What attacks are made possible by public release of my web history?











up vote
85
down vote

favorite
17












Assume that my Internet history is made public (accidentally or on purpose). And this release is over 24 hours since the visits were made.



Also, assume that there aren't embarrassing sites on there: there isn't any blackmail potential.



(My most embarrassing page visited in the last week is actually the TV tropes page for my little pony, for which I have a valid reason and a witness).



What potential attacks does this allow? I'm mildly concerned about seeing massive links like:




hxxps://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/ap-post-redirect?openid.assoc_handle=amzn_dtp&aToken=Atza%7CIwEBIO9mWoekr9KzK7rH_Db0gp93sewMCe6UcFPm_MbUhq-jp1m7kF-x0erh6NbjdLX3bm8Gfo3h7yU1nBYHOWso0LiOyUMLgLIDCEMGKGZBqv1EMyT6-EDajBYsH21sek92r5aH6Ahy9POCGEplpeKBVrAiU-vl3uIfOAHihKnB5r2yXPytFCITXM70wB5HBT-MIX3F1Y2G4WfWA-EgIfZY8bLdLangmgVq8hE61eDIFRzcSDtAf0Sz7_zxm1Ix8lV8XFBS8GSML9YSwZ1Gq6nSt9pG7hTZoGQns9nzKLk7WpAWE8RazDLKxVJD-nDsQ9VdBJe7JZJtD7c77swkYneOZ5HXgeGFkGhKsMnP7GSYndXhC_PqzY251iDt0X7e5TWvh86WZA0tG2qZ_lyIagZtB3iw&openid.claimed_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fap%2Fid%2Famzn1.account.AEK7TIVVPUJDAK3JIFQIQ77WZWDQ&openid.identity=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fap%2Fid%2Famzn1.account.AEK7TIVVPUJDAK3JIFQIQ77WZWDQ&openid.mode=id_res&openid.ns=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0&openid.op_endpoint=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fap%2Fsignin&openid.response_nonce=2018-12-11T13%3A46%3A52Z4004222742336216632&openid.return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fkdp.amazon.com%2Fap-post-redirect&openid.signed=assoc_handle%2CaToken%2Cclaimed_id%2Cidentity%2Cmode%2Cns%2Cop_endpoint%2Cresponse_nonce%2Creturn_to%2CsiteState%2Cns.pape%2Cpape.auth_policies%2Cpape.auth_time%2Csigned&openid.ns.pape=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fextensions%2Fpape%2F1.0&openid.pape.auth_policies=http%3A%2F%2Fschemas.openid.net%2Fpape%2Fpolicies%2F2007%2F06%2Fnone&openid.pape.auth_time=2018-12-11T13%3A46%3A52Z&openid.sig=5cx5iHjeLyWTTA9iJ%2BucszunqanOw36djKuNF6%2FOfsM%3D&serial=&siteState=clientContext%3D135-4119325-2722413%2CsourceUrl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fkdp.amazon.com%252Fbookshelf%253Flanguage%253Den_US%2Csignature%3DgqJ53erzurnmO1SPLDK1gLwh9%2FUP6rGUwGF2uZUAAAABAAAAAFwPv8dyYXcAAAAAAsF6s-obfie4v1Ep9rqj




in my history and worrying that secure information might be passed in a URL somewhere.



I am aware that this makes it easier to impersonate my identity, and I'm mostly interested in the leakage of information via the URL itself.



I have a general interest, but this is motivated by a test project I'm running.










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Joe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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  • 4




    Is it just your browser history or it a complete account/host compromise? It matters because, while your browser history might not provide much (unless you're into obscure porn), if they had access to your computer/profile, cookies, key loggers, screen scrapers are a whole different ballgame.
    – thepip3r
    Dec 11 at 20:53








  • 9




    I can't believe that nobody mentioned spearphishing yet. With recent information of what you look at an attacker could easily send fake invoices or otherwise create very undetectable phishing mails.
    – BlueWizard
    Dec 12 at 20:58






  • 5




    I once worked at a place, where I had to login to some system. It turned out that the "login" was a url with a specific session key. The server recognized the session id, and I was logged in. This kind of information could be in your browser history. That this practice is unsecure in all kinds of ways is another story.
    – Esben Boye-Jacobsen
    Dec 13 at 9:39






  • 3




    What's your valid reason for searching MLP?
    – Sombrero Chicken
    Dec 14 at 15:44






  • 6




    @SombreroChicken - household argument on the topic of "there are NO sidekicks in fiction with telepathic powers
    – Joe
    Dec 14 at 15:59















up vote
85
down vote

favorite
17












Assume that my Internet history is made public (accidentally or on purpose). And this release is over 24 hours since the visits were made.



Also, assume that there aren't embarrassing sites on there: there isn't any blackmail potential.



(My most embarrassing page visited in the last week is actually the TV tropes page for my little pony, for which I have a valid reason and a witness).



What potential attacks does this allow? I'm mildly concerned about seeing massive links like:




hxxps://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/ap-post-redirect?openid.assoc_handle=amzn_dtp&aToken=Atza%7CIwEBIO9mWoekr9KzK7rH_Db0gp93sewMCe6UcFPm_MbUhq-jp1m7kF-x0erh6NbjdLX3bm8Gfo3h7yU1nBYHOWso0LiOyUMLgLIDCEMGKGZBqv1EMyT6-EDajBYsH21sek92r5aH6Ahy9POCGEplpeKBVrAiU-vl3uIfOAHihKnB5r2yXPytFCITXM70wB5HBT-MIX3F1Y2G4WfWA-EgIfZY8bLdLangmgVq8hE61eDIFRzcSDtAf0Sz7_zxm1Ix8lV8XFBS8GSML9YSwZ1Gq6nSt9pG7hTZoGQns9nzKLk7WpAWE8RazDLKxVJD-nDsQ9VdBJe7JZJtD7c77swkYneOZ5HXgeGFkGhKsMnP7GSYndXhC_PqzY251iDt0X7e5TWvh86WZA0tG2qZ_lyIagZtB3iw&openid.claimed_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fap%2Fid%2Famzn1.account.AEK7TIVVPUJDAK3JIFQIQ77WZWDQ&openid.identity=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fap%2Fid%2Famzn1.account.AEK7TIVVPUJDAK3JIFQIQ77WZWDQ&openid.mode=id_res&openid.ns=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0&openid.op_endpoint=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fap%2Fsignin&openid.response_nonce=2018-12-11T13%3A46%3A52Z4004222742336216632&openid.return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fkdp.amazon.com%2Fap-post-redirect&openid.signed=assoc_handle%2CaToken%2Cclaimed_id%2Cidentity%2Cmode%2Cns%2Cop_endpoint%2Cresponse_nonce%2Creturn_to%2CsiteState%2Cns.pape%2Cpape.auth_policies%2Cpape.auth_time%2Csigned&openid.ns.pape=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fextensions%2Fpape%2F1.0&openid.pape.auth_policies=http%3A%2F%2Fschemas.openid.net%2Fpape%2Fpolicies%2F2007%2F06%2Fnone&openid.pape.auth_time=2018-12-11T13%3A46%3A52Z&openid.sig=5cx5iHjeLyWTTA9iJ%2BucszunqanOw36djKuNF6%2FOfsM%3D&serial=&siteState=clientContext%3D135-4119325-2722413%2CsourceUrl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fkdp.amazon.com%252Fbookshelf%253Flanguage%253Den_US%2Csignature%3DgqJ53erzurnmO1SPLDK1gLwh9%2FUP6rGUwGF2uZUAAAABAAAAAFwPv8dyYXcAAAAAAsF6s-obfie4v1Ep9rqj




in my history and worrying that secure information might be passed in a URL somewhere.



I am aware that this makes it easier to impersonate my identity, and I'm mostly interested in the leakage of information via the URL itself.



I have a general interest, but this is motivated by a test project I'm running.










share|improve this question









New contributor




Joe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 4




    Is it just your browser history or it a complete account/host compromise? It matters because, while your browser history might not provide much (unless you're into obscure porn), if they had access to your computer/profile, cookies, key loggers, screen scrapers are a whole different ballgame.
    – thepip3r
    Dec 11 at 20:53








  • 9




    I can't believe that nobody mentioned spearphishing yet. With recent information of what you look at an attacker could easily send fake invoices or otherwise create very undetectable phishing mails.
    – BlueWizard
    Dec 12 at 20:58






  • 5




    I once worked at a place, where I had to login to some system. It turned out that the "login" was a url with a specific session key. The server recognized the session id, and I was logged in. This kind of information could be in your browser history. That this practice is unsecure in all kinds of ways is another story.
    – Esben Boye-Jacobsen
    Dec 13 at 9:39






  • 3




    What's your valid reason for searching MLP?
    – Sombrero Chicken
    Dec 14 at 15:44






  • 6




    @SombreroChicken - household argument on the topic of "there are NO sidekicks in fiction with telepathic powers
    – Joe
    Dec 14 at 15:59













up vote
85
down vote

favorite
17









up vote
85
down vote

favorite
17






17





Assume that my Internet history is made public (accidentally or on purpose). And this release is over 24 hours since the visits were made.



Also, assume that there aren't embarrassing sites on there: there isn't any blackmail potential.



(My most embarrassing page visited in the last week is actually the TV tropes page for my little pony, for which I have a valid reason and a witness).



