threat-modeling.md

Threat Model Analysis for beego/beego

Threat: Route Parameter Injection

Description: An attacker crafts malicious input within URL route parameters. Beego's router passes these parameters to the application. If the application doesn't sanitize these parameters before using them in database queries or system commands, the attacker can inject malicious code (e.g., SQL injection, command injection). For example, an attacker might modify a user ID parameter in a URL to inject SQL code, potentially gaining unauthorized access to data or modifying it. Impact: Data breach, data manipulation, unauthorized access, potential system compromise. Beego Component Affected: Beego Router, context.Input.Param() function. Risk Severity: High to Critical Mitigation Strategies:

• Always validate and sanitize all input received from route parameters.
• Use parameterized queries or Beego ORM's query builder to prevent SQL injection.
• Implement input validation libraries or custom validation functions.

Threat: Route Confusion/Bypass (High Severity Cases)

Description: An attacker exploits vulnerabilities in Beego's route matching logic to bypass intended access controls or reach unintended handlers, leading to access to sensitive functionalities. For example, a poorly defined route might allow an attacker to access an administrative endpoint by manipulating URL paths or parameters, even if they are not authorized. Impact: Unauthorized access to sensitive functionalities or data, privilege escalation. Beego Component Affected: Beego Router, Route matching logic. Risk Severity: High (in cases affecting sensitive functionalities) Mitigation Strategies:

• Carefully design and test routing rules to ensure they are unambiguous and cover all intended access paths.
• Use specific and restrictive route patterns.
• Implement authorization checks within handlers to verify user permissions regardless of the route.

Threat: Beego ORM Injection Vulnerabilities

Description: An attacker exploits vulnerabilities within Beego's ORM query building or data handling. This could lead to injection vulnerabilities specific to the ORM's interaction with the database, beyond standard SQL injection. For example, if the ORM incorrectly handles certain data types or escape sequences when constructing queries, it might be possible to inject malicious SQL code through ORM functions. Impact: Data breach, data manipulation, unauthorized access, potential database compromise. Beego Component Affected: Beego ORM, Query builder, Data handling functions. Risk Severity: High to Critical Mitigation Strategies:

• Stay updated with Beego ORM releases and security patches.
• Use parameterized queries or ORM features that inherently prevent injection.
• Carefully define model fields and data types to match the database schema.
• Review ORM queries generated by Beego for potential vulnerabilities, especially when dealing with user input.

Threat: Mass Assignment Vulnerabilities (ORM) (High Severity Cases)

Description: An attacker sends malicious requests with extra parameters that are not intended to be modified. If Beego ORM allows mass assignment without proper whitelisting, these extra parameters could be used to modify sensitive model fields, potentially leading to privilege escalation. For example, an attacker might add an is_admin=true parameter to a user profile update request, potentially granting themselves administrative privileges if mass assignment is not controlled. Impact: Unauthorized data modification, privilege escalation. Beego Component Affected: Beego ORM, Model binding, Data assignment. Risk Severity: High (in cases affecting sensitive fields like roles or permissions) Mitigation Strategies:

• Avoid using mass assignment directly with user input for sensitive fields.
• Implement whitelisting of allowed fields for updates, especially for sensitive attributes.
• Use specific ORM update methods that target only intended fields.

Threat: Insecure Session Storage

Description: Beego sessions are stored in an insecure manner, making session data vulnerable to compromise. For example, storing sessions in plain text files or in a database without proper access controls allows attackers to potentially read session data, including session IDs and potentially user information. Impact: Session hijacking, unauthorized access, account compromise. Beego Component Affected: Beego Session Management, Session storage mechanism. Risk Severity: High to Critical Mitigation Strategies:

• Configure secure session storage mechanisms like encrypted cookies or secure database storage with proper access controls.
• Use Beego's built-in session providers that offer secure storage options.
• Ensure proper permissions are set for session storage locations.

Threat: Session Fixation Vulnerabilities

Description: Beego's session handling is vulnerable to session fixation attacks. An attacker can force a user to use a known session ID. If the application doesn't regenerate session IDs after successful login, the attacker can hijack the user's session by using the pre-set session ID. Impact: Session hijacking, unauthorized access, account compromise. Beego Component Affected: Beego Session Management, Session ID generation and regeneration. Risk Severity: High Mitigation Strategies:

• Regenerate session IDs after successful user authentication (login).
• Use Beego's session management features that automatically handle session regeneration.

