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Mitigation Strategies Analysis for thingsboard/thingsboard

Mitigation Strategy: Secure Default Account Handling (ThingsBoard-Specific)

Mitigation Strategy: Eliminate Default Accounts and Enforce Strong Credentials within ThingsBoard.

Description:

  1. Initial Login: Access the ThingsBoard UI using the default [email protected] credentials.
  2. New Admin Creation: Navigate to the "Users" section within ThingsBoard. Create a new system administrator user with a strong, unique password (managed via a password manager).
  3. New Tenant Admin Creation: Log in as the new system administrator. Navigate to the "Tenants" section and create a new tenant administrator user, again with a strong, unique password.
  4. Default Account Deletion: Delete the original [email protected] and [email protected] users through the ThingsBoard UI. This is done within the "Users" and "Tenants" sections, respectively.
  5. Password Policy (if available): If ThingsBoard's user management interface allows, configure a password policy to enforce minimum length, complexity, and expiration.

Threats Mitigated:

  • Threat: Brute-force attacks against default ThingsBoard accounts (Severity: Critical).
  • Threat: Credential stuffing attacks against default ThingsBoard accounts (Severity: Critical).
  • Threat: Unauthorized access via compromised default ThingsBoard credentials (Severity: Critical).

Impact:

  • Eliminates the attack vector of default accounts, significantly reducing risk.

Currently Implemented:

  • Check if the default accounts still exist within the ThingsBoard UI.

Missing Implementation:

  • Default accounts still present in the ThingsBoard user and tenant management sections.
  • Lack of a strong password policy enforced within ThingsBoard (if the feature is available).

Mitigation Strategy: Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP) for User Roles (ThingsBoard-Specific)

Mitigation Strategy: Implement Custom Roles with Minimal Permissions using ThingsBoard's RBAC.

Description:

  1. Role Definition: Within ThingsBoard's "Roles" section, define custom roles based on user responsibilities.
  2. Permission Analysis: For each custom role, carefully select only the necessary permissions from the available options within ThingsBoard's RBAC interface. Do not use the built-in "Tenant Administrator" role unless absolutely required.
  3. Role Assignment: Assign users to these custom roles through the ThingsBoard "Users" section.
  4. Regular Review: Periodically review the roles and permissions within ThingsBoard's interface to ensure they remain appropriate.

Threats Mitigated:

  • Threat: Insider threats within ThingsBoard (Severity: High).
  • Threat: Privilege escalation within ThingsBoard (Severity: High).
  • Threat: Data breaches via compromised ThingsBoard user accounts (Severity: High).

Impact:

  • Limits the damage from compromised accounts and insider threats within the ThingsBoard platform.

Currently Implemented:

  • Check if custom roles are defined and used appropriately within ThingsBoard's "Roles" section. Look for overuse of the "Tenant Administrator" role.

Missing Implementation:

  • Reliance on the default "Tenant Administrator" role for most users.
  • Absence of custom roles with granular permissions.

Mitigation Strategy: Secure JWT Secret Management (ThingsBoard-Specific)

Mitigation Strategy: Configure a Strong, Unique JWT Secret in thingsboard.yml.

Description:

  1. Secret Generation: Generate a strong, random string (at least 64 characters) using a secure method (e.g., openssl rand -base64 64).
  2. thingsboard.yml Configuration: Open the thingsboard.yml configuration file. Locate the jwt.token.secret property. Replace the default value with the generated secret.
  3. Restart: Restart the ThingsBoard service for the change to take effect.

Threats Mitigated:

  • Threat: JWT forgery allowing unauthorized access to ThingsBoard (Severity: Critical).
  • Threat: Authentication bypass within ThingsBoard (Severity: Critical).

Impact:

  • Prevents attackers from forging valid JWTs to bypass ThingsBoard's authentication.

Currently Implemented:

  • Inspect the thingsboard.yml file for the jwt.token.secret value.

Missing Implementation:

  • Use of a weak or default value for jwt.token.secret in thingsboard.yml.

Mitigation Strategy: Parameterized Queries for SQL/NoSQL Injection Prevention (ThingsBoard-Specific)

Mitigation Strategy: Use Parameterized Queries/Prepared Statements in Custom Rule Chains and Widgets within ThingsBoard.

