CVE-2022-4644 in rdiffweb
Summary
by MITRE • 12/22/2022
Open Redirect in GitHub repository ikus060/rdiffweb prior to 2.5.4.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/22/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-4644 represents an open redirect flaw discovered in the rdiffweb repository management system developed by ikus060. This issue affects versions prior to 2.5.4 and stems from insufficient validation of redirect URLs within the application's authentication and navigation mechanisms. The vulnerability allows malicious actors to craft specially formatted URLs that could redirect users to arbitrary external domains, potentially enabling phishing attacks or malicious payload delivery. The flaw resides in the application's handling of user-provided redirect parameters that are used during authentication flows and access control operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability manifests through improper input sanitization and validation of redirect URLs within the web application's routing logic. When users attempt to authenticate or navigate through the system, the application accepts redirect parameters without adequate verification of their destination. This weakness creates a pathway for attackers to manipulate the redirect behavior by injecting malicious URLs into the redirect parameter, effectively bypassing normal access controls and authentication mechanisms. The vulnerability specifically affects the authentication flow where the application redirects users to external domains after successful login or during access attempts. This flaw can be exploited through various attack vectors including web-based phishing campaigns, social engineering attacks, and credential theft operations.
The operational impact of CVE-2022-4644 extends beyond simple redirect manipulation, potentially enabling sophisticated attack scenarios that could compromise user sessions and sensitive data. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to redirect users to malicious domains that mimic legitimate authentication portals, facilitating credential theft through phishing operations. The vulnerability also poses risks to user privacy and data integrity as it allows unauthorized redirection that could lead to information disclosure or further compromise of the authenticated session. Organizations relying on rdiffweb for backup and file synchronization services face potential exposure to unauthorized access to backup repositories and sensitive data stored within the system. The vulnerability's impact is particularly concerning in enterprise environments where users may have elevated privileges and access to critical infrastructure backups.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability involve implementing proper URL validation and sanitization mechanisms within the application's redirect handling logic. The recommended approach includes enforcing strict validation of redirect URLs against a predefined whitelist of trusted domains, implementing absolute URL validation, and ensuring that redirect parameters are properly encoded and sanitized. Organizations should also implement proper input validation at multiple layers including client-side and server-side validation, and ensure that redirect functionality only accepts URLs from known and trusted sources. The fix for CVE-2022-4644 requires updating to version 2.5.4 or later, which includes enhanced validation controls and proper sanitization of redirect parameters. Additionally, security teams should implement monitoring for suspicious redirect patterns and conduct regular security assessments to identify potential variations of this vulnerability in similar applications. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-601 open redirect weakness category and represents a significant concern in the context of the ATT&CK framework under the initial access and credential access phases, specifically targeting techniques related to phishing and credential theft operations.