CVE-2018-25354 Overview
CVE-2018-25354 is a cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the Joomla component Jomres version 9.11.2. The flaw allows attackers to modify authenticated user account information without consent. By crafting malicious HTML forms targeting the account/index endpoint, an attacker can change a victim's password, email address, and profile fields when the victim visits an attacker-controlled page. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352 and stems from missing anti-CSRF token validation on sensitive state-changing requests. Successful exploitation can lead to full account takeover of any Jomres user who is tricked into visiting a malicious page while logged in.
Critical Impact
An attacker can hijack authenticated Jomres user accounts by forcing password and email changes through forged HTML form submissions.
Affected Products
- Joomla Component Jomres 9.11.2
- Jomres reservation system extension for Joomla
- Sites running the vulnerable account/index endpoint without CSRF protection
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-05-23 - CVE-2018-25354 published to NVD
- 2026-05-26 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2018-25354
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability resides in the account management functionality of the Jomres Joomla extension. The account/index endpoint accepts profile and credential update requests without verifying that the request originated from a legitimate, user-initiated action. No anti-CSRF token, origin check, or referer validation guards the state-changing operation. Any authenticated session cookie issued by Joomla is automatically attached by the browser when a cross-origin request is made, enabling silent submission of attacker-controlled form data. The EPSS probability for in-the-wild exploitation is low, but exploitation requires only that a logged-in administrator or user visit a page containing the malicious form.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing CSRF protection on the account update handler. Jomres 9.11.2 does not require a per-session anti-forgery token tied to the form submission. The application trusts the presence of a valid session cookie as sufficient proof of intent, which violates the same-origin trust model expected for state-changing HTTP requests.
Attack Vector
An attacker hosts an HTML page containing a hidden form whose action attribute points to the Jomres account/index endpoint. The form contains hidden input fields specifying a new password, new email address, and any other profile values the attacker chooses. When a victim with an active Jomres session loads the attacker's page, JavaScript auto-submits the form. The browser includes the victim's session cookie, and the Jomres backend processes the update as if the user submitted it. The attacker can then log in with the newly set credentials. Technical details are documented in the Exploit-DB advisory #44901 and the VulnCheck Joomla Advisory.
Detection Methods for CVE-2018-25354
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected password or email change events in the Jomres audit log without a corresponding user-initiated session action
- HTTP POST requests to account/index with Referer headers pointing to external or untrusted domains
- Multiple account modification requests originating from the same IP across distinct user sessions in a short window
- User reports of being unable to log in shortly after visiting external links
Detection Strategies
- Inspect web server access logs for POST requests to the Jomres account/index path where the Referer header is absent or external
- Correlate Joomla user-table changes (password hash, email) with web request logs to identify modifications lacking a preceding profile-page GET
- Deploy a web application firewall rule that flags state-changing POSTs to Jomres endpoints missing a same-origin referer
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable verbose logging on the Joomla user-account subsystem and forward events to a SIEM for correlation
- Alert on bulk account updates originating from a single source IP or user-agent
- Track and alert on password-reset and email-change events occurring without a prior authenticated profile-view request
How to Mitigate CVE-2018-25354
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade Jomres beyond version 9.11.2 to a release that implements CSRF token validation, referencing the Jomres Official Website for the latest version
- Audit the Joomla user table for unauthorized email or password changes since the component was installed
- Force a password reset for all Jomres users if compromise is suspected
- Review installed Joomla extensions and remove unused components to reduce attack surface
Patch Information
No vendor patch URL is referenced in the published CVE data. Administrators should consult the Joomla Extension Jomres listing and the Jomres Official Website for the latest supported release, and apply any available updates that introduce anti-CSRF token enforcement on the account/index endpoint.
Workarounds
- Place the Jomres administrative and account endpoints behind a web application firewall rule that rejects requests missing a same-origin Referer or Origin header
- Configure the Joomla session cookie with the SameSite=Lax or SameSite=Strict attribute to block cross-site cookie attachment on form POSTs
- Restrict access to Jomres account management URLs by IP allowlist where feasible
- Educate authenticated users to log out of administrative sessions when browsing untrusted sites
# Example: enforce SameSite cookie attribute in Apache to mitigate CSRF
Header edit Set-Cookie ^(.*)$ $1;\ SameSite=Strict;\ Secure
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
