mitigations.md

Mitigation Strategies Analysis for kevinzhow/pnchart

Mitigation Strategy: Strict Configuration Data Handling (pnchart-specific)

1. Identify pnchart Data Needs: Analyze pnchart's documentation and API to determine the exact data structure and properties it expects for chart configuration. Understand which properties are mandatory and which are optional.
2. Data Extraction and Filtering: Create a dedicated function that takes your raw data (e.g., from a database or API) and extracts only the fields required by pnchart. Do not pass entire data objects to pnchart.
3. pnchart-Specific Data Type Enforcement: Within the extraction function, explicitly cast data to the types expected by pnchart. Refer to pnchart's documentation for the expected types (e.g., numbers, strings, dates, arrays). If pnchart expects a specific date format, ensure your data conforms to that format before passing it.
4. pnchart Configuration Generation: Use the extracted, filtered, and type-enforced data to build the configuration object that you will pass to pnchart. Avoid any dynamic string concatenation or interpolation using potentially unsafe data within this configuration object.
5. Safe Configuration Options: If user input influences the chart (e.g., selecting a chart type or color scheme), define a set of pre-approved configuration options. Map user selections to these safe options, rather than allowing users to directly construct pnchart configuration values.

• Threats Mitigated:

  • Data Exposure via Chart Configuration (Severity: High): Prevents sensitive data from leaking into the pnchart configuration, which could be exposed on the client-side.
  • Indirectly mitigates some XSS (Severity: Medium): By limiting and type-checking data, it reduces the potential for injecting malicious code, although dedicated XSS handling is still essential.
  • DoS via Malformed Input (Severity: Medium): By limiting string lengths and enforcing data types, it reduces the risk of specially crafted input causing excessive resource consumption within pnchart.

• Impact:

  • Data Exposure: Significantly reduces the risk (High to Low).
  • XSS: Provides a small reduction in risk; primary XSS mitigation is separate.
  • DoS: Provides a small reduction in risk; primary DoS mitigation is separate.

• Currently Implemented:

  • Data extraction function exists in src/utils/chartData.js.
  • Data type enforcement is partially implemented (date/number types enforced, string length limits missing).

• Missing Implementation:

  • String length limits are not consistently enforced in chartData.js. Add truncation for all string fields before passing to pnchart.
  • Refactor chart configuration in src/components/ChartComponent.jsx to use pre-defined, safe configuration options, preventing direct user input from constructing pnchart configuration.

Mitigation Strategy: Aggressive XSS Protection in pnchart Elements

1. Identify pnchart Text Rendering Points: Examine pnchart's documentation and source code (if necessary) to identify all places where it renders text: labels, tooltips, legends, axis titles, data labels, etc.
2. Prioritize pnchart's Built-in Escaping: Thoroughly check pnchart's documentation for any built-in escaping, sanitization, or security options related to text rendering. If such options exist, use them and configure them correctly. This is the preferred approach.
3. Output Encoding (if pnchart lacks built-in protection): If pnchart does not provide built-in protection, or if you are unsure about its effectiveness, you must apply output encoding before passing any text data to pnchart.
   • Select an Encoding Library: Choose a robust HTML encoding library (e.g., DOMPurify for JavaScript).
   • Encode All Text: Wrap every string value that will be rendered as text by pnchart with the encoding function. This includes labels, tooltip content, legend entries, etc. Example (using DOMPurify):

     import DOMPurify from 'dompurify';
     
     const chartConfig = {
       labels: data.map(item => DOMPurify.sanitize(item.label)), // Encode for pnchart
       datasets: [{
         label: DOMPurify.sanitize(datasetLabel), // Encode for pnchart
         data: data.map(item => item.value),
         tooltip: {
           callbacks: {
             label: (context) => DOMPurify.sanitize(context.label) // Encode for pnchart
           }
         }
       }]
     };

   • Context-Specific Encoding: Ensure you are using the correct type of encoding for how pnchart renders the text (HTML, SVG, etc.).

• Threats Mitigated:

  • Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) via Chart Labels/Tooltips (Severity: High): This directly addresses the threat of attackers injecting malicious JavaScript through pnchart's text rendering.

• Impact:

  • XSS: Reduces the risk of XSS from high to very low, assuming correct implementation.

• Currently Implemented:

  • No output encoding is currently implemented.

• Missing Implementation:

  • Output encoding is completely missing. Add DOMPurify (or equivalent) and apply it to all text elements before they are passed to pnchart in src/components/ChartComponent.jsx. Thoroughly review the component to ensure no text bypasses this encoding.

Mitigation Strategy: Input Size Limits for pnchart

1. pnchart Data Point Limit: Determine a reasonable maximum number of data points that pnchart can handle efficiently without performance degradation or potential crashes. Set this as a hard limit.
2. pnchart String Length Limits: Define maximum string lengths for all text inputs that are passed to pnchart (labels, tooltips, etc.). This should be consistent across your application and enforced before data reaches pnchart.
3. pnchart Configuration Depth Limit: If pnchart allows nested configuration objects, set a reasonable limit on the nesting depth to prevent excessively complex configurations that could lead to performance issues.
4. Enforcement Before pnchart: Implement these limits in the data preparation and filtering logic before the data is passed to pnchart. This prevents pnchart from even receiving potentially harmful input.

• Threats Mitigated:

  • Denial of Service (DoS) via Malformed Input (Severity: Medium): Prevents attackers from sending excessively large or complex data to pnchart, which could cause it to consume excessive resources or crash.

• Impact:

  • DoS: Reduces the risk of DoS specifically related to pnchart's handling of input data (Medium to Low).

• Currently Implemented:

  • None.

• Missing Implementation:

  • No specific input size limits are enforced for data passed to pnchart. Add these limits in src/utils/chartData.js and ensure they are enforced before calling pnchart in src/components/ChartComponent.jsx.