Hello folks! In today's post, we'll be discussing an interesting vulnerability found in the popular promise-based HTTP client used in NodeJS and the browser, Axios. The vulnerability was detected in Axios before version 1.7.8 and is labeled as CVE-2024-57965. We will analyze the exploit, dive into the code snippet responsible for this vulnerability, and review the change which led to its resolution. Keep in mind that there are differing opinions on whether or not this vulnerability was actually fixed or if it was just a workaround for a warning message.

Before We Begin

To ensure we are all on the same page, Axios is a popular library for making HTTP requests in JavaScript. It works both in NodeJS and the browser, and it is based on Promises, which allows for a cleaner and more readable syntax for our code. You can find the official Axios Github repository at [https://github.com/axios/axios].

The current vulnerability we'll be discussing is officially documented within the CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) database at [https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-57965].

The Vulnerability: CVE-2024-57965

The description of this vulnerability states the following: "In axios before 1.7.8, lib/helpers/isURLSameOrigin.js does not use a URL object when determining an origin, and has a potentially unwanted setAttribute('href', href) call."

To understand this better, let's take a look at the code snippet present in the file isURLSameOrigin.js before the change:

function isURLSameOrigin(requestURL) {
  var parsedOrigin = resolve(requestURL);
  return (parsedOrigin.protocol === originURL.protocol &&
          parsedOrigin.host === originURL.host
  );
}

function resolve(url) {
  var a = document.createElement('a');
  a.setAttribute('href', url);
  return {
    protocol: a.protocol,
    host: a.host
  };
}
[code]
In this code snippet, the function isURLSameOrigin() checks if a given request URL is of the same origin or not. This is accomplished by comparing the protocol and host of the request URL with the protocol and host of the current page.

The vulnerability actually lies in the resolve() function, which creates an HTML anchor element <a> and sets its href attribute to the passed URL. The created <a> element is not used in the DOM or rendered in any way, but some parties express concerns over the potential misuse of this method.

_The Resolution_

The fix, introduced in Axios version 1.7.8, was to update the resolve() function to use a URL object instead of an HTML anchor element:

javascript
function resolve(url) {

host: urlObj.host

};
}
<br><br>With this change, the code no longer creates an HTML anchor element and directly uses the URL object to obtain the protocol and host properties.<br><br>_Controversy: Did the Resolution Fix the Vulnerability?_<br><br>There are some parties who argue that the code change made in Axios 1.7.8 only addresses a warning message highlighted by a SAST (Static Application Security Testing) tool and does not actually fix a vulnerability in the initial implementation. <br><br>These parties believe that since the element was never added to the DOM or rendered in any way, the potential for misuse is extremely low. However, other parties argue that it is still crucial to update the code to use a URL object to ensure better security practices and prevent possible future exploitation.<br><br>_Conclusion_<br><br>In summary, the Axios vulnerability CVE-2024-57965 is an interesting bug that lies in the isURLSameOrigin.js file, specifically in the resolve() function of versions before 1.7.8. Although the vulnerability may not be fully exploitable, the introduced code change that incorporates the use of a URL object undoubtedly promotes better security practices and removes the potentially unwanted setAttribute('href', href)` call.

As developers, it is our responsibility to stay wary of potential vulnerabilities in the technologies we use and strive for the best possible security practices in our code. Whether or not you agree that the vulnerability was fixed, it is essential that we all learn from instances like this and take the necessary measures to ensure secure and robust applications.

Timeline

Published on: 01/29/2025 09:15:08 UTC
Last modified on: 01/29/2025 10:15:08 UTC