Threat: Session Hijacking Vulnerabilities

Description: Weak session ID generation or transmission makes sessions susceptible to hijacking. For example, if session IDs are easily guessable or transmitted over unencrypted HTTP, attackers can intercept or predict session IDs and hijack user sessions. Impact: Session hijacking, unauthorized access, account compromise. Beego Component Affected: Beego Session Management, Session ID generation, Session cookie handling. Risk Severity: High Mitigation Strategies:

• Use strong, cryptographically secure random number generators for session ID generation.
• Transmit session cookies only over HTTPS to prevent interception.
• Set the HttpOnly and Secure flags for session cookies.

Threat: Authentication Bypass in Middleware (High Severity Cases)

Description: Flaws in custom or third-party authentication middleware used in Beego allow attackers to completely bypass authentication checks, granting unauthorized access to protected resources. Impact: Unauthorized access to protected resources, privilege escalation. Beego Component Affected: Beego Middleware, Custom or third-party authentication middleware. Risk Severity: High to Critical Mitigation Strategies:

• Thoroughly test and review custom authentication middleware for logical flaws.
• Use well-vetted and reputable third-party middleware if possible.
• Implement comprehensive unit and integration tests for authentication middleware.

Threat: Authorization Bypass in Middleware (High Severity Cases)

Description: Flaws in authorization middleware allow attackers to bypass authorization checks and gain unauthorized access to sensitive resources or functionalities, potentially leading to privilege escalation. Impact: Unauthorized access to resources, privilege escalation, data breach. Beego Component Affected: Beego Middleware, Custom or third-party authorization middleware. Risk Severity: High (in cases affecting sensitive resources or functionalities) Mitigation Strategies:

• Thoroughly test and review custom authorization middleware for logical flaws.
• Use well-vetted and reputable third-party middleware if possible.
• Implement comprehensive unit and integration tests for authorization middleware.
• Follow the principle of least privilege in authorization logic.

Threat: Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) via Template Engine

Description: Developers fail to properly escape or encode data being rendered in Beego templates. An attacker can inject malicious scripts into user-generated content or data displayed in templates. When other users view the page, the injected script executes in their browsers, potentially leading to account compromise or data theft. Impact: Account compromise, data theft, website defacement, malware distribution. Beego Component Affected: Beego Template Engine (Go Templates), Template rendering functions. Risk Severity: High Mitigation Strategies:

• Always use context-aware escaping functions provided by Go templates (e.g., html/template.HTMLEscapeString, js/template.JSEscapeString).
• Escape data based on the output context (HTML, JavaScript, CSS, URL).
• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) to further mitigate XSS risks.

Threat: Default Secret Keys or Salts

Description: Beego applications use default secret keys or salts for security features like session management, CSRF protection, or encryption. Attackers who know these default values can bypass security mechanisms or decrypt sensitive data. For example, using a default secret key for session cookie signing allows attackers to forge valid session cookies. Impact: Session hijacking, CSRF bypass, data decryption, unauthorized access. Beego Component Affected: Beego Configuration, Security features relying on secret keys (Session, CSRF, etc.). Risk Severity: High to Critical Mitigation Strategies:

• Generate strong, unique, and unpredictable secret keys and salts for all security-related features.
• Store secret keys securely, ideally using environment variables or secure configuration management tools.

Threat: Exposed Beego Admin Interface

Description: Beego's admin interface (if enabled) is not properly secured and is exposed to the internet. Attackers can attempt to access the admin interface, potentially gaining administrative control over the application if default credentials are used or vulnerabilities exist in the admin interface itself. Impact: Full application compromise, data breach, service disruption. Beego Component Affected: Beego Admin Interface (if enabled). Risk Severity: Critical Mitigation Strategies:

• Disable the Beego admin interface in production environments if not needed.
• If the admin interface is required, restrict access to trusted networks or IP addresses.
• Change default admin credentials immediately and use strong passwords.

Threat: Vulnerable Beego Dependencies

Description: Beego or its dependencies contain known security vulnerabilities. Attackers can exploit these vulnerabilities to compromise the application. This includes both direct dependencies of Beego and transitive dependencies. For example, a vulnerability in a library used by Beego could be exploited to gain remote code execution. Impact: Application compromise, data breach, service disruption. Beego Component Affected: Beego Dependencies, External Go packages. Risk Severity: High to Critical Mitigation Strategies:

• Regularly update Beego and all its dependencies to the latest stable versions.
• Use dependency scanning tools to identify known vulnerabilities in dependencies.
• Monitor security advisories for Beego and its dependencies.