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Dependency Confusion

A dependency confusion attack or supply chain substitution attack occurs when a software installer script is tricked into pulling a malicious code file from a public repository instead of the intended file of the same name from an internal repository.

Summary

Tools

Exploit

Look for npm, pip, gem packages, the methodology is the same : you register a public package with the same name of private one used by the company and then you wait for it to be used.

NPM example

  • List all the packages (ie: package.json, composer.json, ...)
  • Find the package missing from https://www.npmjs.com/
  • Register and create a public package with the same name
    • Package example : https://github.com/0xsapra/dependency-confusion-expoit

References