Travel Trouble: How a Tiny Flaw Could’ve Ruined Your Vacation Plans!
Cybersecurity researchers have unearthed a vulnerability in a popular travel service that could let attackers hijack accounts and book trips with someone else’s airline loyalty points. The vulnerability, now patched, affects online airline services, putting millions at risk. The attack was executed by manipulating a simple parameter during the login process.
Hot Take:
Ah, the joys of booking that dream vacation, only to find out that someone else has already taken it for you. Thanks to a now-patched vulnerability, cybercriminals could’ve been sipping piña coladas on your airline loyalty points, all while you’re stuck on hold with customer service. Lesson learned: even your loyalty points aren’t loyal to you!
Key Points:
- A patched vulnerability allowed attackers to take over accounts on a travel service used by commercial airlines.
- Attackers could exploit this flaw to book hotels and cars using victims’ loyalty points.
- The exploit involved manipulating the “tr_returnUrl” parameter in a link.
- The attack was difficult to detect due to legitimate customer domain use.
- Highlights the risks in API supply chain and third-party integrations.
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