| Recurring |
one_organization, multiple_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to Yahoo Mail being vulnerable to email hijacking due to a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability has happened again within the same organization. An exploit targeting this vulnerability was being sold by an Egyptian hacker named TheHell on a cybercrime forum [15791, 15615]. Yahoo quickly repaired the vulnerability after learning about the exploit and recommended users to follow online security measures to protect their accounts [15791].
(b) The incident of a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting Yahoo Mail accounts has also been reported to have happened at other organizations or with their products and services. The exploit offered by the hacker TheHell targeted a weakness in yahoo.com that allowed attackers to steal cookies from Yahoo! Webmail users, potentially impacting millions of accounts [15615]. This type of vulnerability can be exploited in various systems and websites, making it a concern for multiple organizations. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles can be attributed to the design phase. The exploit targeting a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Yahoo.com allowed attackers to steal and replace tracking cookies, as well as read and send emails from victims' accounts. The vulnerability was quickly repaired by Yahoo after learning about the issue, and Yahoo's Director of Security mentioned that fixing the vulnerability was easy once the offending URL was identified, indicating a design flaw in the system [15791, 15615].
(b) The software failure incident can also be linked to the operation phase. The exploit worked when an unsuspecting email user clicked on a malicious hyperlink sent in an email, allowing cyber attackers access to Yahoo Mail accounts. This indicates a failure due to the operation or misuse of the system, as users unknowingly enabled attackers to gain access to their accounts by clicking on the malicious link [15615]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles is primarily within the system. The exploit targeting a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Yahoo.com allowed attackers to steal cookies, read and send emails, and redirect users to malicious sites [15791, 15615]. The vulnerability was present within Yahoo's system, and Yahoo quickly repaired the vulnerability after learning about it [15791].
(b) Additionally, the software failure incident involved contributing factors from outside the system. An Egyptian hacker marketed the exploit on an underground cybercrime forum, offering it for sale at $700 [15791, 15615]. The hacker exploited the vulnerability in Yahoo Mail accounts by sending malicious links to unsuspecting users, demonstrating how the attack could be carried out [15791]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles is primarily due to non-human actions. The incident involves an exploit targeting a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Yahoo.com that allows attackers to steal cookies and manipulate email accounts without direct human involvement. The exploit is sold by an alleged hacker on a cybercrime forum, and the vulnerability is quickly patched by Yahoo once discovered [15791, 15615].
(b) Human actions also play a role in this software failure incident. The hacker, known as TheHell, actively markets and sells the exploit targeting Yahoo Mail accounts. The hacker demonstrates the exploit in a video and offers it for sale on an underground cybercrime community. Additionally, Yahoo's security team responds to the threat by fixing potential vulnerabilities in their code [15791, 15615]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles is primarily due to a software vulnerability rather than hardware issues. The exploit targeting a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Yahoo.com allowed attackers to steal cookies and gain unauthorized access to Yahoo Mail accounts [15791, 15615].
(b) The software failure incident is directly related to a software vulnerability in Yahoo Mail, specifically a cross-site scripting (XSS) weakness in Yahoo.com that enabled attackers to steal cookies and potentially read or send emails from victims' accounts [15791, 15615]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The objective of the software failure incident was malicious. The incident involved an exploit being sold by an Egyptian hacker on a cybercrime forum targeting a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Yahoo.com. The exploit allowed attackers to steal and replace tracking cookies, read and send emails from victims' accounts, and redirect browsers to malicious sites. The hacker advertised the exploit for $700, emphasizing its ability to steal Yahoo email cookies and work on all browsers [15791, 15615]. The hacker also mentioned selling the exploit to trusted individuals to prevent it from being patched quickly [15615].
(b) The incident was not non-malicious as it involved intentional exploitation of a vulnerability in Yahoo Mail accounts for malicious purposes, rather than accidental or unintentional factors leading to the failure [15791, 15615]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident:
- The software failure incident involving the exploit targeting a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Yahoo Mail was due to poor decisions made by an Egyptian hacker known as TheHell. The hacker marketed the exploit on a cybercrime forum for $700, putting millions of Yahoo Mail users at risk of having their accounts hijacked and browsers redirected to malicious sites [15791, 15615].
- The hacker intentionally exploited the XSS vulnerability to steal Yahoo emails cookies and gain access to sensitive information from victims' accounts. The hacker was aware of the potential consequences of the exploit but still chose to sell it to a select group of "trusted people" to prevent it from being patched or modified [15791, 15615]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles can be attributed to development incompetence. The incident involved an exploit targeting a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Yahoo.com that allowed attackers to steal and replace tracking cookies, as well as read and send emails from victims' accounts. The hacker, known as TheHell, marketed the exploit on a cybercrime forum, offering it for sale at a lower price than usual exploits of this nature. Yahoo quickly repaired the vulnerability after learning about the exploit, but the challenge lay in locating the specific vulnerability within the code. Yahoo's Director of Security mentioned that fixing the vulnerability was easy once the offending URL was identified, indicating that the issue stemmed from a lack of professional competence in securing the software [15791, 15615].
(b) The software failure incident can also be considered accidental. The exploit was designed to work when an unsuspecting email user clicked on a malicious hyperlink sent in an email, allowing a cyber attacker access to their Yahoo Mail account. The hacker behind the exploit, TheHell, seemed to anticipate that Yahoo would evolve their code to fix the vulnerability once the exploit began circulating. The hacker mentioned that the exploit would only be sold to a small group of trusted individuals to prevent it from being patched or modified, indicating that the incident was not intentionally caused but rather a consequence of the vulnerability being exploited [15615]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident in the articles can be categorized as a temporary failure. The incident involved a vulnerability in Yahoo Mail that allowed an exploit to be sold for $700, putting millions of Yahoo Mail users at risk of having their accounts hijacked [15791, 15615]. The exploit targeted a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Yahoo.com, allowing attackers to steal cookies, read and send emails, and redirect browsers to malicious sites. Yahoo quickly repaired the vulnerability after learning about it and recommended users to follow online security measures such as changing passwords regularly and not clicking on suspicious links in emails. The challenge for Yahoo was in locating the specific vulnerability to patch it, but once identified, they could deploy new code in a few hours [15791]. The hacker selling the exploit anticipated that the company would evolve their code to fix the vulnerability once the malicious link began to circulate [15615]. |
| Behaviour |
omission, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the articles does not involve a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions.
(b) omission: The software failure incident can be categorized under omission as the exploit allowed attackers to steal cookies from Yahoo! Webmail users, enabling them to send or read emails from the victim's account. This omission of security measures led to unauthorized access to sensitive information [15791, 15615].
(c) timing: The software failure incident does not involve a timing issue where the system performs its intended functions too late or too early.
(d) value: The software failure incident falls under the value category as the system performed its intended functions incorrectly by allowing the exploit to be used to hijack Yahoo Mail accounts and redirect users to malicious sites [15791, 15615].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not exhibit a byzantine behavior where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The other behavior exhibited in this software failure incident is a security vulnerability related to a cross-site scripting (XSS) weakness in Yahoo.com that was exploited by the hacker to carry out the attack. This vulnerability allowed for the insertion of malicious code into the system, leading to unauthorized access and manipulation of user data [15791, 15615]. |