Security Assessment Report
Vulnerability findings for the public-facing infrastructure of thesyndicatemc.co.za
01 Executive overview Severity distribution across 23 findings
02 Top findings Ranked by severity
Highest-impact issues identified during the assessment (non-informational), ordered by severity.
| # | Severity | Finding | Affected | Instances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Medium | Content Security Policy (CSP) Header Not Set | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 5 |
| 02 | Medium | Missing Anti-clickjacking Header | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 5 |
| 03 | Medium | Sub Resource Integrity Attribute Missing | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 5 |
| 04 | Low | Cookie No HttpOnly Flag | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 5 |
| 05 | Low | Cookie Without Secure Flag | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 5 |
| 06 | Low | Cookie with SameSite Attribute None | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 1 |
| 07 | Low | Cookie without SameSite Attribute | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 5 |
| 08 | Low | Cross-Domain JavaScript Source File Inclusion | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 5 |
| 09 | Low | Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy Header Missing or Invalid | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 2 |
| 10 | Low | Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy Header Missing or Invalid | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 2 |
| 11 | Low | Cross-Origin-Resource-Policy Header Missing or Invalid | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 5 |
| 12 | Low | Information Disclosure - Debug Error Messages | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 11 |
| 13 | Low | Permissions Policy Header Not Set | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 5 |
| 14 | Low | Timestamp Disclosure - Unix | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 5 |
| 15 | Informational | Modern Web Application | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 5 |
| 16 | Informational | Non-Storable Content | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 2 |
| 17 | Informational | Re-examine Cache-control Directives | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 5 |
| 18 | Informational | Retrieved from Cache | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 7 |
| 19 | Informational | Session Management Response Identified | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 11 |
| 20 | Informational | Storable and Cacheable Content | thesyndicatemc.co.za | 5 |
03 Findings Detailed observations, ordered by severity
Each finding records what was observed, where it was observed, and supporting evidence from the scanning toolchain.
Content Security Policy (CSP) Header Not Set
Content Security Policy (CSP) is an added layer of security that helps to detect and mitigate certain types of attacks, including Cross Site Scripting (XSS) and data injection attacks. These attacks are used for everything from data theft to site defacement or distribution of malware. CSP provides a set of standard HTTP headers that allow website owners to declare approved sources of content that browsers should be allowed to load on that page — covered types are JavaScript, CSS, HTML frames, fonts, images and embeddable objects such as Java applets, ActiveX, audio and video files.
Ensure that your web server, application server, load balancer, etc. is configured to set the Content-Security-Policy header.
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Guides/CSP
- https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Content_Security_Policy_Cheat_Sheet.html
- https://www.w3.org/TR/CSP/
- https://w3c.github.io/webappsec-csp/
- https://web.dev/articles/csp
- https://caniuse.com/#feat=contentsecuritypolicy
- https://content-security-policy.com/
Missing Anti-clickjacking Header
The response does not protect against 'ClickJacking' attacks. It should include either Content-Security-Policy with 'frame-ancestors' directive or X-Frame-Options.
Modern Web browsers support the Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options HTTP headers. Ensure one of them is set on all web pages returned by your site/app.
If you expect the page to be framed only by pages on your server (e.g. it's part of a FRAMESET) then you'll want to use SAMEORIGIN, otherwise if you never expect the page to be framed, you should use DENY. Alternatively consider implementing Content Security Policy's "frame-ancestors" directive.
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Headers/X-Frame-Options
Sub Resource Integrity Attribute Missing
The integrity attribute is missing on a script or link tag served by an external server. The integrity tag prevents an attacker who have gained access to this server from injecting a malicious content.
Provide a valid integrity attribute to the tag.
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Security/Defenses/Subresource_Integrity
Cookie No HttpOnly Flag
A cookie has been set without the HttpOnly flag, which means that the cookie can be accessed by JavaScript. If a malicious script can be run on this page then the cookie will be accessible and can be transmitted to another site. If this is a session cookie then session hijacking may be possible.
Ensure that the HttpOnly flag is set for all cookies.
- https://owasp.org/www-community/HttpOnly
Cookie Without Secure Flag
A cookie has been set without the secure flag, which means that the cookie can be accessed via unencrypted connections.
Whenever a cookie contains sensitive information or is a session token, then it should always be passed using an encrypted channel. Ensure that the secure flag is set for cookies containing such sensitive information.
