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attack-surface.md

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Attack Surface Analysis for laminas/laminas-mvc

Attack Surface: Route Configuration Vulnerabilities - Overly Permissive Routes

  • Description: Routes defined too broadly can expose unintended application functionality, leading to unauthorized access.
  • Laminas MVC Contribution: Laminas MVC's flexible routing system, if not carefully configured, can lead to overly permissive route definitions that match more URLs than intended.
  • Example: A route like /admin/* meant for the admin panel might unintentionally match URLs like /admin/publicly-accessible-resource, bypassing intended access restrictions.
  • Impact: Unauthorized access to sensitive application features, data breaches, privilege escalation.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Define routes with specific and restrictive patterns.
    • Utilize route constraints to limit parameter values and match only intended inputs.
    • Regularly review route configurations to ensure they align with intended access control policies.
    • Implement robust authorization checks within controllers to verify user permissions, regardless of route matching.

Attack Surface: Route Parameter Injection

  • Description: Unvalidated route parameters can be used to inject malicious data into application logic, leading to various injection attacks.
  • Laminas MVC Contribution: Laminas MVC routes capture parameters from URLs and pass them to controllers. If these parameters are not sanitized and validated before use, injection vulnerabilities can occur.
  • Example: A route /user/:id where :id is directly used in a SQL query like SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = :id. An attacker could inject SQL by providing an ID like 1' OR '1'='1.
  • Impact: SQL Injection, Command Injection, Cross-Site Scripting (depending on parameter usage), data breaches, remote code execution.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Always validate and sanitize route parameters before using them in application logic.
    • Use parameterized queries or prepared statements to prevent SQL injection.
    • Avoid directly passing route parameters to system commands. If necessary, strictly validate and escape them.
    • Implement input filtering and validation using Laminas MVC's InputFilter component.

Attack Surface: Unintended Controller/Action Execution due to Missing Access Control

  • Description: Lack of proper authorization checks in controllers and actions allows unauthorized users to execute sensitive functionalities.
  • Laminas MVC Contribution: Laminas MVC structures applications with controllers and actions. Developers must implement access control within these components. Missing or weak authorization allows direct access by manipulating dispatched controller/action names.
  • Example: An admin controller AdminController with a deleteUserAction is accessible without authentication. An attacker could directly access /admin/delete-user and execute the action.
  • Impact: Unauthorized access to sensitive functionality, data manipulation, privilege escalation.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Implement robust authentication and authorization mechanisms in controllers and actions.
    • Use Laminas MVC's ACL or RBAC components or integrate with external authorization libraries.
    • Apply the principle of least privilege, granting only necessary permissions.
    • Enforce authorization checks at the beginning of controller actions.

Attack Surface: Service Manager/Dependency Injection - Insecure Service Configuration

  • Description: Insecure configuration of the Service Manager can lead to object injection vulnerabilities, potentially allowing remote code execution.
  • Laminas MVC Contribution: Laminas MVC's Service Manager is central to dependency injection. Insecure factory configurations that instantiate arbitrary classes based on user input can lead to object injection.
  • Example: A service factory configured to instantiate a class based on a request parameter. An attacker could manipulate this parameter to inject and instantiate a malicious class, leading to remote code execution.
  • Impact: Remote Code Execution, privilege escalation, data breaches.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Avoid dynamically instantiating classes based on user input in service factories.
    • Strictly control and validate service configurations.
    • Prefer factory classes over invokables for better control over object creation.
    • Regularly review service configurations for potential vulnerabilities.

Attack Surface: Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI)

  • Description: Unsafe use of template engines can allow attackers to inject code into server-side templates, leading to remote code execution.
  • Laminas MVC Contribution: Laminas MVC uses template engines for views. Directly embedding user-controlled input into templates without proper escaping can lead to SSTI.
  • Example: A view template directly outputting a controller variable: <?=$this->userInput?>. If userInput contains template engine syntax (e.g., {{ system('whoami') }} for some template engines), it could be executed on the server.
  • Impact: Remote Code Execution, data breaches, server compromise.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Always escape user-provided data before outputting it in templates using appropriate escaping functions.
    • Avoid directly embedding raw user input into templates.
    • Use template engines with automatic escaping features.
    • Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) to mitigate potential SSTI or XSS.

Attack Surface: Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) via View Helpers

  • Description: Insecure view helpers that do not properly encode output can introduce XSS vulnerabilities.
  • Laminas MVC Contribution: Laminas MVC view helpers simplify template tasks. If view helpers, built-in or custom, don't properly encode output, they can become XSS vectors.
  • Example: A custom view helper outputting user text without HTML escaping. If used to display user comments, malicious script in a comment could execute in other users' browsers.
  • Impact: Cross-Site Scripting, session hijacking, defacement, malware distribution.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Ensure all view helpers properly encode output based on context (e.g., HTML encoding for HTML).
    • Use Laminas MVC's built-in escaping view helpers (e.g., escapeHtml, escapeJs).
    • Review and audit custom view helpers for XSS vulnerabilities.
    • Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) to further mitigate XSS risks.

Attack Surface: Insecure Configuration Storage - Plain Text Credentials

  • Description: Storing sensitive credentials in plain text configuration files exposes them to unauthorized access.
  • Laminas MVC Contribution: Laminas MVC uses configuration files. Developers might mistakenly store credentials directly in these files in plain text, making them vulnerable.
  • Example: Database credentials (username, password) stored in config/autoload/db.local.php in plain text. Compromise of this file leaks credentials.
  • Impact: Data breaches, unauthorized database/service access, system compromise.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Never store sensitive credentials in plain text configuration files.
    • Use environment variables for sensitive configuration values.
    • Utilize secure configuration management or secret management systems.
    • Encrypt sensitive data in configuration files if environment variables are not feasible.
    • Ensure configuration files have restricted file system permissions.