CVE-2021-32691
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2021-32691 is an authentication bypass vulnerability in Apollos Apps where new user registrations can access any user's account using only basic profile information like name, birthday, and gender. This allows attackers to impersonate other users and access all app functionality and authenticated webpages. All Apollos Apps installations prior to version 2.20.0 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Apollos Apps
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers gain full access to all user accounts, including administrative functions, financial transactions (giving), and sensitive personal data, potentially leading to financial fraud, data theft, and complete system compromise.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to user accounts leading to privacy violations, manipulation of user data, and potential abuse of app functionality like event registrations or communications.
If Mitigated
With proper authentication controls, users can only access their own accounts, maintaining proper access boundaries and data confidentiality.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability requires only basic profile information that may be publicly available or easily guessed, making exploitation straightforward.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.20.0
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/ApollosProject/apollos-apps/security/advisories/GHSA-r578-pj6f-r4ff
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update Apollos Apps to version 2.20.0 or later. 2. Apply the patch from commit cb5f8f1c0b24f1b215b2bb5eb6f9a8e16d728ce2. 3. Restart the application server. 4. Verify the People class create method has proper authentication checks.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Override People class create method
allManually patch the server by overriding the create data source method on the People class to add proper authentication checks before allowing account access.
Implement custom authentication logic in the People.create method to verify user identity beyond basic profile information
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement additional authentication layers such as multi-factor authentication or IP-based restrictions
- Monitor user account activity logs for suspicious access patterns and implement alerting
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if Apollos Apps version is below 2.20.0. Test if new user registration with basic profile information can access existing user accounts.Check Version:
Check package.json or application configuration for Apollos Apps versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 2.20.0 or higher. Test that user registration with only basic profile information cannot access other user accounts.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple account access attempts with similar profile information
- User accounts accessed from unusual locations or devices
- Failed authentication attempts followed by successful access with minimal credentials
Network Indicators:
- Unusual patterns of API calls to user authentication endpoints
- Multiple registration attempts from single IP addresses
SIEM Query:
source="apollos-logs" AND (event="user_access" OR event="registration") AND (user_id!=authenticated_user OR minimal_credentials_used=true)🔗 References
- https://github.com/ApollosProject/apollos-apps/commit/cb5f8f1c0b24f1b215b2bb5eb6f9a8e16d728ce2
- https://github.com/ApollosProject/apollos-apps/releases/tag/v2.20.0
- https://github.com/ApollosProject/apollos-apps/security/advisories/GHSA-r578-pj6f-r4ff
- https://github.com/ApollosProject/apollos-apps/commit/cb5f8f1c0b24f1b215b2bb5eb6f9a8e16d728ce2
- https://github.com/ApollosProject/apollos-apps/releases/tag/v2.20.0
- https://github.com/ApollosProject/apollos-apps/security/advisories/GHSA-r578-pj6f-r4ff
