A serious cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability discovered in the Evernote application for Windows can be exploited to steal files and execute arbitrary commands.
A researcher who uses the online moniker Sebao identified a stored XSS flaw in the Evernote app. He found that when a picture was added to a note and later renamed, JavaScript code could be added instead of a name. If the note was shared with another Evernote user, the code would get executed when the recipient clicked on the picture.
Evernote patched this security hole in September with the release of version 6.16. However,
TongQing Zhu of Knownsec 404 Team found that arbitrary code could still be injected into the name of an attached picture.
Unlike in the previous case, however, the code loads a Node.js file from a remote server. The script is executed via NodeWebKit, an application runtime that is used by Evernote in presentation mode.
For the attack to work, the attacker needs to convince the targeted user to open an Evernote note in presentation mode. If the exploit is successfully executed, the attacker can steal arbitrary files and execute commands.
TongQing Zhu showed how a hacker could exploit the vulnerability to read a Windows file and execute the Calculator application on the targeted system.
Evernote first patched the flaw, tracked as CVE-2018-18524, with the release of Evernote for Windows 6.16.1 beta in mid-October. The patch was rolled out to all users earlier this month with the release of Evernote 6.16.4.
TongQing Zhu has published a couple of videos showing how the vulnerability can be exploited:
Related: Branch.io Flaws Exposed Tinder, Shopify, Yelp Users to XSS Attacks
Related: D-Link Patches Code Execution, XSS Flaws in Management Tool
Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a contributing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.
More from Eduard Kovacs
- Apple Denies Helping US Government Hack Russian iPhones
- Zero-Day in MOVEit File Transfer Software Exploited to Steal Data From Organizations
- Russia Blames US Intelligence for iOS Zero-Click Attacks
- Cisco Acquiring Armorblox for Predictive and Generative AI Technology
- Moxa Patches MXsecurity Vulnerabilities That Could Be Exploited in OT Attacks
- Organizations Warned of Salesforce ‘Ghost Sites’ Exposing Sensitive Information
- Organizations Warned of Backdoor Feature in Hundreds of Gigabyte Motherboards
- Barracuda Zero-Day Exploited to Deliver Malware for Months Before Discovery
Latest News
- Information of 2.5M People Stolen in Ransomware Attack at Massachusetts Health Insurer
- US, South Korea Detail North Korea’s Social Engineering Techniques
- High-Severity Vulnerabilities Patched in Splunk Enterprise
- Idaho Hospitals Working to Resume Full Operations After Cyberattack
- Enzo Biochem Ransomware Attack Exposes Information of 2.5M Individuals
- Apple Denies Helping US Government Hack Russian iPhones
- Zero-Day in MOVEit File Transfer Software Exploited to Steal Data From Organizations
- Google Temporarily Offering $180,000 for Full Chain Chrome Exploit
