An issue was discovered in the OATHAuth extension in MediaWiki before 1.31.10 and 1.32.x through 1.34.x before 1.34.4. For Wikis using OATHAuth on a farm/cluster (such as via CentralAuth), rate limiting of OATH tokens is only done on a single site level. Thus, multiple requests can be made across many wikis/sites concurrently.
The product does not implement sufficient measures to prevent multiple failed authentication attempts within a short time frame, making it more susceptible to brute force attacks.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mediawiki | Mediawiki | * | 1.31.10 (excluding) |
| Mediawiki | Mediawiki | 1.32.0 (including) | 1.34.4 (excluding) |
| Mediawiki | Ubuntu | bionic | * |
| Mediawiki | Ubuntu | trusty | * |
| Mediawiki | Ubuntu | upstream | * |
Common protection mechanisms include:
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
Consider using libraries with authentication capabilities such as OpenSSL or the ESAPI Authenticator. [REF-45]