What potential attacks does this allow? I'm mildly concerned about seeing massive links like:




hxxps://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/ap-post-redirect?openid.assoc_handle=amzn_dtp&aToken=Atza%7CIwEBIO9mWoekr9KzK7rH_Db0gp93sewMCe6UcFPm_MbUhq-jp1m7kF-x0erh6NbjdLX3bm8Gfo3h7yU1nBYHOWso0LiOyUMLgLIDCEMGKGZBqv1EMyT6-EDajBYsH21sek92r5aH6Ahy9POCGEplpeKBVrAiU-vl3uIfOAHihKnB5r2yXPytFCITXM70wB5HBT-MIX3F1Y2G4WfWA-EgIfZY8bLdLangmgVq8hE61eDIFRzcSDtAf0Sz7_zxm1Ix8lV8XFBS8GSML9YSwZ1Gq6nSt9pG7hTZoGQns9nzKLk7WpAWE8RazDLKxVJD-nDsQ9VdBJe7JZJtD7c77swkYneOZ5HXgeGFkGhKsMnP7GSYndXhC_PqzY251iDt0X7e5TWvh86WZA0tG2qZ_lyIagZtB3iw&openid.claimed_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fap%2Fid%2Famzn1.account.AEK7TIVVPUJDAK3JIFQIQ77WZWDQ&openid.identity=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fap%2Fid%2Famzn1.account.AEK7TIVVPUJDAK3JIFQIQ77WZWDQ&openid.mode=id_res&openid.ns=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0&openid.op_endpoint=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fap%2Fsignin&openid.response_nonce=2018-12-11T13%3A46%3A52Z4004222742336216632&openid.return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fkdp.amazon.com%2Fap-post-redirect&openid.signed=assoc_handle%2CaToken%2Cclaimed_id%2Cidentity%2Cmode%2Cns%2Cop_endpoint%2Cresponse_nonce%2Creturn_to%2CsiteState%2Cns.pape%2Cpape.auth_policies%2Cpape.auth_time%2Csigned&openid.ns.pape=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fextensions%2Fpape%2F1.0&openid.pape.auth_policies=http%3A%2F%2Fschemas.openid.net%2Fpape%2Fpolicies%2F2007%2F06%2Fnone&openid.pape.auth_time=2018-12-11T13%3A46%3A52Z&openid.sig=5cx5iHjeLyWTTA9iJ%2BucszunqanOw36djKuNF6%2FOfsM%3D&serial=&siteState=clientContext%3D135-4119325-2722413%2CsourceUrl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fkdp.amazon.com%252Fbookshelf%253Flanguage%253Den_US%2Csignature%3DgqJ53erzurnmO1SPLDK1gLwh9%2FUP6rGUwGF2uZUAAAABAAAAAFwPv8dyYXcAAAAAAsF6s-obfie4v1Ep9rqj




in my history and worrying that secure information might be passed in a URL somewhere.



I am aware that this makes it easier to impersonate my identity, and I'm mostly interested in the leakage of information via the URL itself.



I have a general interest, but this is motivated by a test project I'm running.










share|improve this question









New contributor




Joe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











Assume that my Internet history is made public (accidentally or on purpose). And this release is over 24 hours since the visits were made.



Also, assume that there aren't embarrassing sites on there: there isn't any blackmail potential.



(My most embarrassing page visited in the last week is actually the TV tropes page for my little pony, for which I have a valid reason and a witness).



What potential attacks does this allow? I'm mildly concerned about seeing massive links like:




hxxps://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/ap-post-redirect?openid.assoc_handle=amzn_dtp&aToken=Atza%7CIwEBIO9mWoekr9KzK7rH_Db0gp93sewMCe6UcFPm_MbUhq-jp1m7kF-x0erh6NbjdLX3bm8Gfo3h7yU1nBYHOWso0LiOyUMLgLIDCEMGKGZBqv1EMyT6-EDajBYsH21sek92r5aH6Ahy9POCGEplpeKBVrAiU-vl3uIfOAHihKnB5r2yXPytFCITXM70wB5HBT-MIX3F1Y2G4WfWA-EgIfZY8bLdLangmgVq8hE61eDIFRzcSDtAf0Sz7_zxm1Ix8lV8XFBS8GSML9YSwZ1Gq6nSt9pG7hTZoGQns9nzKLk7WpAWE8RazDLKxVJD-nDsQ9VdBJe7JZJtD7c77swkYneOZ5HXgeGFkGhKsMnP7GSYndXhC_PqzY251iDt0X7e5TWvh86WZA0tG2qZ_lyIagZtB3iw&openid.claimed_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fap%2Fid%2Famzn1.account.AEK7TIVVPUJDAK3JIFQIQ77WZWDQ&openid.identity=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fap%2Fid%2Famzn1.account.AEK7TIVVPUJDAK3JIFQIQ77WZWDQ&openid.mode=id_res&openid.ns=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fauth%2F2.0&openid.op_endpoint=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fap%2Fsignin&openid.response_nonce=2018-12-11T13%3A46%3A52Z4004222742336216632&openid.return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fkdp.amazon.com%2Fap-post-redirect&openid.signed=assoc_handle%2CaToken%2Cclaimed_id%2Cidentity%2Cmode%2Cns%2Cop_endpoint%2Cresponse_nonce%2Creturn_to%2CsiteState%2Cns.pape%2Cpape.auth_policies%2Cpape.auth_time%2Csigned&openid.ns.pape=http%3A%2F%2Fspecs.openid.net%2Fextensions%2Fpape%2F1.0&openid.pape.auth_policies=http%3A%2F%2Fschemas.openid.net%2Fpape%2Fpolicies%2F2007%2F06%2Fnone&openid.pape.auth_time=2018-12-11T13%3A46%3A52Z&openid.sig=5cx5iHjeLyWTTA9iJ%2BucszunqanOw36djKuNF6%2FOfsM%3D&serial=&siteState=clientContext%3D135-4119325-2722413%2CsourceUrl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fkdp.amazon.com%252Fbookshelf%253Flanguage%253Den_US%2Csignature%3DgqJ53erzurnmO1SPLDK1gLwh9%2FUP6rGUwGF2uZUAAAABAAAAAFwPv8dyYXcAAAAAAsF6s-obfie4v1Ep9rqj




in my history and worrying that secure information might be passed in a URL somewhere.



I am aware that this makes it easier to impersonate my identity, and I'm mostly interested in the leakage of information via the URL itself.



I have a general interest, but this is motivated by a test project I'm running.







web-browser url






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Joe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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share|improve this question









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share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 17 hours ago









user11153

5542716




5542716






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asked Dec 11 at 19:42









Joe

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New contributor





Joe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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Joe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.








  • 4




    Is it just your browser history or it a complete account/host compromise? It matters because, while your browser history might not provide much (unless you're into obscure porn), if they had access to your computer/profile, cookies, key loggers, screen scrapers are a whole different ballgame.
    – thepip3r
    Dec 11 at 20:53








  • 9




    I can't believe that nobody mentioned spearphishing yet. With recent information of what you look at an attacker could easily send fake invoices or otherwise create very undetectable phishing mails.
    – BlueWizard
    Dec 12 at 20:58






  • 5




    I once worked at a place, where I had to login to some system. It turned out that the "login" was a url with a specific session key. The server recognized the session id, and I was logged in. This kind of information could be in your browser history. That this practice is unsecure in all kinds of ways is another story.
    – Esben Boye-Jacobsen
    Dec 13 at 9:39






  • 3




    What's your valid reason for searching MLP?
    – Sombrero Chicken
    Dec 14 at 15:44






  • 6




    @SombreroChicken - household argument on the topic of "there are NO sidekicks in fiction with telepathic powers
    – Joe
    Dec 14 at 15:59














  • 4




    Is it just your browser history or it a complete account/host compromise? It matters because, while your browser history might not provide much (unless you're into obscure porn), if they had access to your computer/profile, cookies, key loggers, screen scrapers are a whole different ballgame.
    – thepip3r
    Dec 11 at 20:53








  • 9




    I can't believe that nobody mentioned spearphishing yet. With recent information of what you look at an attacker could easily send fake invoices or otherwise create very undetectable phishing mails.
    – BlueWizard
    Dec 12 at 20:58






  • 5




    I once worked at a place, where I had to login to some system. It turned out that the "login" was a url with a specific session key. The server recognized the session id, and I was logged in. This kind of information could be in your browser history. That this practice is unsecure in all kinds of ways is another story.
    – Esben Boye-Jacobsen
    Dec 13 at 9:39






  • 3




    What's your valid reason for searching MLP?
    – Sombrero Chicken
    Dec 14 at 15:44






  • 6




    @SombreroChicken - household argument on the topic of "there are NO sidekicks in fiction with telepathic powers
    – Joe
    Dec 14 at 15:59








4




4




Is it just your browser history or it a complete account/host compromise? It matters because, while your browser history might not provide much (unless you're into obscure porn), if they had access to your computer/profile, cookies, key loggers, screen scrapers are a whole different ballgame.
– thepip3r
Dec 11 at 20:53






Is it just your browser history or it a complete account/host compromise? It matters because, while your browser history might not provide much (unless you're into obscure porn), if they had access to your computer/profile, cookies, key loggers, screen scrapers are a whole different ballgame.
– thepip3r
Dec 11 at 20:53






9




9




I can't believe that nobody mentioned spearphishing yet. With recent information of what you look at an attacker could easily send fake invoices or otherwise create very undetectable phishing mails.
– BlueWizard
Dec 12 at 20:58




I can't believe that nobody mentioned spearphishing yet. With recent information of what you look at an attacker could easily send fake invoices or otherwise create very undetectable phishing mails.
– BlueWizard
Dec 12 at 20:58




5




5




I once worked at a place, where I had to login to some system. It turned out that the "login" was a url with a specific session key. The server recognized the session id, and I was logged in. This kind of information could be in your browser history. That this practice is unsecure in all kinds of ways is another story.
– Esben Boye-Jacobsen
Dec 13 at 9:39




I once worked at a place, where I had to login to some system. It turned out that the "login" was a url with a specific session key. The server recognized the session id, and I was logged in. This kind of information could be in your browser history. That this practice is unsecure in all kinds of ways is another story.
– Esben Boye-Jacobsen
Dec 13 at 9:39




3




3




What's your valid reason for searching MLP?
– Sombrero Chicken
Dec 14 at 15:44




What's your valid reason for searching MLP?
– Sombrero Chicken
Dec 14 at 15:44




6




6




@SombreroChicken - household argument on the topic of "there are NO sidekicks in fiction with telepathic powers
– Joe
Dec 14 at 15:59




@SombreroChicken - household argument on the topic of "there are NO sidekicks in fiction with telepathic powers
– Joe
Dec 14 at 15:59










8 Answers
8






active

oldest

votes

















up vote
82
down vote



accepted










Your question might be more undefined than you realise. Any kind of data can be passed using URL parameters. Usernames, passwords, authentication tokens, settings, form data, or anything the web developer chooses. It's not always good practice to use URL parameters to for this, but it is always possible.



And it's entirely up to each individual web developer on each individual page (not just site) as to what might be exposed and when. So you might not be able to predict what might be exposed.



