HAX open-apis: Credential Theft via Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) in open-apis

The open-apis package by haxtheweb contains a vulnerability related to insufficient hostname validation. Specifically, the functions in cacheAddress.js, JOSHelpers.js, and elmslnToSite.js use substring matching to validate hostnames when deciding whether to send basic authorization headers. This flawed logic allows attackers to craft API calls that include a valid substring, but redirect the request to an attacker-controlled domain, effectively capturing the credentials intended for the legitimate domains. This vulnerability affects versions of @haxtheweb/open-apis prior to 26.0.0 and poses a risk of internal data and credential exfiltration.

Attack Chain

1. The attacker identifies a vulnerable endpoint using cacheAddress.js, JOSHelpers.js, or elmslnToSite.js.
2. The attacker crafts a malicious API call to the vulnerable endpoint.
3. The API call includes a substring that matches a hard-coded, legitimate site name.
4. The attacker appends the matched substring to an attacker-controlled domain within the API call.
5. The vulnerable function performs a server-side request to the attacker-controlled domain.
6. The request includes authentication credentials intended for the legitimate domain.
7. The attacker captures the transmitted authentication credentials from their controlled server.
8. The attacker uses the stolen credentials to access unreleased LMS content on other systems.

Impact

This vulnerability allows for the exfiltration of sensitive internal data, including authentication credentials. The captured credentials can grant unauthorized access to other systems, including unreleased LMS content. The vulnerability affects all users of @haxtheweb/open-apis versions prior to 26.0.0, with the impact being the potential compromise of internal systems and data.

Recommendation

• Upgrade the @haxtheweb/open-apis package to version 26.0.0 or later to patch the vulnerability as described in GHSA-4fg7-f244-3j49.
• Deploy the Sigma rule “Detect SSRF via Substring Matching in open-apis” to identify attempts to exploit this vulnerability.
• Review and audit internal APIs that handle sensitive credentials to ensure proper hostname validation is implemented to prevent similar SSRF attacks.