via a direct request or via a web request. This vulnerability is related to the lack of encoding validation. By uploading a malicious file, an attacker can execute remote code and obtain access to sensitive information.
Static file injection vulnerabilities occur when untrusted data is included in a page. The injected data can be used to perform actions on behalf of the user, such as purchasing items, logging into accounts, or changing settings. An attacker can inject malicious code into a web request to cause static file injection. In the worst case, this can lead to session hijacking and information disclosure.
Static files are stored outside the project and are not controlled by the developer. Consequently, it is very easy to introduce vulnerabilities into these files. End users do not have to be malicious to introduce vulnerabilities into static files. For example, a user can accidentally include a malicious code snippet, such as a script that generates a session token.
What can be done to prevent Static File Injection?
Ideally, a vulnerability scanner should be used regularly to monitor the existence of vulnerabilities in static files. This will allow developers to quickly identify and fix any potential vulnerabilities.
How do you know if you are vulnerable?
You can test your application for static file injection vulnerabilities. This is often done via a web request to see if the response includes something unexpected.
Possible indicators of a vulnerability include:
- A new URL in the response headers
- The response is not from an expected origin or contains unexpected content
- The response body does not match what was requested
How do you know if you are exposed?
The first step is to understand what static files are included in the project and which are served externally. This will help you identify ones that might be vulnerable to static file injection attacks.
Static file injection vulnerabilities can occur when untrusted data is injected into a web request to perform actions on behalf of the user. The malicious code can also cause information disclosure, such as session hijacking, by performing actions on behalf of the user.
How Static File Injection Works
Static file injection vulnerabilities can occur when untrusted data is included in a page. Typically, the data that gets injected is some kind of script or HTML, which executes on the client-side. The execution of these scripts and HTML files is done by injecting them into the web request to force unsafe content to be downloaded. In this case, an attacker can execute remote code and obtain access to sensitive information.
In practice, this vulnerability allows attackers to achieve session hijacking and information disclosure. This occurs when malicious code is injected into a web request from the server side, leading to a dynamic file being downloaded. If an attacker has control over the executable code that gets executed on the client side as well as what content gets loaded dynamically, they can control where users go on their website based on what they see in their browser's address bar or tab.
Static file injection vulnerabilities are related to cross-site scripting (XSS) because both vulnerabilities arise when untrusted data is inserted into a web request without validation. However, static file injection vulnerabilities allow attackers to inject malicious code into a web request while XSS relies on JavaScript execution in order for an attack to succeed.
Timeline
Published on: 09/20/2022 17:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 09/21/2022 19:30:00 UTC