So, to answer your question, in the worst case, you could experience a complete and utter disclosure of any amount of personal data including credentials.



By request, I did a search for the practice of "passwords in URL parameters" and restricted results to this year. Here's one of the top hits:



https://answers.splunk.com/answers/622600/how-to-pass-username-and-password-as-a-parameter-v.html



That's a forum from Feb 2018 from a major, publicly traded company talking about how to do this.



Here is OWASP's official page on this vulnerability:




The parameter values for 'user', 'authz_token', and 'expire' will be
exposed in the following locations when using HTTP or HTTPS:



Referer

Header
Web Logs
Shared Systems
Browser History
Browser Cache

Shoulder Surfing







share|improve this answer



















  • 6




    The only thing I'd add to this is that the problem is also worse because while you're correct that any data can be passed via URL, the problem is compounded by the fact that what information is passed via a URL and whether and how it is secured is up to each individual company you're visiting and furthermore, the standards of the web programmers who developed each page. So you could never say by looking at one URL that there wasn't any sensitive data passed--you couldn't even say that about different URLs from the same site...
    – thepip3r
    Dec 11 at 21:00








  • 4




    and even if passwords aren't passed in the query string, if the session token is, you'd better hope that the developers restricted it to a single IP address and limited time validity...
    – Ben Voigt
    Dec 12 at 4:02






  • 1




    @BenVoigt: Limit to a single IP address is a completely broken and outdated practice. In a modern setting IP addresses change frequently (mobile networks, switching between cellular and wifi, etc.) and IPv6 even has features to intentionally cycle them for privacy purposes.
    – R..
    Dec 14 at 18:13






  • 1




    @BenVoigt: That's utterly broken ux and teaches users a security anti-pattern: reentering passwords when prompted, which they should never do.
    – R..
    Dec 14 at 19:14






  • 1




    @BenVoigt: That's a different feature than the one I'm talking about.
    – R..
    Dec 15 at 0:49


















up vote
32
down vote













Quite a bit actually:




  • Extortion based off content

  • Mapping systems that are not public

  • Sensitive parameters in certain requests

  • Personal information


Extortion



That search of yours that may be embarrassing and taken out of context. A WebMD search for a medical condition you don't want made known to co-workers for example. A search that was best done in incognito mode you forgot about.



Mapping systems that are not public



How about your works intranet site or that production web portal, well those names are going to pop up in your history now and if its something like Jenkins - thats a great candidate for a DNS rebind attack.



Sensitive parameters in certain requests



If you visit a site that just does the internet wrong and the parameter contains an API key, password, credential or just an account ID well that is captured and can be used now.



Personal information



I see you've been searching for holidays in March for 2 weeks - that would be a great time to break in to your house or impersonate you. Looking for an engagement ring well that sounds like something worth stealing. You did a google map from your address to another location?






share|improve this answer




























    up vote
    16
    down vote













    One of the threats I'd like to mention that has not been named yet is de-anonymization.



    The URIs in your history could leak information about your user accounts on different sites - for instance if you constantly check your own profile on social media sites. If you use some web services anonymously and others under your real name (Facebook, Twitter) an adversary can very easily de-anonymize and dox you. That can be especially damning for you if you appear on a platform anonymously and want it to stay that way (dating platforms, file sharing platforms, free speech platforms).



    Data on the internet also has the tendency to be there for a long time, so this threat is very persistent.






    share|improve this answer

















    • 3




      Not to mention that just about any internet user is likely to have been caught up in one breach or another where a password has leaked. And since way too many users reuse passwords, if someone has one of your breached password and a list of sites you visit, it could be trivial for them to breach one of your sites.
      – Shawn
      Dec 12 at 21:14


















    up vote
    7
    down vote













    I'll try my hand at this one... Keep in mind that there is a difference between 'all possible' and 'targeted attacks'. With that in mind, I'd break up the attack types into at least two categories: cyber and behavioral. They can be derived from one another but are inherently different in nature.



    Cyber threats to someone having access to your URLs:




    • HTTP POST/GET Variables -- If a particular website practices poor security standards like including sensitive personally identifiable information or secrets (passwords) in reversible or plaintext methods, this is probably the most apparent--but as I said in @schroeder's answer comments, you'd have to evaluate each URL as https://someco.com/sub1/?var1=something;var2=somethingelse might be securely written but http://someco.com/sub2/var1=something;var2=secrets. This is because most large web presences have a small army of web developers working on their front-end, back-end, and everything in between. Where there is a lack of standards in each org (which is never known to us, end-users) one part of a page may be worse off than others.


    • While session data also has interesting information, it cannot be gleaned from URLs alone. So while interesting from a host-compromise scenario, it's not applicable here which is why I asked for scope of the question in my original comment.



    Cyber+Behavioral threats to someone having access to your URLs




    • Personal Weaknesses: What sites you frequent indicates social patterns: likes/dislikes, politics, health, wealth, etc. e.g.: If an attacker is targeting you for exploitation and knows you're visiting debt consolidation sites, they might offer you financial help in return for favors. If you're frequenting ashleymadison.com and you're married, they might approach you with blackmail to not out you to your spouse. I don't mean this to be offensive but assuming you're un-blackmailable is rather naive. This information can also allow the attacker(s) to cater attacks to you, in the case of spearfishing. e.g. If the attacker(s) know you visit fidelity.com, yahoo.com, bankofamerica.com, receiving a spoofed email from one of those domains may yield better results on opening email->attachment, or clicking link rather than if it came from xyz.com or S0m3rand0mD0main.ru.


    • Personal Habits: If you're a creature of habit (as most people are), over time, they can see the times of the day you're connected to the Internet and potentially from what device(s) and what location(s). If the attacker is targeting your house, they can derive when you work, when you're home, and how erratic a confidence-level is in predicting where you'll be tomorrow or the next day.







    share|improve this answer






























      up vote
      5
      down vote













      To add to the post about information leakage in URL:



      An attacker that has this may:



      1: Extract what sites you use to try and log into to see if you are using the same creds [assumes attacker has captured a cred]



      2: This info grants much more advanced knowledge for creating phishing attacks EX: "you've been selected to screen the new MLP season [whatever]"



      3: Possible physical tracking based on sites "oh their kid goes to "little gals daycare" because I see them log into to pay that bill"



      Could be more depending on what's in there.






      share|improve this answer























      • I'm not sure how the URL parameters provide all that. Just the URLs would be enough.
        – schroeder
        Dec 11 at 22:54






      • 1




        @schroeder I didn't see that the question asked for only information that would need parameters.
        – Acccumulation
        Dec 11 at 23:15










      • @Acccumulation the focus is on the parameters, yes
        – schroeder
        Dec 11 at 23:30






      • 1




        @schroeder parameters are mentioned but the question is: "What attacks are made possible by public release of my web history?" Please make sure to clearly check the question. Thank you.
        – bashCypher
        Dec 12 at 0:10










      • @bashCypher The OP discounts the sites themselves (domains), and explicitly states is concerned about "secure information might be passed in a URL somewhere" and " leakage of information via the URL itself". And the example is clearly about the large number of parameters.
        – schroeder
        Dec 12 at 8:06


















      up vote
      1
      down vote













      In the case of a dedicated attacker specifically targeting you, they might identify some small, weakly protected amateur website you frequent and your username on it, and break into the site in the hope of finding a password that you reuse elsewhere, or stealing some other sensitive data; maybe even actively create blackmailable content using your account.



      In the more likely case where the attacker is using some automated tool to analyze the web history of many people, it's what others have said - mapping intrawebs and maybe finding login information for incompetently written websites.






      share|improve this answer




























        up vote
        1
        down vote













        Having your browsing history exposed means the attacker has in possession the list of URLs your browser has accessed. From a complex URL an attacker can identify this information:




        1. Protocol

        2. Subdomain

        3. Domain

        4. Port

        5. Path

        6. Parameters of a query

        7. Fragment


        Enter image description here



        Now, your privacy depends on the way the developer has built the site.



        If you logged in on a website that has an URL like this:



        www.example.com/?login=**myusers**&password=**mypassword**


        then the attacker has your credentials for that site.



        Some of possible attacks would be:




        1. SQL injection

        2. URL manipulation

        3. Directory traversal

        4. Identify theft


        In simple words, your privacy/risk depends on the security level the site has.






        share|improve this answer



















        • 5




          All of the attacks you list are attacks that could be possible against sites that he visited, none of them are attacks against him made possible by disclosure of the urls. URL Manipulation could be relevant, but I don't see how sql injection or directory traversal are.
          – AndrolGenhald
          Dec 11 at 20:32












        • Bad security of a site, brings automatically a threat to the users whom have information stored on that site.
          – Vini7
          Dec 11 at 20:36






        • 7




          Absolutely, but that threat exists with or without OP's browser history being exposed. The browser history may allow someone targeting him to look for vulnerabilities in those specific sites because they know he has an account there, but I certainly wouldn't say "sql injection is made possible by public release of browser history".
          – AndrolGenhald
          Dec 11 at 20:44










        • The line about the password in the URL is the only part of this answer that is related to the question.
          – Tgr
          2 days ago


















        up vote
        0
        down vote













        I think there's also another whole layer of attack which may come from his own level of security awareness and behavior. If he, for instance, reuses passwords, anything he can access using that password could be leaked/accessed/whatever. If you don't now specifically what's IN the web browsing history, and you can't contextualize it within his actual usage patterns and behaviors, you can't really assess the exposure.



        His question--what attacks are potentially exposed by releasing browsing history--fundametnally is the wrong question. The answer is the same as "what attacks are possible from any information exposure" -- and the answer is that it depends on what that information actually is. The fact that it's web browsing history only limits the size of what information is potentially exposed, not any implication or value of that data.



        From a risk standpoint, applying a control like "erasing my browsing history" regularly does a great deal to eliminate the unknowns. In the context of his project of posting his web browsing history, the right thing to do might be to eliminate anything after a question mark or hashmark from what gets published -- then, it's largely going to be a timestamped traffic pattern, rather than a content pattern.






        share|improve this answer








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          8 Answers
          8






          active

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          8 Answers
          8






          active

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          active

          oldest

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          up vote
          82
          down vote



          accepted










          Your question might be more undefined than you realise. Any kind of data can be passed using URL parameters. Usernames, passwords, authentication tokens, settings, form data, or anything the web developer chooses. It's not always good practice to use URL parameters to for this, but it is always possible.



