CWE-1275 Detail

CWE-1275

Sensitive Cookie with Improper SameSite Attribute
MEDIUM
Incomplete
2020-02-24 00:00 +00:00
2023-10-26 00:00 +00:00

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Sensitive Cookie with Improper SameSite Attribute

The SameSite attribute for sensitive cookies is not set, or an insecure value is used.

Extended Description

The SameSite attribute controls how cookies are sent for cross-domain requests. This attribute may have three values: 'Lax', 'Strict', or 'None'. If the 'None' value is used, a website may create a cross-domain POST HTTP request to another website, and the browser automatically adds cookies to this request. This may lead to Cross-Site-Request-Forgery (CSRF) attacks if there are no additional protections in place (such as Anti-CSRF tokens).

Informations

Modes Of Introduction

Implementation : This weakness occurs during implementation when the coder does not properly set the SameSite attribute.

Applicable Platforms

Language

Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined)

Operating Systems

Class: Not OS-Specific (Undetermined)

Architectures

Class: Not Architecture-Specific (Undetermined)

Technologies

Class: Web Based (Undetermined)

Common Consequences

Scope Impact Likelihood
Confidentiality
Integrity
Non-Repudiation
Access Control
Modify Application Data

Note: If the website does not impose additional defense against CSRF attacks, failing to use the 'Lax' or 'Strict' values could increase the risk of exposure to CSRF attacks. The likelihood of the integrity breach is Low because a successful attack does not only depend on an insecure SameSite attribute. In order to perform a CSRF attack there are many conditions that must be met, such as the lack of CSRF tokens, no confirmations for sensitive actions on the website, a "simple" "Content-Type" header in the HTTP request and many more.
Low

Observed Examples

Reference Description
CVE-2022-24045Web application for a room automation system has client-side JavaScript that sets a sensitive cookie without the SameSite security attribute, allowing the cookie to be sniffed

Potential Mitigations

Phases : Implementation
Set the SameSite attribute of a sensitive cookie to 'Lax' or 'Strict'. This instructs the browser to apply this cookie only to same-domain requests, which provides a good Defense in Depth against CSRF attacks. When the 'Lax' value is in use, cookies are also sent for top-level cross-domain navigation via HTTP GET, HEAD, OPTIONS, and TRACE methods, but not for other HTTP methods that are more like to cause side-effects of state mutation.

Detection Methods

Automated Static Analysis

Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)
Effectiveness : High

Vulnerability Mapping Notes

Rationale : This CWE entry is at the Variant level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities.
Comments : Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction.

Related Attack Patterns

CAPEC-ID Attack Pattern Name
CAPEC-62 Cross Site Request Forgery
An attacker crafts malicious web links and distributes them (via web pages, email, etc.), typically in a targeted manner, hoping to induce users to click on the link and execute the malicious action against some third-party application. If successful, the action embedded in the malicious link will be processed and accepted by the targeted application with the users' privilege level. This type of attack leverages the persistence and implicit trust placed in user session cookies by many web applications today. In such an architecture, once the user authenticates to an application and a session cookie is created on the user's system, all following transactions for that session are authenticated using that cookie including potential actions initiated by an attacker and simply "riding" the existing session cookie.

References

REF-1104

SameSite attribute specification draft
M. West, M. Goodwin.
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-west-first-party-cookies-07

REF-1105

SameSite attribute description on MDN Web Docs
Mozilla.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers/Set-Cookie/SameSite

REF-1106

Chromium support for SameSite attribute
The Chromium Projects.
https://www.chromium.org/updates/same-site/

Submission

Name Organization Date Date Release Version
Michael Stepankin Veracode 2020-06-19 +00:00 2020-02-24 +00:00 4.1

Modifications

Name Organization Date Comment
CWE Content Team MITRE 2020-08-20 +00:00 updated Demonstrative_Examples, Related_Attack_Patterns
CWE Content Team MITRE 2021-10-28 +00:00 updated Relationships
CWE Content Team MITRE 2022-10-13 +00:00 updated Demonstrative_Examples
CWE Content Team MITRE 2023-01-31 +00:00 updated Relationships
CWE Content Team MITRE 2023-04-27 +00:00 updated Detection_Factors, References, Relationships
CWE Content Team MITRE 2023-06-29 +00:00 updated Mapping_Notes
CWE Content Team MITRE 2023-10-26 +00:00 updated Demonstrative_Examples, Observed_Examples
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