CVE-2008-7024

Vulnerability

The Gemini Portal version 4.7 and earlier, developed by Arz Development, contains an insecure cookie handling vulnerability in admin.php. The authentication check improperly trusts the user cookie; by setting it to admin and appending the GET parameter name=users, an attacker can bypass the authentication process and gain access to administrative functions without valid credentials. The exact vulnerable versions include all releases up to and including 4.7 [1].

Exploitation

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability using only a web browser. The attacker first sets the user cookie to admin via client-side scripting (e.g., javascript:document.cookie = "user=admin"). Next, the attacker navigates to admin.php with the &name=users parameter appended to the URL. No previous authentication, network position, or user interaction is required. The attack can be performed entirely via GET requests, as POST parameters are also accepted via GET [1].

Impact

Successful exploitation grants the attacker full administrator-level access to the Gemini Portal administration panel. The attacker can view, create, and modify content such as forums, articles, and user profiles. This includes the ability to change the administrator password, leading to complete compromise of the application's confidentiality, integrity, and availability [1].

Mitigation

No official patch or updated version has been released by the vendor to address this vulnerability. The Gemini Portal 4.7 is likely end-of-life, and no fix is available from the developer. As a mitigation, administrators should consider migrating to an alternative content management system. The vulnerability is listed in the Exploit Database as a public exploit, increasing the risk of exploitation [1].