CVE-2020-9407 in Online Weather
Summary
by MITRE
IBL Online Weather before 4.3.5a allows attackers to obtain sensitive information by reading the IWEBSERVICE_JSONRPC_COOKIE cookie.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-9407 affects IBL Online Weather versions prior to 4.3.5a, representing a significant information disclosure flaw that could enable attackers to access sensitive data through cookie manipulation. This issue falls under the category of insecure credential storage and transmission practices, where sensitive session information is exposed through client-side cookie mechanisms rather than being properly secured or encrypted. The vulnerability specifically targets the IWEBSERVICE_JSONRPC_COOKIE cookie which contains authentication or session tokens that should remain confidential and protected from unauthorized access. The flaw demonstrates a critical weakness in the application's security architecture where session management is not properly implemented, allowing attackers to directly read and potentially exploit the cookie content to gain unauthorized access to the weather service functionality.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of session cookies within the IBL Online Weather application. When users interact with the weather service, the application sets a cookie containing authentication tokens or session identifiers that are meant to maintain user authentication state. However, the vulnerability exists because this cookie is not properly secured with appropriate flags such as HttpOnly, Secure, or SameSite attributes that would prevent client-side script access or cross-site request forgery attacks. Attackers can exploit this weakness by directly reading the cookie content through browser developer tools or network monitoring tools, potentially gaining access to session tokens that could be used to impersonate legitimate users or access restricted weather data services. This type of vulnerability is classified as a CWE-312 - Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information and represents a direct violation of secure coding practices recommended by the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity guidelines.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable more sophisticated attacks including session hijacking, unauthorized access to weather data services, and potential privilege escalation within the application. An attacker who successfully reads the IWEBSERVICE_JSONRPC_COOKIE cookie could potentially impersonate legitimate users and access weather services that might contain sensitive location data, user preferences, or other personal information. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that weather services often collect and process location data, user behavior patterns, and other personally identifiable information that could be valuable for malicious actors. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531 - Account Access Removal and T1566 - Phishing, as attackers could use the stolen session information to maintain persistent access to the application and potentially escalate privileges through session-based attacks. The exposure of session tokens through insecure cookie handling creates a persistent threat vector that remains active as long as the cookie remains valid and unpatched.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-9407 require immediate implementation of proper cookie security measures and application updates. Organizations should ensure that all session cookies are properly configured with HttpOnly, Secure, and SameSite attributes to prevent client-side script access and cross-site request forgery attacks. The most effective remediation involves updating to IBL Online Weather version 4.3.5a or later, which includes proper session management and cookie security implementations. Additionally, administrators should implement comprehensive monitoring of cookie usage and session management practices within the application, deploy web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious cookie access patterns, and establish regular security assessments to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications. The fix should also include proper session token generation using cryptographically secure random number generators and implementing session timeout mechanisms to minimize the window of opportunity for attackers to exploit stolen session information. Security teams should conduct thorough code reviews focusing on session management practices and ensure that all authentication tokens are properly encrypted and handled according to industry best practices established by NIST SP 800-53 and ISO/IEC 27001 standards.