Shopware: Admin Account Takeover via User Recovery Hash Exposure

Summary

A low-privilege admin user with user_recovery:read ACL can take over any admin account. The attacker triggers password recovery for the victim (unauthenticated endpoint), reads the recovery hash from the Admin API search endpoint, then uses the hash to reset the victim's password (another unauthenticated endpoint). The recovery hash — intended to be secret and delivered only via email — is fully readable through the standard entity search API.

OWASP: A01:2021 — Broken Access Control

Root

Cause

The user_recovery entity exposes its hash field through the Admin API search endpoint (POST /api/search/user-recovery). The hash field lacks ApiAware(false) or ReadProtection, so any user with user_recovery:read ACL can read it.

The password recovery flow assumes the hash is delivered exclusively via email. The Admin API provides an alternative channel to obtain it, breaking this assumption.

Three endpoints combine to form the attack:

1. POST /api/_action/user/user-recovery — triggers recovery, creates hash in DB (no auth required)
2. POST /api/search/user-recovery — reads the hash (**requires only user_recovery:read ACL**)
3. PATCH /api/_action/user/user-recovery/password — resets password using hash (no auth required)

Vulnerable code: - src/Core/System/User/Recovery/UserRecoveryDefinition.php — hash field is ApiAware with no ReadProtection

Impact

• Full admin account takeover — attacker gains the highest privilege level in the system
• All admin capabilities — user/role management, system configuration, plugin management, customer data access
• Cascading compromise — taken-over admin account can be used to pivot to other attacks
• Low barrier — user_recovery:read is a seemingly harmless permission that grants devastating access

Remediation

Remove the hash field from API responses:

// src/Core/System/User/Recovery/UserRecoveryDefinition.php
(new StringField('hash', 'hash'))
    ->addFlags(new Required(), new ApiAware(false)),