Cross Site Scripting Weakness (Persistent in JSON Response)

Reference

Plugin Id: 40014 | CWE: 79

Resource

https://github.com/OWASP/CheatSheetSeries/blob/master/cheatsheets/Cross_Site_Scripting_Prevention_Cheat_Sheet.md

Remediation

To remediate the vulnerability “Cross Site Scripting Weakness (Persistent in JSON Response)”, the following steps can be taken:

Input validation: Implement strict input validation on all user-generated content that is included in the JSON response. This can be done by using a combination of whitelisting and blacklisting techniques to ensure that only safe and expected data is accepted.
Output encoding: Encode all user-generated content that is included in the JSON response before it is sent to the client. This can be done using appropriate encoding functions or libraries that are specific to the programming language or framework being used.
Content Security Policy (CSP): Implement a Content Security Policy to restrict the types of content that can be loaded and executed on the client-side. This can help mitigate the impact of any potential XSS attacks by preventing the execution of malicious scripts.

About

The vulnerability “Cross Site Scripting Weakness (Persistent in JSON Response)” refers to a security weakness where an attacker is able to inject malicious scripts into a JSON response. This vulnerability can occur when user-generated content is not properly validated or encoded before being included in the JSON response. If the content consumers do not appropriately handle the data (response), they may be vulnerable to XSS attacks.

Risks

The risks associated with the vulnerability “Cross Site Scripting Weakness (Persistent in JSON Response)” include:

Data theft: An attacker can exploit the vulnerability to steal sensitive information from the content consumers, such as login credentials, personal data, or financial information.
Session hijacking: By injecting malicious scripts into the JSON response, an attacker can hijack user sessions and impersonate legitimate users, potentially gaining unauthorized access to sensitive resources.
Malware distribution: Attackers can use the vulnerability to distribute malware to content consumers by injecting malicious scripts that redirect users to malicious websites or initiate downloads of malicious files.

It is important to address this vulnerability promptly to prevent potential security breaches and protect the integrity and confidentiality of user data.