Description:

  1. Code Review: Within the ThingsBoard UI, review the code of all custom rule chains and widgets that interact with the database.
  2. Parameterization: Rewrite any database query code within these rule chains and widgets to use parameterized queries (for SQL) or the appropriate query builder and parameterization mechanisms (for NoSQL). This is done directly within the ThingsBoard rule chain/widget editor.
  3. Input Validation (within Rule Chains): Use ThingsBoard's built-in functions or custom JavaScript nodes within the rule chain to validate and sanitize user input before it's used in database queries.

Threats Mitigated:

  • Threat: SQL injection within ThingsBoard rule chains/widgets (Severity: Critical).
  • Threat: NoSQL injection within ThingsBoard rule chains/widgets (Severity: Critical).
  • Threat: Data breaches/modification via ThingsBoard (Severity: Critical).

Impact:

  • Prevents injection attacks that could compromise the ThingsBoard database.

Currently Implemented:

  • Requires a code review of all custom rule chains and widgets within the ThingsBoard UI.

Missing Implementation:

  • String concatenation used to build database queries within rule chains or widgets.
  • Lack of input validation within rule chains before database interaction.

Mitigation Strategy: Output Encoding for XSS Prevention (ThingsBoard-Specific)

Mitigation Strategy: Implement Output Encoding in Custom Dashboards and Widgets within ThingsBoard.

Description:

  1. Code Review: Within the ThingsBoard UI, review the code of all custom dashboards and widgets that display user-supplied data.
  2. Output Encoding: Modify the code within these dashboards and widgets to use appropriate output encoding functions (e.g., HTML encoding in JavaScript) to escape special characters. This is done directly within the ThingsBoard dashboard/widget editor.
  3. Content Security Policy (CSP) - If configurable in Thingsboard UI or server config: If possible, configure CSP HTTP headers.

Threats Mitigated:

  • Threat: Cross-site scripting (XSS) within ThingsBoard dashboards/widgets (Severity: High).
  • Threat: Session hijacking via ThingsBoard (Severity: High).
  • Threat: Phishing attacks via ThingsBoard (Severity: High).

Impact:

  • Prevents XSS attacks that could compromise user sessions or redirect users.

Currently Implemented:

  • Requires a code review of custom dashboards and widgets within the ThingsBoard UI.

Missing Implementation:

  • User input displayed without proper output encoding within dashboards or widgets.

Mitigation Strategy: Secure Communication Protocols (MQTTS, DTLS) (ThingsBoard-Specific)

Mitigation Strategy: Configure ThingsBoard to Enforce Encrypted Communication for MQTT and CoAP.

Description:

  1. MQTT (ThingsBoard Configuration): Within the ThingsBoard configuration (likely thingsboard.yml or through the UI), ensure that MQTTS (MQTT over TLS/SSL) is enabled and configured, typically on port 8883. Configure the paths to the necessary TLS/SSL certificates.
  2. CoAP (ThingsBoard Configuration): Within the ThingsBoard configuration, ensure that DTLS is enabled for CoAP communication. Configure the necessary pre-shared keys (PSKs) or certificate settings.
  3. Transport Configuration: Use ThingsBoard UI to configure transport for devices.

Threats Mitigated:

  • Threat: Eavesdropping on communication between devices and ThingsBoard (Severity: High).
  • Threat: Man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks against ThingsBoard (Severity: High).
  • Threat: Data tampering in transit to/from ThingsBoard (Severity: High).

Impact:

  • Ensures data confidentiality and integrity between devices and the ThingsBoard platform.

Currently Implemented:

  • Check the ThingsBoard configuration files and UI settings for MQTTS and DTLS configurations.

Missing Implementation:

  • ThingsBoard configured to use plain MQTT (port 1883) or CoAP without DTLS.

Mitigation Strategy: Strong Device Authentication (ThingsBoard-Specific)

Mitigation Strategy: Configure Strong Device Authentication within ThingsBoard.

Description:

  1. MQTT (ThingsBoard Configuration): Within the ThingsBoard configuration (either thingsboard.yml or the UI), configure the MQTT transport to require client certificate authentication (mutual TLS) or strong username/password credentials (always with MQTTS).
  2. CoAP (ThingsBoard Configuration): Within the ThingsBoard configuration, configure CoAP to use either PSKs or certificates with DTLS for device authentication.
  3. Device Provisioning (ThingsBoard UI): When provisioning devices within the ThingsBoard UI, ensure that strong credentials or certificates are assigned to each device.

