attack-surface.md

Attack Surface Analysis for jwagenleitner/groovy-wslite

Attack Surface: SOAP Injection

• Description: Attackers inject malicious SOAP elements into SOAP requests, leading to unintended actions or data manipulation on the remote SOAP service.
  • groovy-wslite Contribution: groovy-wslite facilitates SOAP request construction. If user-controlled data is directly embedded into SOAP requests built using groovy-wslite without proper sanitization, it becomes vulnerable to SOAP injection.
  • Example: An application uses groovy-wslite to create a SOAP request with a <username> field populated by user input. An attacker inputs </username><adminAccess>true</adminAccess><username>. If the backend SOAP service processes this injected element, it might grant unauthorized admin access.
  • Impact: Data breach, unauthorized access, data manipulation, denial of service on the backend SOAP service.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Input Validation and Sanitization: Thoroughly validate and sanitize all user inputs before incorporating them into SOAP requests constructed with groovy-wslite.
    • Use Parameterized Queries/Safe Construction: Employ secure methods for constructing SOAP requests using groovy-wslite, avoiding direct string concatenation of user input. Consider XML templating with proper escaping or libraries offering parameterized SOAP request building.

Attack Surface: REST API Manipulation via URL Injection

• Description: Attackers manipulate the target REST API endpoint by injecting malicious URLs, potentially accessing unauthorized resources or bypassing access controls.
  • groovy-wslite Contribution: groovy-wslite's REST client allows dynamic URL construction. If user input is used to construct REST API URLs for requests made by groovy-wslite without proper validation, it opens this attack surface.
  • Example: An application uses groovy-wslite to make a REST request to /api/users/{id}, where {id} is derived from user input. An attacker inputs ../../admin/deleteUser instead of an ID, potentially accessing an administrative endpoint if URL validation is missing in the application using groovy-wslite.
  • Impact: Unauthorized access to sensitive data, bypassing access controls, unintended actions on the backend REST API.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Input Validation and Sanitization: Validate and sanitize all user inputs used to construct URLs for groovy-wslite REST requests.
    • URL Encoding: Properly URL encode user inputs used in URLs within groovy-wslite requests to prevent interpretation of special characters.
    • Whitelisting Allowed Paths: If possible, whitelist allowed URL paths or patterns to restrict user-controlled URL segments to expected values when using groovy-wslite.

Attack Surface: HTTP Header Injection

• Description: Attackers inject malicious HTTP headers into requests, leading to various attacks like XSS, session fixation, or bypassing access controls.
  • groovy-wslite Contribution: groovy-wslite provides mechanisms to set custom headers in requests. If the application allows user input to influence HTTP headers when making requests with groovy-wslite, this attack surface is introduced.
  • Example: An application using groovy-wslite allows users to set a custom header. An attacker injects X-Forwarded-For: <script>alert('XSS')</script>. If the backend service reflects this header in responses without sanitization, it can lead to XSS.
  • Impact: Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Session Fixation or Hijacking, Bypassing Access Controls, other header-related vulnerabilities depending on backend service behavior.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Input Validation and Sanitization: Validate and sanitize user inputs used for setting header values in groovy-wslite requests.
    • Avoid User Control over Sensitive Headers: Limit or completely prevent user control over sensitive HTTP headers like Cookie, Authorization, etc., when using groovy-wslite.
    • Secure Header Settings: Use secure default header settings with groovy-wslite and avoid adding unnecessary custom headers based on user input.

Attack Surface: Request Body Injection (REST & SOAP)

• Description: Attackers inject malicious payloads into request bodies (XML for SOAP, JSON/XML for REST), potentially leading to command injection or data manipulation on the server-side.
  • groovy-wslite Contribution: groovy-wslite handles sending request bodies for REST and SOAP requests. If user input is used to construct these request bodies without proper encoding or sanitization in the application using groovy-wslite, it creates this vulnerability.
  • Example (REST JSON): An application uses groovy-wslite to send a JSON request. User input is used to build the JSON body. An attacker injects {"name": "user", "command": "$(malicious_command)"}. If the backend service processes this JSON and is vulnerable to command injection via JSON processing, it can execute arbitrary commands.
  • Impact: Command Injection, Data Manipulation, Server-Side Vulnerabilities Exploitation, potentially leading to full system compromise.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Input Validation and Sanitization: Validate and sanitize all user inputs used in request bodies sent via groovy-wslite.
    • Parameterized Requests/Safe Construction: Use parameterized requests or secure methods for constructing request bodies for groovy-wslite, avoiding direct string concatenation.
    • Appropriate Encoding: Use proper encoding (JSON encoding, XML encoding) when constructing request bodies for groovy-wslite to prevent injection.

Attack Surface: XML External Entity (XXE) Injection

• Description: Exploiting vulnerabilities in XML parsing to access local files, perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), or cause Denial of Service (DoS) through malicious XML responses.
  • groovy-wslite Contribution: groovy-wslite handles XML parsing for SOAP and potentially XML REST responses. If groovy-wslite or its underlying XML parser is vulnerable to XXE and processes malicious XML responses from SOAP or XML REST services, it becomes a conduit for this attack.
  • Example: A malicious SOAP response processed by groovy-wslite contains an external entity definition like <!DOCTYPE foo [ <!ENTITY xxe SYSTEM "file:///etc/passwd" > ]><root>&xxe;</root>. When groovy-wslite parses this response, it might attempt to resolve the external entity, leading to local file access.
  • Impact: Local File Disclosure, Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), Denial of Service (DoS), potentially leading to further exploitation.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Disable External Entity Processing: Configure the XML parser used by groovy-wslite to disable external entity processing. This is the most effective mitigation. Consult groovy-wslite documentation and underlying XML parser documentation for configuration options.
    • Use Updated XML Libraries: Ensure groovy-wslite and its dependencies, especially XML parsing libraries, are up-to-date to patch known XXE vulnerabilities.

Attack Surface: Insecure TLS/SSL Configuration

• Description: Weak TLS/SSL configuration when communicating over HTTPS, leading to Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks where attackers can eavesdrop or modify communication.
  • groovy-wslite Contribution: groovy-wslite handles HTTPS connections. If groovy-wslite is not configured to enforce strong TLS versions and cipher suites when making HTTPS requests, it can be vulnerable to MITM attacks.
  • Example: groovy-wslite is used to connect to a web service over HTTPS, but the application or groovy-wslite's default settings allow outdated TLS versions like TLS 1.0 or weak cipher suites. An attacker performing a MITM attack can downgrade the connection and intercept traffic.
  • Impact: Data interception, eavesdropping on sensitive communication, modification of requests and responses, loss of confidentiality and integrity.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Enforce Strong TLS Versions: Configure groovy-wslite to use only strong TLS versions (TLS 1.2 or higher). Refer to groovy-wslite documentation for TLS configuration options.
    • Use Secure Cipher Suites: Configure groovy-wslite to use only secure cipher suites, avoiding weak or deprecated ones.
    • Certificate Validation: Ensure proper SSL/TLS certificate validation is enabled in groovy-wslite to prevent MITM attacks using forged certificates.