          And it's entirely up to each individual web developer on each individual page (not just site) as to what might be exposed and when. So you might not be able to predict what might be exposed.



          So, to answer your question, in the worst case, you could experience a complete and utter disclosure of any amount of personal data including credentials.



          By request, I did a search for the practice of "passwords in URL parameters" and restricted results to this year. Here's one of the top hits:



          https://answers.splunk.com/answers/622600/how-to-pass-username-and-password-as-a-parameter-v.html



          That's a forum from Feb 2018 from a major, publicly traded company talking about how to do this.



          Here is OWASP's official page on this vulnerability:




          The parameter values for 'user', 'authz_token', and 'expire' will be
          exposed in the following locations when using HTTP or HTTPS:



          Referer

          Header
          Web Logs
          Shared Systems
          Browser History
          Browser Cache

          Shoulder Surfing







          share|improve this answer



















          • 6




            The only thing I'd add to this is that the problem is also worse because while you're correct that any data can be passed via URL, the problem is compounded by the fact that what information is passed via a URL and whether and how it is secured is up to each individual company you're visiting and furthermore, the standards of the web programmers who developed each page. So you could never say by looking at one URL that there wasn't any sensitive data passed--you couldn't even say that about different URLs from the same site...
            – thepip3r
            Dec 11 at 21:00








          • 4




            and even if passwords aren't passed in the query string, if the session token is, you'd better hope that the developers restricted it to a single IP address and limited time validity...
            – Ben Voigt
            Dec 12 at 4:02






          • 1




            @BenVoigt: Limit to a single IP address is a completely broken and outdated practice. In a modern setting IP addresses change frequently (mobile networks, switching between cellular and wifi, etc.) and IPv6 even has features to intentionally cycle them for privacy purposes.
            – R..
            Dec 14 at 18:13






          • 1




            @BenVoigt: That's utterly broken ux and teaches users a security anti-pattern: reentering passwords when prompted, which they should never do.
            – R..
            Dec 14 at 19:14






          • 1




            @BenVoigt: That's a different feature than the one I'm talking about.
            – R..
            Dec 15 at 0:49















          up vote
          82
          down vote



          accepted










          Your question might be more undefined than you realise. Any kind of data can be passed using URL parameters. Usernames, passwords, authentication tokens, settings, form data, or anything the web developer chooses. It's not always good practice to use URL parameters to for this, but it is always possible.



          And it's entirely up to each individual web developer on each individual page (not just site) as to what might be exposed and when. So you might not be able to predict what might be exposed.



          So, to answer your question, in the worst case, you could experience a complete and utter disclosure of any amount of personal data including credentials.



          By request, I did a search for the practice of "passwords in URL parameters" and restricted results to this year. Here's one of the top hits:



          https://answers.splunk.com/answers/622600/how-to-pass-username-and-password-as-a-parameter-v.html



          That's a forum from Feb 2018 from a major, publicly traded company talking about how to do this.



          Here is OWASP's official page on this vulnerability:




          The parameter values for 'user', 'authz_token', and 'expire' will be
          exposed in the following locations when using HTTP or HTTPS:



          Referer

          Header
          Web Logs
          Shared Systems
          Browser History
          Browser Cache

          Shoulder Surfing







          share|improve this answer



















          • 6




            The only thing I'd add to this is that the problem is also worse because while you're correct that any data can be passed via URL, the problem is compounded by the fact that what information is passed via a URL and whether and how it is secured is up to each individual company you're visiting and furthermore, the standards of the web programmers who developed each page. So you could never say by looking at one URL that there wasn't any sensitive data passed--you couldn't even say that about different URLs from the same site...
            – thepip3r
            Dec 11 at 21:00








          • 4




            and even if passwords aren't passed in the query string, if the session token is, you'd better hope that the developers restricted it to a single IP address and limited time validity...
            – Ben Voigt
            Dec 12 at 4:02






          • 1




            @BenVoigt: Limit to a single IP address is a completely broken and outdated practice. In a modern setting IP addresses change frequently (mobile networks, switching between cellular and wifi, etc.) and IPv6 even has features to intentionally cycle them for privacy purposes.
            – R..
            Dec 14 at 18:13






          • 1




            @BenVoigt: That's utterly broken ux and teaches users a security anti-pattern: reentering passwords when prompted, which they should never do.
            – R..
            Dec 14 at 19:14






          • 1




            @BenVoigt: That's a different feature than the one I'm talking about.
            – R..
            Dec 15 at 0:49













          up vote
          82
          down vote



          accepted







          up vote
          82
          down vote



          accepted






          Your question might be more undefined than you realise. Any kind of data can be passed using URL parameters. Usernames, passwords, authentication tokens, settings, form data, or anything the web developer chooses. It's not always good practice to use URL parameters to for this, but it is always possible.



          And it's entirely up to each individual web developer on each individual page (not just site) as to what might be exposed and when. So you might not be able to predict what might be exposed.



          So, to answer your question, in the worst case, you could experience a complete and utter disclosure of any amount of personal data including credentials.



          By request, I did a search for the practice of "passwords in URL parameters" and restricted results to this year. Here's one of the top hits:



          https://answers.splunk.com/answers/622600/how-to-pass-username-and-password-as-a-parameter-v.html



          That's a forum from Feb 2018 from a major, publicly traded company talking about how to do this.



          Here is OWASP's official page on this vulnerability:




          The parameter values for 'user', 'authz_token', and 'expire' will be
          exposed in the following locations when using HTTP or HTTPS:



          Referer

          Header
          Web Logs
          Shared Systems
          Browser History
          Browser Cache

          Shoulder Surfing







          share|improve this answer














          Your question might be more undefined than you realise. Any kind of data can be passed using URL parameters. Usernames, passwords, authentication tokens, settings, form data, or anything the web developer chooses. It's not always good practice to use URL parameters to for this, but it is always possible.



          And it's entirely up to each individual web developer on each individual page (not just site) as to what might be exposed and when. So you might not be able to predict what might be exposed.



          So, to answer your question, in the worst case, you could experience a complete and utter disclosure of any amount of personal data including credentials.



          By request, I did a search for the practice of "passwords in URL parameters" and restricted results to this year. Here's one of the top hits:



          https://answers.splunk.com/answers/622600/how-to-pass-username-and-password-as-a-parameter-v.html



          That's a forum from Feb 2018 from a major, publicly traded company talking about how to do this.



          Here is OWASP's official page on this vulnerability:




          The parameter values for 'user', 'authz_token', and 'expire' will be
          exposed in the following locations when using HTTP or HTTPS:



          Referer

          Header
          Web Logs
          Shared Systems
          Browser History
          Browser Cache

          Shoulder Surfing








          share|improve this answer














          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer








          edited Dec 11 at 22:50

























          answered Dec 11 at 19:52









          schroeder

          73.1k29160194




          73.1k29160194








          • 6




            The only thing I'd add to this is that the problem is also worse because while you're correct that any data can be passed via URL, the problem is compounded by the fact that what information is passed via a URL and whether and how it is secured is up to each individual company you're visiting and furthermore, the standards of the web programmers who developed each page. So you could never say by looking at one URL that there wasn't any sensitive data passed--you couldn't even say that about different URLs from the same site...
            – thepip3r
            Dec 11 at 21:00








          • 4




            and even if passwords aren't passed in the query string, if the session token is, you'd better hope that the developers restricted it to a single IP address and limited time validity...
            – Ben Voigt
            Dec 12 at 4:02






          • 1




            @BenVoigt: Limit to a single IP address is a completely broken and outdated practice. In a modern setting IP addresses change frequently (mobile networks, switching between cellular and wifi, etc.) and IPv6 even has features to intentionally cycle them for privacy purposes.
            – R..
            Dec 14 at 18:13






          • 1




            @BenVoigt: That's utterly broken ux and teaches users a security anti-pattern: reentering passwords when prompted, which they should never do.
            – R..
            Dec 14 at 19:14






          • 1




            @BenVoigt: That's a different feature than the one I'm talking about.
            – R..
            Dec 15 at 0:49














          • 6




            The only thing I'd add to this is that the problem is also worse because while you're correct that any data can be passed via URL, the problem is compounded by the fact that what information is passed via a URL and whether and how it is secured is up to each individual company you're visiting and furthermore, the standards of the web programmers who developed each page. So you could never say by looking at one URL that there wasn't any sensitive data passed--you couldn't even say that about different URLs from the same site...
            – thepip3r
            Dec 11 at 21:00








          • 4




            and even if passwords aren't passed in the query string, if the session token is, you'd better hope that the developers restricted it to a single IP address and limited time validity...
            – Ben Voigt
            Dec 12 at 4:02






          • 1




            @BenVoigt: Limit to a single IP address is a completely broken and outdated practice. In a modern setting IP addresses change frequently (mobile networks, switching between cellular and wifi, etc.) and IPv6 even has features to intentionally cycle them for privacy purposes.
            – R..
            Dec 14 at 18:13






          • 1




            @BenVoigt: That's utterly broken ux and teaches users a security anti-pattern: reentering passwords when prompted, which they should never do.
            – R..
            Dec 14 at 19:14






          • 1




            @BenVoigt: That's a different feature than the one I'm talking about.
            – R..
            Dec 15 at 0:49








          6




          6




          The only thing I'd add to this is that the problem is also worse because while you're correct that any data can be passed via URL, the problem is compounded by the fact that what information is passed via a URL and whether and how it is secured is up to each individual company you're visiting and furthermore, the standards of the web programmers who developed each page. So you could never say by looking at one URL that there wasn't any sensitive data passed--you couldn't even say that about different URLs from the same site...
          – thepip3r
          Dec 11 at 21:00






          The only thing I'd add to this is that the problem is also worse because while you're correct that any data can be passed via URL, the problem is compounded by the fact that what information is passed via a URL and whether and how it is secured is up to each individual company you're visiting and furthermore, the standards of the web programmers who developed each page. So you could never say by looking at one URL that there wasn't any sensitive data passed--you couldn't even say that about different URLs from the same site...
          – thepip3r
          Dec 11 at 21:00






