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attack-surface.md

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Attack Surface Analysis for apache/mesos

Attack Surface: 1. Unauthenticated Mesos Master API Access (Critical)

  • Description: Mesos Master API endpoints are exposed without proper authentication, allowing unauthorized access to critical cluster management functions.
  • Mesos Contribution: Mesos Master's design exposes an HTTP API for core operations. Lack of enforced authentication on this API is a direct Mesos configuration/deployment issue.
  • Example: An attacker, without any credentials, sends API requests to the Mesos Master to register a malicious framework or launch unauthorized tasks, gaining control over cluster resources.
  • Impact: Full cluster compromise, arbitrary code execution within the cluster, data theft, denial of service, complete cluster instability and takeover.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Mandatory Authentication: Enforce strong authentication on the Mesos Master API using mechanisms like Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM), OAuth 2.0, or custom authentication plugins.
    • TLS/SSL Encryption: Encrypt all communication to the Master API using TLS/SSL to protect authentication credentials and prevent eavesdropping.
    • Network Access Control: Implement strict network access controls (firewalls) to limit access to the Master API to only authorized networks and administrative hosts.
    • Regular Audits: Regularly audit and verify that authentication is correctly configured and actively enforced on the Mesos Master.

Attack Surface: 2. Mesos Master API Authorization Bypass (High)

  • Description: While authentication might be enabled, vulnerabilities in the Mesos Master's authorization logic allow authenticated users or frameworks to perform actions beyond their intended permissions.
  • Mesos Contribution: Mesos Master implements an authorization system to control access to API actions based on roles and framework permissions. Flaws in this Mesos-implemented system are the direct source of this attack surface.
  • Example: A framework is authorized only for specific resource roles, but due to an authorization bypass vulnerability within the Mesos Master, it can request and obtain resources outside its permitted roles, potentially accessing sensitive data or disrupting other frameworks.
  • Impact: Privilege escalation within the Mesos cluster, unauthorized access to resources and data, potential for data breaches, disruption of services, and cluster instability.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Rigorous Authorization Testing: Implement comprehensive unit and integration tests specifically targeting the Mesos Master's authorization logic to identify and eliminate bypass vulnerabilities.
    • Principle of Least Privilege Authorization Policies: Design and enforce authorization policies based on the principle of least privilege, granting only the minimum necessary permissions to frameworks and users.
    • Security Code Reviews: Conduct thorough security code reviews of the Mesos Master's authorization implementation to proactively identify potential flaws.
    • Up-to-date Mesos Version: Keep Mesos Master updated to the latest stable version to benefit from security patches and bug fixes related to authorization vulnerabilities.

Attack Surface: 3. Task Isolation Weaknesses Managed by Mesos Agent (High)

  • Description: Insufficient or improperly configured task isolation mechanisms enforced by the Mesos Agent allow malicious tasks to interfere with other tasks or the Agent itself running on the same host.
  • Mesos Contribution: Mesos Agent is responsible for managing and enforcing task isolation using OS features (cgroups, namespaces) and container runtime APIs. Misconfigurations or weaknesses in Mesos Agent's isolation management are the direct issue.
  • Example: Two tasks run on the same Mesos Agent. Due to misconfiguration in Mesos Agent's isolation setup, a malicious task exploits shared resources (e.g., shared memory) to access data from another task or launch a resource exhaustion attack against the Agent.
  • Impact: Data breaches between co-located tasks, cross-task interference and contamination, denial of service against other applications running on the same Agent, Agent instability and potential node compromise.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Correctly Configure Mesos Agent Isolation: Ensure Mesos Agent is configured to properly utilize and enforce OS-level isolation mechanisms (cgroups, namespaces) as intended.
    • Minimize Resource Sharing: Reduce the sharing of resources between tasks as much as possible. Utilize features to create separate namespaces and dedicated volumes for sensitive workloads within Mesos.
    • Enforce Resource Limits and Quotas: Configure and enforce resource limits and quotas for tasks through Mesos to prevent resource abuse and interference between tasks running on the same Agent.
    • Regular Isolation Configuration Reviews: Periodically review and audit the Mesos Agent's isolation configuration to ensure it remains effective and aligned with security best practices.

Attack Surface: 4. Unencrypted Network Communication between Mesos Components (High)

  • Description: Network communication between core Mesos components (Master, Agents, Frameworks) is not encrypted, making it vulnerable to eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks.
  • Mesos Contribution: Mesos components communicate over the network using HTTP and other protocols. Mesos's default configuration might not enforce or adequately guide users to enable TLS/SSL encryption for these internal communications.
  • Example: An attacker intercepts unencrypted network traffic between a Mesos Agent and the Master. They capture sensitive task data, authentication tokens, or configuration information being transmitted in plaintext.
  • Impact: Data breaches due to eavesdropping, credential theft allowing unauthorized access, manipulation of cluster state through intercepted and modified messages, disruption of communication and cluster operations.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Mandatory TLS/SSL for All Mesos Communication: Enforce TLS/SSL encryption for all communication channels between Mesos Master, Agents, and Frameworks.
    • Strong Cipher Suites: Configure Mesos components to use strong and modern cipher suites for TLS/SSL encryption, avoiding weak or outdated algorithms.
    • Certificate Management Best Practices: Implement robust certificate management practices for TLS/SSL certificates used by Mesos components, including proper key generation, storage, and rotation.
    • Network Monitoring for Unencrypted Traffic: Monitor network traffic for any unencrypted communication between Mesos components to detect and remediate misconfigurations or lapses in TLS/SSL enforcement.