mitigations.md

Mitigation Strategies Analysis for sshwsfc/xadmin

Mitigation Strategy: Enforce Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP) within xadmin

• Description:

  1. Disable Unused xadmin Features: In your settings.py, review the XADMIN_SETTINGS dictionary thoroughly. Disable any xadmin features, plugins, or views that are not absolutely necessary for your defined administrative roles. Start with the most minimal configuration possible and only enable features as required. This includes disabling default widgets, plugins, and menu items.

  2. Override ModelAdmin Permissions: In your xadmin ModelAdmin classes, override the permission-related methods (has_add_permission, has_change_permission, has_delete_permission, has_view_permission). These methods directly control access within xadmin. Instead of relying solely on Django's is_staff or is_superuser, check for your custom, granular Django permissions. Example:

     class ProductAdmin(object):
         def has_change_permission(self, request, obj=None):
             return request.user.has_perm('myapp.can_edit_products')
         def has_view_permission(self, request, obj=None):
             return request.user.has_perm('myapp.can_view_products')

  3. remove_permissions setting: Use remove_permissions in ModelAdmin to explicitly disable permissions like add, change, delete, view for specific models. This is a quick way to restrict access at the model level within xadmin.

  4. Customize xadmin menus: Use xadmin's menu customization features to limit the visibility of menu items based on user permissions. This prevents users from even seeing options they don't have access to.

• Threats Mitigated:

  • Unauthorized Access (High Severity): Prevents users from accessing parts of the xadmin interface they shouldn't, even if they are staff members.
  • Privilege Escalation (High Severity): Limits the ability of a compromised account to perform actions beyond its intended role within the admin.
  • Data Breach (High Severity): Reduces the risk of sensitive data being exposed through unauthorized access to xadmin features.
  • Accidental Data Modification/Deletion (Medium Severity): Minimizes the chance of users accidentally making changes or deleting data they shouldn't, specifically through the admin interface.

• Impact:

  • Unauthorized Access: Risk significantly reduced. Access is strictly controlled based on defined roles and permissions within xadmin.
  • Privilege Escalation: Risk significantly reduced. Compromised accounts are limited in their capabilities within the admin.
  • Data Breach: Risk significantly reduced. Exposure of sensitive data is minimized through the admin interface.
  • Accidental Data Modification/Deletion: Risk reduced. Users are less likely to have access to modify/delete data outside their responsibilities via xadmin.

• Currently Implemented:

  • ModelAdmin permission overrides are implemented in the orders app.

• Missing Implementation:

  • ModelAdmin permission overrides are not consistently implemented across all apps.
  • XADMIN_SETTINGS have not been fully reviewed and minimized.
  • remove_permissions is not used.
  • Menu customization based on permissions is not implemented.

Mitigation Strategy: Restrict Sensitive Data Exposure in xadmin Views

• Description:

  1. Review ModelAdmin Configurations: For each model registered with xadmin, carefully review the ModelAdmin class. This is entirely within xadmin's control.

  2. Use exclude: Use the exclude attribute in your ModelAdmin to prevent sensitive fields from being displayed or edited in any xadmin view. This is the most direct and effective xadmin-specific control.

  3. Use readonly_fields: Use the readonly_fields attribute in your ModelAdmin to make sensitive fields read-only, preventing modification but still allowing viewing within xadmin.

  4. Customize list_display: Override the list_display attribute in your ModelAdmin to control which fields are shown in the xadmin list view. Avoid displaying sensitive information here.

  5. Customize list_filter: Be extremely cautious with list_filter in your ModelAdmin. Avoid filtering on sensitive fields unless absolutely necessary and with appropriate access controls (using the permission methods from the previous strategy).

  6. Customize search_fields: Avoid using sensitive fields in search_fields within your ModelAdmin. If searching is required, consider using a separate, less sensitive field (e.g., a hash or a masked version).

  7. Implement Data Masking/Redaction (within ModelAdmin): For fields that must be displayed in xadmin but contain sensitive parts, create custom methods within your ModelAdmin to mask or redact the sensitive portions. Example:

     class PaymentAdmin(object):
         list_display = ('masked_card_number', ...)
     
         def masked_card_number(self, obj):
             return '**** **** **** ' + obj.card_number[-4:]

  8. Review Inlines: If you use inlines in xadmin, apply the same restrictions to the inline models' ModelAdmin configurations. Inlines are a core xadmin feature.

  9. style_fields: Carefully review and configure style_fields in your ModelAdmin. This setting controls how related fields are displayed, and misconfiguration could lead to information leakage.

  10. relfield_style: Similar to style_fields, ensure relfield_style is configured appropriately to avoid exposing sensitive data through related field lookups.

• Threats Mitigated:

  • Data Breach (High Severity): Reduces the risk of sensitive data being exposed through the xadmin interface.
  • Unauthorized Data Modification (High Severity): Prevents unauthorized users from modifying sensitive data via xadmin.
  • Compliance Violations (High Severity): Helps ensure compliance with data privacy regulations regarding data displayed in the admin.

• Impact:

  • Data Breach: Risk significantly reduced. Sensitive data is either hidden or masked within xadmin.
  • Unauthorized Data Modification: Risk significantly reduced. Sensitive fields are either excluded or made read-only within xadmin.
  • Compliance Violations: Risk reduced. The application is more likely to comply with data privacy regulations in its admin interface.

• Currently Implemented:

  • exclude is used in some ModelAdmin classes.
  • readonly_fields are used sporadically.

• Missing Implementation:

  • A comprehensive review of all ModelAdmin configurations has not been performed.
  • list_display, list_filter, and search_fields are not consistently configured to minimize sensitive data exposure.
  • Data masking/redaction within ModelAdmin methods is not implemented.
  • Inline configurations have not been thoroughly reviewed.
  • style_fields and relfield_style have not been reviewed.