threat-modeling.md

Threat Model Analysis for minimistjs/minimist

Threat: Prototype Pollution

• Threat: Prototype Pollution
• Description: Due to its parsing logic, minimist is vulnerable to prototype pollution. An attacker can craft specific command-line arguments designed to inject properties into the Object.prototype or other built-in JavaScript prototypes during the argument parsing process itself. This occurs because of how minimist handles argument names and assigns values, allowing manipulation of prototype chain properties like __proto__ and constructor.prototype.
• Impact:
  • Application logic bypass: Altered prototype behavior can lead to unexpected application flow and security bypasses within the application using minimist.
  • Indirect Remote Code Execution: Prototype pollution can be a prerequisite or component in a chain of vulnerabilities leading to remote code execution in certain application contexts.
  • Data corruption: Modified prototypes can cause unexpected data modifications and application instability within the JavaScript environment where minimist is used.
• Minimist Component Affected: Core argument parsing logic within the minimist module.
• Risk Severity: High to Critical (depending on application context and reliance on prototypes)
• Mitigation Strategies:
  • Upgrade Minimist or Migrate: The most effective mitigation is to upgrade to the latest version of minimist if patches are available, or, preferably, migrate to a more secure and actively maintained argument parsing library that is not known to be vulnerable to prototype pollution.
  • Input Sanitization and Validation (Post-Parsing): While not directly mitigating the prototype pollution vulnerability in minimist itself, validating and sanitizing parsed arguments after minimist processing can help reduce the impact of potential prototype pollution by ensuring that downstream application logic is robust and does not rely on potentially polluted prototypes in unsafe ways. However, this is a secondary defense and does not address the root vulnerability in minimist.
  • Object Freezing (Defensive Measure): As a defensive measure, consider freezing critical objects and prototypes in your application to prevent modification after parsing. This can limit the exploitability of prototype pollution, but might have compatibility implications and is not a direct fix for the minimist vulnerability.
  • Regular Security Audits: Conduct regular security audits specifically looking for potential consequences of prototype pollution in your application's logic and dependencies, given that you are using minimist. Consider static analysis tools that can detect prototype pollution vulnerabilities.