mitigations.md

Mitigation Strategies Analysis for seldaek/monolog

Mitigation Strategy: Sanitize Sensitive Data Using Monolog Processors

Description:

• Step 1: Identify sensitive data that might be logged within your application's code.
• Step 2: Create custom Monolog processors by implementing the ProcessorInterface. These processors will be responsible for sanitizing log records.
• Step 3: Within your custom processor, implement logic to detect and sanitize sensitive data fields in the log record's extra and context arrays. This could involve masking, redacting, or removing specific fields based on keys or patterns.
• Step 4: Register your custom processor globally in your Monolog configuration so it's applied to all log records, or register it specifically with certain handlers if sanitization is needed only for particular log destinations.
• Step 5: Configure your Monolog handlers to use these processors. Processors are typically added to handlers during handler configuration.
• Step 6: Test your sanitization processors thoroughly in development and staging environments to ensure they effectively remove or mask sensitive data without disrupting essential logging information.
• Step 7: Regularly review and update your sanitization processors as your application evolves and new types of sensitive data might be logged.

Threats Mitigated:

• Information Disclosure of Passwords (High Severity)
• Information Disclosure of API Keys (High Severity)
• Information Disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) (High Severity)
• Information Disclosure of Session Tokens (Medium Severity)
• Information Disclosure of Financial Data (High Severity)

Impact:

• Information Disclosure of Passwords: High Risk Reduction
• Information Disclosure of API Keys: High Risk Reduction
• Information Disclosure of PII: High Risk Reduction
• Information Disclosure of Session Tokens: Medium Risk Reduction
• Information Disclosure of Financial Data: High Risk Reduction

Currently Implemented:

• A generic processor for sanitizing common HTTP headers (like Authorization, Cookie) is implemented in config/monolog.php and applied to the request handler.

Missing Implementation:

• No custom processors are implemented for sanitizing application-specific sensitive data beyond HTTP headers, such as data within log messages or context arrays related to user data processing or database interactions.
• No processors are in place to sanitize database query parameters that might be logged.

Mitigation Strategy: Utilize Structured Logging with Monolog Formatters

Description:

• Step 1: Choose a structured logging format supported by Monolog, such as JSON (JsonFormatter) or Logstash (LogstashFormatter).
• Step 2: Configure your Monolog handlers to use the selected structured formatter instead of the default LineFormatter. This is done during handler configuration in your Monolog setup.
• Step 3: When logging messages in your application code, leverage Monolog's context feature. Pass data as context arrays to the logging functions (e.g., $logger->info('User login', ['username' => $username, 'ip' => $ip]);).
• Step 4: Ensure developers understand how to use context arrays for structured logging and encourage consistent usage throughout the application.
• Step 5: If integrating with a log management system, configure it to ingest and parse the structured logs generated by Monolog using the chosen formatter.
• Step 6: Review existing log messages and refactor them to utilize context arrays for structured data logging where appropriate.

Threats Mitigated:

• Inefficient Security Monitoring and Analysis (Low Severity)
• Increased Risk of Missing Security Events in Logs (Low Severity)
• Difficulty in Automated Log Processing and Redaction (Medium Severity)

Impact:

• Inefficient Security Monitoring and Analysis: Medium Risk Reduction
• Increased Risk of Missing Security Events in Logs: Medium Risk Reduction
• Difficulty in Automated Log Processing and Redaction: Medium Risk Reduction

Currently Implemented:

• Default Monolog handler in config/monolog.php uses JsonFormatter for structured logging in JSON format.

Missing Implementation:

• While JSON formatting is enabled, consistent use of context arrays for structured data in log messages is not fully enforced across the codebase. Some log messages still rely on string interpolation, losing the benefits of structured logging.
• No developer guidelines specifically promoting the use of context arrays for structured logging.

Mitigation Strategy: Implement Log Rotation Using Monolog Handlers

Description:

• Step 1: Choose a Monolog handler that supports log rotation, such as RotatingFileHandler or StreamHandler combined with external rotation mechanisms.
• Step 2: Configure the chosen handler in your Monolog setup, specifying rotation parameters. For RotatingFileHandler, you can set the maximum number of files to keep (maxFiles) and the date interval for rotation (daily, weekly, etc. - implicitly daily). For StreamHandler, you might rely on external tools for rotation.
• Step 3: Define a log retention policy that aligns with your security and compliance requirements. Set the maxFiles parameter in RotatingFileHandler according to your retention policy.
• Step 4: Ensure the directory where rotated logs are stored has appropriate permissions (as covered in system-level mitigations).
• Step 5: Regularly review and adjust the log rotation configuration in Monolog as needed based on log volume and storage capacity.