- https://owasp.org/www-project-web-security-testing-guide/v41/4-Web_Application_Security_Testing/06-Session_Management_Testing/02-Testing_for_Cookies_Attributes.html
Cookie with SameSite Attribute None
A cookie has been set with its SameSite attribute set to "none", which means that the cookie can be sent as a result of a 'cross-site' request. The SameSite attribute is an effective counter measure to cross-site request forgery, cross-site script inclusion, and timing attacks.
Ensure that the SameSite attribute is set to either 'lax' or ideally 'strict' for all cookies.
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-httpbis-cookie-same-site
Cookie without SameSite Attribute
A cookie has been set without the SameSite attribute, which means that the cookie can be sent as a result of a 'cross-site' request. The SameSite attribute is an effective counter measure to cross-site request forgery, cross-site script inclusion, and timing attacks.
Ensure that the SameSite attribute is set to either 'lax' or ideally 'strict' for all cookies.
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-httpbis-cookie-same-site
Cross-Domain JavaScript Source File Inclusion
The page includes one or more script files from a third-party domain.
Ensure JavaScript source files are loaded from only trusted sources, and the sources can't be controlled by end users of the application.
Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy Header Missing or Invalid
Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy header is a response header that prevents a document from loading any cross-origin resources that don't explicitly grant the document permission (using CORP or CORS).
Ensure that the application/web server sets the Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy header appropriately, and that it sets the Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy header to 'require-corp' for documents.
If possible, ensure that the end user uses a standards-compliant and modern web browser that supports the Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy header (https://caniuse.com/mdn-http_headers_cross-origin-embedder-policy).
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Headers/Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy
Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy Header Missing or Invalid
Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy header is a response header that allows a site to control if others included documents share the same browsing context. Sharing the same browsing context with untrusted documents might lead to data leak.
Ensure that the application/web server sets the Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy header appropriately, and that it sets the Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy header to 'same-origin' for documents.
'same-origin-allow-popups' is considered as less secured and should be avoided.
If possible, ensure that the end user uses a standards-compliant and modern web browser that supports the Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy header (https://caniuse.com/mdn-http_headers_cross-origin-opener-policy).
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Headers/Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy
Cross-Origin-Resource-Policy Header Missing or Invalid
Cross-Origin-Resource-Policy header is an opt-in header designed to counter side-channels attacks like Spectre. Resource should be specifically set as shareable amongst different origins.
Ensure that the application/web server sets the Cross-Origin-Resource-Policy header appropriately, and that it sets the Cross-Origin-Resource-Policy header to 'same-origin' for all web pages.
'same-site' is considered as less secured and should be avoided.
If resources must be shared, set the header to 'cross-origin'.
If possible, ensure that the end user uses a standards-compliant and modern web browser that supports the Cross-Origin-Resource-Policy header (https://caniuse.com/mdn-http_headers_cross-origin-resource-policy).
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Headers/Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy
Information Disclosure - Debug Error Messages
The response appeared to contain common error messages returned by platforms such as ASP.NET, and Web-servers such as IIS and Apache. You can configure the list of common debug messages.
Disable debugging messages before pushing to production.
Permissions Policy Header Not Set
Permissions Policy Header is an added layer of security that helps to restrict from unauthorized access or usage of browser/client features by web resources. This policy ensures the user privacy by limiting or specifying the features of the browsers can be used by the web resources. Permissions Policy provides a set of standard HTTP headers that allow website owners to limit which features of browsers can be used by the page such as camera, microphone, location, full screen etc.
Ensure that your web server, application server, load balancer, etc. is configured to set the Permissions-Policy header.
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Headers/Permissions-Policy
- https://developer.chrome.com/blog/feature-policy/
- https://scotthelme.co.uk/a-new-security-header-feature-policy/
- https://w3c.github.io/webappsec-feature-policy/
- https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2018/12/feature-policy/
Timestamp Disclosure - Unix
A timestamp was disclosed by the application/web server. - Unix
Manually confirm that the timestamp data is not sensitive, and that the data cannot be aggregated to disclose exploitable patterns.
- https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/200.html
Modern Web Application
The application appears to be a modern web application. If you need to explore it automatically then the Client Spider may well be more effective than the standard one.
This is an informational alert and so no changes are required.
Non-Storable Content
The response contents are not storable by caching components such as proxy servers. If the response does not contain sensitive, personal or user-specific information, it may benefit from being stored and cached, to improve performance.
