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VulnerabilityPublished

Open Redirects: A Forgotten Vulnerability?, (Tue, Feb 24th)

Source SANS ISC Handlers Diary

0
Severity
Medium

Rated by Threat Radar

Data as of 3 Mar 2026, 01:55 UTC

What to do

AI-suggested

  1. Implement strict allowlisting of redirect URLs, ensuring only pre-approved, exact URLs or tightly controlled URL patterns are accepted.
  2. Avoid using user-controllable input directly in redirect parameters; if necessary, validate and sanitize inputs rigorously.
  3. Employ tokenization or mapping techniques where redirect parameters reference server-stored URLs rather than direct user input.
  4. In OAuth implementations, strictly enforce redirect URI validation against registered URIs and monitor for anomalies.
  5. Monitor web server logs and application telemetry for unusual redirect-related requests, especially from suspicious IP ranges like AS202425.
  6. Consider blocking or rate-limiting traffic from known bulletproof hosting providers or suspicious IP addresses exhibiting scanning behavior.
  7. Educate users about phishing risks associated with redirects and encourage verification of URLs before clicking.
  8. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focusing on redirect and forwarding mechanisms.
  9. Keep web application frameworks and libraries updated to benefit from security improvements related to URL handling.
  10. Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to reduce the impact of malicious redirects by restricting allowed domains.

Description

In 2010, OWASP added "Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards" to its Top 10 list and merged it into "Sensitive Data Exposure" in 2013 [owasp1] [owasp2]. Open redirects are often overlooked, and their impact is not always well understood. At first, it does not look like a big deal. The user is receiving a 3xx status code and is being redirected to another URL. That target URL should handle all authentication and access control, regardless of where the data originated.

References

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