A broken access control vulnerability was detected in one of the endpoints of Modoboa. This article will outline what Modoboa does, the vulnerability found, and its current status.
What is Modoboa?
Modoboa is an open-source email hosting and management platform that simplifies email administration. The application’s key features include domain and user management and mail delivery.
What is Broken Access Control?
Broken Access Control is a security vulnerability when an application doesn’t correctly implement access controls, enabling non-authorized persons to get hold of some restricted functionality or data.
It’s how a web application gives certain users access to content and functionality while denying it to others. This occurs after authentication, controlling what the ‘authorized’ users can do.
Astra Security researchers discovered a critical access control vulnerability in one of the Modoboa endpoints. The vulnerability exposed an endpoint that should have been accessible only to super admin users to all users with basic authorization, exposing very sensitive audit logs.
This vulnerability allows users with basic authorization to improperly access audit logs, which are supposed to be restricted for use by only super admin users.
Impact of Broken Access Control
1. Data Exposure
This can grant access to sensitive information, such as user data, system logs, financial records, and intellectual property, which might give rise to major data breaches and privacy violations.
2. Privilege Escalation
Vulnerabilities can also be leveraged in BAC to escalate privileges within a system. After gaining higher privileges, an attacker can execute administrator-level commands to obtain unauthorized access and control the system.
3. Data Modification
Successful exploitation may enable unauthorized users to alter or even delete sensitive data, thereby losing vital data or facing results from changes.
4. System Compromise
In the worst case, it is possible to compromise the system, thus leading to data loss, disruption of service, and reputational damage in addition to financial loss.
5. Exposing Sensitive Information
Access to detailed audit logs can reveal sensitive information about activities within the system and activities of users.
6. Privacy Concerns
Exposed personal data is in the logs, comprising information about the user actions and IP addresses. This could result in data potentially harming privacy and violating regulations.
7. Security and Operational Risks
This increases the insider threat since users can use this sensitive information in malicious activity or to evade detection. Attackers could leverage logs to identify vulnerabilities and plan even more.
What Can You Do?
- Stay Updated: Ensure you’re using the latest version of Modoboa with the vulnerability patched.
- Review User Permissions: Check and update permissions regularly to prevent any chance of unauthorized access.
- Implement Additional Security Measures: In addition to this, protect your instance with Modoboa using network firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and other security controls.
- Monitor for Unusual Activity: Check system logs for any signs of unauthorized access.
