Cross Site Scripting (XSS) Attack Types

XSS comes in three flavors of persistence, duration and damage. From XSSed they are:

Attackers intending to exploit cross-site scripting vulnerabilities must approach each class of vulnerability differently.

Type-0 attack

1. Mallory sends a URL to Alice (via email or another mechanism) of a maliciously constructed web page.
2. Alice clicks on the link.
3. The malicious web page's JavaScript opens a vulnerable HTML page installed locally on Alice's computer.
4. The vulnerable HTML page contains JavaScript which executes in Alice's computer's local zone.
5. Mallory's malicious script now may run commands with the privileges Alice holds on her own computer.

Type-1 attack

1. Alice often visits a particular website, which is hosted by Bob. Bob's website allows Alice to log in with a username/password pair and store sensitive information, such as billing information.
2. Mallory observes that Bob's website contains a reflected XSS vulnerability.
3. Mallory crafts a URL to exploit the vulnerability, and sends Alice an email, making it look as if it came from Bob (ie. the email is spoofed).
4. Alice visits the URL provided by Mallory while logged into Bob's website.
5. The malicious script embedded in the URL executes in Alice's browser, as if it came directly from Bob's server. The script steals sensitive information (authentication credentials, billing info, etc) and sends this to Mallory's web server without Alice's knowledge.

Type-2 attack

1. Bob hosts a web site which allows users to post messages and other content to the site for later viewing by other members.
2. Mallory notices that Bob's website is vulnerable to a type 2 XSS attack.
3. Mallory posts a message, controversial in nature, which may encourage many other users of the site to view it.
4. Upon merely viewing the posted message, site users' session cookies or other credentials could be taken and sent to Mallory's webserver without their knowledge.
5. Later, Mallory logs in as other site users and posts messages on their behalf....

Please note, the preceding examples are merely a representation of common methods of exploit and are not meant to encompass all vectors of attack.

Good video to watch, keeps things interesting, and XSS vulnerabilities are well worth knowing about, and learning how to defend against.

Tags: xssed,xss,cross site scripting,hacking,hack,hacker,vulnerability,info sec,web hacking,web 2.0,fun