www.darkreading.com Open in urlscan Pro
2606:4700::6810:e0ab  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Dark Reading is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC
Informa PLC|ABOUT US|INVESTOR RELATIONS|TALENT
This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all
copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place,
London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales and Scotlan. Number 8860726.

Black Hat NewsOmdia Cybersecurity

Newsletter Sign-Up

Newsletter Sign-Up

Cybersecurity Topics

RELATED TOPICS

 * Application Security
 * Cybersecurity Careers
 * Cloud Security
 * Cyber Risk
 * Cyberattacks & Data Breaches
 * Cybersecurity Analytics
 * Cybersecurity Operations
 * Data Privacy
 * Endpoint Security
 * ICS/OT Security

 * Identity & Access Mgmt Security
 * Insider Threats
 * IoT
 * Mobile Security
 * Perimeter
 * Physical Security
 * Remote Workforce
 * Threat Intelligence
 * Vulnerabilities & Threats


World

RELATED TOPICS

 * DR Global

 * Middle East & Africa

See All
The Edge
DR Technology
Events

RELATED TOPICS

 * Upcoming Events
 * Podcasts

 * Webinars

SEE ALL
Resources

RELATED TOPICS

 * Library
 * Newsletters
 * Podcasts
 * Reports
 * Videos
 * Webinars
 * Whitepapers

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * Partner Perspectives:
 * > Microsoft

SEE ALL


 * Application Security
 * Vulnerabilities & Threats


WHAT'S BUGGING THE NSA? A VULN IN ITS 'SKILLTREE' TRAINING PLATFORMWHAT'S
BUGGING THE NSA? A VULN IN ITS 'SKILLTREE' TRAINING PLATFORM

Even the NSA leaves bugs in its software. In this case, it's the kind of
cross-site issue that regularly slips past developers.

Nate Nelson, Contributing Writer

July 10, 2024

3 Min Read
Source: DOD Photo via Alamy Stock Photo


The National Security Agency (NSA) has patched a cross-site request forgery
(CSRF) vulnerability in its open source employee training platform known as
SkillTree, showcasing how difficult this class of bug is to catch prior to
production release.

SkillTree is an online education platform with gamified elements, like points
and achievements, when learning goals are reached. It was designed in-house by
the NSA and released to GitHub in 2020. According to an agency press release,
its stated goal is to "improve how users across the agency interacted with
in-house complex applications," and "streamline and modernize software
development and DevOps best practices at the agency."

On June 12, researchers from Contrast discovered and reported a CSRF issue
affecting the platform. It has since been labeled CVE-2024-39326, and assigned a
"medium" 4.4 CVSS score.

In a CSRF attack, hackers use authenticated users as conduits to send malicious
requests to a targeted website or app. In this particular case, thanks to some
vulnerable content types used by multiple SkillTree endpoints, a hacker who
tricked an admin-level user into clicking a malicious link could have
manipulated the videos, captions, and texts related to their online lessons.
Doing so would have required prior knowledge of the targeted SkillTree skill and
project name, and such an attack would not have exposed any further user data or
systems.

The NSA implemented a fix for this issue in a July 2 patch, which users should
deploy to avoid website manipulation.


THE DL ON CSRF

"Too often, CSRF vulnerabilities are neglected and don't get fixed before code
is released into production," Contrast wrote in its report on CVE-2024-39326.
"Developers and Application Security (AppSec) teams focus on more advanced
attacks that could lead to sensitive data exposure; as a result, CSRF
vulnerabilities wind up not being remediated, leaving malicious actors
opportunities for successful execution."

There's more to it than just neglect, though. CSRF issues aren't so easily
spotted in the first place.

One major reason is that they don't interrupt the normal functioning of an app.
And unlike bugs that exist entirely in an app's code, CSRF tends to stem from
design issues in authentication and sessions.

"SQL injection is something that would be very well known to developers, because
for it to occur, the developer has to send data to a database, and so the
developer's doing something consciously," explains Contrast researcher Joseph
Beeton. "Unlike SQL injection, CSRF is almost outside of application. It's in
the browser."

And, he adds, "There are lots of types of requests that aren't vulnerable to
CSRF. The SkillTree application had dozens, maybe hundreds of endpoints, and
only a couple were vulnerable."

Luckily, modern browsers use restrictions and policies to protect sites from
themselves. There's SameSite cookies — to shield cookies from cross-site
requests — and strict cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) policies to defend
against unauthorized cross-origin requests and more, blurring the line of
responsibility between application and browser.




ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Nate Nelson, Contributing Writer



Nate Nelson is a freelance writer based in New York City. Formerly a reporter at
Threatpost, he contributes to a number of cybersecurity blogs and podcasts. He
writes "Malicious Life" -- an award-winning Top 20 tech podcast on Apple and
Spotify -- and hosts every other episode, featuring interviews with leading
voices in security. He also co-hosts "The Industrial Security Podcast," the most
popular show in its field.

See more from Nate Nelson, Contributing Writer
Keep up with the latest cybersecurity threats, newly discovered vulnerabilities,
data breach information, and emerging trends. Delivered daily or weekly right to
your email inbox.

Subscribe

You May Also Like

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Application Security

Hugging Face AI Riddled With 100 Malicious Code-Execution Models
Application Security

Zero-Click Apple Shortcuts Vulnerability Allows Silent Data Theft
Application Security

'Operation Triangulation' Spyware Attackers Bypass iPhone Memory Protections
Application Security

WordPress Bug 'Patch' Installs Backdoor for Full Site Takeover
More Insights
Events

 * Black Hat USA - Aug 3-8 - The Premier Technical Cybersecurity Conference -
   Learn More
   
   August 3, 2024

 * Black Hat Europe - December 9-12 - Learn More
   
   December 10, 2024

 * SecTor - Canada's IT Security Conference Oct 22-24 - Learn More
   
   October 22, 2024

More Events



EDITOR'S CHOICE

Chinese flag with lines of computer code superimposed on top
Vulnerabilities & Threats
Patch Now: Cisco Zero-Day Under Fire From Chinese APTPatch Now: Cisco Zero-Day
Under Fire From Chinese APT
byElizabeth Montalbano, Contributing Writer
Jul 2, 2024
5 Min Read
Key surrounded by various security icons, dark blue digital background
Сloud Security
Passkey Redaction Attacks Subvert GitHub, Microsoft AuthenticationPasskey
Redaction Attacks Subvert GitHub, Microsoft Authentication
byTara Seals, Managing Editor, News, Dark Reading
Jul 2, 2024
8 Min Read
Intel Core desktop processor with Alder Lake architecture
Endpoint Security
Intel CPUs Face Spectre-Like 'Indirector' Attack That Leaks DataIntel CPUs Face
Spectre-Like 'Indirector' Attack That Leaks Data
byJai Vijayan, Contributing Writer
Jul 3, 2024
4 Min Read
Reports

 * 2024 InformationWeek US IT Salary Report

 * Elastic named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Security Analytics Platforms,
   Q4 2022

 * 2023 Global Threat Report

 * EMA: AI at your fingertips: How Elastic AI Assistant simplifies cybersecurity

 * SANS 2021 Cloud Security Survey

More Reports
White Papers

 * Threat Hunting in the Cloud: Adapting to the New Landscape

 * Continuous Asset Discovery Do and Don'ts

 * A Year in Review of Zero-Days Exploited In-the-Wild in 2023

 * Cisco Panoptica for Simplified Cloud-Native Application Security

 * The Cloud Threat Landscape: Security learnings from analyzing 500+ cloud
   environments

More Whitepapers
Events

 * Black Hat USA - Aug 3-8 - The Premier Technical Cybersecurity Conference -
   Learn More
   
   August 3, 2024

 * Black Hat Europe - December 9-12 - Learn More
   
   December 10, 2024

 * SecTor - Canada's IT Security Conference Oct 22-24 - Learn More
   
   October 22, 2024

More Events

DISCOVER MORE WITH INFORMA TECH

Black HatOmdia

WORKING WITH US

About UsAdvertiseReprints

JOIN US


Newsletter Sign-Up

FOLLOW US



Copyright © 2024 Informa PLC Informa UK Limited is a company registered in
England and Wales with company number 1072954 whose registered office is 5
Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.

Home|Cookie Policy|Privacy|Terms of Use
Cookies Button


WE CARE ABOUT YOUR PRIVACY

We and our 842 partners store and/or access information on a device, such as
unique IDs in cookies to process personal data. You may accept or manage your
choices by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate
interest is used, or at any time in the privacy policy page. These choices will
be signaled to our partners and will not affect browsing data.Privacy Policy


WE AND OUR PARTNERS PROCESS DATA TO PROVIDE:

Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for
identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised
advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research
and services development. List of Partners (vendors)

I Accept
Essential Only
Show Purposes



ABOUT YOUR PRIVACY

We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the
delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our
website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent and
legitimate interest. You may exercise your right to consent or object to a
legitimate interest, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in
the link under each purpose. These choices will be signaled to our vendors
participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
More information
Allow All


MANAGE CONSENT PREFERENCES

PERFORMANCE COOKIES

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and
improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the
most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site.    All
information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you
do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and
will not be able to monitor its performance.

Cookies Details‎

FUNCTIONAL COOKIES

Functional Cookies

These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and
personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose
services we have added to our pages.    If you do not allow these cookies then
some or all of these services may not function properly.

