Executive Summary

CVE-2025-70849 is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the podinfo web application, specifically affecting the /store endpoint.

It allows unauthenticated attackers to upload arbitrary files, including malicious HTML and JavaScript, via crafted POST requests to the /store endpoint.

The application then renders this uploaded content without proper sanitization or security headers like Content-Security-Policy (CSP) or adequate Content-Type validation.

As a result, attackers can inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of the podinfo domain when a victim accesses the stored content URL.

The vulnerability involves CWE-434 (Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type) and CWE-79 (Stored XSS).

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Impact Analysis

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'This vulnerability can have significant real-world impacts, especially if podinfo is deployed on sensitive or high-trust domains.'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Attackers can host phishing pages within the podinfo domain.'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Malicious scripts can steal administrative credentials from cluster operators.'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "It enables execution of arbitrary JavaScript in the victim's browser, potentially leading to session hijacking or other attacks."}] [1]

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Detection Guidance

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'This vulnerability can be detected by attempting to upload a crafted POST request containing malicious HTML or JavaScript payloads to the /store endpoint of the podinfo application and then checking if the uploaded content is served back without proper sanitization or security headers.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'A practical detection method involves using curl to send a POST request with a script payload and then accessing the returned URL to see if the script executes.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Example command to test the vulnerability:'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "curl -X POST http://<podinfo-host>/store -d '<script>alert(document.domain)</script>' -H 'Content-Type: text/html'"}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'After receiving the JSON response containing a hash identifier, access the URL http://<podinfo-host>/store/{hash} in a browser to verify if the script executes, indicating the presence of the vulnerability.'}] [1]

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Mitigation Strategies

Immediate mitigation steps include disabling the storage feature of the podinfo application if it is not required.

Additionally, implement strict Content-Security-Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of malicious scripts.

Enforce safe Content-Type headers such as text/plain or application/octet-stream for all data served from the /store endpoint to prevent execution of uploaded malicious scripts.

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Compliance Impact

The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to upload and execute arbitrary scripts within the podinfo application context, potentially leading to phishing attacks or credential theft. Such security weaknesses can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data or systems.

While the provided information does not explicitly mention compliance with standards like GDPR or HIPAA, the presence of Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and arbitrary file upload vulnerabilities can undermine data protection and security requirements mandated by these regulations.

Organizations using podinfo in environments subject to these regulations should consider this vulnerability a risk to compliance, as it may facilitate data breaches or unauthorized data exposure.

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