threat-modeling.md

Threat Model Analysis for addaleax/natives

Threat: Exploitation of Security Vulnerabilities in Internal Modules

• Description: An attacker identifies and exploits security vulnerabilities within internal Node.js modules. natives provides a direct pathway to these modules, potentially bypassing security measures designed for public APIs. By crafting specific inputs or requests, the attacker can trigger these vulnerabilities through the application's use of natives.
  • Impact: Remote Code Execution (RCE) on the server, allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code. Information Disclosure, leaking sensitive data from Node.js internals, application memory, or the server's file system. Denial of Service (DoS), crashing the application or making it unavailable. Privilege Escalation, potentially gaining higher privileges within the Node.js process or the underlying operating system.
  • Affected Component (natives): natives module itself, acting as the access point. Critically, the vulnerable internal Node.js module within Node.js core (e.g., a binding like process_binding, fs_binding, crypto_binding, etc.) is the root cause.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Prioritize removal of natives: The most effective mitigation is to eliminate the use of natives and find alternative solutions using public Node.js APIs.
    • Keep Node.js updated: Regularly update Node.js to the latest stable versions to benefit from security patches that may address vulnerabilities in internal modules.
    • Security audits of natives usage: Conduct thorough security audits specifically focusing on the code paths that utilize natives. Identify all internal modules accessed and analyze them for potential vulnerabilities.
    • Principle of least privilege for natives code: Restrict the scope and capabilities of the code that uses natives. Ensure it only accesses the absolutely necessary internal functionalities and with minimal privileges.
    • Runtime security monitoring: Implement runtime security monitoring and intrusion detection systems to detect and respond to suspicious activity or attempts to exploit vulnerabilities through natives.
    • Regular dependency scanning: Use dependency scanning tools to identify known vulnerabilities in Node.js itself and its components, including internal modules (as much as tooling allows).

Threat: Injection Attacks through Dynamic Module/Function Access via natives

• Description: If the application dynamically determines which internal Node.js modules or functions to access using natives based on user-controlled input (e.g., user-provided strings, data from external sources), an attacker can inject malicious input. This input can be crafted to manipulate the module or function name passed to natives, forcing the application to access unintended and potentially dangerous internal functionalities.
  • Impact: Remote Code Execution (RCE) if the attacker can inject a module or function that allows code execution. Information Disclosure by accessing internal modules that expose sensitive data. Denial of Service (DoS) by triggering resource-intensive or crashing internal functions. Privilege Escalation, potentially gaining access to internal functionalities that bypass intended security boundaries.
  • Affected Component (natives): The natives function itself is the vulnerable component in combination with application code that performs dynamic resolution. The vulnerability lies in the dynamic nature of module/function selection when using natives based on untrusted input.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Absolutely avoid dynamic module/function access based on user input: Never construct module or function names for natives access using user-provided data or external, untrusted sources.
    • Whitelist allowed modules/functions: If dynamic access is unavoidable, strictly whitelist the allowed internal modules and functions that can be accessed via natives. Validate against this whitelist before using natives.
    • Strict input validation and sanitization: If any user input influences natives usage (even indirectly), implement rigorous input validation and sanitization to prevent injection attacks. However, whitelisting is a stronger approach.
    • Code review for injection vulnerabilities: Conduct thorough code reviews specifically looking for injection points related to natives usage, focusing on how module and function names are determined.
    • Static analysis tools: Utilize static analysis tools to detect dynamic code execution patterns and potential injection vulnerabilities related to natives.