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threat-modeling.md

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Threat Model Analysis for apache/commons-io

Threat: Path Traversal via File System Operations

Threat: Path Traversal

  • Description: An attacker manipulates user-provided input (filenames, paths) to bypass intended access restrictions and access files or directories outside the application's designated scope. This is achieved by injecting path traversal sequences like ../ or absolute paths when constructing file paths used by Commons IO file system operations.
  • Impact:
    • Unauthorized reading of sensitive files: Accessing configuration files, credentials, source code, or user data.
    • Unauthorized deletion or modification of critical application files: Potentially leading to application malfunction or data loss.
    • Potential for arbitrary code execution: If attackers can overwrite executable files or configuration files loaded by the application.
  • Affected Commons-IO Component:
    • FileUtils module: readFileToString, readFileToByteArray, copyFile, copyDirectory, delete, listFiles, openInputStream, openOutputStream, forceMkdir, cleanDirectory, etc.
    • FilenameUtils module: normalize, concat, getFullPath, getName when used insecurely for path manipulation.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Strict Input Validation and Sanitization: Whitelist allowed characters and path components for user input used in file paths. Reject any input that doesn't conform.
    • Robust Path Normalization and Canonicalization: Utilize FilenameUtils.normalize to resolve path separators and remove redundant components. However, this is not a complete solution and must be combined with other measures.
    • Principle of Least Privilege for File System Access: Ensure the application runs with minimal file system permissions required for its operation.
    • Secure Path Construction Practices: Avoid direct string concatenation for building file paths. Construct paths relative to a secure base directory and validate that the final path remains within the allowed scope.
    • Sandboxing or Chroot Environments: Consider deploying the application in a sandboxed environment to restrict file system access beyond the necessary boundaries.

Threat: Denial of Service (DoS) through Large File Processing

Threat: Resource Exhaustion Denial of Service

  • Description: An attacker provides extremely large files or initiates operations that process large amounts of data using Commons IO functions. This leads to excessive memory consumption, disk space usage, or CPU utilization, causing the application to become unresponsive or crash, denying service to legitimate users.
  • Impact:
    • Application crashes: Due to memory exhaustion (OutOfMemoryError) or other resource limits.
    • Server instability: Potentially impacting other applications or services on the same server.
    • Service unavailability: Rendering the application unusable for legitimate users.
  • Affected Commons-IO Component:
    • IOUtils module: copy, toByteArray, toString, copyLarge, readLines when handling unbounded input streams or files.
    • FileUtils module: readFileToByteArray, readFileToString, copyFile, copyDirectory when used with very large files.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Implement Input Size Limits: Enforce strict limits on the size of files or data streams accepted and processed by the application. Validate file sizes before using Commons IO functions.
    • Efficient Resource Management: Utilize buffered input/output streams and ensure proper resource management, including closing streams in finally blocks or using try-with-resources.
    • Streaming Data Processing: Process data in streams whenever feasible instead of loading entire files into memory.
    • Asynchronous Operations and Rate Limiting: For resource-intensive operations, consider asynchronous processing and implement rate limiting to prevent overload.
    • Resource Monitoring and Alerting: Continuously monitor resource usage (memory, CPU, disk) and set up alerts to detect potential DoS attacks or resource exhaustion.

Threat: Vulnerabilities in Commons IO Library Itself

Threat: Third-Party Library Vulnerability

  • Description: Apache Commons IO, like any software library, might contain undiscovered security vulnerabilities. Exploiting these vulnerabilities could compromise the application using the library.
  • Impact:
    • Varies depending on the vulnerability: Could range from Denial of Service to Remote Code Execution.
    • Potential for full application compromise and data breaches.
  • Affected Commons-IO Component:
    • Potentially any module or function within the library, depending on the specific vulnerability.
  • Risk Severity: Varies (can be Critical or High depending on the specific vulnerability)
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Maintain Up-to-Date Commons IO Version: Regularly update Commons IO to the latest stable version to benefit from security patches and bug fixes.
    • Utilize Vulnerability Scanning Tools: Integrate Commons IO into your application's dependency scanning process using tools like OWASP Dependency-Check or Snyk to identify known vulnerabilities.
    • Stay Informed about Security Advisories: Monitor security advisories and vulnerability reports related to Apache Commons IO through official Apache channels and security news sources.
    • Establish a Robust Patch Management Process: Implement a process for promptly applying security patches when vulnerabilities are disclosed in Commons IO or other dependencies.