Redirects to HTTPS eventually, but initial redirection is to another HTTP URL

When a web application initially redirects to an HTTP URL and then redirects to HTTPS eventually. The attacker can easily exploit this vulnerability for a successful attack and can be redirected to a different host without any proper validation of user parameters. An attacker can execute this attack by adding an untrusted URL input to a malicious site. The attacker can easily launch a phishing scam to steal user credentials from the application. As the server name in the modified link is identical to the original site, phishing attempts will give a legit appearance on the Internet.

Impact

Using this vulnerability, an attacker can:-

• redirect the user to a malicious site to steal information/data.
• show user false data which will, in turn, affect the credibility of the website.

Mitigation / Precaution

Beagle recommends the following:-

• Remove redirect from the application.
• Disable HTTP completely from the application.

Written by

Prathap

Co-founder, Director