Threats Mitigated:

  • Threat: Device impersonation within the ThingsBoard ecosystem (Severity: High).
  • Threat: Unauthorized access to devices via ThingsBoard (Severity: High).
  • Threat: Data injection from unauthorized devices into ThingsBoard (Severity: High).

Impact:

  • Prevents unauthorized devices from connecting to and interacting with ThingsBoard.

Currently Implemented:

  • Check the ThingsBoard configuration and device provisioning settings.

Missing Implementation:

  • ThingsBoard configured to allow weak or default device credentials.

Mitigation Strategy: Rule Chain Resource Management (ThingsBoard-Specific)

Mitigation Strategy: Design Rule Chains within ThingsBoard to Prevent Resource Exhaustion.

Description:

  1. Rule Chain Design (ThingsBoard UI): Within the ThingsBoard rule chain editor, carefully design rule chains to avoid infinite loops. Use the "check relation" node to prevent cycles.
  2. Resource Limits (if available): If ThingsBoard provides settings to limit rule chain execution time or resource consumption, configure them appropriately.
  3. Monitoring (ThingsBoard UI): Use ThingsBoard's built-in monitoring features to track the resource usage of individual rule chains.

Threats Mitigated:

  • Threat: Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks targeting ThingsBoard rule chains (Severity: High).
  • Threat: ThingsBoard system instability due to rule chain resource exhaustion (Severity: High).

Impact:

  • Improves the stability and reliability of the ThingsBoard platform.

Currently Implemented:

  • Review existing rule chains within the ThingsBoard UI for potential issues. Check for resource monitoring configurations.

Missing Implementation:

  • Rule chains with potential infinite loops or excessive resource consumption.
  • Lack of resource limits configured within ThingsBoard (if the feature is available).

Mitigation Strategy: Secure JavaScript Execution (ThingsBoard-Specific)

Mitigation Strategy: Sanitize and Restrict JavaScript within ThingsBoard Rule Chains and Widgets.

Description:

  1. Code Review (ThingsBoard UI): Within the ThingsBoard rule chain and widget editors, review all custom JavaScript code.
  2. eval() Avoidance: Ensure that eval() and similar functions are not used with user-supplied data within the JavaScript code.
  3. Input Validation (within Rule Chains): Use ThingsBoard's built-in functions or custom JavaScript nodes within the rule chain to validate and sanitize any user input before it's used in JavaScript code.
  4. Sandboxing (If available in Thingsboard): Use sandboxing features.

Threats Mitigated:

  • Threat: Code injection within ThingsBoard rule chains/widgets (Severity: Critical).
  • Threat: Privilege escalation within ThingsBoard (Severity: High).
  • Threat: Data exfiltration from ThingsBoard (Severity: High).

Impact:

  • Reduces the risk of malicious code execution within the ThingsBoard platform.

Currently Implemented:

  • Requires a code review of custom JavaScript code within the ThingsBoard UI.

Missing Implementation:

  • Use of eval() or similar functions with user input in rule chains or widgets.
  • Lack of input validation before using data in JavaScript code within rule chains.

Mitigation Strategy: Auditing and Logging (ThingsBoard-Specific)

Mitigation Strategy: Enable and Monitor ThingsBoard's Audit Logs.

Description:

  1. Enable Auditing (ThingsBoard Configuration): Within the ThingsBoard configuration (either thingsboard.yml or the UI), enable the auditing features. Configure the audit log level and storage location.
  2. Log Review (ThingsBoard UI or Log Files): Regularly review the audit logs, either through the ThingsBoard UI (if it provides log viewing capabilities) or by accessing the log files directly.

Threats Mitigated:

  • Threat: Undetected security incidents within ThingsBoard (Severity: High).
  • Threat: Insider threats within ThingsBoard (Severity: High).
  • Threat: Compliance violations related to ThingsBoard (Severity: Medium).

Impact:

  • Improves the ability to detect and investigate security incidents within ThingsBoard.

Currently Implemented:

  • Check the ThingsBoard configuration for auditing settings. Verify that logs are being generated and stored.

Missing Implementation:

  • Auditing disabled or not configured within ThingsBoard.
  • Logs not regularly reviewed.