CVE-2018-19548
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2018-19548 is an authentication vulnerability in EduSec that allows unlimited login attempts without rate limiting or account lockout. This enables remote attackers to perform brute-force attacks to guess valid credentials. All EduSec installations through version 4.2.6 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- EduSec
📦 What is this software?
Edusec by Rudrasoftech
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise through successful credential guessing, leading to unauthorized access to sensitive student/educational data, potential data exfiltration, and administrative control.
Likely Case
Successful brute-force attacks against weak or default credentials, resulting in unauthorized access to user accounts and potential privilege escalation.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper rate limiting, strong passwords, and account lockout policies in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Simple HTTP POST requests with username/password parameters can be automated for brute-force attacks.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 4.2.7 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/EduSec/EduSec/issues/14
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Backup your current installation. 2. Download EduSec 4.2.7 or later from the official repository. 3. Replace the vulnerable files with patched versions. 4. Verify the login functionality works correctly.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Web Application Firewall (WAF) Rules
allImplement rate limiting and brute-force protection at the WAF level
Nginx Rate Limiting
linuxConfigure Nginx to limit login attempts
limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=login:10m rate=5r/m;
location /index.php?r=site%2Flogin { limit_req zone=login burst=10 nodelay; }
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement network-level rate limiting using firewalls or load balancers
- Enable strong password policies and mandatory multi-factor authentication
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Attempt multiple rapid login requests to index.php?r=site%2Flogin and verify if they are all processed without blocking.Check Version:
Check the EduSec version in the admin panel or configuration files.Verify Fix Applied:
After patching, attempt multiple rapid login requests and verify that rate limiting or account lockout occurs.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed login attempts from same IP address
- Rapid succession of POST requests to login endpoint
Network Indicators:
- High volume of HTTP POST requests to /index.php?r=site%2Flogin
- Pattern of credential guessing attempts
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND uri="/index.php?r=site%2Flogin" AND status=401 | stats count by src_ip | where count > 10