CVE-2023-45815 in ArchiveBox
Summary
by MITRE • 10/25/2023
ArchiveBox is an open source self-hosted web archiving system. Any users who are using the `wget` extractor and view the content it outputs. The impact is potentially severe if you are logged in to the ArchiveBox admin site in the same browser session and view an archived malicious page designed to target your ArchiveBox instance. Malicious Javascript could potentially act using your logged-in admin credentials and add/remove/modify snapshots, add/remove/modify ArchiveBox users, and generally do anything an admin user could do. The impact is less severe for non-logged-in users, as malicious Javascript cannot *modify* any archives, but it can still *read* all the other archived content by fetching the snapshot index and iterating through it. Because all of ArchiveBox's archived content is served from the same host and port as the admin panel, when archived pages are viewed the JS executes in the same context as all the other archived pages (and the admin panel), defeating most of the browser's usual CORS/CSRF security protections and leading to this issue. A patch is being developed in https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/issues/239. As a mitigation for this issue would be to disable the wget extractor by setting `archivebox config --set SAVE_WGET=False`, ensure you are always logged out, or serve only a [static HTML version](https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/wiki/Publishing-Your-Archive#2-export-and-host-it-as-static-html) of your archive.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/11/2023
CVE-2023-45815 represents a critical cross-site scripting vulnerability within ArchiveBox, an open source web archiving system that enables users to capture and preserve web content for later review. This vulnerability specifically affects users who utilize the wget extractor functionality and subsequently view the resulting archived content within the same browser session where they are authenticated as an admin user. The flaw stems from the architectural design where all archived content is served from the same host and port as the admin panel, creating a unified security context that undermines standard browser security mechanisms. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which describes cross-site scripting flaws, and demonstrates how improper input validation and output encoding can create dangerous security exposures in web applications.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through malicious javascript embedded within archived web pages that targets the ArchiveBox instance. When an authenticated admin user views such malicious content, the javascript executes within the same security context as the admin panel, potentially enabling attackers to perform administrative actions including adding or removing snapshots, modifying archive contents, managing users, and executing any other administrative functions available to legitimate admin users. The severity of this issue is particularly pronounced because the browser's CORS and CSRF protections are effectively bypassed due to the shared origin context. For non-admin users, while they cannot directly modify archives, they can still read all archived content through the malicious javascript by accessing snapshot indexes and iterating through archived materials, representing a significant data leakage risk.
The operational impact of CVE-2023-45815 extends beyond immediate administrative compromise to encompass potential data exfiltration and unauthorized modification of archived web content. Attackers could systematically harvest sensitive information from archived pages, potentially including login credentials, personal data, or confidential business information stored within the archive. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in environments where ArchiveBox instances contain sensitive or proprietary web content, as the attack vector requires minimal user interaction beyond viewing the maliciously crafted archived page. This issue demonstrates how web application architecture decisions can create security risks that are not immediately apparent, as the shared origin approach that simplifies content delivery also creates the conditions for privilege escalation attacks.
Security mitigations for CVE-2023-45815 focus on both architectural and operational controls. The recommended approach includes disabling the wget extractor through configuration changes, ensuring that users are logged out of admin sessions when viewing archived content, or serving static HTML versions of archives to eliminate the execution context vulnerability. These mitigations align with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for script-based execution and T1566 for social engineering attacks that leverage browser-based vulnerabilities. Organizations should also implement network segmentation, regular security assessments, and consider adopting more robust content isolation mechanisms. The vulnerability highlights the importance of principle of least privilege in web application design and demonstrates how seemingly benign architectural choices can create significant security exposure points. The patch development referenced in the issue tracker represents a fundamental architectural improvement that would address the root cause by ensuring proper content isolation between admin interfaces and archived content.