Security vulnerabilities

Attached to Project: Security vulnerabilities
Opened by DC - 24.11.2024
Last edited by cbay - 25.11.2024

Bug Report: Vulnerability in User Addition Feature Leading to Email Blockage Exploit

Subject: Misconfiguration in User Addition Feature - Enables Permanent Blockage of Employee/User Emails

To:
Security Team
alwaysdata

Description:
The "Add a User" feature in your application has a critical misconfiguration that allows attackers to exploit email handling mechanisms. The vulnerability permits any email address, including sensitive ones like victim@alwaysdata.com or employee@alwaysdata.com, to be registered by an attacker under their account. This issue occurs irrespective of whether the victim is an actual user or employee of alwaysdata.
Key Problem:
Once an attacker registers email addresses to their account, the application erroneously considers these emails as "already in use." Consequently, legitimate users or employees are unable to:
• Register with their own email addresses.
• Recover passwords using the "Forgot Password" feature.
This creates a significant denial of service for legitimate users, especially for employee emails or those critical to operations.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Login to the Application:
o Attacker logs into their account on alwaysdata.
2. Access the "Add a User" Feature:
o Navigate to the "Add a User" section.
3. Add Any Email Address:
o Enter any target email (e.g., victim@alwaysdata.com, employee@alwaysdata.com, or database_admin@alwaysdata.com) and add it as a user.
4. Observe the Impact:
o The entered email is stored in the database, associating it with the attacker’s account.
o Legitimate users or employees attempting to register with their email or recover their account using "Forgot Password" are blocked as their emails are flagged as already registered.

Business Impact:
1. Disruption of Operations:
Employees using critical emails (e.g., employee@alwaysdata.com, support@alwaysdata.com) are prevented from accessing the platform. This can halt workflows and damage operational continuity.
2. Customer Impact:
Legitimate customers with hijacked email registrations are blocked from using the platform, leading to frustration and loss of trust.
3. Potential Abuse:
o Attacker could pre-register a large list of potential or known email addresses (e.g., 100+ victims).
o Targeted denial of service campaigns against specific users or employees.
4. Reputational Damage:
Affected users may view alwaysdata as insecure and prone to misuse.

Severity:
Moderate to High

Remediation Steps:
1. Email Validation:
Restrict the registration of emails ending with @alwaysdata.com to prevent abuse of employee addresses.
2. Duplicate Email Handling:
Implement a verification mechanism to check if an email is legitimately registered to an account and ensure users can still register or recover their accounts.
3. Audit "Add a User" Logic:
Validate and sanitize inputs to avoid unauthorized addition of unrelated or sensitive emails.
4. Email Ownership Verification:
Mandate email verification for all newly added users before finalizing their association with an account.

Video POC:
A detailed POC has been attached showcasing the reproduction of this bug and its consequences.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TBi7njRCCsqkHhAEri7viUmyGot1Pyf5/view?usp=sharing