Mohamed Dief, a Security Consultant, recently discovered a new type of vulnerability in Shopify, which he refers to as “Terminal Attacks.” These attacks involve manipulating the terminal to bypass security measures within a Shopify library. While full details are pending resolution and disclosure, this type of exploitation likely involves command injection, shell manipulation, or environment variable abuse.
You Should Know: Exploiting Terminal-Based Vulnerabilities
Terminal-based attacks often exploit weak input validation, insecure command execution, or misconfigured system permissions. Below are key techniques, commands, and mitigations related to such vulnerabilities:
1. Command Injection Attacks
Attackers inject malicious commands into input fields that are executed by the system shell.
Example Exploit Command:
curl -X POST "https://vulnerable-shopify-site.com/api" --data "user_input=$(cat /etc/passwd)"
Mitigation:
- Use parameterized queries.
- Sanitize user inputs with:
import shlex user_input = shlex.quote(input("Enter value: "))
2. Environment Variable Manipulation
Malicious users may alter environment variables to escalate privileges or leak secrets.
Check Environment Variables:
env printenv
Exploit Example (Linux):
export API_KEY="malicious_value" && ./shopify-cli
Mitigation:
- Restrict environment access:
sudo -E -u restricted_user ./script.sh Avoids inheriting dangerous vars
3. Bypassing Security with Shell Tricks
Using special characters (;, &&, |) to chain commands.
Example:
fake_command ; cat /etc/shadow
Prevention:
- Use `execve` instead of `system()` in code.
- Implement blacklisting/whitelisting for inputs.
4. Exploiting Weak File Permissions
If Shopify processes access sensitive files, attackers may read/modify them.
Check File Permissions:
ls -la /etc/passwd chmod 600 sensitive_file.txt Restrict access
5. Log Manipulation & Covering Tracks
Attackers may delete logs to evade detection.
View Logs:
sudo tail -f /var/log/syslog
Clear Logs (Attack):
echo "" > /var/log/auth.log
Protect Logs:
chattr +a /var/log/syslog Makes logs append-only
What Undercode Say
Terminal-based attacks remain a critical threat in web applications, especially when backend systems improperly handle user-supplied inputs. Shopify, like many platforms, must enforce strict input validation, least privilege execution, and secure logging.
Key Takeaways:
- Always sanitize terminal inputs.
- Avoid direct shell command execution from user inputs.
- Monitor environment variables and file permissions.
- Use secure coding practices (e.g., `subprocess.run` in Python instead of
os.system).
Expected Output:
A detailed technical write-up on Shopify’s terminal attack vulnerability, including:
– Proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit code.
– Mitigation strategies for developers.
– Official Shopify patch notes (once available).
Prediction
As e-commerce platforms grow, terminal-based attacks will rise, pushing more businesses to adopt stricter input validation and runtime security monitoring. Future exploits may target serverless functions and CI/CD pipelines in Shopify workflows.
( based on Mohamed Dief’s LinkedIn post about Shopify terminal attacks.)
References:
Reported By: Mohamed Dief – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
