentication mechanisms entirely. The attack surface extends beyond simple session theft to include potential privilege escalation if the application grants administrative capabilities through session tokens. This vulnerability particularly affects web applications that rely on session-based authentication models where session tokens are passed in cookies or headers and not properly protected against cross-origin access attempts.
The mitigation strategies for this vulnerability involve implementing proper CORS configuration with explicit origin validation, restricting allowed origins to specific domains only, and ensuring that credentials are not permitted unless absolutely necessary. Organizations should implement Content Security Policy headers to further restrict cross-origin requests, enforce strict session management practices including secure cookie attributes, and regularly audit CORS configurations for potential security gaps. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-346 - "Origin Validation Error" and maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.002 - "Phishing via Service Provider" as attackers can exploit the misconfigured CORS to deliver malicious payloads that target session tokens. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of CORS policies using automated tools and manual verification to ensure that only trusted origins can access sensitive session resources while maintaining proper application functionality for legitimate users.