{"id":"GHSA-xcxh-6cv4-q8p8","aliases":[],"status":"published","title":"HFS user adding a \"web link\" in HFS is vulnerable to \"target=_blank\" exploit","description":"### Summary\nWhen adding a \"web link\" to the HFS virtual filesystem, the frontend opens it with `target=\"_blank\"` but without the `rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"` attribute. This allows the opened page to use the `window.opener` property to change the location of the original HFS tab.\n\n### Details\nWhile most modern browsers have fixes already implemented for this `target=\"_blank\"` exploit at the browser level, users on outdated browsers remain vulnerable. This means that if an admin of the HFS instance adds a link to an external third-party service (that they believe is safe at the time) and that service they added later becomes compromised, the malicious page could replace the original HFS tab's content with a phishing page. This does not require the admin account itself to be compromised, only that a legitimate linked site turns malicious.\n\n### Impact\nAffected users (people using old browsers without the browser level fix) could be misled into entering their HFS credentials or other sensitive information into a fake site controlled by an attacker. This vulnerability is fixed in most modern browsers, but adding `rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"` remains a best practice to protect legacy environments.\n\n\n### PoC\n\nFirstly, in the HFS admin page, under the filesystem (/~/admin/#/fs) press \"Add\" then \"web link\" then set the link to take the user to to an HTML file that exploits this vulnerability, here is an example of a malicious HTML file's code:\n\n```\u003chtml\u003e\n \u003cbody\u003e\n  \u003cscript\u003e\n    window.opener.location = \"https://example.org\";\n  \u003c/script\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eError loading...\u003c/b\u003e\n \u003c/body\u003e\n\u003c/html\u003e\n```\n\nNow, in the HFS folder you placed this web link in, open HFS and click the web link, if you aren't on a modern browser that fixed this vulnerability on the browser level, then switch back to the HFS tab that opened it, and you should be taken to \"https://example.org\" if you tried the code I provided, or whatever other page you tried.","severity":{"version":"4.0","score":2.9,"vector":"CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P","level":"low","from":"ghsa"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":false,"fix_available":true},"cwes":["CWE-1022"],"published":"2025-08-12T00:13:03Z","modified":"2025-08-12T20:23:56Z","fixes":[{"ecosystem":"npm","package":"hfs","fixed_in":["0.57.10"],"sources":["ghsa","osv"]}],"affected":[{"source":"ghsa","ecosystem":"npm","package":"hfs","ranges":[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"last_affected":"0.57.9"},{"fixed":"0.57.10"}]}]},{"source":"osv","ecosystem":"npm","package":"hfs","ranges":[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"0.57.10"}]}]}],"references":[{"url":"https://github.com/rejetto/hfs/security/advisories/GHSA-xcxh-6cv4-q8p8","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://github.com/rejetto/hfs/commit/6531bcd2ab285af88f91831e30d8a03f5b9fe20d","tags":["web"]},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-xcxh-6cv4-q8p8"},{"url":"https://github.com/rejetto/hfs","tags":["package"]}],"sources":{"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-xcxh-6cv4-q8p8","title":"HFS user adding a \"web link\" in HFS is vulnerable to \"target=_blank\" exploit","description":"### Summary\nWhen adding a \"web link\" to the HFS virtual filesystem, the frontend opens it with `target=\"_blank\"` but without the `rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"` attribute. This allows the opened page to use the `window.opener` property to change the location of the original HFS tab.\n\n### Details\nWhile most modern browsers have fixes already implemented for this `target=\"_blank\"` exploit at the browser level, users on outdated browsers remain vulnerable. This means that if an admin of the HFS instance adds a link to an external third-party service (that they believe is safe at the time) and that service they added later becomes compromised, the malicious page could replace the original HFS tab's content with a phishing page. This does not require the admin account itself to be compromised, only that a legitimate linked site turns malicious.\n\n### Impact\nAffected users (people using old browsers without the browser level fix) could be misled into entering their HFS credentials or other sensitive information into a fake site controlled by an attacker. This vulnerability is fixed in most modern browsers, but adding `rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"` remains a best practice to protect legacy environments.\n\n\n### PoC\n\nFirstly, in the HFS admin page, under the filesystem (/~/admin/#/fs) press \"Add\" then \"web link\" then set the link to take the user to to an HTML file that exploits this vulnerability, here is an example of a malicious HTML file's code:\n\n```\u003chtml\u003e\n \u003cbody\u003e\n  \u003cscript\u003e\n    window.opener.location = \"https://example.org\";\n  \u003c/script\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eError loading...\u003c/b\u003e\n \u003c/body\u003e\n\u003c/html\u003e\n```\n\nNow, in the HFS folder you placed this web link in, open HFS and click the web link, if you aren't on a modern browser that fixed this vulnerability on the browser level, then switch back to the HFS tab that opened it, and you should be taken to \"https://example.org\" if you tried the code I provided, or whatever other page you tried.","status":"published","published":"2025-08-12T00:13:03Z","modified":"2025-08-12T20:23:56Z","cvss":[{"version":"4.0","score":2.9,"vector":"CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P","level":"low"}],"cwes":["CWE-1022"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:38:53.767052Z"}],"osv":[{"id":"GHSA-xcxh-6cv4-q8p8","title":"HFS user adding a \"web link\" in HFS is vulnerable to \"target=_blank\" exploit","description":"### Summary\nWhen adding a \"web link\" to the HFS virtual filesystem, the frontend opens it with `target=\"_blank\"` but without the `rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"` attribute. This allows the opened page to use the `window.opener` property to change the location of the original HFS tab.\n\n### Details\nWhile most modern browsers have fixes already implemented for this `target=\"_blank\"` exploit at the browser level, users on outdated browsers remain vulnerable. This means that if an admin of the HFS instance adds a link to an external third-party service (that they believe is safe at the time) and that service they added later becomes compromised, the malicious page could replace the original HFS tab's content with a phishing page. This does not require the admin account itself to be compromised, only that a legitimate linked site turns malicious.\n\n### Impact\nAffected users (people using old browsers without the browser level fix) could be misled into entering their HFS credentials or other sensitive information into a fake site controlled by an attacker. This vulnerability is fixed in most modern browsers, but adding `rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"` remains a best practice to protect legacy environments.\n\n\n### PoC\n\nFirstly, in the HFS admin page, under the filesystem (/~/admin/#/fs) press \"Add\" then \"web link\" then set the link to take the user to to an HTML file that exploits this vulnerability, here is an example of a malicious HTML file's code:\n\n```\u003chtml\u003e\n \u003cbody\u003e\n  \u003cscript\u003e\n    window.opener.location = \"https://example.org\";\n  \u003c/script\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eError loading...\u003c/b\u003e\n \u003c/body\u003e\n\u003c/html\u003e\n```\n\nNow, in the HFS folder you placed this web link in, open HFS and click the web link, if you aren't on a modern browser that fixed this vulnerability on the browser level, then switch back to the HFS tab that opened it, and you should be taken to \"https://example.org\" if you tried the code I provided, or whatever other page you tried.","status":"published","published":"2025-08-12T00:13:03Z","modified":"2025-08-12T20:23:55Z","cvss":[{"version":"4.0","score":2.9,"vector":"CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P","level":"low"}],"cwes":["CWE-1022"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:46:59.835583Z"}]}}