CVE-2024-54997
📋 TL;DR
MonicaHQ v4.1.1 contains an authenticated client-side injection vulnerability in the journal entry text field. This allows authenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in other users' browsers when viewing journal entries. Only MonicaHQ instances running the vulnerable version are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- MonicaHQ
📦 What is this software?
Monica by Monicahq
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Authenticated attacker steals session cookies or credentials from other users, potentially leading to account takeover and data exfiltration.
Likely Case
Authenticated attacker performs cross-site scripting attacks against other users, potentially stealing session data or performing actions on their behalf.
If Mitigated
With proper input validation and output encoding, the injection would be neutralized before reaching users' browsers.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access to the MonicaHQ application. The vulnerability is in the /journal/entries/ID/edit endpoint.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown
Vendor Advisory: http://monicahq.com
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Check MonicaHQ vendor website for security updates. 2. Upgrade to patched version when available. 3. Apply input validation and output encoding fixes if patching source code directly.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement Content Security Policy
allAdd strict CSP headers to prevent script execution from untrusted sources
Add CSP header: Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'
Input Validation Filter
allImplement server-side input validation for journal entry text fields
Implement HTML entity encoding for user input in journal entries
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict journal entry creation/modification to trusted users only
- Implement web application firewall rules to detect and block injection attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test if HTML/JavaScript can be injected via the journal entry text field at /journal/entries/ID/edit and persists when viewed by other usersCheck Version:
Check MonicaHQ version in admin panel or via application metadataVerify Fix Applied:
Verify that injected scripts are properly sanitized and do not execute when journal entries are viewed📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual journal entry modifications
- Requests containing script tags or JavaScript in journal entry parameters
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests to /journal/entries/*/edit with suspicious payloads
SIEM Query:
source="monicahq" AND (uri_path="/journal/entries/*/edit" AND request_body CONTAINS "<script>" OR "javascript:")