CVE-2019-9644 in Notebook
Summary
by MITRE
An XSSI (cross-site inclusion) vulnerability in Jupyter Notebook before 5.7.6 allows inclusion of resources on malicious pages when visited by users who are authenticated with a Jupyter server. Access to the content of resources has been demonstrated with Internet Explorer through capturing of error messages, though not reproduced with other browsers. This occurs because Internet Explorer's error messages can include the content of any invalid JavaScript that was encountered.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/31/2023
The CVE-2019-9644 vulnerability represents a cross-site inclusion flaw that specifically affects Jupyter Notebook versions prior to 5.7.6, creating a significant security risk for authenticated users within the Jupyter ecosystem. This vulnerability operates through a sophisticated attack vector that leverages browser-specific behaviors to expose sensitive data, making it particularly dangerous in environments where Jupyter Notebooks serve as collaborative platforms for data analysis and scientific computing.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from how Jupyter Notebook handles resource inclusion and the specific error message handling behavior of Internet Explorer. When malicious actors craft specially designed web pages that attempt to include resources from a target Jupyter server, the vulnerability manifests through Internet Explorer's unique error message generation mechanism. The browser's tendency to embed the content of invalid JavaScript code within its error messages creates an unintended data leakage channel that attackers can exploit to capture sensitive information from resources accessible to authenticated users.
This cross-site inclusion vulnerability operates under the broader category of CWE-74, which addresses "Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component," and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.001 for command and scripting interpreter usage. The operational impact extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the vulnerability specifically targets authenticated sessions where users maintain elevated privileges within the Jupyter environment, potentially allowing attackers to access notebook contents, code execution contexts, and other sensitive data that would normally be protected by authentication mechanisms.
The exploitation scenario involves attackers crafting malicious web pages that reference resources from a target Jupyter server, leveraging the Internet Explorer error handling behavior to capture content from those resources. While the vulnerability has been demonstrated specifically with Internet Explorer, the underlying principle suggests potential implications for other browsers that might exhibit similar error message behaviors, though the exact reproduction has not been confirmed with alternative browsers. This makes the vulnerability particularly concerning for organizations that support multiple browser environments where users might inadvertently access malicious content through Internet Explorer.
The security implications of this vulnerability extend to organizations using Jupyter Notebook for sensitive data analysis, scientific research, or collaborative development environments where unauthorized access to notebook content could result in intellectual property theft, data breaches, or compromise of research findings. The vulnerability specifically targets authenticated users, meaning that even organizations with robust network security measures could face internal threats if users inadvertently visit malicious websites while logged into their Jupyter sessions.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-9644 primarily involve upgrading to Jupyter Notebook version 5.7.6 or later, which includes fixes specifically addressing the cross-site inclusion vulnerability. Organizations should also implement browser security policies that either disable or restrict Internet Explorer usage in environments where Jupyter Notebook is deployed, as the vulnerability is specifically tied to Internet Explorer's error handling behavior. Additionally, network-level security measures such as content security policies and web application firewalls can provide additional layers of protection by limiting the ability of external resources to be included in potentially malicious contexts. The vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and implementing comprehensive browser security management practices within enterprise environments that utilize Jupyter Notebook for collaborative data science workloads.