          4




          4




          and even if passwords aren't passed in the query string, if the session token is, you'd better hope that the developers restricted it to a single IP address and limited time validity...
          – Ben Voigt
          Dec 12 at 4:02




          and even if passwords aren't passed in the query string, if the session token is, you'd better hope that the developers restricted it to a single IP address and limited time validity...
          – Ben Voigt
          Dec 12 at 4:02




          1




          1




          @BenVoigt: Limit to a single IP address is a completely broken and outdated practice. In a modern setting IP addresses change frequently (mobile networks, switching between cellular and wifi, etc.) and IPv6 even has features to intentionally cycle them for privacy purposes.
          – R..
          Dec 14 at 18:13




          @BenVoigt: Limit to a single IP address is a completely broken and outdated practice. In a modern setting IP addresses change frequently (mobile networks, switching between cellular and wifi, etc.) and IPv6 even has features to intentionally cycle them for privacy purposes.
          – R..
          Dec 14 at 18:13




          1




          1




          @BenVoigt: That's utterly broken ux and teaches users a security anti-pattern: reentering passwords when prompted, which they should never do.
          – R..
          Dec 14 at 19:14




          @BenVoigt: That's utterly broken ux and teaches users a security anti-pattern: reentering passwords when prompted, which they should never do.
          – R..
          Dec 14 at 19:14




          1




          1




          @BenVoigt: That's a different feature than the one I'm talking about.
          – R..
          Dec 15 at 0:49




          @BenVoigt: That's a different feature than the one I'm talking about.
          – R..
          Dec 15 at 0:49












          up vote
          32
          down vote













          Quite a bit actually:




          • Extortion based off content

          • Mapping systems that are not public

          • Sensitive parameters in certain requests

          • Personal information


          Extortion



          That search of yours that may be embarrassing and taken out of context. A WebMD search for a medical condition you don't want made known to co-workers for example. A search that was best done in incognito mode you forgot about.



          Mapping systems that are not public



          How about your works intranet site or that production web portal, well those names are going to pop up in your history now and if its something like Jenkins - thats a great candidate for a DNS rebind attack.



          Sensitive parameters in certain requests



          If you visit a site that just does the internet wrong and the parameter contains an API key, password, credential or just an account ID well that is captured and can be used now.



          Personal information



          I see you've been searching for holidays in March for 2 weeks - that would be a great time to break in to your house or impersonate you. Looking for an engagement ring well that sounds like something worth stealing. You did a google map from your address to another location?






          share|improve this answer

























            up vote
            32
            down vote













            Quite a bit actually:




            • Extortion based off content

            • Mapping systems that are not public

            • Sensitive parameters in certain requests

            • Personal information


            Extortion



            That search of yours that may be embarrassing and taken out of context. A WebMD search for a medical condition you don't want made known to co-workers for example. A search that was best done in incognito mode you forgot about.



            Mapping systems that are not public



            How about your works intranet site or that production web portal, well those names are going to pop up in your history now and if its something like Jenkins - thats a great candidate for a DNS rebind attack.



            Sensitive parameters in certain requests



            If you visit a site that just does the internet wrong and the parameter contains an API key, password, credential or just an account ID well that is captured and can be used now.



            Personal information



            I see you've been searching for holidays in March for 2 weeks - that would be a great time to break in to your house or impersonate you. Looking for an engagement ring well that sounds like something worth stealing. You did a google map from your address to another location?






            share|improve this answer























              up vote
              32
              down vote










              up vote
              32
              down vote









              Quite a bit actually:




              • Extortion based off content

              • Mapping systems that are not public

              • Sensitive parameters in certain requests

              • Personal information


              Extortion



              That search of yours that may be embarrassing and taken out of context. A WebMD search for a medical condition you don't want made known to co-workers for example. A search that was best done in incognito mode you forgot about.



              Mapping systems that are not public



              How about your works intranet site or that production web portal, well those names are going to pop up in your history now and if its something like Jenkins - thats a great candidate for a DNS rebind attack.



              Sensitive parameters in certain requests



              If you visit a site that just does the internet wrong and the parameter contains an API key, password, credential or just an account ID well that is captured and can be used now.



              Personal information



              I see you've been searching for holidays in March for 2 weeks - that would be a great time to break in to your house or impersonate you. Looking for an engagement ring well that sounds like something worth stealing. You did a google map from your address to another location?






              share|improve this answer












              Quite a bit actually:




              • Extortion based off content

              • Mapping systems that are not public

              • Sensitive parameters in certain requests

              • Personal information


              Extortion



              That search of yours that may be embarrassing and taken out of context. A WebMD search for a medical condition you don't want made known to co-workers for example. A search that was best done in incognito mode you forgot about.



              Mapping systems that are not public



              How about your works intranet site or that production web portal, well those names are going to pop up in your history now and if its something like Jenkins - thats a great candidate for a DNS rebind attack.



              Sensitive parameters in certain requests



              If you visit a site that just does the internet wrong and the parameter contains an API key, password, credential or just an account ID well that is captured and can be used now.



              Personal information



              I see you've been searching for holidays in March for 2 weeks - that would be a great time to break in to your house or impersonate you. Looking for an engagement ring well that sounds like something worth stealing. You did a google map from your address to another location?







              share|improve this answer












              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer










              answered Dec 11 at 20:48









              McMatty

              2,8301314




              2,8301314






















                  up vote
                  16
                  down vote













                  One of the threats I'd like to mention that has not been named yet is de-anonymization.



                  The URIs in your history could leak information about your user accounts on different sites - for instance if you constantly check your own profile on social media sites. If you use some web services anonymously and others under your real name (Facebook, Twitter) an adversary can very easily de-anonymize and dox you. That can be especially damning for you if you appear on a platform anonymously and want it to stay that way (dating platforms, file sharing platforms, free speech platforms).



                  Data on the internet also has the tendency to be there for a long time, so this threat is very persistent.






                  share|improve this answer

















                  • 3




                    Not to mention that just about any internet user is likely to have been caught up in one breach or another where a password has leaked. And since way too many users reuse passwords, if someone has one of your breached password and a list of sites you visit, it could be trivial for them to breach one of your sites.
                    – Shawn
                    Dec 12 at 21:14















                  up vote
                  16
                  down vote













                  One of the threats I'd like to mention that has not been named yet is de-anonymization.



                  The URIs in your history could leak information about your user accounts on different sites - for instance if you constantly check your own profile on social media sites. If you use some web services anonymously and others under your real name (Facebook, Twitter) an adversary can very easily de-anonymize and dox you. That can be especially damning for you if you appear on a platform anonymously and want it to stay that way (dating platforms, file sharing platforms, free speech platforms).



                  Data on the internet also has the tendency to be there for a long time, so this threat is very persistent.






                  share|improve this answer

















                  • 3




                    Not to mention that just about any internet user is likely to have been caught up in one breach or another where a password has leaked. And since way too many users reuse passwords, if someone has one of your breached password and a list of sites you visit, it could be trivial for them to breach one of your sites.
                    – Shawn
                    Dec 12 at 21:14













                  up vote
                  16
                  down vote










                  up vote
                  16
                  down vote









                  One of the threats I'd like to mention that has not been named yet is de-anonymization.



                  The URIs in your history could leak information about your user accounts on different sites - for instance if you constantly check your own profile on social media sites. If you use some web services anonymously and others under your real name (Facebook, Twitter) an adversary can very easily de-anonymize and dox you. That can be especially damning for you if you appear on a platform anonymously and want it to stay that way (dating platforms, file sharing platforms, free speech platforms).



                  Data on the internet also has the tendency to be there for a long time, so this threat is very persistent.






                  share|improve this answer












                  One of the threats I'd like to mention that has not been named yet is de-anonymization.



                  The URIs in your history could leak information about your user accounts on different sites - for instance if you constantly check your own profile on social media sites. If you use some web services anonymously and others under your real name (Facebook, Twitter) an adversary can very easily de-anonymize and dox you. That can be especially damning for you if you appear on a platform anonymously and want it to stay that way (dating platforms, file sharing platforms, free speech platforms).



                  Data on the internet also has the tendency to be there for a long time, so this threat is very persistent.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered Dec 11 at 23:17









                  Tom K.

                  5,36932048




                  5,36932048








                  • 3




                    Not to mention that just about any internet user is likely to have been caught up in one breach or another where a password has leaked. And since way too many users reuse passwords, if someone has one of your breached password and a list of sites you visit, it could be trivial for them to breach one of your sites.
                    – Shawn
                    Dec 12 at 21:14














                  • 3




                    Not to mention that just about any internet user is likely to have been caught up in one breach or another where a password has leaked. And since way too many users reuse passwords, if someone has one of your breached password and a list of sites you visit, it could be trivial for them to breach one of your sites.
                    – Shawn
                    Dec 12 at 21:14








                  3




                  3




                  Not to mention that just about any internet user is likely to have been caught up in one breach or another where a password has leaked. And since way too many users reuse passwords, if someone has one of your breached password and a list of sites you visit, it could be trivial for them to breach one of your sites.
                  – Shawn
                  Dec 12 at 21:14




                  Not to mention that just about any internet user is likely to have been caught up in one breach or another where a password has leaked. And since way too many users reuse passwords, if someone has one of your breached password and a list of sites you visit, it could be trivial for them to breach one of your sites.
                  – Shawn
                  Dec 12 at 21:14










                  up vote
                  7
                  down vote













                  I'll try my hand at this one... Keep in mind that there is a difference between 'all possible' and 'targeted attacks'. With that in mind, I'd break up the attack types into at least two categories: cyber and behavioral. They can be derived from one another but are inherently different in nature.



                  Cyber threats to someone having access to your URLs:




                  • HTTP POST/GET Variables -- If a particular website practices poor security standards like including sensitive personally identifiable information or secrets (passwords) in reversible or plaintext methods, this is probably the most apparent--but as I said in @schroeder's answer comments, you'd have to evaluate each URL as https://someco.com/sub1/?var1=something;var2=somethingelse might be securely written but http://someco.com/sub2/var1=something;var2=secrets. This is because most large web presences have a small army of web developers working on their front-end, back-end, and everything in between. Where there is a lack of standards in each org (which is never known to us, end-users) one part of a page may be worse off than others.


                  • While session data also has interesting information, it cannot be gleaned from URLs alone. So while interesting from a host-compromise scenario, it's not applicable here which is why I asked for scope of the question in my original comment.



