A newly discovered critical vulnerability (CVE-2024-27917) in Shopware 6, a widely used open-source e-commerce platform, could significantly disrupt online stores and compromise the shopping experience for customers.
Technical Breakdown: Where the Trouble Lies
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The Root Cause: At the heart of the problem is how Shopware manages sessions (the data that remembers if a user is logged in, what’s in their cart, etc.). When a user lands on a 404 page (page not found), a mix-up occurs where the wrong session information gets cached as part of the page.
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The Big Deal: When subsequent users hit that same 404, they inherit a cached session cookie. This could either be empty (kicking a logged-in user out) or someone else’s session (major security risk).
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The Caveat: The exploitation of this vulnerability is circumvented when Redis is employed for session management using the PHP Redis extension. This configuration sidesteps the flawed mechanism by not caching session cookies in 404-page responses, thereby nullifying the risk posed by CVE-2024-27917.
Real World Impact
Picture this:
- Shopper Confusion: Customers could suddenly find themselves logged out or their shopping carts mysteriously emptied.
- Frustration and Lost Sales: This kind of disruption can lead to abandoned carts and damage to your store’s reputation.
- Possible Security Breach: In the worst case, an attacker could exploit this to access other shoppers’ accounts.
Protect Your Store – What You Need To Do
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Patch Immediately: If you’re running Shopware 6.5.8.0 through 6.5.8.6, updating to version 6.5.8.7 is the top priority. This contains the official fix.
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Consider Redis (Even if Not Affected): If you’re not already using Redis for session management, now is a great time to look into it. It offers additional performance and scalability benefits.
