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threat-modeling.md

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Threat Model Analysis for qos-ch/logback

Threat: Sensitive Data Exposure

  • Description: An attacker gains access to sensitive information logged by the application because of how Logback is configured or used. This isn't about general application vulnerabilities, but specifically about Logback writing sensitive data to logs. The attacker might access log files directly, exploit a Logback-specific vulnerability to view logs, or intercept log data if Logback is configured to send it insecurely.
  • Impact:
    • Compromise of user accounts (if credentials are logged).
    • Financial loss (if financial data is logged).
    • Reputational damage.
    • Legal and regulatory penalties (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA violations).
    • Loss of intellectual property.
  • Logback Component Affected:
    • Appenders (all types: FileAppender, ConsoleAppender, SocketAppender, etc.) - The component responsible for writing log events.
    • Layouts (e.g., PatternLayout) - If sensitive data is included in the layout pattern without masking.
    • Encoders - If encoders are not configured to sanitize or mask sensitive data.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Data Masking/Redaction: Implement custom Converter classes within PatternLayout or custom Encoder implementations to replace sensitive data with placeholders before Logback writes the log event.
    • Strict Logging Policies: Define and enforce clear policies on what cannot be logged, specifically within the context of Logback's configuration.
    • Log Level Control: Use appropriate log levels (avoid DEBUG in production) within Logback's configuration.
    • Code Reviews: Mandatory code reviews to check for logging of sensitive data, focusing on how Logback is used.
    • Secure Log Storage: Ensure Logback is configured to store logs in a secure location with restricted access.
    • Encryption: Configure Logback to encrypt log files at rest and, if using remote appenders, in transit.

Threat: Log Injection/Forging (Directly via Logback)

  • Description: An attacker injects malicious content or crafted log entries through Logback, exploiting vulnerabilities in how Logback handles input or is configured. This differs from general input validation issues; it focuses on vulnerabilities within Logback itself or its configuration that allow for injection. This could involve exploiting a Logback bug or misconfiguration that allows for the insertion of control characters or other malicious data.
  • Impact:
    • Misleading investigations (covering up malicious activity).
    • Impersonation of other users.
    • Injection of malicious code (if logs are rendered in a way that Logback's output influences, e.g., a web UI that displays Logback's output without further sanitization).
    • Data corruption.
    • Loss of log integrity.
  • Logback Component Affected:
    • Appenders (all types) - The component that writes the (potentially injected) data.
    • Layouts and Encoders - If they don't properly sanitize input before formatting the log event, and this lack of sanitization is a Logback-specific issue.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Input Validation and Sanitization (within Logback's context): Ensure that Logback's Encoder is configured to properly sanitize log messages. Use encoders designed for potentially malicious input (e.g., escaping HTML characters if logs might be viewed in a web browser and Logback's output is directly used). This is about configuring Logback correctly, not general application-level input validation.
    • Log File Permissions: Restrict access to log files written by Logback.
    • Log File Integrity Monitoring: Use tools to detect unauthorized modifications to files Logback writes.
    • Centralized Logging (Securely Configured in Logback): Configure Logback to forward logs to a secure, centralized server with strict access controls.
    • Log Rotation (Configured in Logback): Configure Logback to rotate and archive logs regularly.

Threat: Denial of Service (DoS) via Log Flooding (Targeting Logback)

  • Description: An attacker overwhelms Logback itself, causing the application to crash or become unresponsive due to excessive logging. This is specifically about attacking Logback's ability to handle log events, not just general application DoS. The attacker might exploit a Logback vulnerability that makes it susceptible to flooding, or they might leverage a misconfiguration (e.g., a very verbose logging level combined with a synchronous appender).
  • Impact:
    • Application unavailability.
    • System instability.
    • Loss of log data (if disk space is exhausted due to Logback's activity).
    • Performance degradation.
  • Logback Component Affected:
    • Appenders (all types, but especially FileAppender) - The component responsible for writing the large volume of log data.
    • AsyncAppender - If misconfigured (e.g., too small a queue) or if the underlying appender is slow, it can become a bottleneck.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Asynchronous Logging (Properly Configured): Use Logback's AsyncAppender with an appropriate queue size and discarding behavior. This is crucial for mitigating Logback-specific DoS.
    • Rate Limiting (Within Logback's Configuration): While general rate limiting is important, consider if Logback's filters can be used to limit the rate of log events processed by Logback itself.
    • Log File Size Limits and Rotation (Logback Configuration): Configure Logback to rotate log files based on size and time.
    • Disk Quotas: Use disk quotas to limit the space Logback can use.
    • Filtering (Logback Configuration): Use Logback filters (e.g., LevelFilter, ThresholdFilter, custom filters) to selectively discard log events before they consume significant Logback resources.
    • Monitoring: Monitor Logback's performance (e.g., queue size, processing time) and the size of files it writes.

Threat: Logback Configuration File Tampering

  • Description: An attacker modifies the Logback configuration file (e.g., logback.xml) to introduce vulnerabilities specific to Logback. This is not about general file tampering, but about changes that directly impact Logback's security. This could involve changing logging levels, redirecting logs to a malicious server (using a Logback appender), disabling Logback's security features, or (in older versions) injecting malicious JNDI lookups through the Logback configuration.
  • Impact:
    • Information disclosure (if logs are redirected to an attacker-controlled server via a Logback appender).
    • Denial of service (if Logback's logging is disabled or misconfigured).
    • Remote code execution (in older, vulnerable versions with JNDI exploits within Logback's configuration).
    • Loss of log integrity.
  • Logback Component Affected:
    • The entire Logback framework, as the configuration file controls its behavior. Vulnerabilities could be introduced into any Logback component via the configuration.
  • Risk Severity: High (Critical for older versions with JNDI vulnerabilities)
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Secure Configuration File Storage: Store the Logback configuration file in a secure location with restricted access.
    • Configuration File Integrity Checking: Use checksums or digital signatures to verify the integrity of the Logback configuration file before Logback loads it.
    • Avoid External Configuration: If possible, embed the Logback configuration within the application or load it from a trusted, local source and ensure Logback is configured to do so securely.
    • Disable Unnecessary Features (in Logback's Configuration): Disable any Logback features that are not required, reducing Logback's attack surface.
    • Update Logback: Keep Logback updated to the latest version (to avoid JNDI and other vulnerabilities within Logback itself).
    • Input validation: Validate configuration file content that Logback processes.