The content may be marked as storable by ensuring that the following conditions are satisfied:
The request method must be understood by the cache and defined as being cacheable ("GET", "HEAD", and "POST" are currently defined as cacheable)
The response status code must be understood by the cache (one of the 1XX, 2XX, 3XX, 4XX, or 5XX response classes are generally understood)
The "no-store" cache directive must not appear in the request or response header fields
For caching by "shared" caches such as "proxy" caches, the "private" response directive must not appear in the response
For caching by "shared" caches such as "proxy" caches, the "Authorization" header field must not appear in the request, unless the response explicitly allows it (using one of the "must-revalidate", "public", or "s-maxage" Cache-Control response directives)
In addition to the conditions above, at least one of the following conditions must also be satisfied by the response:
It must contain an "Expires" header field
It must contain a "max-age" response directive
For "shared" caches such as "proxy" caches, it must contain a "s-maxage" response directive
It must contain a "Cache Control Extension" that allows it to be cached
It must have a status code that is defined as cacheable by default (200, 203, 204, 206, 300, 301, 404, 405, 410, 414, 501).
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7234
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7231
- https://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec13.html
Re-examine Cache-control Directives
The cache-control header has not been set properly or is missing, allowing the browser and proxies to cache content. For static assets like css, js, or image files this might be intended, however, the resources should be reviewed to ensure that no sensitive content will be cached.
For secure content, ensure the cache-control HTTP header is set with "no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate". If an asset should be cached consider setting the directives "public, max-age, immutable".
- https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Session_Management_Cheat_Sheet.html#web-content-caching
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Headers/Cache-Control
- https://grayduck.mn/2021/09/13/cache-control-recommendations/
Retrieved from Cache
The content was retrieved from a shared cache. If the response data is sensitive, personal or user-specific, this may result in sensitive information being leaked. In some cases, this may even result in a user gaining complete control of the session of another user, depending on the configuration of the caching components in use in their environment. This is primarily an issue where caching servers such as "proxy" caches are configured on the local network. This configuration is typically found in corporate or educational environments, for instance.
Validate that the response does not contain sensitive, personal or user-specific information. If it does, consider the use of the following HTTP response headers, to limit, or prevent the content being stored and retrieved from the cache by another user:
Cache-Control: no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate, private
Pragma: no-cache
Expires: 0
This configuration directs both HTTP 1.0 and HTTP 1.1 compliant caching servers to not store the response, and to not retrieve the response (without validation) from the cache, in response to a similar request.
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7234
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7231
- https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html
Session Management Response Identified
The given response has been identified as containing a session management token. The 'Other Info' field contains a set of header tokens that can be used in the Header Based Session Management Method. If the request is in a context which has a Session Management Method set to "Auto-Detect" then this rule will change the session management to use the tokens identified.
This is an informational alert rather than a vulnerability and so there is nothing to fix.
- https://www.zaproxy.org/docs/desktop/addons/authentication-helper/session-mgmt-id/
Storable and Cacheable Content
The response contents are storable by caching components such as proxy servers, and may be retrieved directly from the cache, rather than from the origin server by the caching servers, in response to similar requests from other users. If the response data is sensitive, personal or user-specific, this may result in sensitive information being leaked. In some cases, this may even result in a user gaining complete control of the session of another user, depending on the configuration of the caching components in use in their environment. This is primarily an issue where "shared" caching servers such as "proxy" caches are configured on the local network. This configuration is typically found in corporate or educational environments, for instance.
Validate that the response does not contain sensitive, personal or user-specific information. If it does, consider the use of the following HTTP response headers, to limit, or prevent the content being stored and retrieved from the cache by another user:
Cache-Control: no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate, private
Pragma: no-cache
Expires: 0
This configuration directs both HTTP 1.0 and HTTP 1.1 compliant caching servers to not store the response, and to not retrieve the response (without validation) from the cache, in response to a similar request.
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7234
- https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7231
- https://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec13.html
04 Network & transport 3 observations
| # | Endpoint | Service | Detail | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N-01 | 34.149.87.45:443 | https | Service https on 34.149.87.45:443/tcp | Info |
| N-02 | 34.149.87.45:80 | http | Service http on 34.149.87.45:80/tcp | Info |
| N-03 | https://www.thesyndicatemc.co.za/ | Status 200 | Google Cloud, Google Cloud CDN, HSTS, HTTP/3, Lodash, React, Wix | Info |
05 Additional informational findings 0 items
| # | Finding | Affected | Instances |
|---|