Improper Authorization in Multi-Vendor Online Grocery Management System

Executive Summary

This vulnerability is an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) flaw in the cancel_order function of the Multi-Vendor Online Grocery Management System 1.0. It occurs because the function accepts an order ID from user input without verifying if the order belongs to the authenticated user. As a result, any logged-in user can cancel or modify orders placed by other users without proper authorization.

The flaw exists in the file classes/Master.php, specifically in the cancel_order function, and also affects the update_status function, allowing arbitrary status changes to any order.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can disrupt business operations by allowing unauthorized users to cancel or alter orders they do not own. It can lead to sabotage of competitors' or other customers' orders, compromising the integrity of order management within the system.

Because client registration is open and does not require approval, any registered user can exploit this flaw, potentially causing significant operational and reputational damage.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by testing whether an authenticated user can cancel or update orders that do not belong to them. Specifically, attempts to invoke the cancel_order function with order IDs of other users should be monitored.

Since the vulnerability involves the cancel_order function accepting order IDs via POST data without proper authorization checks, you can detect it by sending crafted POST requests to the endpoint handling order cancellations and observing if orders belonging to other users are affected.

Example commands using curl to test this might include:

• curl -X POST -d "id=ORDER_ID" -b "cookie.txt" https://targetsite.com/path_to_cancel_order
• Replace ORDER_ID with an order ID that does not belong to the authenticated user and use a valid session cookie stored in cookie.txt.

If the order is successfully cancelled or updated despite not belonging to the authenticated user, the vulnerability is present.

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Mitigation Strategies

Immediate mitigation steps include enforcing ownership checks in the cancel_order and update_status functions to ensure that only the owner of an order can modify it.

Specifically, the system should verify that the client_id associated with the order matches the currently authenticated user's session ID before allowing any cancellation or status update.

Additionally, apply role-based access control to restrict who can perform order modifications.

Verify affected rows after update queries to confirm that unauthorized changes are not applied.

Until a patch is applied, consider restricting access to the affected functions or endpoints to trusted users only, or temporarily disabling order cancellation features if feasible.

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Compliance Impact

The vulnerability allows any authenticated user to cancel or modify orders placed by other users without proper authorization, leading to compromised order management integrity and disrupted business operations.

While the provided information does not explicitly mention compliance with standards like GDPR or HIPAA, such unauthorized access and manipulation of user orders could potentially violate data protection and integrity requirements under these regulations, especially if personal or sensitive data is involved.

To mitigate these risks and improve compliance, the system should enforce ownership checks, verify affected rows after updates, and apply role-based access control to prevent unauthorized access.

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