CVE-2025-22493

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-22493 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Foreseer Reporting Software (FRS) that involves a missing Secure flag on session cookies, combined with a SameSite attribute set to Lax. This configuration allows session cookies to be transmitted over unencrypted HTTP connections, making them susceptible to interception by an attacker on the same network (e.g., via man-in-the-middle attacks). The vulnerability has been resolved in FRS version 1.5.100.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability is not related to an open-source package manager (NPM, PyPI, Go, Ruby). It affects a proprietary software product, Foreseer Reporting Software (FRS). The patch is distributed directly by the vendor.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• CVSS Score: 5.6 (Medium)
• Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
• Attack Vector: Network
• Attack Complexity: Low
• Privileges Required: None
• User Interaction: None
• Scope: Unchanged
• Confidentiality Impact: Low (session cookie exposure)
• Integrity Impact: Low (potential session hijacking)
• Availability Impact: None

The threat level is Medium. While exploitation requires network access (e.g., same Wi-Fi), the lack of authentication requirements and low complexity make it a realistic attack vector in shared network environments.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability stems from improper configuration of session cookies in FRS. Specifically:

1. Missing Secure Flag: The Secure attribute was not set on session cookies. This flag instructs the browser to only send the cookie over HTTPS connections. Without it, the cookie can be transmitted over unencrypted HTTP.
2. SameSite Set to Lax: The SameSite attribute was set to Lax, which allows cookies to be sent with top-level navigations (e.g., clicking a link) even if the request originates from a different site. While Lax provides some protection against CSRF, it does not prevent cookie theft over unencrypted channels.

Attack Scenario: An attacker on the same network (e.g., public Wi-Fi) can perform a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack. When a user accesses FRS over HTTP (or is redirected from HTTPS to HTTP), the attacker can intercept the session cookie. With the stolen cookie, the attacker can impersonate the user and gain unauthorized access to the FRS application.

Root Cause: The application did not enforce HTTPS for session cookies, and the Secure flag was omitted during cookie generation.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable (before v1.5.100):

# Example of vulnerable cookie setting (pseudo-code)
response.set_cookie(
    key='session_id',
    value=session_token,
    httponly=True,
    samesite='Lax',
    secure=False  # Missing Secure flag
)

Patched (v1.5.100):

# Example of patched cookie setting (pseudo-code)
response.set_cookie(
    key='session_id',
    value=session_token,
    httponly=True,
    samesite='Strict',  # Changed to Strict for additional CSRF protection
    secure=True  # Secure flag now set
)

The patch adds the Secure flag and changes SameSite from Lax to Strict to further restrict cookie transmission.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Exploitation)

Prerequisites:

• Network access to the victim's traffic (e.g., same Wi-Fi).
• FRS instance running a vulnerable version (< 1.5.100).
• Ability to perform ARP spoofing or similar MITM technique.

Steps:

1. Set up MITM proxy: Use a tool like mitmproxy or Bettercap to intercept HTTP traffic.
2. Force HTTP downgrade: If the application uses HTTPS, perform SSL stripping to downgrade to HTTP.
3. Capture session cookie: Monitor HTTP responses for Set-Cookie headers without the Secure flag.
4. Replay cookie: Use the captured cookie in a browser or tool like curl to access FRS as the victim.

Example command (using curl):

curl -v --cookie "session_id=STOLEN_COOKIE_VALUE" http://target-frs.example.com/dashboard

Blue Team (Defense & Detection)

Detection:

• Monitor for HTTP traffic to FRS (should be HTTPS only).
• Alert on Set-Cookie headers missing the Secure flag.
• Use network monitoring to detect SSL stripping attempts (e.g., sudden HTTP requests to HTTPS-only endpoints).

Mitigation:

• Immediately upgrade to FRS v1.5.100.
• Enforce HTTPS at the network level (e.g., HSTS headers, redirect HTTP to HTTPS).
• Implement network segmentation to limit MITM attack surface.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• Network: HTTP requests to FRS endpoints (should be HTTPS).
• Cookie: Set-Cookie header without Secure flag.
• Logs: Unusual session usage patterns (e.g., same session from different IPs).
• File: No specific file-based IOCs.

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_22493_Secure_Cookie_Missing {
    meta:
        description = "Detects missing Secure flag on session cookies in FRS"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        cve = "CVE-2025-22493"
    strings:
        $cookie_header = "Set-Cookie: session_id="
        $secure_flag = "Secure"
    condition:
        $cookie_header and not $secure_flag
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-22493 - Missing Secure Flag on FRS Session Cookie
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects HTTP responses from FRS that set a session cookie without the Secure flag.
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        cs-method: GET
        sc-status: 200
        cs-uri-stem: "/*"
        sc-bytes: "*"
        cs(User-Agent): "*"
        cs(Cookie): "*"
        cs(Set-Cookie): "session_id=*"
        cs(Set-Cookie): "!*Secure*"
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Internal testing environments
level: medium

Suricata Rule

alert http $HOME_NET any -> $EXTERNAL_NET any (
    msg:"CVE-2025-22493 - FRS Session Cookie Missing Secure Flag";
    flow:to_client,established;
    content:"Set-Cookie: session_id="; nocase;
    content:!"Secure"; nocase;
    classtype:attempted-recon;
    sid:1000001;
    rev:1;
)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate:

• Upgrade FRS to version 1.5.100 or later.
• Enforce HTTPS across all FRS endpoints using HSTS headers.
• Redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS.

Long-term:

• Implement regular security audits for cookie configuration.
• Use automated tools to scan for missing Secure and HttpOnly flags.
• Educate users to avoid accessing FRS over untrusted networks.

Workaround (if patching is delayed):

• Configure the web server (e.g., Apache, Nginx) to add the Secure flag to cookies via rewrite rules or headers module.

Valters IT