Description

SuiteCRM is an open-source, enterprise-ready Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software application. Prior to 7.15.2 and 8.10.2, the SSRF protection added in 7.15.1 uses a substring comparison in isSelfRequest() rather than hostname equality. The affected flow begins at validate_external_host() and uses isSelfRequest(), and stripos() to carry attacker-controlled data or authorization state into the security-sensitive operation. An authenticated attacker can place the server hostname in a URL path to bypass IP validation and direct server-side requests to internal services. This issue is fixed in versions 7.15.2 and 8.10.2.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "7.7",
  "pubDate": "2026-11-05T19:17:22.380Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-11-05T19:17:22.380Z",
  "executiveSummary": "SuiteCRM is susceptible to a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability due to flawed validation logic within its internal request handling mechanisms.\nThe vulnerability originates from the use of substring comparison rather than strict hostname equality when verifying internal server requests.\nAn authenticated attacker can exploit this flaw to bypass IP-based security restrictions by embedding the server's own hostname within a malicious URL path.\nThis allows the attacker to force the server to perform unauthorized requests against internal services or infrastructure that would otherwise be inaccessible from the public network.\nThe vulnerability affects SuiteCRM versions prior to 7.15.2 and 8.10.2.\nSuccessful exploitation requires an authenticated session and provides the attacker with a vector to probe internal network configurations or interact with sensitive internal APIs, potentially leading to unauthorized data disclosure or unauthorized actions within the internal network perimeter.",
  "technicalDetails": "The core of the vulnerability resides in the isSelfRequest() function, which was implemented as a security measure to prevent SSRF in earlier versions. Specifically, the function performs a substring comparison rather than a strict hostname comparison, leading to insufficient validation of the target host.\nThe vulnerable execution flow initiates within the validate_external_host() function. This function relies on the flawed isSelfRequest() logic and employs the stripos() function to process attacker-supplied data.\nBecause the validation logic relies on substring matching, an attacker can manipulate the input by injecting the legitimate server hostname into a specially crafted URL path. The validation routine erroneously interprets this crafted string as a request directed at the server itself, allowing it to pass security checks intended to restrict requests to external or unauthorized internal endpoints.\nBy manipulating the request, an authenticated attacker can bypass IP validation controls. When the application subsequently initiates a server-side request based on this validated (but malicious) input, it facilitates the SSRF condition. The server acts as a proxy, sending requests to arbitrary internal destinations.\nThe impact of this SSRF is significant because it allows the server to perform actions on behalf of the attacker against internal resources, such as internal web services, databases, or management interfaces that are protected by IP-based firewall rules but are reachable from the SuiteCRM server's host.\nThe flaw affects SuiteCRM versions prior to 7.15.2 and 8.10.2. It is a logic-based bypass where the vulnerability lies in the improper use of string searching functions for security-sensitive validation tasks. This confirms that the current security policy fails to enforce identity verification through authoritative hostname resolution or absolute URL path comparison, relying instead on flawed, non-deterministic pattern matching."
}