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attack-surface.md

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Attack Surface Analysis for pingcap/tidb

Attack Surface: SQL Injection Vulnerabilities

  • Description: Attackers inject malicious SQL code into application queries to manipulate the TiDB database, potentially leading to data breaches, data modification, or denial of service.
  • TiDB Contribution: TiDB's SQL parsing and execution, while aiming for MySQL compatibility, might have nuances or less-tested areas that introduce unique SQL injection vectors. TiDB-specific SQL extensions could also have less mature security hardening.
  • Example: An application uses string concatenation to build a TiDB query: SELECT * FROM products WHERE category = ' + user_input + '. An attacker injects ' OR 1=1 -- as user_input, bypassing category filtering and retrieving all products.
  • Impact: Data breach, data modification, data deletion, unauthorized access, privilege escalation, denial of service.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Utilize Parameterized Queries/Prepared Statements: Always use parameterized queries or prepared statements when interacting with TiDB. This is the most effective defense against SQL injection.
    • Strict Input Validation and Sanitization: Implement robust input validation and sanitization on all user-provided data before using it in SQL queries. Define and enforce input data types and formats.
    • Principle of Least Privilege for Database Users: Grant TiDB database users only the minimum necessary privileges required for their application functions. Avoid using overly permissive database accounts.
    • Regular Security Audits and Penetration Testing: Conduct regular security assessments specifically targeting SQL injection vulnerabilities in your application's interaction with TiDB.

Attack Surface: Authentication and Authorization Bypass

  • Description: Attackers bypass TiDB's authentication mechanisms to gain unauthorized access to the database or exploit weaknesses in authorization controls to access data or perform actions beyond their intended permissions.
  • TiDB Contribution: Weak default TiDB user credentials, vulnerabilities in TiDB's authentication protocols, or flaws in its Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) system are direct TiDB-related attack vectors.
  • Example: The default root password for TiDB is not changed after deployment, allowing an attacker to gain administrative access. Or, a vulnerability in TiDB's authentication process allows bypassing password verification. Alternatively, a misconfigured RBAC rule in TiDB grants a user unintended administrative privileges.
  • Impact: Data breach, unauthorized data modification, data deletion, privilege escalation, denial of service, complete system compromise.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Strong Password Policies and Management: Enforce strong, unique passwords for all TiDB users, especially administrative accounts. Immediately change default passwords upon deployment. Implement secure password management practices.
    • Principle of Least Privilege (RBAC Implementation): Carefully design and implement TiDB's Role-Based Access Control (RBAC). Grant users only the necessary permissions for their roles. Regularly review and audit RBAC configurations.
    • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Consideration: For highly sensitive environments, consider implementing MFA for TiDB database access, particularly for administrative accounts.
    • Regular Security Audits of Authentication and RBAC: Periodically audit TiDB's authentication mechanisms and RBAC configurations to identify and rectify any weaknesses or misconfigurations.
    • Stay Updated with TiDB Security Advisories: Monitor PingCAP's security advisories for TiDB and promptly apply security patches related to authentication and authorization.

Attack Surface: Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks

  • Description: Attackers attempt to make the TiDB service unavailable by overwhelming TiDB components with requests, consuming resources, or exploiting vulnerabilities that lead to service crashes or performance degradation.
  • TiDB Contribution: TiDB Server, TiKV, and PD components are potential targets. Resource exhaustion through excessive connections, slow or malicious queries, or protocol-level vulnerabilities within TiDB can be exploited for DoS.
  • Example: An attacker floods TiDB Server with a massive number of connection requests, exceeding connection limits and preventing legitimate users from connecting. Or, a crafted SQL query is sent to TiDB Server that consumes excessive CPU or memory, causing performance degradation or service instability. Exploiting a vulnerability in TiDB's network protocol handling could also lead to a crash.
  • Impact: Service unavailability, business disruption, data inaccessibility, financial loss, reputational damage.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Connection Limiting on TiDB Server: Configure connection limits on TiDB Server to prevent resource exhaustion from excessive connection attempts.
    • Query Timeouts and Resource Limits: Implement query timeouts and resource limits within TiDB to prevent long-running or resource-intensive queries from impacting overall service availability.
    • Rate Limiting and Request Filtering: Implement rate limiting on application requests to TiDB and consider using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to filter potentially malicious requests.
    • Input Validation and Sanitization (DoS Prevention): Validate and sanitize user inputs to prevent malicious queries designed to consume excessive resources.
    • Resource Monitoring and Alerting for TiDB Components: Implement comprehensive monitoring of TiDB component resource usage (CPU, memory, network) and set up alerts for unusual spikes that could indicate a DoS attack.
    • Stay Updated with TiDB Security Advisories: Monitor PingCAP's security advisories and promptly apply security patches related to DoS vulnerabilities in TiDB components.

