HTTPS to HTTP Insecure Transition in Form Post

The vulnerability known as "HTTPS to HTTP Insecure Transition in Form Post" occurs when a user logs in to a website using a secure HTTPS connection, but then is redirected to an insecure HTTP connection when submitting a form, which can lead to sensitive data being intercepted by attackers. To fix this vulnerability, we need to ensure that all form submissions are done over a secure HTTPS connection. Here are the steps to fix this issue:

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Step 1: Identify All Forms That Are Being Submitted

First, we need to identify all the forms that are being submitted on the website. This includes login forms, contact forms, registration forms, and any other forms that may exist on the site.

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Step 2: Check the Current Form Submission URLs

Next, we need to check the URLs that are currently being used for form submissions. If the form submissions are already being sent over HTTPS, then we do not need to take any further action. However, if the form submissions are being sent over HTTP, we need to change the URLs to HTTPS.

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Step 3: Change HTTP URLs to HTTPS URLs

To change the HTTP URLs to HTTPS URLs, we need to update the form action attribute in the HTML code of the form. For example, if the form action attribute currently looks like this:

<form action="http://example.com/submit-form.php"

We need to change it to this:

<form action="https://example.com/submit-form.php"

Note that the exact URLs will depend on the website and the form being submitted.

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Step 4: Update Any Associated Links and Resources

If any links or resources associated with the form submission (such as CSS files or JavaScript files) are currently being loaded over HTTP, we need to update them to be loaded over HTTPS as well. This can be done by changing the URLs in the HTML code of the page. For example, if a JavaScript file is currently being loaded like this:

<script src="http://example.com/script.js"></script>

We need to change it to this:

<script src="https://example.com/script.js"></script>

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Step 5: Test the Updated Forms

After making the necessary changes, we need to test the updated forms to ensure that they are now being submitted over HTTPS. This can be done by submitting the form and checking the URL in the browser address bar to ensure that it starts with "https://" instead of "http://".

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Step 6: Implement HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)

To further protect against this vulnerability, we can implement HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) on the website. This ensures that all traffic to the website is automatically redirected to HTTPS, even if the user types "http://" in the address bar. To implement HSTS, we need to add a special header to the website's HTTP responses. Here is an example header:

Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload

This header tells the browser to always use HTTPS for the website for the next year (the "max-age" value), to include subdomains in the policy (the "includeSubDomains" value), and to preload the HSTS policy (the "preload" value).

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Step 7: Retest the Website

After implementing the necessary changes, we need to retest the website using the vulnerability scanner to ensure that the vulnerability has been successfully fixed.

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Conclusion

The "HTTPS to HTTP Insecure Transition in Form Post" vulnerability can leave sensitive data open to interception by attackers. By following these steps, we can ensure that all form submissions on the website are done over a secure HTTPS connection, and that HSTS is implemented to further protect against this vulnerability. It is important to regularly scan the website for vulnerabilities and keep it updated with the latest security patches and best practices.

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