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PayPal Inc BB #127 - 2FA Bypass Vulnerability

Document Title:
===============
PayPal Inc BB #127 - 2FA Bypass Vulnerability


References (Source):
====================
http://www.vulnerability-lab.com/get_content.php?id=1903


Release Date:
=============
2016-08-12


Vulnerability Laboratory ID (VL-ID):
====================================
1903


Common Vulnerability Scoring System:
====================================
6.2


Product & Service Introduction:
===============================
PayPal is a global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to 
be made through the Internet. Online money 
transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper 
methods, such as checks and money orders.

(Copy of the Homepage: www.paypal.com )


Abstract Advisory Information:
==============================
The independent vulnerability laboratory researcher (shawar khan) discovered a 
vulnerability in the official PayPal website (api) web-application).
The issue allows an attacker to bypass the 2-factor authentication and mobile 
confirmation which could lead to unauthorized access.



Vulnerability Disclosure Timeline:
==================================
2016-05-13: Researcher Notification & Coordination (Shawar Khan)
2016-05-14: Vendor Notification (PayPal Inc Bug Bounty Program - Security Team)
2016-05-24: Vendor Response/Feedback (PayPal Inc Bug Bounty Program - Security 
Team)
2016-07-10: Vendor Fix/Patch (PayPal Inc Developer Team)
2016-07-18: Acknowledgements (PayPal Inc Bug Bounty Program - Security Team)
2016-08-12: Public Disclosure (Vulnerability Laboratory)


Discovery Status:
=================
Published


Affected Product(s):
====================
PayPal Inc
Product: PayPal - Online Service Web Application 2016 Q3


Exploitation Technique:
=======================
Remote


Severity Level:
===============
High


Technical Details & Description:
================================
A 2 Factor Authentication Bypass Vulnerability was discovered in the official 
PayPal website (api) web-application).

This vulnerability allows an attacker to bypass the 2FA mechanism for access to 
accounts of paypal without verifying in 
the basic procedure the identity with confirmation. The security vulnerability 
is located in the paypal login portals of 
uk and the paypal preview. Each Portal is having an issue which can lead to a 
full bypass once used in a combined way.

If the user have 2FA activated in his account. Whenever an user logs into his 
account, paypal will ask the 
user to verify the identity. Verification can be made via phone number or by 
confirming the login request 
via paypal mobile app (api). The mechanism mainly prevents unauthorized acccess 
to the account and provides 
an extra layer of security. 

The login portal of paypal preview is missing verification mechanism in it. 
When an user is logged in via paypal 
preview's login portal, the user is logged in without any verification and the 
login is successful but there is 
no settings or anything of interest. When logged in via paypal uk login portal, 
it checks if the user account is already 
signed in from any other portal or not. Once it checks the user is already 
logged in via 
paypal preview (without verification) 
it allows us access to the account without any kind of verification. This is 
the way how 2FA was bypassed in 
paypal due to lack of 2FA protection.


Proof of Concept (PoC):
=======================
PayPal uses an additional layer of security known as 2-Factor Authentication 
which is used to verify the 
user's identity so no unauthorized access would be allowed. The mechanism 
verifies the user's identity by 
calling or messaging a code to phone number or by confirming the login via 
Mobile App. Without these, 
the account will not be accessed. By following the procedure below the 2FA 
protection can be bypassed:


Site: PayPal ( www.paypal.com )
PayPal UK Login Portal: https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/?cmd=_email_receipt
PayPal Preview Login Portal: 
https://www.paypal.com/webapps/garden/page/garden.form


Steps to reproduce:
1. Open PayPal UK Login Portal in a new tab(keep it open)
2. On the other tab, open PayPal Preview Login Portal
3. Login to your account in the URL which is opened in step 2
4. Enter credentials in the new window which appears
5. Refresh the page which was opened in step 1
6. Now you will be logged, Click on view account button which will lead you to 
your account and the 2 step verification will be bypassed


Solution - Fix & Patch:
=======================
In every login portals, verification checks must be deployed even if the user 
is already logged in. 
This will prevent unauthorized access to the account.


Security Risk:
==============
This vulnerability allows an attacker to bypass the 2-factor authentication and 
mobile confirmation 
which could lead to unauthorized access.


Credits & Authors:
==================
Shawar Khan - (https://shawarkhan.com) 
[http://www.vulnerability-lab.com/show.php?user=Shawar%20Khan]


Disclaimer & Information:
=========================
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foregoing 
limitation may not apply. We do not approve or encourage anybody to break any 
licenses, policies, deface websites, hack into databases or trade with stolen 
data.

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