Quantum Secular Labs / Blog / Advisories

CVE-2018-1000501: Instant Update CMS: Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password

CVE-2018-1000501 is rated critical with a CVSS v3.0 base score of 9.8 and affects Instant Update CMS. Per its scoring, it can be exploited over the network, without authentication, without any user interaction. The scored impact on confidentiality, integrity and availability is the highest available.

Vulnerability description

Instant Update CMS contains a Password Reset Vulnerability vulnerability in /iu-application/controllers/administration/auth.php that can result in Account Tackover. This attack appear to be exploitable via network connectivity. This vulnerability appears to have been fixed in v0.3.3.

Severity breakdown

CVSS v3.0 9.8: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

  • Attack vector: Network. Exploitable remotely over the network, with no need for local or physical access.
  • Attack complexity: Low. No special conditions; the attack can be repeated reliably.
  • Privileges required: None. No account or prior access is needed.
  • User interaction: None. No action from any user is needed.
  • Scope: Unchanged. Impact stays within the vulnerable component.
  • Confidentiality impact: High. Total loss of confidentiality; sensitive data can be fully disclosed.
  • Integrity impact: High. Total loss of integrity; data or system state can be fully modified.
  • Availability impact: High. Total loss of availability; the component can be shut down.

Underlying weakness

CWE-640: Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password

The product contains a mechanism for users to recover or change their passwords without knowing the original password, but the mechanism is weak.

Affected products

  • Instant Update CMS: before 0.3.3

References