Reflected XSS Vulnerability in Admidio

A Reflected XSS vulnerability has been identified in Admidio, posing a significant risk to user data. This article explores the vulnerability, its discovery, current status, and mitigation steps.

Action Points

1. Admidio is an open-source user management system for organizations and groups, designed to streamline system management.
2. Reflected XSS is a web security flaw where malicious executable code is embedded within an HTTP response of trusted websites.
3. The Reflected XSS vulnerability has been reported to the platform, and a patch has been rolled out.
4. To protect yourselves promptly update to the latest security version released i.e. Admidio version 4.2.13.

But before we jump into the deep end, let’s understand some basics:

What is Admidio?

Admidio is an open-source user management system tailored for websites operated by various organizations and groups. It is specifically optimized for associations, groups, and organizations, offering a wide array of modules to facilitate system management within these entities. 

In fact, the platform is structured to match the organization’s hierarchy and user permissions. However, while running security tests a new Reflected XSS Vulnerability was discovered by Astra’s Security Team in the latest version i.e. 4.2.12.

What is Reflected XSS vulnerability?

Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is an injection attack where malicious code is inserted by an attacker into a trusted website. The attack occurs within a single request/response cycle, with the malicious code initially included in the request to the vulnerable web application and subsequently reflected in the user’s server’s HTTP response.

Since this is a non-persistent attack, attackers rely on social engineering, often using techniques like phishing, to persuade victims to include the harmful script in their requests to the web server.

As such, these attacks are frequently directed at targets such as message forum form submissions, error messages, or search engine results pages.

What is the impact of Reflected XSS?

Reflected XSS attacks can result in significant repercussions, such as

1. Data Theft and Session Hijacking:

These attacks can pilfer user data, including cookies and personal information. This allows them to act as the user, and execute actions on their accounts such as authorize transactions or change settings.

2. Malware & Ransomware Propagation:

Malicious scripts in Reflected XSS attacks can be designed to induce the download of malware or ransomware from external sources or exploit browser vulnerabilities to deliver malware payloads. This puts users’ devices at risk and propagates ransomware.

3. Website Defacement:

Such attacks can manipulate the appearance and content of web pages, effectively defacing your website. This may involve content replacement, layout changes, or the addition of unwanted ads, compromising the user experience and your reputation.

What is the current status?

Upon discovering the reflected XSS vulnerability in Admidio Version 4.2.12, Astra’s team promptly notified the platform’s developers along with possible solutions that they may implement to avoid any possible exploitation of user data. 

Subsequently, a new version was released with the necessary patch.

What can you do?

1. Update the affected version to the latest ad-hoc security version released by Admidio i.e. Admidio Version 4.2.13.