Attack Surface: Protocol Vulnerabilities

  • Description: Attackers exploit vulnerabilities in the network protocols used by TiDB for communication, such as the MySQL protocol used by TiDB Server or gRPC used for internal component communication, to compromise the system.
  • TiDB Contribution: TiDB's implementation of the MySQL protocol and its internal gRPC communication are potential areas for protocol vulnerabilities. Exploits could target parsing logic, buffer handling, or other protocol-specific weaknesses within TiDB code.
  • Example: A vulnerability in TiDB Server's MySQL protocol parsing allows an attacker to send specially crafted network packets that trigger a buffer overflow or other memory corruption, potentially leading to remote code execution or denial of service on the TiDB Server. Or, a vulnerability in TiKV's gRPC implementation could be exploited for unauthorized data access or control over TiKV.
  • Impact: Remote code execution, denial of service, data breach, unauthorized access, privilege escalation, complete system compromise.
  • Risk Severity: High to Critical (depending on the exploitability and impact of the vulnerability)
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Stay Updated with TiDB Security Advisories and Patches: This is paramount. Monitor PingCAP's security advisories and immediately apply security patches and updates released to address protocol vulnerabilities.
    • Enforce TLS/SSL Encryption for All TiDB Communication: Enforce TLS/SSL encryption for all client connections to TiDB Server and for internal communication between TiDB components. This mitigates man-in-the-middle attacks and protects data in transit, but may not prevent all protocol-level exploits.
    • Network Segmentation and Firewalls: Implement network segmentation and firewalls to restrict network access to TiDB components and limit the potential impact of protocol exploits by reducing the attack surface.
    • Regular Security Audits and Penetration Testing Focused on Protocol Security: Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing specifically targeting protocol-level vulnerabilities in TiDB components.

Attack Surface: Data at Rest Encryption Weaknesses

  • Description: If data at rest encryption is enabled in TiKV (TiDB's storage layer), weaknesses in the encryption implementation, insecure key management, or misconfiguration could compromise the confidentiality of data stored within TiDB.
  • TiDB Contribution: TiDB relies on TiKV for data storage, and TiKV provides data at rest encryption capabilities. Vulnerabilities or misconfigurations in TiKV's encryption implementation, weak encryption algorithms, or insecure key management practices directly impact TiDB's data security.
  • Example: TiKV's data at rest encryption uses a weak or outdated encryption algorithm that is susceptible to cryptanalysis. Encryption keys are stored insecurely within the TiDB cluster itself, making them vulnerable to compromise if the cluster is breached. Data at rest encryption is enabled but misconfigured, leaving some or all data unencrypted.
  • Impact: Data breach, loss of data confidentiality, compliance violations, reputational damage, financial loss.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Utilize Strong and Modern Encryption Algorithms: Ensure TiKV's data at rest encryption is configured to use strong, industry-standard, and up-to-date encryption algorithms.
    • Implement Secure Key Management Practices with External KMS: Employ a dedicated and robust Key Management System (KMS) external to the TiDB cluster to generate, store, manage, and rotate encryption keys. Avoid storing encryption keys within the TiDB cluster itself.
    • Proper Configuration and Verification of Encryption: Carefully configure and enable data at rest encryption for all relevant TiKV components and data volumes. Regularly verify that encryption is properly enabled and functioning as expected.
    • Regular Security Audits of Encryption Implementation and Key Management: Conduct regular security audits to thoroughly review the implementation and configuration of data at rest encryption and key management practices in TiKV and the overall TiDB deployment.