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attack-surface.md

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Attack Surface Analysis for socketio/socket.io

Attack Surface: 1. Unauthorized Connection & Event Access

  • Description: Attackers connect to the Socket.IO server without proper authentication or authorization, gaining access to events and data they shouldn't see.
  • How Socket.IO Contributes: Socket.IO's event-driven nature requires careful management of who can connect and which events they can receive. Socket.IO's handshake process and event emission/reception mechanisms are the direct points of vulnerability if authentication/authorization is weak or misplaced.
  • Example: An attacker connects to the server without providing valid credentials and listens to a "private-chat" namespace, intercepting messages.
  • Impact: Data breaches, unauthorized actions, privacy violations.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Developer: Implement authentication during the Socket.IO handshake (e.g., using socket.io-auth or custom middleware). Validate credentials (JWTs, session tokens) before accepting the connection (within the handshake). Use Socket.IO's namespaces and rooms to restrict access based on user roles, enforcing these restrictions on the server-side. Reject unauthenticated connections.

Attack Surface: 2. Event Spoofing/Injection

  • Description: Attackers send crafted events that mimic legitimate user actions or inject malicious data, potentially triggering unintended server-side behavior.
  • How Socket.IO Contributes: Socket.IO's core functionality is based on sending and receiving events. The socket.emit and event listener mechanisms are the direct attack vectors. The server's handling of these Socket.IO events is the critical point.
  • Example: An attacker sends a forged "transferFunds" event with their account as the recipient, bypassing client-side validation, directly through the Socket.IO connection.
  • Impact: Data corruption, unauthorized transactions, system compromise.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Developer: Implement strict server-side input validation for all incoming Socket.IO events. Validate data types, lengths, and formats specifically within the event handlers. Sanitize data before use. Associate events with authenticated user IDs (obtained from the authenticated Socket.IO connection). Avoid using socket.emit to send sensitive data directly to other clients without authorization checks within the Socket.IO logic.

Attack Surface: 3. Event Eavesdropping

  • Description: Attackers gain access to Socket.IO rooms or namespaces they are not authorized to join, allowing them to listen to sensitive data.
  • How Socket.IO Contributes: Socket.IO's room and namespace features are directly involved. The vulnerability lies in the server-side logic that controls access to these Socket.IO constructs.
  • Example: An attacker guesses a Socket.IO room name used for private communication and joins it (using socket.join), intercepting messages.
  • Impact: Data breaches, privacy violations.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Developer: Implement strict authorization checks before allowing a client to join a Socket.IO room or subscribe to a Socket.IO namespace (using socket.join and related methods). Use dynamically generated room names (e.g., based on user/session IDs) within the Socket.IO server logic. Ensure sensitive data is only sent to authorized clients within the context of Socket.IO rooms and namespaces.

Attack Surface: 4. Broadcasting Sensitive Information (Unintentional Disclosure)

  • Description: Using io.emit (broadcast to all connected Socket.IO clients) without proper consideration can expose sensitive data to unauthorized users.
  • How Socket.IO Contributes: Socket.IO's io.emit function is the direct mechanism of this vulnerability. The misuse of this specific Socket.IO function is the core issue.
  • Example: A developer uses io.emit to send a "userUpdated" event containing the user's full profile data, including their password hash (a very bad practice, but illustrative).
  • Impact: Data breaches, privacy violations.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Developer: Avoid using io.emit for sensitive data. Use socket.to(roomName).emit or socket.emit (to send only to the current socket) instead. Carefully design the Socket.IO event architecture to ensure data is only sent to intended recipients, using Socket.IO's room and namespace features appropriately.