CVE-2018-25177: Data Center Audit CSRF Vulnerability

CVE-2018-25177 Overview

CVE-2018-25177 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Data Center Audit version 2.6.2. This vulnerability allows attackers to reset administrator passwords without authentication by submitting crafted POST requests to the application. Attackers can exploit this flaw by sending malicious requests to dca_resetpw.php with parameters updateuser, pass, pass2, and submit_reset to change the admin account password and gain administrative access to the system.

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation allows unauthenticated attackers to reset administrator credentials and gain full administrative control over the Data Center Audit application.

Affected Products

• Data Center Audit 2.6.2

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-03-06 - CVE-2018-25177 published to NVD
• 2026-03-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2018-25177

Vulnerability Analysis

This CSRF vulnerability (CWE-352) exists in the password reset functionality of Data Center Audit 2.6.2. The application fails to implement proper anti-CSRF tokens or validate the origin of requests to the dca_resetpw.php endpoint. This allows an attacker to craft a malicious web page that, when visited by an authenticated administrator, will automatically submit a password reset request on their behalf.

The attack is network-accessible and requires no authentication or special privileges to execute. The vulnerability can be exploited through social engineering by tricking an administrator into visiting a malicious page while they have an active session with the Data Center Audit application.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the lack of CSRF protection mechanisms in the password reset functionality. The dca_resetpw.php endpoint does not validate CSRF tokens, check the Referer header, or implement any other state-changing request verification. This allows external websites to forge legitimate-looking requests that the server cannot distinguish from authentic user actions.

Attack Vector

The attack is carried out over the network. An attacker creates a malicious HTML page containing a hidden form that targets the dca_resetpw.php endpoint. When an authenticated administrator visits this page (via phishing, malicious advertisements, or compromised websites), the form is automatically submitted using JavaScript. The POST request includes the updateuser parameter specifying the target admin account and pass/pass2 parameters with the attacker's chosen password. Since the server does not verify the request origin, it processes the password change, effectively locking out the legitimate administrator and granting access to the attacker.

Detailed technical information about this vulnerability can be found in the Exploit-DB #45831 entry and the VulnCheck Advisory on CSRF.

Detection Methods for CVE-2018-25177

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected POST requests to dca_resetpw.php from external referrers or with missing referrer headers
• Administrator password change events without corresponding legitimate login sessions
• Web server logs showing requests to dca_resetpw.php with unusual Referer headers pointing to external domains
• Multiple failed login attempts for administrator accounts following password reset activity

Detection Strategies

• Monitor web server access logs for requests to dca_resetpw.php and correlate with session authentication status
• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block requests with suspicious or missing Referer headers to sensitive endpoints
• Enable audit logging for all administrative actions including password changes and review for anomalies
• Deploy network intrusion detection signatures to identify CSRF attack patterns targeting password reset functions

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure alerting for any password reset activity on administrator accounts
• Review web application logs regularly for suspicious request patterns to authentication-related endpoints
• Implement real-time monitoring of administrative credential changes with immediate notification to security teams

How to Mitigate CVE-2018-25177

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Data Center Audit to a patched version if available from the vendor
• Implement network-level access controls to restrict access to the administrative interface to trusted IP addresses only
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) with CSRF protection capabilities in front of the application
• Consider disabling or restricting access to dca_resetpw.php if password reset functionality is not required

Patch Information

No official patch information is currently available in the CVE data. Organizations using Data Center Audit 2.6.2 should contact the vendor for patching guidance or consider implementing the workarounds described below. For additional details, refer to the VulnCheck Advisory on CSRF.

Workarounds

• Restrict access to the Data Center Audit administrative interface to internal networks or specific trusted IP addresses using firewall rules
• Implement a reverse proxy with CSRF token injection capabilities to add protection at the network layer
• Require VPN access for all administrative functions to reduce the attack surface
• Educate administrators about phishing risks and the importance of not clicking unknown links while authenticated to administrative interfaces

# Example: Restrict access to dca_resetpw.php using Apache .htaccess
<Files "dca_resetpw.php">
    Require ip 10.0.0.0/8
    Require ip 192.168.0.0/16
</Files>