In most cases, trust boundaries are violated when a secret is exposed in a source code repository or an uncontrolled deployment environment.
Unintended people who don’t need to know the secret might get access to it. They might then be able to use it to gain unwanted access to associated
services or resources.
The trust issue can be more or less severe depending on the people’s role and entitlement.
What is the potential impact?
Postmark server tokens are used to authenticate requests to the Postmark API. When a request is made to the Postmark API, the server token is
included in the header of the request. This process enables Postmark to confirm that the request originates from a trusted source and should be
processed accordingly.
These tokens are sensitive because they provide full access to all features and data on a specific server in Postmark.
Below are some real-world scenarios that illustrate some impacts of an attacker exploiting the secret.
Phishing and spam
An attacker can use this token to spam users or lure them into links to a malicious domain controlled by the attacker.
Spam can cause users to be exposed to the following:
- Unsolicited, inappropriate content, such as pornographic material
- Fraudulent attempts to trick users into sending information or money
- Abusive or hateful statements
- False advertising or fraudulent claims
Once a user has been phished on a legitimate-seeming third-party website, an attacker can collect the user’s credentials, bypass multi-factor
authentication (MFA), and take over the user’s account on the trusted website.
Malware distribution
Due to this vulnerability, malware can be stored and spread, both to users of the service and to other potential targets.
A malware depends on
the attacker’s intentions, as the following examples show:
- Cryptojacking malware, whose goal is to "mine" cryptocurrencies on the affected computers or servers.
- Spyware that spies out sensitive information from victims.
In the worst case, malware can cause the target systems to be completely compromised and allow attackers to infiltrate the systems.
Account termination
Unauthorized access to mailing service API keys can also result in resource abuse. Attackers can exploit the API keys to send a large volume of
spam emails or perform other resource-intensive operations, causing a significant strain on the mailing service provider’s infrastructure.
The service provider, being vigilant about such activities, may flag your account and take action against it. This could lead to the suspension or
termination of the compromised account, thus causing significant inconvenience and potential loss of communication with your customers or
partners.