                  Cyber+Behavioral threats to someone having access to your URLs




                  • Personal Weaknesses: What sites you frequent indicates social patterns: likes/dislikes, politics, health, wealth, etc. e.g.: If an attacker is targeting you for exploitation and knows you're visiting debt consolidation sites, they might offer you financial help in return for favors. If you're frequenting ashleymadison.com and you're married, they might approach you with blackmail to not out you to your spouse. I don't mean this to be offensive but assuming you're un-blackmailable is rather naive. This information can also allow the attacker(s) to cater attacks to you, in the case of spearfishing. e.g. If the attacker(s) know you visit fidelity.com, yahoo.com, bankofamerica.com, receiving a spoofed email from one of those domains may yield better results on opening email->attachment, or clicking link rather than if it came from xyz.com or S0m3rand0mD0main.ru.


                  • Personal Habits: If you're a creature of habit (as most people are), over time, they can see the times of the day you're connected to the Internet and potentially from what device(s) and what location(s). If the attacker is targeting your house, they can derive when you work, when you're home, and how erratic a confidence-level is in predicting where you'll be tomorrow or the next day.







                  share|improve this answer



























                    up vote
                    7
                    down vote













                    I'll try my hand at this one... Keep in mind that there is a difference between 'all possible' and 'targeted attacks'. With that in mind, I'd break up the attack types into at least two categories: cyber and behavioral. They can be derived from one another but are inherently different in nature.



                    Cyber threats to someone having access to your URLs:




                    • HTTP POST/GET Variables -- If a particular website practices poor security standards like including sensitive personally identifiable information or secrets (passwords) in reversible or plaintext methods, this is probably the most apparent--but as I said in @schroeder's answer comments, you'd have to evaluate each URL as https://someco.com/sub1/?var1=something;var2=somethingelse might be securely written but http://someco.com/sub2/var1=something;var2=secrets. This is because most large web presences have a small army of web developers working on their front-end, back-end, and everything in between. Where there is a lack of standards in each org (which is never known to us, end-users) one part of a page may be worse off than others.


                    • While session data also has interesting information, it cannot be gleaned from URLs alone. So while interesting from a host-compromise scenario, it's not applicable here which is why I asked for scope of the question in my original comment.



                    Cyber+Behavioral threats to someone having access to your URLs




                    • Personal Weaknesses: What sites you frequent indicates social patterns: likes/dislikes, politics, health, wealth, etc. e.g.: If an attacker is targeting you for exploitation and knows you're visiting debt consolidation sites, they might offer you financial help in return for favors. If you're frequenting ashleymadison.com and you're married, they might approach you with blackmail to not out you to your spouse. I don't mean this to be offensive but assuming you're un-blackmailable is rather naive. This information can also allow the attacker(s) to cater attacks to you, in the case of spearfishing. e.g. If the attacker(s) know you visit fidelity.com, yahoo.com, bankofamerica.com, receiving a spoofed email from one of those domains may yield better results on opening email->attachment, or clicking link rather than if it came from xyz.com or S0m3rand0mD0main.ru.


                    • Personal Habits: If you're a creature of habit (as most people are), over time, they can see the times of the day you're connected to the Internet and potentially from what device(s) and what location(s). If the attacker is targeting your house, they can derive when you work, when you're home, and how erratic a confidence-level is in predicting where you'll be tomorrow or the next day.







                    share|improve this answer

























                      up vote
                      7
                      down vote










                      up vote
                      7
                      down vote









                      I'll try my hand at this one... Keep in mind that there is a difference between 'all possible' and 'targeted attacks'. With that in mind, I'd break up the attack types into at least two categories: cyber and behavioral. They can be derived from one another but are inherently different in nature.



                      Cyber threats to someone having access to your URLs:




                      • HTTP POST/GET Variables -- If a particular website practices poor security standards like including sensitive personally identifiable information or secrets (passwords) in reversible or plaintext methods, this is probably the most apparent--but as I said in @schroeder's answer comments, you'd have to evaluate each URL as https://someco.com/sub1/?var1=something;var2=somethingelse might be securely written but http://someco.com/sub2/var1=something;var2=secrets. This is because most large web presences have a small army of web developers working on their front-end, back-end, and everything in between. Where there is a lack of standards in each org (which is never known to us, end-users) one part of a page may be worse off than others.


                      • While session data also has interesting information, it cannot be gleaned from URLs alone. So while interesting from a host-compromise scenario, it's not applicable here which is why I asked for scope of the question in my original comment.



                      Cyber+Behavioral threats to someone having access to your URLs




                      • Personal Weaknesses: What sites you frequent indicates social patterns: likes/dislikes, politics, health, wealth, etc. e.g.: If an attacker is targeting you for exploitation and knows you're visiting debt consolidation sites, they might offer you financial help in return for favors. If you're frequenting ashleymadison.com and you're married, they might approach you with blackmail to not out you to your spouse. I don't mean this to be offensive but assuming you're un-blackmailable is rather naive. This information can also allow the attacker(s) to cater attacks to you, in the case of spearfishing. e.g. If the attacker(s) know you visit fidelity.com, yahoo.com, bankofamerica.com, receiving a spoofed email from one of those domains may yield better results on opening email->attachment, or clicking link rather than if it came from xyz.com or S0m3rand0mD0main.ru.


                      • Personal Habits: If you're a creature of habit (as most people are), over time, they can see the times of the day you're connected to the Internet and potentially from what device(s) and what location(s). If the attacker is targeting your house, they can derive when you work, when you're home, and how erratic a confidence-level is in predicting where you'll be tomorrow or the next day.







                      share|improve this answer














                      I'll try my hand at this one... Keep in mind that there is a difference between 'all possible' and 'targeted attacks'. With that in mind, I'd break up the attack types into at least two categories: cyber and behavioral. They can be derived from one another but are inherently different in nature.



                      Cyber threats to someone having access to your URLs:




                      • HTTP POST/GET Variables -- If a particular website practices poor security standards like including sensitive personally identifiable information or secrets (passwords) in reversible or plaintext methods, this is probably the most apparent--but as I said in @schroeder's answer comments, you'd have to evaluate each URL as https://someco.com/sub1/?var1=something;var2=somethingelse might be securely written but http://someco.com/sub2/var1=something;var2=secrets. This is because most large web presences have a small army of web developers working on their front-end, back-end, and everything in between. Where there is a lack of standards in each org (which is never known to us, end-users) one part of a page may be worse off than others.


                      • While session data also has interesting information, it cannot be gleaned from URLs alone. So while interesting from a host-compromise scenario, it's not applicable here which is why I asked for scope of the question in my original comment.



                      Cyber+Behavioral threats to someone having access to your URLs




                      • Personal Weaknesses: What sites you frequent indicates social patterns: likes/dislikes, politics, health, wealth, etc. e.g.: If an attacker is targeting you for exploitation and knows you're visiting debt consolidation sites, they might offer you financial help in return for favors. If you're frequenting ashleymadison.com and you're married, they might approach you with blackmail to not out you to your spouse. I don't mean this to be offensive but assuming you're un-blackmailable is rather naive. This information can also allow the attacker(s) to cater attacks to you, in the case of spearfishing. e.g. If the attacker(s) know you visit fidelity.com, yahoo.com, bankofamerica.com, receiving a spoofed email from one of those domains may yield better results on opening email->attachment, or clicking link rather than if it came from xyz.com or S0m3rand0mD0main.ru.


                      • Personal Habits: If you're a creature of habit (as most people are), over time, they can see the times of the day you're connected to the Internet and potentially from what device(s) and what location(s). If the attacker is targeting your house, they can derive when you work, when you're home, and how erratic a confidence-level is in predicting where you'll be tomorrow or the next day.








                      share|improve this answer














                      share|improve this answer



                      share|improve this answer








                      edited Dec 13 at 18:31

























                      answered Dec 12 at 17:15









                      thepip3r

                      49128




                      49128






















                          up vote
                          5
                          down vote













                          To add to the post about information leakage in URL:



                          An attacker that has this may:



                          1: Extract what sites you use to try and log into to see if you are using the same creds [assumes attacker has captured a cred]



                          2: This info grants much more advanced knowledge for creating phishing attacks EX: "you've been selected to screen the new MLP season [whatever]"



                          3: Possible physical tracking based on sites "oh their kid goes to "little gals daycare" because I see them log into to pay that bill"



                          Could be more depending on what's in there.






                          share|improve this answer























                          • I'm not sure how the URL parameters provide all that. Just the URLs would be enough.
                            – schroeder
                            Dec 11 at 22:54






                          • 1




                            @schroeder I didn't see that the question asked for only information that would need parameters.
                            – Acccumulation
                            Dec 11 at 23:15










                          • @Acccumulation the focus is on the parameters, yes
                            – schroeder
                            Dec 11 at 23:30






                          • 1




                            @schroeder parameters are mentioned but the question is: "What attacks are made possible by public release of my web history?" Please make sure to clearly check the question. Thank you.
                            – bashCypher
                            Dec 12 at 0:10










                          • @bashCypher The OP discounts the sites themselves (domains), and explicitly states is concerned about "secure information might be passed in a URL somewhere" and " leakage of information via the URL itself". And the example is clearly about the large number of parameters.
                            – schroeder
                            Dec 12 at 8:06















                          up vote
                          5
                          down vote













                          To add to the post about information leakage in URL:



                          An attacker that has this may:



                          1: Extract what sites you use to try and log into to see if you are using the same creds [assumes attacker has captured a cred]



                          2: This info grants much more advanced knowledge for creating phishing attacks EX: "you've been selected to screen the new MLP season [whatever]"



                          3: Possible physical tracking based on sites "oh their kid goes to "little gals daycare" because I see them log into to pay that bill"



                          Could be more depending on what's in there.






