CVE-2020-26527 in Smart Asset
Summary
by MITRE • 10/04/2020
An issue was discovered in API/api/Version in Damstra Smart Asset 2020.7. Cross-origin resource sharing trusts random origins by accepting the arbitrary 'Origin: example.com' header and responding with 200 OK and a wildcard 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *' header.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/16/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-26527 resides within the Damstra Smart Asset 2020.7 web application, specifically in the API endpoint located at API/api/Version. This flaw represents a critical cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) misconfiguration that fundamentally undermines the security boundaries of the application's web interface. The vulnerability manifests when the application fails to properly validate the origin header sent by client requests, instead accepting any arbitrary origin value without proper verification. This behavior creates a dangerous situation where malicious actors can exploit the CORS configuration to bypass security restrictions that are typically enforced by web browsers.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to enforce proper origin validation mechanisms within its CORS policy implementation. When a client sends a request containing an arbitrary 'Origin: example.com' header, the server responds with a 200 OK status code accompanied by a wildcard 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *' header. This response pattern demonstrates a complete lack of origin whitelisting, allowing any domain to make cross-origin requests to the vulnerable API endpoint. The wildcard CORS header essentially grants unrestricted access to the application's resources, making it possible for attackers to perform malicious actions through cross-origin requests from compromised domains.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it creates potential attack vectors for various malicious activities including but not limited to data exfiltration, privilege escalation, and session hijacking. Attackers can leverage this misconfiguration to craft malicious web pages that interact with the vulnerable API endpoint, potentially accessing sensitive information or performing unauthorized operations on behalf of authenticated users. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it affects the version endpoint, which is often used to gather application metadata and version information that can be valuable for further exploitation attempts. This flaw directly aligns with CWE-693, which addresses protection mechanism failures in web applications, and represents a classic example of insecure cross-origin resource sharing implementation.
Security implications of this vulnerability are severe as it fundamentally breaks the same-origin policy that browsers enforce to protect against cross-site scripting attacks and other malicious behaviors. The absence of proper origin validation creates an environment where attackers can perform unauthorized cross-origin requests that would normally be blocked by browser security mechanisms. From an attacker's perspective, this vulnerability provides a straightforward path to bypassing security controls that are essential for maintaining application integrity and user data confidentiality. The attack surface is particularly concerning because it affects a version endpoint that may be accessible to unauthenticated users, meaning that even without valid credentials, attackers can exploit this flaw to gather information or perform malicious operations. This vulnerability also aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1071.001 for application layer protocol usage and T1566 for credential harvesting through social engineering, as the misconfiguration creates opportunities for attackers to gather intelligence and potentially compromise user sessions. Organizations implementing Damstra Smart Asset 2020.7 should immediately address this vulnerability by implementing proper origin validation, restricting CORS headers to specific trusted origins, and ensuring that wildcard CORS configurations are never deployed in production environments. The remediation should include comprehensive testing of CORS policies and implementation of proper security headers to prevent similar misconfigurations from occurring in other application components.