CVE-2022-40489 is a high-severity Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability identified in ThinkCMF version 6.0.7, a content management framework. This vulnerability allows an attacker to inject a Super Administrator user into the administrative user list without requiring prior authentication. The attack exploits the lack of proper CSRF protections on administrative user management functionalities. Specifically, a victim with administrative privileges who visits a maliciously crafted webpage can unknowingly trigger a request that adds a new Super Administrator account controlled by the attacker. This elevates the attacker's privileges to the highest level within the system, granting full control over the affected ThinkCMF instance. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 reflects the vulnerability's network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), but requiring user interaction (UI:R). The impact is critical across confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H), as the attacker gains full administrative access, enabling data theft, modification, or service disruption. Although no known exploits are reported in the wild, the vulnerability's nature and ease of exploitation make it a significant risk. The absence of vendor or product details beyond ThinkCMF 6.0.7 limits the scope of affected environments, but the vulnerability is tied to this specific version of the framework. The CWE-352 classification confirms the root cause as insufficient CSRF protections in web applications handling sensitive state-changing requests.

For European organizations using ThinkCMF 6.0.7, this vulnerability poses a severe risk. Successful exploitation results in full administrative compromise, allowing attackers to manipulate website content, access sensitive data, or disrupt services. Organizations in sectors with high reliance on web content management—such as government portals, educational institutions, and e-commerce platforms—face potential data breaches and reputational damage. The ability to inject a Super Administrator user without authentication means attackers can maintain persistent access, evade detection, and potentially pivot to other internal systems. Given the network-based attack vector and low complexity, even less sophisticated attackers could exploit this vulnerability if users with administrative privileges are tricked into visiting malicious sites. This threat could also facilitate supply chain attacks if compromised ThinkCMF instances are used to distribute malicious content or software. The lack of known exploits in the wild suggests limited current impact, but the vulnerability remains a critical risk until patched.

Immediately upgrade ThinkCMF to a version where this CSRF vulnerability is patched. If no patch is available, consider disabling or restricting access to administrative user management functionalities. Implement strict CSRF protections such as synchronizer tokens or double-submit cookies on all state-changing administrative endpoints. Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all administrative users to reduce the risk of unauthorized access even if an attacker manages to inject a user. Conduct regular audits of administrative user accounts to detect unauthorized additions or privilege escalations. Educate administrative users about the risks of CSRF attacks and advise against visiting untrusted websites while logged into administrative sessions. Implement network-level protections such as Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules to detect and block suspicious CSRF attack patterns targeting ThinkCMF endpoints. Restrict administrative interface access by IP whitelisting or VPN to reduce exposure to external CSRF attacks. Monitor logs for unusual administrative user creation activities and set up alerts for rapid response.