Root Cause Analysis of Clickjacking Issues

Clickjacking Issues

• Website Security
  • Poor iframe Restrictions
  • Inadequate Content Security Policy (CSP)
  • Lack of X-Frame-Options Header
• User Awareness
  • Ignorance about Suspicious Links and Websites
  • Lack of Understanding of Phishing & Social Engineering
  • Lack of Security Awareness
• Browser Vulnerabilities
  • Lack of Built-in Anti-Clickjacking Protection
  • Insufficient Security Patches
  • Outdated Browser Versions
• Application Design
  • Non-Use of Anti-CSRF Tokens
  • Weak Authentication Mechanisms
  • Overuse of iframes for UI
• Social Engineering
  • Misleading Visual Cues
  • Deceptive UI Elements
  • Use of Fake Interfaces
• Security Testing
  • Absence of Usability Testing for Security
  • Lack of Clickjacking Detection in Testing Frameworks
  • Insufficient Security Penetration Testing

Suggested Actions Checklist

Here are some corrective actions, preventive actions and investigative actions that organizations may find useful:

• Website Security
  • Poor iframe Restrictions
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Review and restrict iframe embedding using proper headers (X-Frame-Options or Content-Security-Policy).
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Enforce strict policies disallowing third-party iframe usage unless explicitly required and vetted.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Identify pages embedded in external sites and assess potential clickjacking exposure.
  • Inadequate Content Security Policy (CSP)
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Implement a comprehensive CSP that includes frame-ancestors directives.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Regularly update and test CSP headers to adapt to evolving threats.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Analyze server responses to verify whether CSP headers are correctly applied across all endpoints.
  • Lack of X-Frame-Options Header
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Deploy X-Frame-Options: DENY or SAMEORIGIN across all HTML responses.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Integrate X-Frame-Options checks into CI/CD pipeline to enforce presence on every build.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Perform security scans to detect missing or misconfigured X-Frame-Options headers.
• User Awareness
  • Ignorance about Suspicious Links and Websites
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Provide mandatory training for users on identifying and avoiding malicious links.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Launch periodic phishing simulation campaigns to reinforce learning.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Analyze user click behavior during simulated attacks to identify knowledge gaps.
  • Lack of Understanding of Phishing & Social Engineering
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Develop interactive workshops or e-learning modules focused on phishing and social engineering tactics.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Regularly update awareness materials with examples of recent phishing campaigns.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Conduct surveys or tests to assess users' baseline understanding and areas for improvement.
  • Lack of Security Awareness
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Introduce a formal security awareness program with tracked participation and assessments.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Embed cybersecurity training into onboarding and continuous learning tracks.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Review incident logs for patterns suggesting a lack of user awareness (e.g., repeated security policy violations).
• Browser Vulnerabilities
  • Lack of Built-in Anti-Clickjacking Protection
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Recommend or enforce use of secure browsers with modern security features in enterprise environments.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Collaborate with browser vendors or IT to prioritize feature requests for enhanced protection.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Assess browser capabilities used within the organization for built-in clickjacking mitigations.
  • Insufficient Security Patches
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Apply pending browser updates across all devices using centralized patch management tools.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Enable automatic updates to ensure timely patch deployment.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Conduct patch compliance audits to identify outdated software and non-compliant devices.
  • Outdated Browser Versions
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Enforce minimum supported browser versions via access control policies or user alerts.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Establish browser lifecycle management policy to retire and replace outdated versions.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Use endpoint management tools to generate reports on browser versions in use.
• Application Design
  • Non-Use of Anti-CSRF Tokens
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Implement anti-CSRF tokens on all state-changing requests.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Enforce anti-CSRF checks through application framework configurations.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Review application logs and codebases for missing CSRF protection on sensitive endpoints.
  • Weak Authentication Mechanisms
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Strengthen authentication with multi-factor authentication (MFA) and session management best practices.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Regularly audit authentication logic to ensure alignment with OWASP recommendations.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Analyze authentication failure logs and session hijack attempts to pinpoint weaknesses.
  • Overuse of iframes for UI
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Redesign UI to reduce or eliminate dependency on iframes.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Adopt secure UI design principles that discourage iframe-based layouts.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Audit web application for iframe usage and assess necessity and security posture of each.
• Social Engineering
  • Misleading Visual Cues
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Redesign UI to remove deceptive or ambiguous indicators (e.g., fake buttons, misleading overlays).
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Conduct user testing to validate clarity and integrity of interactive elements.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Collect feedback or behavioral data where users were misled by UI elements.
  • Deceptive UI Elements
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Eliminate deceptive designs (e.g., hidden buttons, fake notifications) from the interface.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Introduce design review gates to detect and reject manipulative UX patterns.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Analyze user interaction data to detect anomalies or repeated misclicks on harmful elements.
  • Use of Fake Interfaces
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Remove or block third-party content that mimics legitimate interfaces.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Validate third-party integrations to ensure they do not impersonate internal UI elements.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Investigate reports of UI mimicry and inspect source code for unauthorized iframe or script inclusion.
• Security Testing
  • Absence of Usability Testing for Security
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Incorporate usability testing as a standard phase in secure software development.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Define criteria for secure usability that must be passed before product release.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Review past releases and user complaints to identify where usability gaps caused security issues.
  • Lack of Clickjacking Detection in Testing Frameworks
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Integrate tools that simulate clickjacking scenarios in automated testing pipelines.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Update security test cases and frameworks to include UI-based vulnerability scans.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Re-execute past test cases with updated tools to identify previously undetected issues.
  • Insufficient Security Penetration Testing
    • Corrective Actions:
    • Commission comprehensive penetration tests focusing on UI, frame handling, and user interactions.
    • Preventive Actions:
    • Establish regular penetration testing cycles aligned with major releases.
    • Investigative Actions:
    • Analyze past security incidents for issues that could have been caught with better testing coverage.