mitigations.md

Mitigation Strategies Analysis for laminas/laminas-mvc

Mitigation Strategy: Secure Module Loading (laminas-mvc)

Mitigation Strategy: Restrict dynamic module loading within the laminas-mvc ModuleManager.

• Description:

  1. Whitelist (Dynamic Loading): If your application dynamically loads modules (which is a feature of laminas-mvc's ModuleManager), strictly limit which modules can be loaded. Create a whitelist of allowed module names within your application code. Never load a module directly from user input without checking it against this whitelist. This is crucial because laminas-mvc handles module loading.
     • Example (Conceptual, within a controller or a custom ModuleManager listener):

       $allowedModules = ['MyModule', 'AnotherModule', 'SafeModule'];
       $moduleToLoad = $request->getPost('module_name'); // Get module name from request (VERY DANGEROUS without validation)
       
       if (in_array($moduleToLoad, $allowedModules)) {
           // Load the module using the laminas-mvc ModuleManager
           $moduleManager = $this->getServiceLocator()->get('ModuleManager'); // Get ModuleManager from ServiceManager
           $moduleManager->loadModule($moduleToLoad);
       } else {
           // Handle the error (e.g., log, display an error message, throw an exception)
       }

  2. Disable Unused Modules: Remove or disable any modules that are not actively used. This directly impacts laminas-mvc because it manages the module lifecycle. Edit config/modules.config.php (which is read by laminas-mvc) to remove unused modules from the list. This reduces the attack surface managed by laminas-mvc.
  3. Regular Audits: Periodically review the list of enabled modules in config/modules.config.php and the logic that handles module loading (if dynamic loading is used).

• Threats Mitigated:

  • Code Injection (High Severity): Prevents attackers from injecting malicious code by loading compromised or malicious modules through the laminas-mvc ModuleManager.
  • Privilege Escalation (High Severity): A malicious module loaded via laminas-mvc could gain access to the application's resources and potentially escalate privileges.
  • Denial of Service (Medium Severity): A malicious module loaded through laminas-mvc could consume excessive resources.

• Impact:

  • Code Injection: Risk significantly reduced (especially with whitelisting).
  • Privilege Escalation: Risk significantly reduced.
  • Denial of Service: Risk reduced.

• Currently Implemented:

  • Describe how modules are loaded. Example: "Dynamic module loading is not used; modules are loaded statically from config/modules.config.php." or "A whitelist is implemented in Application\Controller\PluginManagerController to control dynamic module loading."

• Missing Implementation:

  • Example: "No whitelist is implemented for dynamic module loading, and module names are taken directly from user input." or "Unused modules are still listed in config/modules.config.php."

Mitigation Strategy: Strict Route Definitions and Controller Access Control (laminas-mvc)

Mitigation Strategy: Define precise routes within laminas-mvc's routing system and enforce controller/action-level access control within controllers managed by laminas-mvc.

• Description:

  1. Specific Routes (laminas-mvc Routing): Avoid overly broad routes in your module.config.php files (which configure laminas-mvc's routing). Use specific route types (literal, segment, hostname, etc.) and constraints within the laminas-mvc routing configuration.
     • Literal Routes: Prefer literal routes (e.g., /users/profile).
     • Segment Routes: Use constraints to restrict parameter values within the route definition. Example (in module.config.php):

       'my-route' => [
           'type'    => Laminas\Router\Http\Segment::class, // Using laminas-mvc's Segment route
           'options' => [
               'route'    => '/users/:id',
               'constraints' => [
                   'id' => '[0-9]+', // Only allow numeric IDs - enforced by laminas-mvc
               ],
               'defaults' => [
                   'controller' => Controller\UserController::class,
                   'action'     => 'view',
               ],
           ],
       ],

     • Hostname Routes: Use hostname routes to restrict routes to specific domains.
     • Regular Expressions: Use regular expressions in constraints for strict parameter patterns.
  2. Controller/Action Access Control (laminas-mvc Controllers): Implement authorization checks within your controller actions, which are managed by laminas-mvc. This is in addition to route-level security.
     • laminas-mvc Controller Logic: Place authorization checks inside the action methods of your controllers (which extend Laminas\Mvc\Controller\AbstractActionController).
     • Example (Conceptual - within a laminas-mvc controller):

       namespace MyModule\Controller;
       
       use Laminas\Mvc\Controller\AbstractActionController;
       use Laminas\View\Model\ViewModel;
       
       class UserController extends AbstractActionController
       {
           public function viewAction()
           {
               // Access control check *within the laminas-mvc controller*
               if (!$this->isAllowed('user', 'view')) { // Hypothetical authorization check
                   return $this->redirect()->toRoute('login'); // Redirect handled by laminas-mvc
               }
       
               // ... (rest of the action logic)
               return new ViewModel(); // ViewModel is part of laminas-mvc
           }
       }

  3. Avoid Exposing Internal Methods: Do not map routes (in laminas-mvc's configuration) to controller methods that are not intended to be directly accessible.
  4. Route Testing (laminas-test): Use laminas-test (which integrates with laminas-mvc) to thoroughly test your routing configuration. This ensures that only intended routes are accessible and that constraints are working correctly within the laminas-mvc context.
  5. Regular Audits: Periodically review your routing configuration (in module.config.php files) and access control logic within your laminas-mvc controllers.

