Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability on Amped Wireless R10000 devices with firmware 2.5.2.11 allows remote attackers to hijack the authentication of arbitrary users.
Amped Wireless R10000 devices running firmware 2.5.2.11 are vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks, allowing attackers to remotely hijack user authentication. This vulnerability enables attackers to execute unauthorized actions on the router, potentially leading to complete device compromise and network access. Successful exploitation can result in sensitive data theft, network disruption, and the deployment of malicious code.
Step 1: Victim Login: A legitimate user logs into the Amped Wireless R10000's web interface. Their browser stores the authentication cookie.
Step 2: Malicious Website Visit: The victim visits a website controlled by the attacker. This website contains a malicious HTML form or JavaScript code designed to exploit the CSRF vulnerability.
Step 3: Crafted Request: The malicious code automatically submits a forged HTTP request to the vulnerable router's web interface. This request is crafted to perform an action the attacker desires (e.g., changing the DNS server, modifying the administrator password).
Step 4: Request Execution: Because the router lacks CSRF protection, it processes the forged request as if it originated from the legitimate user. The browser automatically includes the authentication cookie in the request.
Step 5: Unauthorized Action: The router executes the attacker's commands, effectively hijacking the user's session and allowing the attacker to control the device.
The root cause of CVE-2015-7278 is the lack of proper CSRF protection mechanisms within the Amped Wireless R10000's web interface. Specifically, the firmware fails to validate the origin of requests, allowing attackers to craft malicious requests that are executed by a logged-in user's browser. This flaw stems from the absence of CSRF tokens or other anti-CSRF measures. The web application logic does not verify the source of the request, leading to unauthorized actions being performed on behalf of the victim. The vulnerability is present in the web interface's handling of configuration changes and other sensitive operations.