CVE-2018-20371
📋 TL;DR
PhotoRange Photo Vault 1.2 appends passwords directly to URIs for authentication, allowing attackers to bypass login protections via brute-force guessing. This affects users of the vulnerable app version who expose it to network access. Attackers can potentially access protected photos without valid credentials.
💻 Affected Systems
- PhotoRange Photo Vault
📦 What is this software?
Photorange Photo Vault by Photorange Photo Vault Project
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of all protected photos in the vault, leading to privacy violations and potential blackmail or identity theft.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to some protected photos through automated brute-force attacks, resulting in privacy breaches.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if app is isolated from network access or behind strong perimeter controls.
🎯 Exploit Status
Simple brute-force script can automate password guessing via URI manipulation.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown
Vendor Advisory: Not available
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
Update to a newer version if available, or discontinue use of the vulnerable version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Isolation
allPrevent the app from being accessible over network interfaces.
Use Strong Passwords
allImplement complex passwords to increase brute-force difficulty.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable network access to the app entirely
- Monitor for unusual URI patterns in web server logs
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if Photo Vault version is 1.2 and test if appending passwords to URIs (e.g., /login.html__password) bypasses authentication.Check Version:
Check app version in device settings or app store listing.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify updated version no longer accepts password in URI and requires proper authentication.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Repeated GET requests to /login.html__* patterns
- Failed authentication attempts with URI-based passwords
Network Indicators:
- HTTP traffic with password strings appended to URIs
- Brute-force patterns to login endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="web_server" AND uri="/login.html__*"