                          share|improve this answer























                          • I'm not sure how the URL parameters provide all that. Just the URLs would be enough.
                            – schroeder
                            Dec 11 at 22:54






                          • 1




                            @schroeder I didn't see that the question asked for only information that would need parameters.
                            – Acccumulation
                            Dec 11 at 23:15










                          • @Acccumulation the focus is on the parameters, yes
                            – schroeder
                            Dec 11 at 23:30






                          • 1




                            @schroeder parameters are mentioned but the question is: "What attacks are made possible by public release of my web history?" Please make sure to clearly check the question. Thank you.
                            – bashCypher
                            Dec 12 at 0:10










                          • @bashCypher The OP discounts the sites themselves (domains), and explicitly states is concerned about "secure information might be passed in a URL somewhere" and " leakage of information via the URL itself". And the example is clearly about the large number of parameters.
                            – schroeder
                            Dec 12 at 8:06













                          up vote
                          5
                          down vote










                          up vote
                          5
                          down vote









                          To add to the post about information leakage in URL:



                          An attacker that has this may:



                          1: Extract what sites you use to try and log into to see if you are using the same creds [assumes attacker has captured a cred]



                          2: This info grants much more advanced knowledge for creating phishing attacks EX: "you've been selected to screen the new MLP season [whatever]"



                          3: Possible physical tracking based on sites "oh their kid goes to "little gals daycare" because I see them log into to pay that bill"



                          Could be more depending on what's in there.






                          share|improve this answer














                          To add to the post about information leakage in URL:



                          An attacker that has this may:



                          1: Extract what sites you use to try and log into to see if you are using the same creds [assumes attacker has captured a cred]



                          2: This info grants much more advanced knowledge for creating phishing attacks EX: "you've been selected to screen the new MLP season [whatever]"



                          3: Possible physical tracking based on sites "oh their kid goes to "little gals daycare" because I see them log into to pay that bill"



                          Could be more depending on what's in there.







                          share|improve this answer














                          share|improve this answer



                          share|improve this answer








                          edited Dec 11 at 20:08

























                          answered Dec 11 at 20:02









                          bashCypher

                          745111




                          745111












                          • I'm not sure how the URL parameters provide all that. Just the URLs would be enough.
                            – schroeder
                            Dec 11 at 22:54






                          • 1




                            @schroeder I didn't see that the question asked for only information that would need parameters.
                            – Acccumulation
                            Dec 11 at 23:15










                          • @Acccumulation the focus is on the parameters, yes
                            – schroeder
                            Dec 11 at 23:30






                          • 1




                            @schroeder parameters are mentioned but the question is: "What attacks are made possible by public release of my web history?" Please make sure to clearly check the question. Thank you.
                            – bashCypher
                            Dec 12 at 0:10










                          • @bashCypher The OP discounts the sites themselves (domains), and explicitly states is concerned about "secure information might be passed in a URL somewhere" and " leakage of information via the URL itself". And the example is clearly about the large number of parameters.
                            – schroeder
                            Dec 12 at 8:06


















                          • I'm not sure how the URL parameters provide all that. Just the URLs would be enough.
                            – schroeder
                            Dec 11 at 22:54






                          • 1




                            @schroeder I didn't see that the question asked for only information that would need parameters.
                            – Acccumulation
                            Dec 11 at 23:15










                          • @Acccumulation the focus is on the parameters, yes
                            – schroeder
                            Dec 11 at 23:30






                          • 1




                            @schroeder parameters are mentioned but the question is: "What attacks are made possible by public release of my web history?" Please make sure to clearly check the question. Thank you.
                            – bashCypher
                            Dec 12 at 0:10










                          • @bashCypher The OP discounts the sites themselves (domains), and explicitly states is concerned about "secure information might be passed in a URL somewhere" and " leakage of information via the URL itself". And the example is clearly about the large number of parameters.
                            – schroeder
                            Dec 12 at 8:06
















                          I'm not sure how the URL parameters provide all that. Just the URLs would be enough.
                          – schroeder
                          Dec 11 at 22:54




                          I'm not sure how the URL parameters provide all that. Just the URLs would be enough.
                          – schroeder
                          Dec 11 at 22:54




                          1




                          1




                          @schroeder I didn't see that the question asked for only information that would need parameters.
                          – Acccumulation
                          Dec 11 at 23:15




                          @schroeder I didn't see that the question asked for only information that would need parameters.
                          – Acccumulation
                          Dec 11 at 23:15












                          @Acccumulation the focus is on the parameters, yes
                          – schroeder
                          Dec 11 at 23:30




                          @Acccumulation the focus is on the parameters, yes
                          – schroeder
                          Dec 11 at 23:30




                          1




                          1




                          @schroeder parameters are mentioned but the question is: "What attacks are made possible by public release of my web history?" Please make sure to clearly check the question. Thank you.
                          – bashCypher
                          Dec 12 at 0:10




                          @schroeder parameters are mentioned but the question is: "What attacks are made possible by public release of my web history?" Please make sure to clearly check the question. Thank you.
                          – bashCypher
                          Dec 12 at 0:10












                          @bashCypher The OP discounts the sites themselves (domains), and explicitly states is concerned about "secure information might be passed in a URL somewhere" and " leakage of information via the URL itself". And the example is clearly about the large number of parameters.
                          – schroeder
                          Dec 12 at 8:06




                          @bashCypher The OP discounts the sites themselves (domains), and explicitly states is concerned about "secure information might be passed in a URL somewhere" and " leakage of information via the URL itself". And the example is clearly about the large number of parameters.
                          – schroeder
                          Dec 12 at 8:06










                          up vote
                          1
                          down vote













                          In the case of a dedicated attacker specifically targeting you, they might identify some small, weakly protected amateur website you frequent and your username on it, and break into the site in the hope of finding a password that you reuse elsewhere, or stealing some other sensitive data; maybe even actively create blackmailable content using your account.



                          In the more likely case where the attacker is using some automated tool to analyze the web history of many people, it's what others have said - mapping intrawebs and maybe finding login information for incompetently written websites.






                          share|improve this answer

























                            up vote
                            1
                            down vote













                            In the case of a dedicated attacker specifically targeting you, they might identify some small, weakly protected amateur website you frequent and your username on it, and break into the site in the hope of finding a password that you reuse elsewhere, or stealing some other sensitive data; maybe even actively create blackmailable content using your account.



                            In the more likely case where the attacker is using some automated tool to analyze the web history of many people, it's what others have said - mapping intrawebs and maybe finding login information for incompetently written websites.






                            share|improve this answer























                              up vote
                              1
                              down vote










                              up vote
                              1
                              down vote









                              In the case of a dedicated attacker specifically targeting you, they might identify some small, weakly protected amateur website you frequent and your username on it, and break into the site in the hope of finding a password that you reuse elsewhere, or stealing some other sensitive data; maybe even actively create blackmailable content using your account.



                              In the more likely case where the attacker is using some automated tool to analyze the web history of many people, it's what others have said - mapping intrawebs and maybe finding login information for incompetently written websites.






                              share|improve this answer












                              In the case of a dedicated attacker specifically targeting you, they might identify some small, weakly protected amateur website you frequent and your username on it, and break into the site in the hope of finding a password that you reuse elsewhere, or stealing some other sensitive data; maybe even actively create blackmailable content using your account.



                              In the more likely case where the attacker is using some automated tool to analyze the web history of many people, it's what others have said - mapping intrawebs and maybe finding login information for incompetently written websites.







                              share|improve this answer












                              share|improve this answer



                              share|improve this answer










                              answered 2 days ago









                              Tgr

                              568210




                              568210






















                                  up vote
                                  1
                                  down vote













                                  Having your browsing history exposed means the attacker has in possession the list of URLs your browser has accessed. From a complex URL an attacker can identify this information:




                                  1. Protocol

                                  2. Subdomain

                                  3. Domain

                                  4. Port

                                  5. Path

                                  6. Parameters of a query

                                  7. Fragment


                                  Enter image description here



                                  Now, your privacy depends on the way the developer has built the site.



                                  If you logged in on a website that has an URL like this:



                                  www.example.com/?login=**myusers**&password=**mypassword**


                                  then the attacker has your credentials for that site.



                                  Some of possible attacks would be:




                                  1. SQL injection

                                  2. URL manipulation

                                  3. Directory traversal

                                  4. Identify theft


                                  In simple words, your privacy/risk depends on the security level the site has.






                                  share|improve this answer



















                                  • 5




                                    All of the attacks you list are attacks that could be possible against sites that he visited, none of them are attacks against him made possible by disclosure of the urls. URL Manipulation could be relevant, but I don't see how sql injection or directory traversal are.
                                    – AndrolGenhald
                                    Dec 11 at 20:32












                                  • Bad security of a site, brings automatically a threat to the users whom have information stored on that site.
                                    – Vini7
                                    Dec 11 at 20:36






                                  • 7




                                    Absolutely, but that threat exists with or without OP's browser history being exposed. The browser history may allow someone targeting him to look for vulnerabilities in those specific sites because they know he has an account there, but I certainly wouldn't say "sql injection is made possible by public release of browser history".
                                    – AndrolGenhald
                                    Dec 11 at 20:44










                                  • The line about the password in the URL is the only part of this answer that is related to the question.
                                    – Tgr
                                    2 days ago















                                  up vote
                                  1
                                  down vote













                                  Having your browsing history exposed means the attacker has in possession the list of URLs your browser has accessed. From a complex URL an attacker can identify this information:




                                  1. Protocol

                                  2. Subdomain

                                  3. Domain

                                  4. Port

                                  5. Path

                                  6. Parameters of a query

                                  7. Fragment


                                  Enter image description here



                                  Now, your privacy depends on the way the developer has built the site.



                                  If you logged in on a website that has an URL like this:



                                  www.example.com/?login=**myusers**&password=**mypassword**


                                  then the attacker has your credentials for that site.



                                  Some of possible attacks would be:




                                  1. SQL injection

                                  2. URL manipulation

                                  3. Directory traversal

                                  4. Identify theft


                                  In simple words, your privacy/risk depends on the security level the site has.






