Title: DCForum Predictable Password Generation Vulnerability
Severity: HIGH
Description:
DCForum is a web based conferencing system, designed to facilitate online discussion. It is implemented in Perl and has few system dependancies, making it available on most operating systems, including Linux, Windows and most Unix varients.
A vulnerability exists in some versions of DCForum. It is possible for a user to request a new password. The system generates a new password, and sends it through email to the appropriate user. It is possible to use this function without authenticating as the user in question, so that this feature can be used to recover from a lost or forgotten password.
The flaw exists in the way this password is generated. Instead of being comprised of random data, the first six characters of the current session key are used as the new password. As the session key is available to the remote attacker, the new password function effectively sets arbitrary user passwords to a known value.
This algorithm is also used when new accounts are created, if the user is not given the option to select their own password. This may make other exploitable situations possible, such as creating a valid account without the need for a valid email address.
Exploitation of this vulnerability immediately leads to the compromise of arbitrary accounts on the DCForums. An attacker may target an account with administrative access, possibly leading to further control over the DCForums system.
Affected Products:
- DC Scripts DCForum 2000 1.0.0
- DC Scripts DCForum 5.0.0
- DC Scripts DCForum 6.0.0
- DC Scripts DCForum 6.21.0
References:
- DCScripts: DCScripts DCForum webpage
- DCScripts: Jan 31, 2002 - security advisory
- DCScripts: Severe Security Violation - Latest DCForum
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