Mail Hijack CSRF: Mastering CSRF Attacks with a Clever Twist

Yo, cybersecurity warriors! Ready to dive into a slick challenge that’ll test your hacking chops? Welcome to the Mail Hijack CSRF Lab at IHA089 Labs, where you’ll get to play with Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks in a safe, ethical sandbox. I crafted this lab to put you in the driver’s seat, exploiting a web app’s weak spot to add a secondary email to someone else’s account. No account takeovers here—just pure CSRF trickery and a juicy flag to claim. In this blog post, I’ll break down what the lab’s about, why CSRF is a sneaky threat, and toss in some hints to get your brain gears turning. Let’s roll!

What’s the Mail Hijack CSRF Lab?

Imagine you’re poking around a web app that feels legit—users can sign up with @iha089.org emails, verify their accounts, and manage their profiles. But there’s a hidden flaw, and it’s your job to exploit it. That’s the Mail Hijack CSRF Lab, a challenge I built to teach you how CSRF attacks can mess with a web app’s trust.

Why CSRF Attacks Matter

Let’s talk real talk: CSRF attacks are like a ninja strike. Picture yourself logged into a shopping site, and you click a shady link someone sent you. Next thing you know, that link changes your delivery address to the attacker’s house—all because the site trusted a request it shouldn’t have. CSRF exploits the fact that your browser sends session cookies with every request to a site you’re logged into, even if the request comes from a malicious page.

In the MailHijackCSRF Lab, you’ll see how a web app can be fooled into accepting unauthorized actions, like adding a secondary email. CSRF is a big deal—OWASP ranks it among the top web vulnerabilities. Learning to exploit it (ethically, of course) helps you understand how to protect apps from these silent attacks. Plus, it’s a thrill to pull off a hack that feels like digital sleight of hand.

Running the Lab

Setup IHA089 Labs on your system

Ready to test your hacking skills? Here’s how to jump into the Mail Hijack CSRF lab and start messing with some sneaky CSRF exploits:

Fire Up IHA089 Labs: Run the IHA089 Labs and head to the CSRF category to find the good stuff.
Pick the Lab: From the list of labs, spot Mail Hijack CSRF and type its number to select it. Easy peasy.
Grab the URL: The lab will spit out a URL (something like https://iha089-labs.in). Pop that into your browser to get to the lab’s web app.
Your Challenge: Use a CSRF attack to add a secondary email to the target account (target@iha089.org).

Your Mission: Add the Secondary Email

Here’s the game plan: the app lets users add a secondary email to their account, but it’s got a CSRF vulnerability you can exploit. Your mission is to add your own email (e.g., attacker@iha089.org) to another user’s account—say, the target (target@iha089.org). When you succeed, the app sends a verification link to your email via the mail server. Submit that link to claim your flag and prove you’ve mastered the attack.

You’re not logging into the victim’s account or taking it over—just slipping your email into their profile like a digital prank. The app uses cookies to track sessions, and there’s a tiny detail in how those cookies are set up that makes this exploit possible. Your job is to figure out how to trick the target into triggering this action while they’re logged in. Think of it like sending a fake command that the app blindly follows.

Hints to Spark Your Attack

I’m not gonna hand you the solution—that’d kill the buzz of cracking this yourself! But here are some hints to light the way without spilling the beans:

Peek at the Cookies: Fire up your browser’s developer tools (F12) and check out the uuid and jwt_token cookies after logging in. Look at their attributes, especially SameSite. Does it give you any ideas about how requests might work across different sites?
Sniff the POST Request: Use a tool like Burp Suite to catch the POST request when you add a secondary email on the profile page. What’s the endpoint? What data gets sent? Could you mimic that request from another site?
Craft a Trap: CSRF attacks often rely on luring users to a malicious page. What if you made a simple HTML page with a form that sends a request to the app? Maybe one that submits itself without the user noticing?
Check the Profile Flow: The profile page is ground zero for this challenge. When you add a secondary email, what happens next? Pay attention to what the app sends you afterward—it’s a key part of the puzzle.

These clues should get your creative juices flowing. Tinker, test, and don’t shy away from wild ideas—that’s how you uncover the exploit!

Why This Lab Is a Blast

I poured my heart into the MailHijackCSRF Lab to make it a killer learning experience. Here’s why it’s a must-try:

Real-World Vibes: CSRF is a legit threat in web apps that don’t lock down their forms. This lab shows you how attackers exploit it and what developers need to fix it.
Hands-On Hacking: You’re not just reading about CSRF—you’re building a malicious page, triggering an exploit, and chasing a verification link. It’s as real as it gets without stepping over the line.
Skill Booster: Whether you’re just starting out or a cybersecurity vet, this lab sharpens your ability to spot and exploit vulnerabilities others overlook.

IHA089 Labs is all about making cybersecurity fun and accessible, and this lab is a perfect example. It’s not just a challenge—it’s a chance to think like a hacker and grow your skills.

Join Us

Level Up Your Skills

Crushed the Mail Hijack CSRF Lab? Awesome, but don’t stop there! Here’s how to keep the momentum going:

Explore More Labs: Dig into our other challenges on IHA089 LABS, like brute force or xss. Each one’s a fresh test of your skills.
Patch It Up: Think about how you’d protect the app from CSRF. Could you add something to the requests to verify they’re legit? Try coding it as an extra challenge.
Share the Love: Tell us how you tackled the lab on Twitter or GitHub discussions. I’m stoked to hear your story (just don’t drop spoilers!).
Learn More: Dive into CSRF prevention techniques, like anti-CSRF tokens or tweaking cookie settings. The OWASP CSRF guide is a solid place to start.

The MailHijackCSRF Lab is your playground to mess with a web app, exploit a flaw —all while learning how to keep systems safe. So, fire up the app, and get hacking. I’m pumped to see you nail this challenge and take your cybersecurity game to the next level. Stay sharp, stay ethical, and keep rocking it!