Description: An attacker injects malicious JavaScript code into chart data (labels, tooltips, data points) through a vulnerable backend. When Chartkick renders the chart in a user's browser, this malicious script executes. This is possible if the application doesn't sanitize data before passing it to Chartkick, and Chartkick or its underlying libraries don't adequately prevent script execution from within chart data. The attacker manipulates data sent to the backend, which is then used to generate chart data without proper sanitization, leading to execution of arbitrary JavaScript in the user's browser when the chart is rendered by Chartkick.
Impact: Full compromise of the user's session and account, redirection to malicious websites, data theft, installation of malware, defacement of the application, and other actions possible with JavaScript execution in the user's browser context.
Chartkick Component Affected: Data processing and rendering pipeline, specifically how Chartkick passes data to and utilizes underlying charting libraries (Chart.js, Highcharts, Google Charts) for rendering chart elements like labels and tooltips.
Risk Severity: High
Mitigation Strategies:
- Strict Backend Input Sanitization: Thoroughly validate and sanitize all user inputs on the server-side before using them to generate chart data. Encode data appropriately for HTML context before sending it to the frontend.
- Context-Aware Frontend Output Encoding: Ensure context-aware output encoding (e.g., HTML escaping) of data in the frontend before passing it to Chartkick for rendering. Verify if Chartkick and the underlying library handle encoding automatically and supplement if needed.
- Implement Content Security Policy (CSP): Deploy a strong CSP to restrict inline JavaScript execution and control resource loading sources, significantly limiting the impact of potential XSS vulnerabilities.
- Regularly Update Chartkick and Dependencies: Keep Chartkick and all underlying charting libraries updated to the latest versions to patch any known security vulnerabilities.
Threat: Client-Side XSS or other vulnerabilities due to vulnerable underlying Charting Libraries (via Chartkick)
Description: Chartkick relies on external JavaScript charting libraries (Chart.js, Highcharts, Google Charts). These libraries themselves may contain critical security vulnerabilities, including XSS or other code execution flaws. By using Chartkick, the application becomes dependent on these libraries. If these libraries have known, unpatched vulnerabilities, an attacker could exploit them through the application's use of Chartkick. This means vulnerabilities in Chart.js, Highcharts, or Google Charts become attack vectors for applications using Chartkick.
Impact: Depending on the specific vulnerability in the underlying library, the impact can be critical, potentially leading to Remote Code Execution (RCE), Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), or other severe security breaches. Exploitation could result in full compromise of user sessions, data theft, application malfunction, or even server-side compromise in certain scenarios if client-side vulnerabilities can be chained with server-side weaknesses.
Chartkick Component Affected: Dependency management and integration with underlying charting libraries. The entire Chartkick library is affected as it inherently relies on these external components for its core rendering functionality.
Risk Severity: High to Critical (depending on the severity of the vulnerability in the underlying library)
Mitigation Strategies:
- Proactive Dependency Updates: Implement a rigorous process for regularly and promptly updating Chartkick and all its dependencies, especially the underlying charting libraries. Utilize dependency management tools to track and automate updates.
- Continuous Vulnerability Scanning: Integrate automated vulnerability scanning tools into the development and CI/CD pipeline to continuously monitor for and detect known vulnerabilities in Chartkick and its dependencies.
- Security Advisory Monitoring: Actively subscribe to security advisories and release notes for Chartkick and its underlying charting libraries. Stay informed about reported vulnerabilities and apply patches immediately upon release.
- Consider Dependency Pinning with Vigilance: While dependency pinning can provide stability, it can also hinder timely security updates. If pinning dependencies, establish a process for regularly reviewing and updating pinned versions, prioritizing security patches. Favor range-based dependency management with automated security updates where possible.