CVE-2024-4592 Overview
CVE-2024-4592 is a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in DedeCMS 5.7, a widely deployed Chinese content management system. The flaw resides in /src/dede/sys_group_edit.php, a script used to edit administrator group settings. An attacker can craft a malicious web page that, when visited by an authenticated DedeCMS administrator, forces the browser to submit unauthorized state-changing requests. The vulnerability is tracked under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery and identified in the VulDB database as entry 263314. The exploit has been publicly disclosed, and the vendor did not respond to disclosure attempts.
Critical Impact
Remote attackers can trick authenticated administrators into executing unintended group-permission changes in DedeCMS, potentially altering access control settings without consent.
Affected Products
- DedeCMS 5.7
- Component: /src/dede/sys_group_edit.php
- Deployments running the affected release without a compensating CSRF control
Discovery Timeline
- 2024-05-07 - CVE-2024-4592 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-4592
Vulnerability Analysis
The flaw affects the sys_group_edit.php administrative endpoint in DedeCMS 5.7. The script accepts state-changing requests without verifying that they originate from a legitimate, intended user action. Because DedeCMS relies on session cookies for administrator authentication, any authenticated browser session automatically attaches valid credentials to outbound requests. An attacker who lures an administrator to a malicious page can trigger group-configuration changes through a forged HTTP request. The impact is limited to integrity of the group settings, with no direct confidentiality or availability degradation, and requires user interaction from a privileged victim.
Root Cause
The root cause is the absence of an anti-CSRF token or equivalent request-origin verification on the group-edit handler. The application trusts any authenticated session cookie without validating that the request was intentionally issued by the administrator. Standard mitigations such as synchronizer tokens, SameSite cookie attributes, or Origin/Referer header validation are not enforced on this endpoint.
Attack Vector
The attack is network-based and requires the target administrator to visit or interact with attacker-controlled content while authenticated to DedeCMS. The adversary hosts a page containing an auto-submitting HTML form or image tag that points to sys_group_edit.php with attacker-chosen parameters. When the victim's browser sends the request, DedeCMS processes it under the administrator's session context and applies the modifications. No credentials are exposed to the attacker, but the group configuration is altered as if the administrator had performed the change. Public technical details are documented in the GitHub CMS Document and the VulDB entry #263314.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-4592
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected modifications to administrator group records or permission entries in the DedeCMS database.
- HTTP POST requests to /src/dede/sys_group_edit.php with Referer headers pointing to external or unknown domains.
- Administrator sessions performing group edits shortly after visiting third-party links or opening external email content.
Detection Strategies
- Inspect web server access logs for POST requests targeting sys_group_edit.php and correlate them with the originating Referer and Origin headers.
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to flag state-changing requests to /src/dede/ endpoints that lack a valid anti-CSRF token parameter.
- Baseline normal administrative activity and alert on group modifications performed outside of expected maintenance windows.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Forward DedeCMS access and audit logs to a centralized SIEM for correlation with browsing and email telemetry.
- Enable detailed auditing of database write operations against the dede_admin group tables to reconstruct unauthorized changes.
- Monitor administrator endpoints for signs of phishing delivery, since CSRF exploitation depends on user interaction.
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-4592
Immediate Actions Required
- Restrict access to the DedeCMS administrative interface to trusted management networks or VPN-only ranges.
- Require administrators to use a dedicated browser profile for DedeCMS management and to log out immediately after use.
- Deploy WAF signatures that reject POST requests to sys_group_edit.php lacking a valid Referer or anti-CSRF token.
Patch Information
No vendor patch is available. According to the NVD record, the DedeCMS maintainers were contacted about this disclosure but did not respond. Organizations should treat DedeCMS 5.7 as unpatched for this issue and apply compensating controls. Track the VulDB entry #263314 for updates on any community-provided fixes.
Workarounds
- Configure session cookies with SameSite=Strict or SameSite=Lax to prevent cross-origin submission of authenticated requests.
- Enforce Referer and Origin header validation at the reverse proxy for all /src/dede/ administrative endpoints.
- Implement a custom middleware or reverse-proxy filter that injects and validates an anti-CSRF token on every state-changing administrative request.
- Consider migrating to an actively maintained CMS if the vendor remains unresponsive to security disclosures.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
