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attack-surface.md

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Attack Surface Analysis for psf/requests

Attack Surface: URL Injection/Manipulation

  • Description: Attackers can manipulate URLs used in requests calls by controlling parts of the URL string, leading to requests being sent to unintended destinations.
    • How requests contributes: requests directly uses URLs provided to its functions. Unsanitized URL inputs passed to requests create this vulnerability.
    • Example: Application uses requests.get(user_provided_base_url + "/api/data"). Attacker provides user_provided_base_url as https://malicious.example.com, causing requests to target a malicious server.
    • Impact: Data exfiltration to malicious servers, execution of malicious code from attacker-controlled resources, unintended actions against malicious targets.
    • Risk Severity: High
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Strict URL Validation: Validate and sanitize all URL components before using them in requests.
      • URL Parsing & Construction: Use URL parsing libraries to build URLs programmatically, avoiding string concatenation of untrusted input.
      • Allowlisting Domains: Restrict requests to only target URLs within a predefined allowlist of trusted domains.

Attack Surface: Insecure SSL/TLS Configuration

  • Description: Disabling SSL/TLS verification in requests (verify=False) exposes the application to Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks, compromising communication security.
    • How requests contributes: requests' verify parameter directly controls SSL/TLS verification. Setting it to False disables essential security checks.
    • Example: Application uses requests.get(url, verify=False) in production. An attacker intercepts communication, potentially reading or modifying data in transit.
    • Impact: Data interception, data manipulation, credential theft, complete loss of confidentiality and integrity of communication.
    • Risk Severity: Critical
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Always Enable SSL Verification: Ensure verify=True is set for all requests calls in production.
      • Proper Certificate Handling: If using custom certificates, configure verify with the correct certificate path (verify='/path/to/cert.pem').
      • Maintain Up-to-date Certificates: Keep the system's certificate store (used by requests) updated.
      • Avoid verify=False in Production: Reserve verify=False only for testing against trusted local development servers, understanding the inherent risks.

Attack Surface: Dependency Vulnerabilities

  • Description: Vulnerabilities in requests' dependencies (like urllib3) can be exploited through the application's use of requests.
    • How requests contributes: requests relies on these libraries. Vulnerabilities in dependencies become attack vectors for applications using requests.
    • Example: A critical vulnerability is found in urllib3. An application using an outdated requests version that includes the vulnerable urllib3 becomes susceptible to exploitation.
    • Impact: Depends on the specific dependency vulnerability; can range from information disclosure to remote code execution.
    • Risk Severity: Varies (can be High to Critical depending on the dependency vulnerability)
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Regularly Update requests: Keep requests and its dependencies updated to the latest versions.
      • Dependency Scanning: Use tools to scan for known vulnerabilities in requests' dependencies.
      • Monitor Security Advisories: Stay informed about security advisories for requests and its dependencies.

Attack Surface: Insecure Credential Handling

  • Description: Improper handling or storage of authentication credentials used with requests can lead to credential compromise.
    • How requests contributes: requests provides authentication mechanisms. Insecure handling of credentials used with these mechanisms creates a vulnerability when using requests for authentication.
    • Example: API keys are hardcoded in the application code and used in requests calls for authentication. Code exposure leads to API key compromise.
    • Impact: Unauthorized access to protected resources, data breaches, account takeover, abuse of API quotas.
    • Risk Severity: High to Critical (depending on the sensitivity of the credentials and protected resources)
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Never Hardcode Credentials: Avoid hardcoding credentials directly in the application.
      • Use Secure Storage: Utilize environment variables, secure configuration files, or dedicated secrets management systems for storing credentials.
      • Principle of Least Privilege: Grant only necessary permissions to credentials.
      • Credential Rotation: Implement credential rotation policies.