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threat-modeling.md

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Threat Model Analysis for alibaba/sentinel

Threat: Unauthorized Control Panel Access

  • Description: An attacker gains unauthorized access to the Sentinel Control Panel by exploiting weak credentials, default passwords, lack of MFA, or vulnerabilities in the authentication mechanism. They might use brute-force attacks, credential stuffing, or exploit known vulnerabilities.
    • Impact: Attackers can modify rules, disable protection, gain insights into application behavior, potentially leading to application overload, data breaches, or service disruption.
    • Affected Sentinel Component: Sentinel Control Panel (Web UI, Authentication Module)
    • Risk Severity: High
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Change default administrator credentials immediately.
      • Implement strong password policies and enforce regular password changes.
      • Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for control panel access.
      • Restrict network access to the Control Panel to authorized personnel only (network segmentation, firewall rules).
      • Regularly update the Control Panel to the latest version to patch known vulnerabilities.
      • Consider using a dedicated Identity Provider for control panel authentication.

Threat: Control Panel Web Vulnerabilities (XSS, CSRF, Injection)

  • Description: Attackers exploit web vulnerabilities within the Sentinel Control Panel such as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), or Injection flaws (e.g., SQL Injection if applicable to the control panel's backend). They might use crafted URLs, malicious scripts, or manipulated requests.
    • Impact: Attackers can gain unauthorized access, manipulate data displayed or stored by the control panel, execute arbitrary code in the administrator's browser (XSS), or perform actions on behalf of an authenticated administrator (CSRF).
    • Affected Sentinel Component: Sentinel Control Panel (Web UI, Backend API)
    • Risk Severity: High
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Regularly penetration test and audit the Control Panel for web application vulnerabilities.
      • Keep the Control Panel updated to the latest version, which includes security patches.
      • Implement input validation and output encoding to prevent injection and XSS attacks.
      • Implement CSRF protection tokens.
      • Follow secure coding practices during Control Panel development.

Threat: Rule Tampering

  • Description: An attacker gains unauthorized access to the rule storage (e.g., Nacos, Redis, database, local files) or rule management APIs and modifies or injects malicious Sentinel rules. They might exploit weak access controls, vulnerabilities in rule storage systems, or insecure APIs.
    • Impact: Attackers can bypass rate limiting, circuit breaking, and system protection rules, leading to application overload, abuse, or denial of service. They can also inject rules that disrupt legitimate traffic or cause unexpected application behavior.
    • Affected Sentinel Component: Rule Storage (Nacos, Redis, DB, Files), Rule Management API, Rule Engine
    • Risk Severity: Critical
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Secure rule storage with strong access controls (authentication and authorization).
      • Implement authentication and authorization for rule management APIs, ensuring only authorized users can modify rules.
      • Use version control for rule configurations to track changes and facilitate rollback if needed.
      • Implement validation and sanitization of rule configurations to prevent injection of malicious rules.
      • Regularly audit rule configurations for correctness and security.

Threat: Rule Bypassing

  • Description: Attackers find ways to circumvent Sentinel's rule enforcement mechanisms within the application. This could be due to vulnerabilities in the Sentinel client library integration, misconfiguration, or logical flaws in rule definitions. They might craft requests that don't trigger rules, exploit race conditions, or find loopholes in rule logic.
    • Impact: Attackers can bypass rate limits, circuit breakers, and other protection mechanisms, leading to application overload, resource exhaustion, or abuse.
    • Affected Sentinel Component: Sentinel Client Library (Integration Points, Rule Enforcement Logic), Rule Engine
    • Risk Severity: High
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Ensure proper integration of the Sentinel client library into the application code, following best practices and security guidelines.
      • Thoroughly test rule configurations to ensure they are effective and cannot be easily bypassed.
      • Regularly review and audit rule configurations for correctness and security.
      • Keep the Sentinel client library updated to the latest version to patch any known bypass vulnerabilities.
      • Implement robust error handling and fallback mechanisms in rule enforcement logic.

Threat: Insecure Rule/Configuration Storage

  • Description: Sentinel rules and configurations are stored insecurely, making them vulnerable to unauthorized access or modification. This applies to local files, databases, Nacos, or Redis if not properly secured. Attackers might exploit weak file permissions, database vulnerabilities, or insecure network configurations.
    • Impact: Attackers can steal sensitive configuration information, tamper with rules, or disrupt Sentinel's functionality.
    • Affected Sentinel Component: Rule Storage (Nacos, Redis, DB, Files), Configuration Storage
    • Risk Severity: High
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Choose secure storage options for Sentinel rules and configurations.
      • Implement strong access controls (authentication and authorization) for the storage location.
      • Encrypt sensitive data at rest if necessary, especially if storing credentials or sensitive configuration parameters.
      • Regularly back up rule configurations to prevent data loss and facilitate recovery.

Threat: Client Library Vulnerabilities

  • Description: The Sentinel client libraries integrated into the application contain security vulnerabilities (e.g., buffer overflows, injection flaws, logic errors). Attackers might exploit these vulnerabilities by sending crafted requests or triggering specific application flows.
    • Impact: Application crashes, denial of service, information disclosure, or even remote code execution in severe cases.
    • Affected Sentinel Component: Sentinel Client Library (Core Logic, Integration Modules)
    • Risk Severity: High to Critical
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Keep Sentinel client libraries updated to the latest versions to benefit from security patches and bug fixes.
      • Subscribe to security advisories and vulnerability databases related to Sentinel and its dependencies.
      • Perform security code reviews and static analysis on the application code that integrates with the Sentinel client library.
      • Conduct dynamic analysis and penetration testing to identify potential vulnerabilities in client library integration.

Threat: DoS by Overloading Sentinel Components

  • Description: Attackers attempt to overload Sentinel components (Control Panel, client libraries, data source) with excessive requests or data. They might launch volumetric attacks targeting Sentinel infrastructure.
    • Impact: Sentinel functionality becomes degraded or unavailable, potentially impacting application protection and stability, and leading to application denial of service.
    • Affected Sentinel Component: Sentinel Control Panel, Client Libraries, Rule Engine, Data Source
    • Risk Severity: High
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Implement rate limiting and resource management for access to Sentinel components.
      • Ensure sufficient resources are allocated to Sentinel components to handle expected load and potential spikes.
      • Monitor the performance and resource utilization of Sentinel components to detect and respond to potential overload attacks.
      • Implement network security measures (e.g., firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems) to protect Sentinel infrastructure from volumetric attacks.