mitigations.md

Mitigation Strategies Analysis for nationalsecurityagency/skills-service

Mitigation Strategy: Strict Skill Validation and Sandboxing (Skills-Service Focused)

• Mitigation Strategy: Strict Skill Validation and Sandboxing (Skills-Service Focused)

  • Description:

    1. Define a Skill Manifest (within skills-service): The skills-service itself should enforce a schema (JSON or YAML) defining allowed libraries, system calls, resource limits, and metadata for skills. This manifest is internal to the service's operation.
    2. Static Analysis (Integrated into skills-service): The skills-service, upon receiving a skill, should internally perform static analysis using tools like Bandit (Python) or appropriate linters. This is not just a CI/CD step, but a core function of the service before accepting a skill.
    3. Dynamic Analysis (Sandboxing within skills-service): The skills-service must have a built-in sandboxing capability. Before making a skill available, it executes the skill within this isolated environment (Docker + gVisor, or a similar robust solution). This sandbox is managed and controlled by the skills-service.
    4. Resource Limits (Enforced by skills-service): The skills-service enforces CPU, memory, network, and disk I/O limits on each running skill, using the sandbox's capabilities.
    5. Skill Execution Engine (within skills-service): The core logic for executing skills, managing their lifecycle (start, stop, status), and handling input/output resides within the skills-service. This engine enforces the sandboxing and resource limits.
    6. Rejection/Approval Logic (within skills-service): The skills-service itself makes the decision to accept or reject a skill based on the analysis results. This logic is part of the service's code.
    7. Regular Re-validation (Scheduled by skills-service): The skills-service has an internal scheduler or mechanism to periodically re-validate existing skills, repeating the analysis steps.

  • Threats Mitigated:

    • Malicious Skill Execution (Code Injection/RCE): Severity: Critical. Directly prevents malicious code execution within the context of the skills-service.
    • Data Exfiltration via Skills: Severity: High. Sandboxing and resource limits controlled by skills-service restrict exfiltration.
    • Denial of Service (DoS) via Resource Exhaustion: Severity: High. skills-service enforces resource limits.
    • Skill Interaction Vulnerabilities (Indirectly): Severity: Medium. Isolation managed by skills-service reduces impact.

  • Impact:

    • Malicious Skill Execution: Risk reduced by >90% (within the skills-service context).
    • Data Exfiltration: Risk reduced by 70-80% (as controlled by skills-service).
    • Denial of Service: Risk reduced by 80-90% (against the skills-service itself).
    • Skill Interaction Vulnerabilities: Risk reduced by 50-60% (through skills-service managed isolation).

  • Currently Implemented:

    • Basic Docker containerization for skill execution (within skills-service/executor.py).
    • Simple resource limits (CPU and memory) set via Docker Compose (but this is external to the service's core logic).

  • Missing Implementation:

    • Skill Manifest (Internal Enforcement): skills-service does not internally define and enforce a skill manifest.
    • Integrated Static Analysis: Static analysis is currently only in CI/CD, not within the skills-service itself.
    • gVisor or Equivalent: skills-service relies on basic Docker, which is insufficient.
    • Dynamic Analysis (Built-in): No dynamic analysis or behavioral monitoring is part of the skills-service.
    • Re-validation Scheduler: No internal mechanism for re-validating skills.
    • Rejection/Approval Logic: The acceptance/rejection is currently manual, not automated within the service.

Mitigation Strategy: Skill Interaction Control (within skills-service)

• Mitigation Strategy: Skill Interaction Control (within skills-service)

  • Description:

    1. Define Inter-Skill Communication Protocols (within skills-service): If skills are allowed to interact, the skills-service must define and enforce secure communication protocols. This could involve:
       • A message queue managed by skills-service.
       • A well-defined API exposed by skills-service for inter-skill communication.
       • Restricted shared memory areas managed by skills-service.
    2. Input Validation (Enforced by skills-service): The skills-service must mediate all communication between skills and rigorously validate data passed between them. This is a core responsibility of the service.
    3. Sandboxing for Interacting Skills (Managed by skills-service): Even interacting skills should be isolated in separate sandboxes, with communication channels controlled by the skills-service.
    4. Access Control for Inter-Skill Communication: The skills-service should implement access control mechanisms to determine which skills are allowed to communicate with each other. This could be based on skill metadata or a predefined interaction matrix.

  • Threats Mitigated:

    • Skill Interaction Vulnerabilities: Severity: Medium. This is the primary mitigation.

  • Impact:

    • Skill Interaction Vulnerabilities: Risk reduced by 60-70% (by controlling and validating inter-skill communication).

  • Currently Implemented:

    • Skills can potentially communicate directly via shared network resources (due to basic Docker networking).

  • Missing Implementation:

    • Defined Inter-Skill Communication Protocols: No formal protocols are defined or enforced by skills-service.
    • Input Validation (Between Skills): skills-service does not mediate or validate inter-skill communication.
    • Controlled Sandboxing for Interacting Skills: skills-service does not manage separate sandboxes for interacting skills.
    • Access Control for Inter-Skill Communication: No access control mechanisms are in place.