GHSA-c6rp-p8xm-4q9f
Mechanize sends credential headers to another origin after a meta refresh
Packages
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
## Summary
`mechanize` applied no trust boundary to a `meta` refresh, so credentials set through `Mechanize#request_headers=` followed a refresh that pointed at another origin.
## Details
`Mechanize::HTTP::Agent#response_follow_meta_refresh` fetched the refresh target with no notion of a crossed origin, so `@request_headers` were re-applied in full. An attacker who could place a `meta` refresh in a page the agent fetched — through stored content, an open redirect, or control of any page in the crawl — collected the same credentials as through an HTTP redirect, on a code path that had none of the redirect path's protections.
The refresh fetch passes an empty per-request headers hash, so only headers set through `Mechanize#request_headers=` were exposed.
This requires `Mechanize#follow_meta_refresh = true`. It is `false` by default, so an agent in its default configuration is not affected. Crawlers commonly enable it.
## Impact
An attacker who can place a `meta` refresh in any page the agent fetches captures bearer tokens and session cookies set through `request_headers=`. Disclosure only; no integrity or availability impact.
## Patches
Fixed in `mechanize` v2.14.1. A `meta` refresh that points at another origin is now subject to the same rule as an HTTP redirect: credentials and cookies are withheld from the request that follows it.
## Workarounds
Leave `Mechanize#follow_meta_refresh` at its default of `false`, or avoid `request_headers=` for credentials when it is enabled.
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.
- https://github.com/sparklemotion/mechanize/security/advisories/GHSA-c6rp-p8xm-4q9f
- https://github.com/sparklemotion/mechanize/pull/676
- https://github.com/sparklemotion/mechanize/commit/02a1235842d6eda8d4a5a3d8f13aba2cecf52e4f
- https://github.com/sparklemotion/mechanize/commit/84c74df87d15f5d119df268ba6aa79bc1e16a2c3
- https://github.com/sparklemotion/mechanize
- https://github.com/sparklemotion/mechanize/releases/tag/v2.14.1