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Re: [LUG] Secure web browsing with live distro

 

On Thursday 05 July 2007 21:57, Simon Waters wrote:
> Tom Potts wrote:
> >> I suspect we need to stop Javascript from accessing other websites (or
> >
> > IIRC javascript should be by default restricted to the originating domain
> > - ie anything from offsite.org should not be able to access
> > anywhere.onsite so visiting anywhere out of the LAN should not be able to
> > access anywhere within the LAN. Should!
>
> Discussion is in and other places;
> http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/reference/Driveby_Pharming.pdf
>
> You just generate a page on the server with a script tag with the URL
> you want followed (GOT), and the webpage causes the browser to attempt
> to access the URL in an attempt to fetch a page.
>
> I don't see of hand why a webpage with a lot of speculative (i.e.
> broken) image URLs wouldn't do just as well. The Javascript just makes
> it easier to do clever things client side, responding to the environment
> in which it finds itself in, and what works (or fails).
>
> Similar techniques can be used to persuade other peoples computers to
> perform abuse against a lot of websites and services.
>
> A good description of cross-site-request-forgeries is here;
>
> http://shiflett.org/articles/cross-site-request-forgeries
>
> The simple server side mistake is to change things on a GET, rather than
> a POST. I know I've written code that is vulnerable to such attacks, and
> I sure know we host other peoples code that is vulnerable to the same.
> However there are other weaknesses in "all common browsers" that allow
> more sophisticated attacks using your regular javascript programming
> toolkit (although legitimate uses of iframes are fraught enough if you
> ask me).
All the above is valid - however it is also valid for any non simple display 
type activity in a browser - Java applets, ActiveX even PDF and Flash viewers 
have the potential to mess with your LAN (or the WAN) as they are compiled 
they can do it a lot faster - and you don't get to read the code to find out 
whats happening! 
Javascript is not the problem - badly secured infrastructure is! 
If you don't want web pages to mess with your intranet don't leave it visible 
to a web browser. 
Tom te tom te tom


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