threat-modeling.md

Threat Model Analysis for flutter/packages

Threat: Vulnerable Package Code

Description: A package dependency contains exploitable security vulnerabilities (e.g., buffer overflows, injection flaws). An attacker can leverage these vulnerabilities by sending crafted inputs or triggering specific package functionalities, leading to application compromise.

• Impact: Application compromise, data breaches (exposure of sensitive data, application secrets), denial of service (application crashes, becomes unresponsive), unauthorized access to critical functionalities.
• Affected Component: Vulnerable module, function, or class within the package dependency.
• Risk Severity: Critical
• Mitigation Strategies:
  • Immediately update vulnerable packages to patched versions.
  • Monitor security advisories and vulnerability databases for used packages.
  • Utilize dependency scanning tools for automated vulnerability detection.
  • Prioritize packages with active security maintenance and a strong track record.
  • Implement Software Composition Analysis (SCA) practices for continuous monitoring.

Threat: Transitive Dependency Vulnerability

Description: A vulnerability exists within a transitive package dependency (a dependency of your direct dependency). Attackers can exploit this vulnerability indirectly through your direct dependency, without you directly interacting with the vulnerable transitive package in your code.

• Impact: Application compromise, data breaches, denial of service, unauthorized access – similar to direct dependency vulnerabilities, but potentially harder to detect initially.
• Affected Component: Vulnerable module, function, or class within the transitive package dependency.
• Risk Severity: Critical
• Mitigation Strategies:
  • Understand the full dependency tree using flutter pub deps.
  • Apply vulnerability monitoring and updates to transitive dependencies as rigorously as direct ones.
  • Ensure updates to direct dependencies also resolve vulnerabilities in transitive dependencies.
  • Employ dependency resolution strategies that prioritize security and vulnerability patching across the entire dependency tree.

Threat: Malicious Package Injection (Backdoor in Package)

Description: A package, though highly unlikely from official sources, could be compromised to include malicious code (backdoor). This injected code could be designed to exfiltrate sensitive data, create persistent backdoors for remote access, or manipulate application behavior for attacker's benefit.

• Impact: Complete application compromise, large-scale data theft, severe user data breaches, reputational damage, supply chain compromise impacting all applications using the malicious package version.
• Affected Component: Entire compromised package or key modules within it, potentially affecting the whole application.
• Risk Severity: Critical
• Mitigation Strategies:
  • Strictly use packages from highly trusted and reputable sources like the official flutter/packages repository.
  • Exercise extreme caution when adding any new package, even from seemingly reputable sources.
  • Implement rigorous code review processes that include scrutiny of package integrations, especially for sensitive applications.
  • Continuously monitor network traffic and application behavior for any anomalous activity after package integrations.
  • Consider package integrity checks and signing mechanisms (if available in the Flutter/Dart ecosystem) to verify package authenticity.

Threat: Insecure Package Configuration Leading to Critical Vulnerability

Description: Incorrect or insecure configuration of a package exposes critical vulnerabilities. For example, a misconfigured authentication package might completely bypass authentication, or a data storage package might be configured to store sensitive data in plaintext without encryption, leading to direct data exposure.

• Impact: Complete security bypass, direct and immediate unauthorized access to protected resources and functionalities, critical data exposure (e.g., credentials, personal data), privilege escalation to administrative levels.
• Affected Component: Package configuration settings, initialization logic, or interfaces exposed due to insecure configuration.
• Risk Severity: High
• Mitigation Strategies:
  • Thoroughly review package documentation and understand security-critical configuration options.
  • Strictly adhere to security best practices and hardening guides when configuring packages.
  • Implement secure defaults and actively avoid known insecure configurations.
  • Conduct dedicated security configuration reviews and testing to verify secure package setup.
  • Use infrastructure-as-code and configuration management to enforce secure configurations consistently.

Threat: Package Functionality Misuse Leading to Critical Vulnerability

Description: Developers incorrectly utilize package functionalities in a way that introduces critical vulnerabilities. For example, misuse of a data sanitization package might create a bypassable sanitization, leading to injection vulnerabilities. Incorrect use of an authorization package might create loopholes allowing unauthorized actions.

• Impact: Critical vulnerabilities arising from developer error, including but not limited to: critical injection attacks (command injection, SQL injection), complete authorization bypasses, exposure of highly sensitive data due to failed security mechanisms.
• Affected Component: Application code that interacts with the package's functions or APIs, specifically where misuse occurs.
• Risk Severity: High
• Mitigation Strategies:
  • Mandatory developer training on secure coding practices and correct and secure package usage patterns.
  • Mandatory code reviews with a security focus to identify potential misuse of package functionality and ensure secure integration.
  • Utilize static analysis tools and linters configured to detect common coding errors related to package usage and security best practices.
  • Implement comprehensive unit and integration tests specifically designed to validate the secure usage of packages and prevent misuse scenarios.
  • Establish and enforce clear secure coding guidelines and examples for package integration within the development team.

Threat: Prolonged Delayed Package Updates (Critical Security Patch Lag)

Description: Failure to promptly update packages, especially when security patches are released for critical vulnerabilities, leaves the application exposed to known and actively exploited vulnerabilities for an extended period. Attackers specifically target applications known to be running outdated and vulnerable package versions.

• Impact: High probability of exploitation of known critical vulnerabilities, leading to application compromise, data breaches, denial of service, and reputational damage due to negligence in applying security updates.
• Affected Component: The vulnerable package dependency and all application components reliant on it, potentially the entire application's security posture.
• Risk Severity: High (escalating to Critical over time if updates are severely delayed and vulnerabilities are actively exploited in the wild).
• Mitigation Strategies:
  • Establish a strict and enforced policy for timely package updates, especially for security patches.
  • Implement automated monitoring for package update notifications and security advisories with immediate alerts for critical vulnerabilities.
  • Prioritize security updates above other updates and allocate dedicated resources for rapid testing and deployment of security patches.
  • Implement automated package update processes where feasible and safe, with robust testing pipelines to minimize disruption.
  • Regularly communicate the critical importance of timely security updates to all stakeholders and enforce accountability for update adherence.