Threats Mitigated:

• Denial of Service (Disk Space Exhaustion) (Medium Severity)
• Information Disclosure from Overly Large Log Files (Medium Severity)
• Compliance Violations (Data Retention) (Medium Severity)

Impact:

• Denial of Service (Disk Space Exhaustion): High Risk Reduction
• Information Disclosure from Overly Large Log Files: Medium Risk Reduction
• Compliance Violations (Data Retention): Medium Risk Reduction

Currently Implemented:

• Daily log rotation is configured for the main application log file using Monolog's RotatingFileHandler. Logs are rotated daily and kept for 7 days.

Missing Implementation:

• The current 7-day retention policy might not be formally documented or aligned with a broader data retention policy.
• No proactive monitoring of log storage usage related to rotation is implemented within Monolog or externally.

Mitigation Strategy: Rate Limiting Log Events with Monolog Processors

Description:

• Step 1: Identify specific log events that are susceptible to abuse or could generate excessive log volume (e.g., authentication failures, specific error types).
• Step 2: Create a custom Monolog processor that implements rate limiting logic. This processor should track the frequency of specific log events and conditionally prevent logging if a rate limit is exceeded.
• Step 3: Configure this rate limiting processor in your Monolog setup. You can apply it globally or to specific handlers that are logging the targeted events.
• Step 4: Define appropriate rate limiting thresholds based on expected application behavior and potential abuse scenarios.
• Step 5: Test the rate limiting processor to ensure it effectively limits log volume without suppressing legitimate and important log events.
• Step 6: Regularly monitor the effectiveness of rate limiting and adjust thresholds as needed.

Threats Mitigated:

• Denial of Service (Logging Exhaustion) (Medium Severity)
• Performance Degradation due to Excessive Logging (Medium Severity)
• Increased Log Storage Costs (Low Severity)

Impact:

• Denial of Service (Logging Exhaustion): Medium Risk Reduction
• Performance Degradation due to Excessive Logging: Medium Risk Reduction
• Increased Log Storage Costs: Low Risk Reduction

Currently Implemented:

• No rate limiting processors are currently implemented in the Monolog configuration.

Missing Implementation:

• Rate limiting is not applied to any log events, leaving the application vulnerable to potential logging exhaustion attacks or performance issues due to excessive logging.
• No analysis has been conducted to identify specific log events that would benefit from rate limiting.

Mitigation Strategy: Secure Monolog Configuration Practices

Description:

• Step 1: Review your Monolog configuration files (config/monolog.php or similar) for security best practices.
• Step 2: Externalize sensitive configuration parameters, such as API keys for external logging services or database credentials (if used within custom handlers), using environment variables or secure secrets management mechanisms instead of hardcoding them in configuration files.
• Step 3: If using custom Monolog handlers or processors, conduct security code reviews and testing to ensure they are implemented securely and do not introduce vulnerabilities.
• Step 4: Restrict access to Monolog configuration files to authorized developers and administrators.
• Step 5: Regularly audit your Monolog configuration to ensure it remains secure and aligned with your application's security requirements.

Threats Mitigated:

• Information Disclosure via Misconfigured Handlers (Medium Severity)
• Compromise of External Logging Services (Medium Severity)
• Introduction of Vulnerabilities via Custom Handlers/Processors (Medium Severity)

Impact:

• Information Disclosure via Misconfigured Handlers: Medium Risk Reduction
• Compromise of External Logging Services: Medium Risk Reduction
• Introduction of Vulnerabilities via Custom Handlers/Processors: Medium Risk Reduction

Currently Implemented:

• Monolog configuration is stored in config/monolog.php.
• API keys for external services are intended to be loaded from environment variables, but this is not consistently enforced or validated.

Missing Implementation:

• No formal security review process for Monolog configuration files.
• Consistent enforcement of using environment variables or secure secrets management for sensitive configuration parameters within Monolog setup.
• No specific security review or testing process for custom Monolog handlers or processors if they are developed in the future.

Mitigation Strategy: Keep Monolog Dependency Updated

Description:

• Step 1: Regularly check for new releases and security advisories for the seldaek/monolog package.
• Step 2: Utilize dependency management tools (like Composer) to manage your project's dependencies, including Monolog.
• Step 3: Implement a process for regularly updating Monolog to the latest stable version. This should be part of your regular software maintenance cycle.
• Step 4: Use dependency scanning tools (e.g., composer audit, Snyk) to automatically detect known vulnerabilities in the installed Monolog version.
• Step 5: Prioritize and apply Monolog updates, especially security updates, promptly. Test updates in a staging environment before deploying to production.

Threats Mitigated:

• Exploitation of Known Vulnerabilities in Monolog (High Severity)

Impact:

• Exploitation of Known Vulnerabilities in Monolog: High Risk Reduction

Currently Implemented:

• Dependency updates, including Monolog, are performed periodically during maintenance cycles (roughly every 3-6 months).

Missing Implementation:

• No automated dependency scanning is integrated into the CI/CD pipeline to proactively identify Monolog vulnerabilities.
• No formal process for regularly checking for and applying security updates specifically for Monolog. Updates are part of a general maintenance schedule, not driven by security advisories for Monolog itself.