In today’s interconnected digital landscape, web applications have become an integral part of our daily lives, offering a wide range of functionalities and services. However, with this growing dependence on web technologies, the need for robust security measures to protect users from potential threats has become paramount. Two of the most crucial security mechanisms deployed by web applications are Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) protections.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a type of security vulnerability that allows malicious actors to inject and execute scripts into web pages viewed by other users. This attack vector can lead to the theft of sensitive user data, unauthorized access to user accounts, and the manipulation of web application content. To counter this threat, web developers implement various security measures to sanitize and validate user input, preventing the execution of malicious scripts.
On the other hand, Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) is a browser security feature that governs how web browsers allow web pages from one domain to make requests to another domain. This mechanism is designed to prevent potentially dangerous cross-origin requests, safeguarding sensitive data from unauthorized access and protecting users from harmful actions initiated by malicious websites.
While XSS and CORS provide significant security advantages, cyber attackers constantly seek novel ways to circumvent these defenses and exploit vulnerabilities. Recent research has uncovered a concerning technique that allows attackers to bypass both XSS and CORS protections by merely manipulating HTTP headers.
This research paper aims to investigate the impact and implications of this bypass method, which involves removing the CORS policy in the HTTP header of web requests. By carefully crafting HTTP requests with altered headers, attackers attempt to evade both XSS and CORS defenses, effectively accessing restricted resources and executing malicious scripts within the target’s browser context.
In the sections that follow, we delve into the technical aspects of this attack method, conduct experiments to assess its effectiveness, and propose essential countermeasures to enhance web application security. Understanding the potential risks and consequences of this type of bypass is crucial for developers, security practitioners, and system administrators, as it allows them to strengthen their defense strategies and safeguard against such threats.
