CVE-2018-17199 - Session Fixation

Severity

50%

Complexity

99%

Confidentiality

48%

In Apache HTTP Server 2.4 release 2.4.37 and prior, mod_session checks the session expiry time before decoding the session. This causes session expiry time to be ignored for mod_session_cookie sessions since the expiry time is loaded when the session is decoded.

In Apache HTTP Server 2.4 release 2.4.37 and prior, mod_session checks the session expiry time before decoding the session. This causes session expiry time to be ignored for mod_session_cookie sessions since the expiry time is loaded when the session is decoded.

CVSS 3.0 Base Score 7.5. CVSS Attack Vector: network. CVSS Attack Complexity: low. CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N).

CVSS 2.0 Base Score 5. CVSS Attack Vector: network. CVSS Attack Complexity: low. CVSS Vector: (AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N).

Demo Examples

Session Fixation

CWE-384

The following example shows a snippet of code from a J2EE web application where the application authenticates users with LoginContext.login() without first calling HttpSession.invalidate().


               
}
...

In order to exploit the code above, an attacker could first create a session (perhaps by logging into the application) from a public terminal, record the session identifier assigned by the application, and reset the browser to the login page. Next, a victim sits down at the same public terminal, notices the browser open to the login page of the site, and enters credentials to authenticate against the application. The code responsible for authenticating the victim continues to use the pre-existing session identifier, now the attacker simply uses the session identifier recorded earlier to access the victim's active session, providing nearly unrestricted access to the victim's account for the lifetime of the session. Even given a vulnerable application, the success of the specific attack described here is dependent on several factors working in the favor of the attacker: access to an unmonitored public terminal, the ability to keep the compromised session active and a victim interested in logging into the vulnerable application on the public terminal.

In most circumstances, the first two challenges are surmountable given a sufficient investment of time. Finding a victim who is both using a public terminal and interested in logging into the vulnerable application is possible as well, so long as the site is reasonably popular. The less well known the site is, the lower the odds of an interested victim using the public terminal and the lower the chance of success for the attack vector described above. The biggest challenge an attacker faces in exploiting session fixation vulnerabilities is inducing victims to authenticate against the vulnerable application using a session identifier known to the attacker.

In the example above, the attacker did this through a direct method that is not subtle and does not scale suitably for attacks involving less well-known web sites. However, do not be lulled into complacency; attackers have many tools in their belts that help bypass the limitations of this attack vector. The most common technique employed by attackers involves taking advantage of cross-site scripting or HTTP response splitting vulnerabilities in the target site [12]. By tricking the victim into submitting a malicious request to a vulnerable application that reflects JavaScript or other code back to the victim's browser, an attacker can create a cookie that will cause the victim to reuse a session identifier controlled by the attacker. It is worth noting that cookies are often tied to the top level domain associated with a given URL. If multiple applications reside on the same top level domain, such as bank.example.com and recipes.example.com, a vulnerability in one application can allow an attacker to set a cookie with a fixed session identifier that will be used in all interactions with any application on the domain example.com [29].

Session Fixation

CWE-384

The following example shows a snippet of code from a J2EE web application where the application authenticates users with a direct post to the <code>j_security_check</code>, which typically does not invalidate the existing session before processing the login request.


               
</form>
<input type="text" name="j_password">

Overview

First reported 6 years ago

2019-01-30 22:29:00

Last updated 5 years ago

2019-07-23 23:15:00

Affected Software

Apache Software Foundation Apache HTTP Server

Debian Linux 8.0 (Jessie)

8.0

Debian Linux 9.0

9.0

NetApp SANtricity Cloud Connector

Canonical Ubuntu Linux 14.04 LTS (Long-Term Support)

14.04

Canonical Ubuntu Linux 16.04 LTS (Long-Term Support)

16.04

Canonical Ubuntu Linux 18.04 LTS Edition

18.04

Canonical Ubuntu Linux 18.10

18.10

Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center 12.3.3

12.3.3

References

106742

Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry

RHSA-2019:3932

RHSA-2019:3933

RHSA-2019:3935

RHSA-2019:4126

https://httpd.apache.org/security/vulnerabilities_24.html

Vendor Advisory

[httpd-cvs] 20190815 svn commit: r1048743 [4/4] - in /websites/staging/httpd/trunk/content: ./ security/vulnerabilities-httpd.xml security/vulnerabilities_13.html security/vulnerabilities_20.html security/vulnerabilities_22.html security/vulnerabilities_24.html

[httpd-cvs] 20190815 svn commit: r1048742 [4/4] - in /websites/staging/httpd/trunk/content: ./ security/vulnerabilities-httpd.xml security/vulnerabilities_13.html security/vulnerabilities_20.html security/vulnerabilities_22.html security/vulnerabilities_24.html

[httpd-cvs] 20200401 svn commit: r1058586 [4/4] - in /websites/staging/httpd/trunk/content: ./ security/vulnerabilities-httpd.xml security/vulnerabilities_13.html security/vulnerabilities_20.html security/vulnerabilities_22.html security/vulnerabilities_24.html

[httpd-cvs] 20200401 svn commit: r1058587 [4/4] - in /websites/staging/httpd/trunk/content: ./ security/vulnerabilities-httpd.xml security/vulnerabilities_13.html security/vulnerabilities_20.html security/vulnerabilities_22.html security/vulnerabilities_24.html

[debian-lts-announce] 20190129 [SECURITY] [DLA 1647-1] apache2 security update

Mailing List, Third Party Advisory

20190403 [SECURITY] [DSA 4422-1] apache2 security update

Issue Tracking, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory

GLSA-201903-21

Third Party Advisory

https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190125-0001/

Third Party Advisory

https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbux03950en_us

USN-3937-1

Third Party Advisory

DSA-4422

Third Party Advisory

https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuapr2019-5072813.html

Patch, Third Party Advisory

https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2019-5072835.html

https://www.tenable.com/security/tns-2019-09

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