attack-surface.md

Attack Surface Analysis for go-gorm/gorm

Attack Surface: SQL Injection

• Description: The introduction of malicious SQL code into database queries, allowing attackers to bypass security measures, access, modify, or delete data.
  • How GORM Contributes: Improper use of Raw, Expr, Find, Where, Select, Order, Group or dynamic query building with unsanitized user input can bypass GORM's parameterized query protections. Struct tag injection is also a niche, but potentially critical, risk.
  • Example:

    // Vulnerable: User input directly concatenated into the query
    userInput := "'; DROP TABLE users; --"
    db.Raw("SELECT * FROM products WHERE name = '" + userInput + "'").Scan(&products)
    
    // Vulnerable: Using Expr with unsanitized input
    userInput := "1; DROP TABLE users; --"
    db.Where(gorm.Expr("id = ?", userInput)).Find(&products)

  • Impact: Complete database compromise, data breaches, data loss, data modification, denial of service.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Never use db.Raw() with unsanitized user input. Always use parameterized queries provided by GORM's higher-level functions.
    • When using Expr, ensure all user-supplied values are passed as parameters, not concatenated into the expression string.
    • Avoid dynamic query building with string concatenation. Use GORM's built-in methods (Find, Where, First, etc.) and pass user input as parameters.
    • Validate and sanitize all user input before it reaches GORM, as an additional layer of defense (but not as a replacement for parameterized queries).
    • Regularly update GORM and database drivers to the latest versions.
    • Implement strict code reviews focusing on GORM usage.
    • Use static analysis tools to detect potential SQL injection vulnerabilities.
    • Principle of Least Privilege: The database user should have minimal necessary permissions.
    • Never dynamically generate struct tags from user input.

Attack Surface: Data Leakage

• Description: Unintentional exposure of sensitive data due to overly permissive queries or improper field selection.
  • How GORM Contributes: Using Find without Where clauses, not using Select to restrict fields, and preloading unnecessary associations can lead to data leakage.
  • Example:

    // Vulnerable: Retrieves all user data, including sensitive fields
    db.Find(&users) // Potentially exposes hashed passwords, etc.

  • Impact: Exposure of sensitive user data, PII, credentials, or internal system information.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Always use Where clauses to limit the scope of Find operations. Retrieve only the necessary data.
    • Use Select to explicitly specify the fields to retrieve, especially when dealing with sensitive data.
    • Carefully manage associations. Use lazy loading or explicit preloading only when necessary.
    • Follow the principle of data minimization.

Attack Surface: Data Tampering

• Description: Unauthorized modification of data due to mass assignment vulnerabilities within GORM.
  • How GORM Contributes: Not controlling which fields can be updated through Create or Update (mass assignment).
  • Example:

    // Vulnerable: Allows updating any field in the user struct
    type UserUpdate struct {
        Name     string
        IsAdmin  bool // Attacker could set this to true
    }
    var updateData UserUpdate
    // ... (populate updateData from user input) ...
    db.Model(&user).Updates(updateData)

  • Impact: Unauthorized data modification, privilege escalation, data integrity issues.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Use Select or Omit with Create and Update to explicitly control which fields are modified.
    • Input validation: Validate all user input before it reaches GORM.

Attack Surface: Dependency Vulnerabilities (GORM Itself)

• Description: Security vulnerabilities within the GORM library itself.
  • How GORM Contributes: GORM, as a piece of software, may contain vulnerabilities.
  • Example: A hypothetical vulnerability in GORM's SQL escaping mechanism.
  • Impact: Varies depending on the specific vulnerability; could range from data leakage to remote code execution (in extreme cases).
  • Risk Severity: Varies (High to Critical, depending on the vulnerability)
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Regularly update GORM to the latest version.
    • Monitor security advisories specifically for GORM.
    • Use dependency scanning tools and focus on GORM's reported vulnerabilities.