attack-tree.md

Attack Tree Analysis for graphite-project/graphite-web

Objective: Compromise Graphite-web Application

Attack Tree Visualization

Root Goal: Compromise Graphite-web Application [CRITICAL]
├───[OR]─ Network-Based Attacks [HIGH-RISK PATH]
│   ├───[OR]─ Exploit Publicly Known Vulnerabilities [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]
│   │   └───[AND]─ Utilize Exploit Frameworks (e.g., Metasploit) [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]
│   ├───[OR]─ Authentication Bypass [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]
│   │   ├───[AND]─ Exploit Authentication Vulnerabilities (if any exist) [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]
│   │   └───[AND]─ Brute-Force Authentication (if weak password policies) [HIGH-RISK PATH]
│   ├───[OR]─ Authorization Bypass [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]
│   │   ├───[AND]─ Exploit Authorization Flaws in Graphite-web API/UI [HIGH-RISK PATH]
│   ├───[OR]─ Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks [HIGH-RISK PATH]
│   │   ├───[AND]─ Resource Exhaustion [HIGH-RISK PATH]
│   │   │   └───[AND]─ Send Large Number of Requests [HIGH-RISK PATH]
│   └───[OR]─ Injection Attacks (Focus on Graphite-web specific areas) [HIGH-RISK PATH]
│       ├───[AND]─ Path Traversal/Local File Inclusion (LFI) [HIGH-RISK PATH]
│       │   └───[AND]─ Read Sensitive Configuration Files/Source Code [HIGH-RISK PATH]
│       │       └───[AND]─ Attempt to Access Files like `local_settings.py`, `carbon.conf` (if accessible) [HIGH-RISK PATH]
│       ├───[AND]─ Command Injection (Less likely in core, but consider plugins/extensions) [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]
├───[OR]─ Dependency-Based Attacks [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]
│   ├───[AND]─ Exploit Vulnerabilities in Dependencies [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]
│   │   └───[AND]─ Utilize Publicly Available Exploits (if available) [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]
├───[OR]─ Configuration-Based Attacks [HIGH-RISK PATH]
│   ├───[AND]─ Misconfiguration Exploitation [HIGH-RISK PATH]
│   │   └───[AND]─ Weak Authentication/Authorization Settings [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]
└───[OR]─ Data Manipulation Attacks (Potentially less direct compromise, but impactful) [HIGH-RISK PATH]
    ├───[AND]─ Metric Data Injection [HIGH-RISK PATH]
    │   └───[AND]─ Inject Malicious Metric Data [HIGH-RISK PATH]
    │       └───[AND]─ Cause Data Integrity Issues/Misleading Visualizations [HIGH-RISK PATH]

Attack Tree Path: Root Goal: Compromise Graphite-web Application [CRITICAL]

This is the ultimate objective. Success means the attacker gains unauthorized access, control, or causes significant disruption to the Graphite-web application and potentially the underlying system.

Attack Tree Path: Network-Based Attacks [HIGH-RISK PATH]

These attacks are initiated remotely over the network, targeting the Graphite-web application's network services (typically HTTP/HTTPS). * Attack Vectors: * Exploiting vulnerabilities in network protocols. * Sending malicious network traffic to overwhelm or exploit the application. * Bypassing network security controls to reach the application.

Attack Tree Path: Exploit Publicly Known Vulnerabilities [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]

This involves leveraging publicly disclosed vulnerabilities (CVEs) in Graphite-web or its components. * Attack Vectors: * Utilize Exploit Frameworks (e.g., Metasploit) [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]: Using pre-built exploit code available in frameworks to automate and simplify the exploitation process. * Manual exploitation using publicly available vulnerability details and proof-of-concept code.

