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attack-surface.md

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Attack Surface Analysis for heartcombo/devise

Attack Surface: Brute-force Attacks on Login

  • Description: Attackers attempt to guess user passwords by repeatedly trying different combinations on the login form.
  • Devise Contribution: Devise, by default, does not implement rate limiting on login attempts, making it inherently vulnerable to brute-force attacks if not explicitly mitigated in the application.
  • Example: An attacker uses a script to try thousands of password combinations for a known username on the Devise-provided login page until they guess the correct password.
  • Impact: Unauthorized access to user accounts, data breaches, account takeover.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Implement Rate Limiting: Utilize gems like rack-attack or devise-security to restrict the number of login attempts from a single IP address or user account within a specific timeframe. This directly addresses Devise's default lack of rate limiting.
    • Strong Password Policies: Enforce strong password complexity requirements (minimum length, character types) within the application. While not directly Devise's feature, it's crucial to reduce the effectiveness of brute-force attacks against Devise-authenticated accounts.
    • Account Lockout: Enable and configure Devise's lockable module to automatically lock accounts after a certain number of failed login attempts. This is a Devise-provided mechanism to counter brute-force attacks.
    • Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Integrate 2FA (using gems like devise-two-factor) to add a significant security layer beyond passwords, making brute-force attacks substantially more difficult to succeed against Devise authentication.

Attack Surface: Password Reset Vulnerabilities

  • Description: Flaws in the password reset process that can be exploited to gain unauthorized access or information related to user accounts.
  • Devise Contribution: Devise provides the password reset functionality, and vulnerabilities can arise from weaknesses in token generation, handling, or insufficient security measures around the reset process within Devise's implementation.
  • Example:
    • Account Enumeration via Timing Differences: Subtle timing differences in Devise's password reset response (e.g., time taken to respond when email exists vs. doesn't exist) could be exploited for account enumeration.
    • Weak Password Reset Token Generation (Less likely in modern Devise, but theoretically possible if customizations are insecure): If Devise's token generation were compromised or replaced with a less secure method, tokens could become predictable or brute-forceable.
    • Password Reset Token Leakage due to insecure logging or error handling in custom Devise implementations: If developers inadvertently log or expose password reset tokens, attackers could intercept and use them.
  • Impact: Account takeover via password reset manipulation, unauthorized password changes, information disclosure (account enumeration).
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Secure Token Generation (Verify Devise Configuration): Ensure Devise is configured to use cryptographically secure random number generators for password reset tokens. Review Devise configuration to confirm secure defaults are in place and not overridden insecurely.
    • Rate Limiting on Password Reset Requests: Implement rate limiting specifically for password reset requests to prevent abuse and account enumeration attempts targeting Devise's password reset feature.
    • Token Expiration (Configure Devise): Configure a short expiration time for password reset tokens within Devise's settings to minimize the window of opportunity for token exploitation.
    • Secure Token Handling (Application-Level Best Practices): Avoid logging or exposing tokens in URLs, logs, or error messages in the application code that interacts with Devise's password reset functionality.
    • Use Secure Email Delivery (Application-Level): Ensure password reset emails are sent over HTTPS and consider using secure email providers to protect the reset link in transit, although this is less directly related to Devise itself but important for the overall password reset flow initiated by Devise.