mitigations.md

Mitigation Strategies Analysis for airbnb/mvrx

Mitigation Strategy: Data Sanitization in State

Description:

1. Identify Sensitive Data in MavericksState: Review your MavericksState classes and identify any properties that hold sensitive information.
2. Implement Sanitization Methods in MavericksState: Within each relevant MavericksState class, implement methods (e.g., toLogString(), safeCopy()) to create sanitized representations of the state.
3. Redact Sensitive Data in Sanitization Methods: In these methods, replace sensitive data with placeholders or remove it for logging and debugging purposes.
4. Use Sanitized Output with MvRx Logging/Debugging: Ensure any logging or debugging mechanisms used with MvRx (e.g., when observing state changes) utilize these sanitization methods to prevent exposure of raw sensitive data.
5. Review MvRx State Observation Points: Check all locations where you observe MavericksState changes (e.g., in Fragments/Activities using withState, onEach) and ensure logging at these points uses sanitized state representations.

Threats Mitigated:

• Accidental Data Exposure in MvRx State Logs (High Severity): Sensitive data within MavericksState being unintentionally logged during development or in production logs, potentially accessible to unauthorized parties.
• Data Leakage during MvRx State Debugging (Medium Severity): Sensitive data in MavericksState being displayed in debugging tools when inspecting MvRx state changes, exposing it during development.

Impact:

• Accidental Data Exposure in MvRx State Logs: High reduction in risk. Sanitization directly addresses the risk of sensitive data appearing in logs related to MvRx state changes.
• Data Leakage during MvRx State Debugging: Medium to High reduction in risk. Sanitization makes debugging MvRx state safer by preventing direct exposure of sensitive information.

Currently Implemented:

• Example: Partially implemented. UserMavericksState in feature_user module has a toLogString() method, but its usage might not be consistently enforced in all MvRx state observation points.

Missing Implementation:

• Sanitization methods are missing in OrderDetailsMavericksState, PaymentInfoMavericksState, and potentially other state classes.
• Consistent usage of sanitization methods needs to be enforced wherever MvRx state is logged or debugged across the application.

Mitigation Strategy: Minimize Sensitive Data in MavericksState

Description:

1. Analyze Sensitive Data in MavericksState: Examine all MavericksState classes and identify instances where sensitive data is directly stored.
2. Evaluate Necessity in MavericksState: For each instance, determine if it's truly necessary to store the actual sensitive data within the MavericksState object itself.
3. Use References/Identifiers in MavericksState: Where feasible, replace direct storage of sensitive data in MavericksState with references or identifiers (e.g., user ID, order ID).
4. Fetch Sensitive Data in MavericksViewModels On-Demand: Retrieve the actual sensitive data within MavericksViewModels only when needed for UI display or specific operations, fetching it securely from a trusted source.
5. Handle Sensitive Data Outside MavericksState Lifecycle: Process and manage sensitive data outside of the core MavericksState lifecycle as much as possible within MavericksViewModels or dedicated security modules.

Threats Mitigated:

• Broad Exposure of Sensitive Data via MavericksState (High Severity): Storing sensitive data directly in MavericksState increases the risk of widespread exposure if the state is inadvertently leaked or compromised.
• Increased Risk during Potential MavericksState Persistence (Medium Severity): If state persistence is ever implemented for MvRx, minimizing sensitive data in state reduces the potential impact of insecure persistence.

Impact:

• Broad Exposure of Sensitive Data via MavericksState: High reduction in risk. Limiting sensitive data in MavericksState confines potential exposure.
• Increased Risk during Potential MavericksState Persistence: Medium reduction in risk. Less sensitive data in state makes future persistence implementations inherently less risky.

Currently Implemented:

• Example: Partially implemented. User authentication tokens are not stored directly in MavericksState but are managed outside of it.

Missing Implementation:

• Order details state currently includes full credit card numbers (masked in UI but present in state). This should be replaced with an order ID and credit card details fetched on demand in the OrderDetailViewModel.
• Review other MavericksState classes to identify and minimize unnecessary storage of sensitive data.

