CVE-2024-13270
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes an incorrect authorization vulnerability in Drupal's Freelinking module that allows forceful browsing. Attackers can bypass intended access controls to view restricted content. This affects all Drupal sites using Freelinking module versions before 4.0.1.
💻 Affected Systems
- Drupal Freelinking module
📦 What is this software?
Freelinking by Freelinking Project
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Unauthorized users gain access to sensitive content or functionality that should be restricted, potentially exposing confidential information or enabling privilege escalation.
Likely Case
Attackers bypass access controls to view content they shouldn't have permission to access, violating data confidentiality.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and module updates, the vulnerability is eliminated and normal authorization enforcement is restored.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires understanding of the site's URL structure and access controls, but the vulnerability itself is straightforward to exploit once identified.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 4.0.1
Vendor Advisory: https://www.drupal.org/sa-contrib-2024-034
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update the Freelinking module to version 4.0.1 or later via Drupal's update manager. 2. Clear Drupal caches. 3. Verify the update was successful.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Freelinking module
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable module until patching is possible
drush pm-disable freelinking
Implement additional access controls
allAdd extra access control layers at web server or application level
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation to limit access to affected systems
- Enable detailed logging and monitoring for unauthorized access attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Freelinking module version in Drupal's Extend page or via drush: drush pm-list | grep freelinkingCheck Version:
drush pm-list --fields=name,version | grep freelinkingVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Freelinking module version is 4.0.1 or higher and test access controls on previously restricted content📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed authorization attempts followed by successful access to restricted URLs
- Access patterns bypassing normal authentication flows
Network Indicators:
- Unusual access to URLs that should require authentication
- Requests to restricted endpoints without proper session tokens
SIEM Query:
web_access_logs WHERE (url_path CONTAINS '/restricted/' OR url_path CONTAINS '/admin/') AND (user_agent NOT IN allowed_user_agents OR session_id IS NULL) AND response_code = 200