Bokeh is an interactive visualization library written in Python. In versions 3.8.1 and below, if a server is configured with an allowlist (e.g., dashboard.corp), an attacker can register a domain like dashboard.corp.attacker.com (or use a subdomain if applicable) and lure a victim to visit it. The malicious site can then initiate a WebSocket connection to the vulnerable Bokeh server. Since the Origin header (e.g., http://dashboard.corp.attacker.com/) matches the allowlist according to the flawed logic, the connection is accepted. Once connected, the attacker can interact with the Bokeh server on behalf of the victim, potentially accessing sensitive data, or modifying visualizations. This issue is fixed in version 3.8.2.
The product uses a WebSocket, but it does not properly verify that the source of data or communication is valid.
WebSockets provide a bi-directional low latency communication (near real-time) between a client and a server. WebSockets are different than HTTP in that the connections are long-lived, as the channel will remain open until the client or the server is ready to send the message, whereas in HTTP, once the response occurs (which typically happens immediately), the transaction completes. A WebSocket can leverage the existing HTTP protocol over ports 80 and 443, but it is not limited to HTTP. WebSockets can make cross-origin requests that are not restricted by browser-based protection mechanisms such as the Same Origin Policy (SOP) or Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS). Without explicit origin validation, this makes CSRF attacks more powerful.