Mitigation Strategy: Input Validation in MavericksViewModels

Description:

1. Identify External Data Sources in MavericksViewModels: Pinpoint all locations within your MavericksViewModels where data originates from external sources (e.g., API responses, Intents, etc.).
2. Define Validation Rules for MavericksViewModels: For each external data source used in MavericksViewModels, define strict validation rules based on expected data types, formats, and allowed values.
3. Implement Validation Logic in MavericksViewModels: Implement validation logic within your MavericksViewModels, immediately after receiving data from external sources and before updating the MavericksState.
4. Handle Validation Errors in MavericksViewModels: If validation fails in a MavericksViewModel, prevent state updates with invalid data. Handle errors by:
   • Logging validation errors securely.
   • Updating the MavericksState to reflect an error condition (e.g., using Async states to represent errors).
   • Triggering UI updates to display error messages based on the error state in MavericksState.
5. Regularly Review MavericksViewModel Validation: As data sources and application logic evolve, regularly review and update validation rules within your MavericksViewModels.

Threats Mitigated:

• Data Injection Vulnerabilities via MavericksState (High Severity): Prevents malicious or malformed data from external sources from corrupting the application state managed by MvRx, which could lead to various attacks.
• Application Instability due to Invalid Data in MavericksState (Medium Severity): Invalid data in MavericksState can cause unexpected application behavior, crashes, or UI rendering issues when MvRx state is consumed by UI components.

Impact:

• Data Injection Vulnerabilities via MavericksState: High reduction in risk. Input validation in MavericksViewModels is crucial for preventing injection attacks that target application state.
• Application Instability due to Invalid Data in MavericksState: Medium to High reduction in risk. Validation improves the robustness of MvRx-driven applications by ensuring state integrity.

Currently Implemented:

• Example: Partially implemented. Basic data type validation is performed for user registration input in RegistrationViewModel.

Missing Implementation:

• Comprehensive input validation is missing for API responses processed in ProductListViewModel, OrderDetailViewModel, and other ViewModels.
• Validation rules need to be defined and implemented for all external data sources used across all MavericksViewModels.

Mitigation Strategy: MvRx Specific Code Reviews

Description:

1. Develop MvRx Security Review Guidelines: Create specific code review guidelines focusing on security aspects unique to MvRx, such as state management vulnerabilities, ViewModel lifecycle issues, and secure data handling within MvRx patterns.
2. Train Reviewers on MvRx Security: Ensure code reviewers are trained to understand MvRx framework specifics and common security pitfalls related to its usage.
3. Focus on MavericksState and MavericksViewModel Security: During reviews, prioritize examining how sensitive data is handled within MavericksState and MavericksViewModels. Verify sanitization, minimization, and input validation practices are correctly implemented in MvRx components.
4. Review Asynchronous Operations in MavericksViewModels: Pay close attention to asynchronous operations within ViewModels, checking for secure data fetching, error handling, and proper coroutine/RxJava lifecycle management within the MvRx context.
5. Regular MvRx Focused Reviews: Conduct regular code reviews specifically targeting MvRx-related code changes, especially those involving MavericksViewModels, MavericksState, and data flow within the MvRx architecture.

Threats Mitigated:

• Introduction of MvRx Specific Coding Errors and Security Vulnerabilities (Medium to High Severity): Code reviews focused on MvRx patterns help identify and prevent security vulnerabilities and coding errors that are specific to the MvRx framework, early in the development process.

Impact:

• Introduction of MvRx Specific Coding Errors and Security Vulnerabilities: Medium to High reduction in risk. MvRx-focused code reviews are a proactive measure to improve code quality and security within the MvRx architecture.

Currently Implemented:

• Example: Partially implemented. General code reviews are conducted, but specific MvRx security guidelines are not formally documented or consistently applied.

Missing Implementation:

• Formal MvRx-specific security code review guidelines need to be documented and integrated into the code review process.
• Training for code reviewers on MvRx security best practices should be provided to ensure effective MvRx-focused security reviews.