Attack Tree Path: Authentication Bypass [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]

Circumventing the authentication mechanisms of Graphite-web to gain unauthorized access without valid credentials. * Attack Vectors: * Exploit Authentication Vulnerabilities (if any exist) [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]: Exploiting flaws in the authentication logic itself, such as logic errors, race conditions, or insecure implementation of authentication protocols. * Brute-Force Authentication (if weak password policies) [HIGH-RISK PATH]: Attempting to guess valid credentials by systematically trying a large number of usernames and passwords. Effective if weak or default passwords are used, or if rate limiting is insufficient.

Attack Tree Path: Authorization Bypass [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]

Gaining access to resources or functionalities that the attacker is not authorized to access, even after successful authentication (or bypassing it). * Attack Vectors: * Exploit Authorization Flaws in Graphite-web API/UI [HIGH-RISK PATH]: Exploiting vulnerabilities in the authorization logic, such as flaws in role-based access control, insecure direct object references, or path traversal vulnerabilities leading to unauthorized resource access.

Attack Tree Path: Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks [HIGH-RISK PATH]

Making the Graphite-web application unavailable to legitimate users by overwhelming its resources or exploiting application flaws. * Attack Vectors: * Resource Exhaustion [HIGH-RISK PATH]: Consuming excessive resources (CPU, memory, network bandwidth) to degrade or crash the application. * Send Large Number of Requests [HIGH-RISK PATH]: Flooding the application with a high volume of requests to overwhelm its processing capacity.

Attack Tree Path: Injection Attacks (Focus on Graphite-web specific areas) [HIGH-RISK PATH]

Injecting malicious code or commands into the Graphite-web application to manipulate its behavior or gain unauthorized access. * Attack Vectors: * Path Traversal/Local File Inclusion (LFI) [HIGH-RISK PATH]: Exploiting vulnerabilities to read arbitrary files on the server, potentially including sensitive configuration files or source code. * Read Sensitive Configuration Files/Source Code [HIGH-RISK PATH]: Specifically targeting configuration files like local_settings.py and carbon.conf to extract secrets, credentials, or configuration details. * Attempt to Access Files like local_settings.py, carbon.conf (if accessible) [HIGH-RISK PATH]: Direct attempts to access these critical files if a path traversal vulnerability is found. * Command Injection (Less likely in core, but consider plugins/extensions) [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]: Injecting malicious operating system commands that are executed by the Graphite-web application, potentially leading to full system compromise. This is more likely if Graphite-web uses plugins or extensions that interact with the OS.

Attack Tree Path: Dependency-Based Attacks [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]

Exploiting vulnerabilities in third-party libraries or packages that Graphite-web depends on. * Attack Vectors: * Exploit Vulnerabilities in Dependencies [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]: Targeting known vulnerabilities in Python packages used by Graphite-web. * Utilize Publicly Available Exploits (if available) [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]: Using publicly available exploits for vulnerable dependencies to compromise the application.

Attack Tree Path: Configuration-Based Attacks [HIGH-RISK PATH]

Exploiting insecure configurations of Graphite-web to gain unauthorized access or information. * Attack Vectors: * Misconfiguration Exploitation [HIGH-RISK PATH]: Leveraging various types of misconfigurations. * Weak Authentication/Authorization Settings [HIGH-RISK PATH] [CRITICAL NODE]: Exploiting default or poorly configured authentication and authorization settings, such as weak passwords, permissive access controls, or disabled security features.

Attack Tree Path: Data Manipulation Attacks (Potentially less direct compromise, but impactful) [HIGH-RISK PATH]

Manipulating the metric data or dashboards within Graphite-web to cause data integrity issues, misleading visualizations, or potentially disrupt operations. * Attack Vectors: * Metric Data Injection [HIGH-RISK PATH]: Injecting malicious or false metric data into Graphite-web. * Inject Malicious Metric Data [HIGH-RISK PATH]: Sending crafted metric data using Graphite protocols (plaintext, pickle) to insert false or misleading information. * Cause Data Integrity Issues/Misleading Visualizations [HIGH-RISK PATH]: The consequence of successful metric data injection, leading to inaccurate dashboards, incorrect alerts, and potentially flawed decision-making based on the metrics.