• Threats Mitigated:

  • Route Hijacking (Medium Severity): Prevents attackers from crafting URLs that match unintended routes within laminas-mvc's routing system.
  • Unauthorized Access (High Severity): Prevents unauthorized users from accessing protected resources or actions by enforcing checks within laminas-mvc controllers.
  • Parameter Manipulation (Medium Severity): Limits the ability of attackers to manipulate route parameters as processed by laminas-mvc.
  • Information Disclosure (Medium Severity): Prevents attackers from discovering internal controller methods.

• Impact:

  • Route Hijacking: Risk significantly reduced with specific route definitions within laminas-mvc.
  • Unauthorized Access: Risk significantly reduced with controller-level access control within laminas-mvc controllers.
  • Parameter Manipulation: Risk reduced with route constraints enforced by laminas-mvc.
  • Information Disclosure: Risk reduced.

• Currently Implemented:

  • Describe how routes are defined and how access control is implemented within your laminas-mvc controllers. Example: "Routes are defined using segment routes with regular expression constraints in module.config.php. Access control checks are performed within each controller action using a custom authorization service."

• Missing Implementation:

  • Example: "No controller-level access control is implemented within laminas-mvc controllers; authorization relies solely on routing." or "Some routes use overly broad wildcard patterns in module.config.php." or "No laminas-test tests are in place to verify routing behavior."

Mitigation Strategy: Secure Event Manager Usage (laminas-mvc)

Mitigation Strategy: Validate event data and restrict listener registration within the laminas-mvc EventManager.

• Description:

  1. Validate Event Data (laminas-mvc Events): Treat data passed through laminas-mvc events as untrusted. Within your event listeners that are attached to the laminas-mvc EventManager, validate any data received from the event object. This is crucial because laminas-mvc uses its own EventManager extensively.
     • Example (Conceptual - within a listener attached to the laminas-mvc EventManager):

       // In a module's Module.php, attaching to the laminas-mvc EventManager:
       public function onBootstrap(MvcEvent $e)
       {
           $eventManager = $e->getApplication()->getEventManager(); // Get the laminas-mvc EventManager
           $eventManager->attach(MvcEvent::EVENT_DISPATCH, [$this, 'onDispatch'], 100);
       }
       
       public function onDispatch(MvcEvent $e)
       {
           $routeMatch = $e->getRouteMatch(); // Get data from the laminas-mvc MvcEvent
           if ($routeMatch) {
               $controller = $routeMatch->getParam('controller');
               // ... (validate $controller - it's data from a laminas-mvc event!)
           }
       }

  2. Restrict Listener Registration (laminas-mvc EventManager): Avoid registering listeners to the laminas-mvc EventManager based on user input.
     • Whitelist (Dynamic Registration): If you must dynamically register listeners to the laminas-mvc EventManager, maintain a whitelist of allowed listener classes or callables.
     • Configuration-Based Registration: Prefer registering listeners through configuration (e.g., in module.config.php using the listeners key under controllers or service_manager) rather than dynamically. This is the standard way to interact with laminas-mvc's event system.
  3. Limit Event Propagation (laminas-mvc Events): Use event priorities and the stopPropagation() method within the laminas-mvc event flow to control event propagation. Prevent unintended listeners from being triggered.
     • Priorities: Assign priorities when attaching listeners to the laminas-mvc EventManager.
     • stopPropagation(): Call $e->stopPropagation() within a listener (where $e is an MvcEvent) to prevent subsequent listeners from being executed within the laminas-mvc event cycle.
  4. Regular Audits: Periodically review event listeners attached to the laminas-mvc EventManager.

• Threats Mitigated:

  • Code Injection (High Severity): Prevents attackers from injecting malicious code through event listeners attached to the laminas-mvc EventManager.
  • Data Tampering (Medium Severity): Prevents attackers from modifying data passed through laminas-mvc events.
  • Denial of Service (Medium Severity): A malicious listener attached to laminas-mvc's events could consume resources.
  • Unexpected Behavior (Low Severity): Improperly handled laminas-mvc events can lead to unexpected application behavior.

• Impact:

  • Code Injection: Risk significantly reduced with restricted listener registration and data validation within the laminas-mvc context.
  • Data Tampering: Risk reduced with data validation.
  • Denial of Service: Risk reduced.
  • Unexpected Behavior: Risk reduced.

• Currently Implemented:

  • Describe how event listeners are registered and how event data is handled specifically for laminas-mvc events. Example: "Listeners are registered via configuration in module.config.php to the laminas-mvc EventManager. Event data from MvcEvent is validated within listeners."

• Missing Implementation:

  • Example: "Event data from MvcEvent is not validated in any listeners attached to the laminas-mvc EventManager." or "Dynamic listener registration to the laminas-mvc EventManager is used without a whitelist."