package.json defines the extension’s metadata and permissions, as well as when and how the extension is loaded in the editor.Īs part of the VS Code environment, extensions have a set of privileges that allow them to interact with the system. The extension.js or extension.ts file controls the extension’s behavior, including interacting with the VS Code API. The Building Blocks of VS Code Extensionsĭesigned to augment the editor’s functionality, VS Code extensions primarily rely on two core files: extension.js (or extension.ts) and package.json. Let’s uncover the depths of this issue together and ensure the security of your organization’s valuable resources. After explaining the significance of this vulnerability, we give suggestions on how to protect your systems. Then, we delve into the technical aspects of the exploit and highlight an additional bug we discovered. We provide a detailed account of our journey, starting with a demonstration of our initial proof of concept (POC). In this article, we explore this security loophole in VS Code and its implications for users relying on them. Our findings highlight the urgent need for enhanced security measures and greater security of extension permissions within the dynamic VS Code ecosystem. This vulnerability extends beyond individual computers and poses a potential risk to organizations, as these tokens often belong to organization user accounts. We developed a proof-of-concept malicious extension that successfully retrieved tokens not only from other extensions but also from VS Code’s built-in login and sync functionality for GitHub and Microsoft accounts, presenting a “Token Stealing” attack. However, our research uncovered a new attack vector in this functionality. VS Code offers a secure and isolated solution for storing these tokens within the operating system. ![]() In VS Code, extensions store tokens provided by developers to integrate with third-party systems. However, our findings reveal the existence of a hidden security vulnerability that presents a significant risk to users and organizations utilizing extensions with tokens. ![]() These extensions often rely on tokens to enable seamless integration with external services and APIs. These extensions provide developers with extra tools and features to enhance their coding experience. In the world of software development, Visual Studio Code (VS Code) has become a popular and powerful code editor known for its wide range of extensions. Staying aware of this risk is essential to ensure the protection of both personal and organizational security. A malicious extension could expose third-party application tokens “securely stored” by your VS Code IDE, posing significant risks to entire organizations.ĭevelopers should be cautious with VS Code extensions that integrate with third-party applications, as these extensions store tokens in the IDE storage, making them vulnerable to potential theft by malicious extensions. While designed for isolated storage for each extension, this vulnerability presents a high-risk “Token Stealing” attack. ![]() This is the full story of the vulnerability we have discovered within Visual Studio Code (VS Code) concerning the handling of secure token storage.
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