Attack Surface Analysis for cucumber/cucumber-ruby

Attack Surface: Step Definition Code Injection

Attack Surface: Step Definition Code Injection
- Description: Execution of arbitrary code within step definitions due to unsanitized input from feature files.
- Cucumber-ruby Contribution: Step definitions are Ruby code that cucumber-ruby executes. The framework provides the mechanism for linking feature file content (which can be attacker-controlled) to this Ruby code. This is the direct link.
- Example: A feature file contains: Given I execute the command "ls -l". The (insecure) step definition uses backticks: Given(/^I execute the command "(.*)"$/) do |command| #{command} ``. An attacker changes the feature file to: Given I execute the command "rm -rf /".
- Impact: Arbitrary code execution on the system running the tests, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
- Risk Severity: Critical
- Mitigation Strategies:
  - Avoid System Commands: Prefer Ruby libraries for system interactions.
  - Strict Input Sanitization: Thoroughly validate and sanitize all input from feature files before using it in any potentially dangerous operation. Use whitelisting.
  - Avoid eval and Dynamic Code Loading: Never use eval with data from feature files. Avoid dynamic code loading based on feature file content.
  - Principle of Least Privilege: Run Cucumber tests with the minimum necessary privileges.

Attack Surface: Vulnerable Dependencies (Directly within `cucumber-ruby`)

Attack Surface: Vulnerable Dependencies (Directly within cucumber-ruby)
- Description: Exploitation of vulnerabilities within the cucumber-ruby gem itself.
- Cucumber-ruby Contribution: This is a direct vulnerability in the core cucumber-ruby code.
- Example: A hypothetical vulnerability in cucumber-ruby's parsing logic allows for remote code execution when processing a specially crafted feature file.
- Impact: Arbitrary code execution, system compromise, depending on the specific vulnerability.
- Risk Severity: High to Critical (depending on the vulnerability)
- Mitigation Strategies:
  - Regular Dependency Updates: Keep cucumber-ruby itself up to date. Use bundle update cucumber regularly. Monitor security advisories specifically for cucumber-ruby.

Attack Surface: Malicious Hook Code

Attack Surface: Malicious Hook Code
- Description: Injection of malicious code into Cucumber hooks (Before, After, Around) to execute unauthorized actions.
- Cucumber-ruby Contribution: cucumber-ruby provides and executes these hooks. The framework is directly responsible for running this code.
- Example: An attacker, having gained write access to the codebase, modifies a Before hook to include system("malicious_command").
- Impact: Arbitrary code execution, potential system compromise, depending on the injected code.
- Risk Severity: High
- Mitigation Strategies:
  - Code Review: Thoroughly review all hook code for security vulnerabilities.
  - Least Privilege: Ensure hooks run with the minimum necessary privileges.
  - Input sanitization: Sanitize any input that is used in the hooks.