Cookies Details‎

STRICTLY NECESSARY COOKIES

Always Active

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched
off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you
which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy
preferences, logging in or filling in forms.    You can set your browser to
block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then
work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Cookies Details‎

TARGETING COOKIES

Targeting Cookies

These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may
be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you
relevant adverts on other sites.    They do not store directly personal
information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet
device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted
advertising.

Cookies Details‎

STORE AND/OR ACCESS INFORMATION ON A DEVICE 676 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Store and/or access information on a device

Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers,
randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other
information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported
technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each
time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes
presented here.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

PERSONALISED ADVERTISING AND CONTENT, ADVERTISING AND CONTENT MEASUREMENT,
AUDIENCE RESEARCH AND SERVICES DEVELOPMENT 802 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE

Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement,
audience research and services development

 * USE LIMITED DATA TO SELECT ADVERTISING 613 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data,
   such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your
   device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for
   example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
   
   View Illustrations 
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * CREATE PROFILES FOR PERSONALISED ADVERTISING 496 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS
   PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit,
   content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about
   you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and
   other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or
   improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and
   personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present
   advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by
   this and other entities.
   
   View Illustrations 

 * USE PROFILES TO SELECT PERSONALISED ADVERTISING 492 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS
   PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising
   profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites
   or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests
   and personal aspects.
   
   View Illustrations 

 * CREATE PROFILES TO PERSONALISE CONTENT 220 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you
   submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with
   other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service
   or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or
   improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible
   interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to
   present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests,
   such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is
   even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
   
   View Illustrations 

 * USE PROFILES TO SELECT PERSONALISED CONTENT 193 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content
   personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other
   services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible
   interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the
   order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to
   find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
   
   View Illustrations 

 * MEASURE ADVERTISING PERFORMANCE 715 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you
   interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for
   you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For
   instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led
   you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to
   understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
   
   View Illustrations 
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * MEASURE CONTENT PERFORMANCE 361 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact
   with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g.
   reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance,
   whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a
   product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you
   visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of
   (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
   
   View Illustrations 
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * UNDERSTAND AUDIENCES THROUGH STATISTICS OR COMBINATIONS OF DATA FROM
   DIFFERENT SOURCES 454 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user
   profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your
   interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising)
   content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which
   target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain
   contents).
   
   View Illustrations 
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * DEVELOP AND IMPROVE SERVICES 538 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction
   with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and
   to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of
   audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or
   improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
   
   View Illustrations 
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

 * USE LIMITED DATA TO SELECT CONTENT 127 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS PURPOSE
   
   Switch Label
   
   Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such
   as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device
   type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example,
   to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
   
   View Illustrations 
   Object to Legitimate Interests Remove Objection

List of IAB Vendors‎

USE PRECISE GEOLOCATION DATA 258 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS SPECIAL FEATURE

Use precise geolocation data

With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500
metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.

List of IAB Vendors‎

ACTIVELY SCAN DEVICE CHARACTERISTICS FOR IDENTIFICATION 125 PARTNERS CAN USE
THIS SPECIAL FEATURE

Actively scan device characteristics for identification

With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be
requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed
fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes
explained in this notice.

List of IAB Vendors‎

ENSURE SECURITY, PREVENT AND DETECT FRAUD, AND FIX ERRORS 507 PARTNERS CAN USE
THIS SPECIAL PURPOSE

Always Active

Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent
activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure
systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct
any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery
of content and ads and in your interaction with them.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

DELIVER AND PRESENT ADVERTISING AND CONTENT 501 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS SPECIAL
PURPOSE

Always Active

Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to
ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to
facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.

List of IAB Vendors‎ | View Illustrations 

MATCH AND COMBINE DATA FROM OTHER DATA SOURCES 359 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS FEATURE

Always Active

Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with
other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for
instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card
in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in
this notice.

List of IAB Vendors‎

LINK DIFFERENT DEVICES 326 PARTNERS CAN USE THIS FEATURE

Always Active

In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be
considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your
household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both
your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet
connection on both devices).

List of IAB Vendors‎

IDENTIFY DEVICES BASED ON INFORMATION TRANSMITTED AUTOMATICALLY 487 PARTNERS CAN
USE THIS FEATURE

Always Active

Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it
automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of
your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the
purposes exposed in this notice.

List of IAB Vendors‎
Back Button


COOKIE LIST



Search Icon
Filter Icon

Clear
checkbox label label
Apply Cancel
Consent Leg.Interest
checkbox label label
checkbox label label
checkbox label label

Confirm My Choices