Security Vulnerability Discovered in Target Website's Email System
/ 3 min read
Quick take - A security vulnerability involving HTML injection was discovered in the email system of a self-hosted website, affecting its customer support subdomain and posing risks of malicious link exposure and potential credential theft, prompting the author to report the issue and demonstrate its severity to raise awareness.
Fast Facts
- A significant HTML injection vulnerability was found in the email system of a self-hosted website, *.target.com, affecting over 20 subdomains, including help.target.com.
- The vulnerability allows malicious payloads to be injected into the ticket submission form, which includes fields for email, name, subject, and issue description.
- Users receive confirmation emails that inadvertently include the injected payload, posing a risk to those who did not initiate the ticket.
- The author demonstrated the vulnerability by creating a proof of concept that captured user credentials through a modified login form, illustrating the potential for account takeover.
- The company is aware of the vulnerability and is actively working on a fix, while the author emphasizes the importance of demonstrating the impact of such vulnerabilities for serious consideration.
Significant Security Vulnerability Discovered on Target Website
Overview of the Vulnerability
A significant security vulnerability involving HTML injection has been discovered on a self-hosted target website, represented as *.target.com. The vulnerability was identified in an email system associated with the website, which has over 20 active subdomains. One of these subdomains, help.target.com, is specifically dedicated to customer support and features a ticket submission system.
The ticket submission form requires users to input their email, name, subject, and a description of their issue. The author of the discovery demonstrated the vulnerability by injecting a malicious payload into the subject field of the ticket submission. The payload used was a deceptive link labeled “Click here to win $25.”
Risks and Demonstrations
Upon submission, users receive a confirmation email regarding their ticket, which inadvertently includes the injected payload. This creates a risk for users who did not initiate the ticket, as they may attempt to cancel it and be exposed to the malicious link.
In response to the initial findings, the author reported the vulnerability to the company and shared the findings on LinkedIn to raise broader awareness. Following feedback, the author enhanced the demonstration’s impact by creating a more complex scenario involving a login form. The modified payload was designed to capture user credentials, specifically targeting the email and password when the form was submitted.
The demonstration escalated to a proof of concept showcasing account takeover, where the author successfully logged in using test credentials, illustrating the severity of the vulnerability.
Company Response and Conclusion
The findings were resubmitted to the company, emphasizing the increased impact due to the potential for credential theft. The company acknowledged awareness of the vulnerability and is actively working on a fix. The author highlighted the importance of demonstrating the potential impact of vulnerabilities to ensure they are taken seriously when reported.
The article concludes with an invitation for reader feedback, encouraging readers to engage and follow for more updates related to cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
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