                                  share|improve this answer



















                                  • 5




                                    All of the attacks you list are attacks that could be possible against sites that he visited, none of them are attacks against him made possible by disclosure of the urls. URL Manipulation could be relevant, but I don't see how sql injection or directory traversal are.
                                    – AndrolGenhald
                                    Dec 11 at 20:32












                                  • Bad security of a site, brings automatically a threat to the users whom have information stored on that site.
                                    – Vini7
                                    Dec 11 at 20:36






                                  • 7




                                    Absolutely, but that threat exists with or without OP's browser history being exposed. The browser history may allow someone targeting him to look for vulnerabilities in those specific sites because they know he has an account there, but I certainly wouldn't say "sql injection is made possible by public release of browser history".
                                    – AndrolGenhald
                                    Dec 11 at 20:44










                                  • The line about the password in the URL is the only part of this answer that is related to the question.
                                    – Tgr
                                    2 days ago













                                  up vote
                                  1
                                  down vote










                                  up vote
                                  1
                                  down vote









                                  Having your browsing history exposed means the attacker has in possession the list of URLs your browser has accessed. From a complex URL an attacker can identify this information:




                                  1. Protocol

                                  2. Subdomain

                                  3. Domain

                                  4. Port

                                  5. Path

                                  6. Parameters of a query

                                  7. Fragment


                                  Enter image description here



                                  Now, your privacy depends on the way the developer has built the site.



                                  If you logged in on a website that has an URL like this:



                                  www.example.com/?login=**myusers**&password=**mypassword**


                                  then the attacker has your credentials for that site.



                                  Some of possible attacks would be:




                                  1. SQL injection

                                  2. URL manipulation

                                  3. Directory traversal

                                  4. Identify theft


                                  In simple words, your privacy/risk depends on the security level the site has.






                                  share|improve this answer














                                  Having your browsing history exposed means the attacker has in possession the list of URLs your browser has accessed. From a complex URL an attacker can identify this information:




                                  1. Protocol

                                  2. Subdomain

                                  3. Domain

                                  4. Port

                                  5. Path

                                  6. Parameters of a query

                                  7. Fragment


                                  Enter image description here



                                  Now, your privacy depends on the way the developer has built the site.



                                  If you logged in on a website that has an URL like this:



                                  www.example.com/?login=**myusers**&password=**mypassword**


                                  then the attacker has your credentials for that site.



                                  Some of possible attacks would be:




                                  1. SQL injection

                                  2. URL manipulation

                                  3. Directory traversal

                                  4. Identify theft


                                  In simple words, your privacy/risk depends on the security level the site has.







                                  share|improve this answer














                                  share|improve this answer



                                  share|improve this answer








                                  edited yesterday









                                  Peter Mortensen

                                  68449




                                  68449










                                  answered Dec 11 at 20:18









                                  Vini7

                                  584413




                                  584413








                                  • 5




                                    All of the attacks you list are attacks that could be possible against sites that he visited, none of them are attacks against him made possible by disclosure of the urls. URL Manipulation could be relevant, but I don't see how sql injection or directory traversal are.
                                    – AndrolGenhald
                                    Dec 11 at 20:32












                                  • Bad security of a site, brings automatically a threat to the users whom have information stored on that site.
                                    – Vini7
                                    Dec 11 at 20:36






                                  • 7




                                    Absolutely, but that threat exists with or without OP's browser history being exposed. The browser history may allow someone targeting him to look for vulnerabilities in those specific sites because they know he has an account there, but I certainly wouldn't say "sql injection is made possible by public release of browser history".
                                    – AndrolGenhald
                                    Dec 11 at 20:44










                                  • The line about the password in the URL is the only part of this answer that is related to the question.
                                    – Tgr
                                    2 days ago














                                  • 5




                                    All of the attacks you list are attacks that could be possible against sites that he visited, none of them are attacks against him made possible by disclosure of the urls. URL Manipulation could be relevant, but I don't see how sql injection or directory traversal are.
                                    – AndrolGenhald
                                    Dec 11 at 20:32












                                  • Bad security of a site, brings automatically a threat to the users whom have information stored on that site.
                                    – Vini7
                                    Dec 11 at 20:36






                                  • 7




                                    Absolutely, but that threat exists with or without OP's browser history being exposed. The browser history may allow someone targeting him to look for vulnerabilities in those specific sites because they know he has an account there, but I certainly wouldn't say "sql injection is made possible by public release of browser history".
                                    – AndrolGenhald
                                    Dec 11 at 20:44










                                  • The line about the password in the URL is the only part of this answer that is related to the question.
                                    – Tgr
                                    2 days ago








                                  5




                                  5




                                  All of the attacks you list are attacks that could be possible against sites that he visited, none of them are attacks against him made possible by disclosure of the urls. URL Manipulation could be relevant, but I don't see how sql injection or directory traversal are.
                                  – AndrolGenhald
                                  Dec 11 at 20:32






                                  All of the attacks you list are attacks that could be possible against sites that he visited, none of them are attacks against him made possible by disclosure of the urls. URL Manipulation could be relevant, but I don't see how sql injection or directory traversal are.
                                  – AndrolGenhald
                                  Dec 11 at 20:32














                                  Bad security of a site, brings automatically a threat to the users whom have information stored on that site.
                                  – Vini7
                                  Dec 11 at 20:36




                                  Bad security of a site, brings automatically a threat to the users whom have information stored on that site.
                                  – Vini7
                                  Dec 11 at 20:36




                                  7




                                  7




                                  Absolutely, but that threat exists with or without OP's browser history being exposed. The browser history may allow someone targeting him to look for vulnerabilities in those specific sites because they know he has an account there, but I certainly wouldn't say "sql injection is made possible by public release of browser history".
                                  – AndrolGenhald
                                  Dec 11 at 20:44




                                  Absolutely, but that threat exists with or without OP's browser history being exposed. The browser history may allow someone targeting him to look for vulnerabilities in those specific sites because they know he has an account there, but I certainly wouldn't say "sql injection is made possible by public release of browser history".
                                  – AndrolGenhald
                                  Dec 11 at 20:44












                                  The line about the password in the URL is the only part of this answer that is related to the question.
                                  – Tgr
                                  2 days ago




                                  The line about the password in the URL is the only part of this answer that is related to the question.
                                  – Tgr
                                  2 days ago










                                  up vote
                                  0
                                  down vote













                                  I think there's also another whole layer of attack which may come from his own level of security awareness and behavior. If he, for instance, reuses passwords, anything he can access using that password could be leaked/accessed/whatever. If you don't now specifically what's IN the web browsing history, and you can't contextualize it within his actual usage patterns and behaviors, you can't really assess the exposure.



                                  His question--what attacks are potentially exposed by releasing browsing history--fundametnally is the wrong question. The answer is the same as "what attacks are possible from any information exposure" -- and the answer is that it depends on what that information actually is. The fact that it's web browsing history only limits the size of what information is potentially exposed, not any implication or value of that data.



                                  From a risk standpoint, applying a control like "erasing my browsing history" regularly does a great deal to eliminate the unknowns. In the context of his project of posting his web browsing history, the right thing to do might be to eliminate anything after a question mark or hashmark from what gets published -- then, it's largely going to be a timestamped traffic pattern, rather than a content pattern.






                                  share|improve this answer








                                  New contributor




                                  An anonymous CISSP is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                  Check out our Code of Conduct.






















                                    up vote
                                    0
                                    down vote













                                    I think there's also another whole layer of attack which may come from his own level of security awareness and behavior. If he, for instance, reuses passwords, anything he can access using that password could be leaked/accessed/whatever. If you don't now specifically what's IN the web browsing history, and you can't contextualize it within his actual usage patterns and behaviors, you can't really assess the exposure.



                                    His question--what attacks are potentially exposed by releasing browsing history--fundametnally is the wrong question. The answer is the same as "what attacks are possible from any information exposure" -- and the answer is that it depends on what that information actually is. The fact that it's web browsing history only limits the size of what information is potentially exposed, not any implication or value of that data.



                                    From a risk standpoint, applying a control like "erasing my browsing history" regularly does a great deal to eliminate the unknowns. In the context of his project of posting his web browsing history, the right thing to do might be to eliminate anything after a question mark or hashmark from what gets published -- then, it's largely going to be a timestamped traffic pattern, rather than a content pattern.






                                    share|improve this answer








                                    New contributor




                                    An anonymous CISSP is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                    Check out our Code of Conduct.




















                                      up vote
                                      0
                                      down vote










                                      up vote
                                      0
                                      down vote









                                      I think there's also another whole layer of attack which may come from his own level of security awareness and behavior. If he, for instance, reuses passwords, anything he can access using that password could be leaked/accessed/whatever. If you don't now specifically what's IN the web browsing history, and you can't contextualize it within his actual usage patterns and behaviors, you can't really assess the exposure.



                                      His question--what attacks are potentially exposed by releasing browsing history--fundametnally is the wrong question. The answer is the same as "what attacks are possible from any information exposure" -- and the answer is that it depends on what that information actually is. The fact that it's web browsing history only limits the size of what information is potentially exposed, not any implication or value of that data.



                                      From a risk standpoint, applying a control like "erasing my browsing history" regularly does a great deal to eliminate the unknowns. In the context of his project of posting his web browsing history, the right thing to do might be to eliminate anything after a question mark or hashmark from what gets published -- then, it's largely going to be a timestamped traffic pattern, rather than a content pattern.






                                      share|improve this answer








                                      New contributor




                                      An anonymous CISSP is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                      Check out our Code of Conduct.









                                      I think there's also another whole layer of attack which may come from his own level of security awareness and behavior. If he, for instance, reuses passwords, anything he can access using that password could be leaked/accessed/whatever. If you don't now specifically what's IN the web browsing history, and you can't contextualize it within his actual usage patterns and behaviors, you can't really assess the exposure.



                                      His question--what attacks are potentially exposed by releasing browsing history--fundametnally is the wrong question. The answer is the same as "what attacks are possible from any information exposure" -- and the answer is that it depends on what that information actually is. The fact that it's web browsing history only limits the size of what information is potentially exposed, not any implication or value of that data.



                                      From a risk standpoint, applying a control like "erasing my browsing history" regularly does a great deal to eliminate the unknowns. In the context of his project of posting his web browsing history, the right thing to do might be to eliminate anything after a question mark or hashmark from what gets published -- then, it's largely going to be a timestamped traffic pattern, rather than a content pattern.







                                      share|improve this answer








                                      New contributor




                                      An anonymous CISSP is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                      Check out our Code of Conduct.









                                      share|improve this answer



                                      share|improve this answer






                                      New contributor




                                      An anonymous CISSP is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                      Check out our Code of Conduct.









                                      answered Dec 14 at 18:21









                                      An anonymous CISSP

                                      11




                                      11




                                      New contributor




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                                      New contributor





                                      An anonymous CISSP is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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                                      An anonymous CISSP is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                                      Check out our Code of Conduct.






















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