Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
123 lines (106 loc) · 8.76 KB

attack-tree.md

File metadata and controls

123 lines (106 loc) · 8.76 KB

Attack Tree Analysis for gorilla/websocket

Objective: [[Attacker's Goal: Disrupt Service, Exfiltrate Data, or Execute Code via WebSocket]]

Attack Tree Visualization

                                     [[Attacker's Goal]]
                                        ||
                =================================================
                ||                                               ||
      [[Denial of Service (DoS/DDoS)]]                     [[Data Manipulation/Exfiltration]]
                ||                                               ||
        =================================             =========================================
        ||                       ||               ||             ||                       ||
[[Resource Exhaustion]]  [[Malformed Messages]] [[Connection Flooding]] [[Message Injection]] [[Bypass Authentication/Authorization]]
        ||                       ||               ||             ||                       ||
=================       -----------------       ========       =================       =================
||       ||               ||               ||       ||       ||       ||       ||       ||
[[Slowloris]] [[Large     [[Oversized     [[Many   [[Craft   [[Send    [[No/Weak  [[Missing [[Exploit
 Style     Payloads]]    Payloads]]      Clients]] Malicious  Unauth.  Auth.]]   AuthZ   Logic
 Attacks]]                                          Payloads]] Messages]]         Checks]]  Flaws]]
                                                                                            ||
                                                                                    =================
                                                                                    ||               ||
                                                                                    [[Session
                                                                                    Fixation]]
                                                                                    ||
                                                                                    [[Predictable
                                                                                    Session
                                                                                    Tokens]]
                ||
      [[Remote Code Execution (RCE)]]
                ||
        =========================================
        ||                       ||
[[Vulnerable Dependencies]] [[Exploit Server-Side Logic Flaws]]
        ||                       ||
=================       =================
||               ||       ||               ||
[[Outdated     [[Known     [[Input      [[Unvalidated
gorilla/    Vulner-     Validation  Data in
websocket]]  abilities]]  Bypass]]     Business
                                        Logic]]

Attack Tree Path: Denial of Service (DoS/DDoS)

  • Overall: A critical threat aiming to make the service unavailable to legitimate users. High likelihood due to the prevalence of DoS/DDoS attacks.

  • Resource Exhaustion:

    • Description: Overwhelming server resources (CPU, memory, bandwidth) to prevent it from handling legitimate requests.
    • Slowloris-Style Attacks:
      • Description: Maintain many WebSocket connections, sending data very slowly to keep connections open and consume resources.
      • Why High-Risk: Relatively easy to execute with readily available tools, and highly effective if the server doesn't have proper timeouts and connection limits.
    • Large Payloads:
      • Description: Sending extremely large messages to consume server resources during processing.
      • Why High-Risk: Simple to execute, and the impact can be significant if the application doesn't enforce strict message size limits.

  • Malformed Messages:

    • Oversized Payloads:
      • Description: Sending messages with a declared size larger than what the server can handle, potentially leading to buffer overflows or other memory-related issues.
      • Why High-Risk: While gorilla/websocket does some size checks, application-level checks are crucial, and oversights can lead to significant vulnerabilities.

  • Connection Flooding:

    • Description: Establishing a large number of WebSocket connections to overwhelm the server's ability to handle new connections.
    • Many Clients (DDoS):
      • Description: Using multiple compromised machines (a botnet) to simultaneously establish many connections.
      • Why High-Risk: A common and highly effective attack, though it requires more resources from the attacker.

Attack Tree Path: Data Manipulation/Exfiltration

  • Overall: A critical threat that involves modifying data in transit or stealing sensitive information.

  • Message Injection:

    • Description: Injecting malicious messages into the WebSocket stream to exploit vulnerabilities in the application's message handling.
    • Craft Malicious Payloads:
      • Description: Sending messages specifically designed to trigger vulnerabilities in the application's parsing or processing logic.
      • Why High-Risk: The core of many injection attacks, with potentially very high impact depending on the vulnerability.
    • Send Unauthorized Messages:
      • Description: Sending messages that the attacker shouldn't be allowed to send, bypassing authorization checks.
      • Why High-Risk: Directly leads to data manipulation or exfiltration if authorization is flawed.

  • Bypass Authentication/Authorization:

    • Description: Accessing WebSocket functionality without proper credentials or permissions.
    • No/Weak Authentication:
      • Description: The application doesn't properly authenticate WebSocket connections, or uses weak authentication methods.
      • Why High-Risk: A fundamental security flaw that allows unrestricted access.
    • Missing Authorization Checks:
      • Description: The application authenticates users but doesn't check if they are authorized to perform specific actions via the WebSocket.
      • Why High-Risk: A common oversight that allows attackers to perform actions they shouldn't be able to.
    • Exploit Logic Flaws:
      • Description: Bypassing authentication/authorization through vulnerabilities in the application's logic.
      • Why High-Risk: The impact depends on the specific flaw, but can be very high.
      • Session Fixation:
        • Description: An attacker sets a known session ID for the victim, allowing them to hijack the session after the victim authenticates.
        • Why High-Risk: Leads to complete account takeover if session IDs are predictable or not properly managed.
        • Predictable Session Tokens:
          • Description: Session tokens that can be easily guessed or brute-forced.
          • Why High-Risk: Allows attackers to impersonate legitimate users.

Attack Tree Path: Remote Code Execution (RCE)

  • Overall: The most critical threat, allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the server.

  • Vulnerable Dependencies:

    • Description: Exploiting vulnerabilities in the gorilla/websocket library itself or other dependencies.
    • Outdated gorilla/websocket:
      • Description: Using an old version of the library with known vulnerabilities.
      • Why High-Risk: A direct path to RCE if vulnerabilities exist and are unpatched.
    • Known Vulnerabilities:
      • Description: Exploiting publicly disclosed or zero-day vulnerabilities in any dependency.
      • Why High-Risk: Exploits for known vulnerabilities are often readily available.

  • Exploit Server-Side Logic Flaws:

    • Description: Using the WebSocket connection to trigger vulnerabilities in the application's code.
    • Input Validation Bypass:
      • Description: Sending specially crafted messages that bypass input validation checks, leading to other vulnerabilities.
      • Why High-Risk: A prerequisite for many RCE attacks, enabling the attacker to inject malicious code or commands.
    • Unvalidated Data in Business Logic:
      • Description: The application uses data received from WebSockets without proper sanitization in critical operations (e.g., database queries, file system access).
      • Why High-Risk: A common source of vulnerabilities that can lead to RCE if unsanitized data is used in dangerous operations.