Headline
CVE-2021-43807: Build software better, together
Opencast is an Open Source Lecture Capture & Video Management for Education. Opencast versions prior to 9.10 allow HTTP method spoofing, allowing to change the assumed HTTP method via URL parameter. This allows attackers to turn HTTP GET requests into PUT requests or an HTTP form to send DELETE requests. This bypasses restrictions otherwise put on these types of requests and aids in cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks, which would otherwise not be possible. The vulnerability allows attackers to craft links or forms which may change the server state. This issue is fixed in Opencast 9.10 and 10.0. You can mitigate the problem by setting the SameSite=Strict
attribute for your cookies. If this is a viable option for you depends on your integrations. We strongly recommend updating in any case.
Opencast versions prior to 9.10 allow HTTP method spoofing, allowing to change the assumed HTTP method via URL parameter. This allows attackers to turn HTTP GET requests into PUT requests or an HTTP form to send DELETE requests. This bypasses restrictions otherwise put on these types of requests and aids in cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks, which would otherwise not be possible.
Impact
The vulnerability allows attackers to craft links or forms which may change the server state. For example, the following GET request would create a new user:
% curl -i -u admin:opencast \ ‘https://legacy.opencast.org/admin-ng/users/test.json?_method=PUT&username=test&password=attack’ HTTP/2 200 …
If an admin is logged in to legacy.opencast.org and accidentally clicks this link, a user will silently be created.
Patches
This issue is fixed in Opencast 9.10 and 10.0.
Workarounds
You can mitigate the problem by setting the SameSite=Strict
attribute for your cookies. If this is a viable option for you depends on your integrations. We strongly recommend updating in any case.
References
- Fix for 10.0
- Fix for 9.10
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in our issue tracker
- Email us at [email protected]