mitigations.md

Mitigation Strategies Analysis for norman/friendly_id

Mitigation Strategy: 1. Use UUIDs or Random Strings as Base for Slugs

• Mitigation Strategy: Use UUIDs or Random Strings as Base for Slugs
• Description:
  1. Modify your friendly_id configuration to incorporate UUIDs or randomly generated strings into the slug generation process.
  2. Instead of relying solely on attributes like title, generate a UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) or a cryptographically secure random string.
  3. Concatenate or use the UUID/random string as a prefix or suffix to your slug, or use it as the entire slug if appropriate for your application.
  4. Ensure the UUID/random string generation is robust and avoids collisions. Libraries or built-in functions for UUID generation are recommended.
  5. Update your application code to handle and retrieve resources using these new slug formats.
• List of Threats Mitigated:
  • Predictable Slugs and Resource Enumeration (High Severity): Attackers can easily guess sequential or predictable slugs to access resources they shouldn't.
• Impact:
  • Predictable Slugs and Resource Enumeration (High Reduction): Makes slug guessing computationally infeasible, effectively preventing enumeration attacks based on slug prediction.
• Currently Implemented:
  • Implemented for new blog posts in the BlogPost model. Slugs are now generated using a combination of the post title and a UUID. Implemented in app/models/blog_post.rb.
• Missing Implementation:
  • Not yet implemented for user profiles. User profile slugs are still based solely on usernames, which can be predictable. Missing in app/models/user.rb.
  • Existing blog posts created before this change still use predictable slugs. Migration to update existing slugs is pending.

Mitigation Strategy: 2. Salt or Hash Slug Components

• Mitigation Strategy: Salt or Hash Slug Components
• Description:
  1. Identify the attributes used for slug generation (e.g., title, name).
  2. Before generating the slug, apply a cryptographic hash function (like SHA-256) to these attributes.
  3. Optionally, add a unique, randomly generated salt to the attribute before hashing to further enhance security and prevent rainbow table attacks. Store the salt securely if used.
  4. Use the hashed (and salted) value, or a portion of it, as part of the slug.
  5. Update your application to retrieve resources using these hashed slugs.
• List of Threats Mitigated:
  • Predictable Slugs and Resource Enumeration (Medium Severity): Even if some components are predictable, hashing makes it harder to reverse-engineer the original value and guess other slugs.
  • Information Disclosure through Slugs (Low Severity): Hashing can obscure the original attribute value if it contains sensitive information, although it's not a primary defense against information disclosure.
• Impact:
  • Predictable Slugs and Resource Enumeration (Medium Reduction): Significantly increases the difficulty of slug guessing compared to using plain, predictable attributes.
  • Information Disclosure through Slugs (Low Reduction): Provides a minor layer of obfuscation but is not a substitute for avoiding sensitive data in slugs altogether.
• Currently Implemented:
  • Partially implemented for category slugs. Category names are hashed with a static salt before being used in the slug. Implemented in app/models/category.rb.
• Missing Implementation:
  • Not implemented for tag slugs. Tag slugs are still directly based on tag names. Missing in app/models/tag.rb.
  • Salting is not consistently applied across all hashed slugs. Dynamic, per-record salts should be considered for enhanced security.

Mitigation Strategy: 3. Avoid Exposing Sequential IDs in Slugs (Even Indirectly)

• Mitigation Strategy: Avoid Exposing Sequential IDs in Slugs (Even Indirectly)
• Description:
  1. Review your slug generation logic and the attributes used.
  2. Ensure that none of the attributes used for slug generation are directly or indirectly derived from sequential IDs or predictable patterns (e.g., timestamps with low granularity, auto-incrementing database columns).
  3. If you must use attributes that are related to sequential data, transform them in a way that breaks the sequential pattern (e.g., hashing, using non-linear transformations).
  4. Avoid including any information in slugs that could reveal the order or quantity of resources created.
• List of Threats Mitigated:
  • Predictable Slugs and Resource Enumeration (Medium Severity): Prevents attackers from inferring the existence of resources based on sequential patterns in slugs.
• Impact:
  • Predictable Slugs and Resource Enumeration (Medium Reduction): Reduces the predictability of slugs by eliminating sequential patterns, making enumeration harder.
• Currently Implemented:
  • Partially implemented. Direct sequential IDs are not used in slugs.
• Missing Implementation:
  • Creation timestamps with second-level granularity are still used as part of some slugs. While not directly sequential IDs, they can still reveal creation order and potentially aid in enumeration if creation patterns are predictable. Need to remove or obfuscate timestamps in slugs.

Mitigation Strategy: 4. Thoroughly Test Slug Uniqueness and Collision Handling

• Mitigation Strategy: Thoroughly Test Slug Uniqueness and Collision Handling
• Description:
  1. Write comprehensive unit and integration tests specifically for slug uniqueness and collision handling.
  2. Test scenarios involving concurrent creation of resources with the same or similar titles.
  3. Test slug regeneration on updates, especially when titles or slug-generating attributes are modified.
  4. Test edge cases, such as very long titles, titles with special characters, and empty titles.
  5. Verify that the application correctly handles slug collisions according to the configured friendly_id options (e.g., appending suffixes, using history).
  6. Include tests that simulate malicious attempts to create slug collisions to verify resilience.
• List of Threats Mitigated:
  • Slug Collision and Uniqueness Issues (Medium Severity): Prevents unintended overwrites, access issues, or application errors due to slug collisions.
• Impact:
  • Slug Collision and Uniqueness Issues (High Reduction): Significantly reduces the risk of slug collision vulnerabilities by ensuring robust handling through testing.
• Currently Implemented:
  • Basic unit tests exist for model validations, including slug uniqueness. Tests are in spec/models/.
• Missing Implementation:
  • No dedicated integration tests specifically for concurrent slug creation and collision scenarios. Missing integration tests in spec/integration/slug_collision_spec.rb need to be created.
  • Edge case testing for slug generation with various input types is lacking.

Mitigation Strategy: 5. Implement Database-Level Unique Constraints

• Mitigation Strategy: Implement Database-Level Unique Constraints
• Description:
  1. In your database schema, add a unique constraint to the slug column for each table using friendly_id.
  2. This ensures that the database itself enforces slug uniqueness, providing a strong safeguard against accidental or malicious collisions.
  3. Review your database migrations to confirm that unique constraints are correctly defined for slug columns.
  4. Ensure your application code gracefully handles database-level unique constraint violations, typically by retrying slug generation or displaying an appropriate error message.
• List of Threats Mitigated:
  • Slug Collision and Uniqueness Issues (High Severity): Prevents slug collisions at the database level, even if application-level logic fails.
• Impact:
  • Slug Collision and Uniqueness Issues (High Reduction): Provides a robust, database-backed guarantee of slug uniqueness, minimizing the risk of collisions.
• Currently Implemented:
  • Unique constraints are implemented for slug columns in most tables using friendly_id, verified in database schema files (db/schema.rb).
• Missing Implementation:
  • Unique constraint is missing for the tag_slugs table (assuming a separate table for tag slugs in a many-to-many relationship). Needs to be added in a database migration.

Mitigation Strategy: 6. Monitor for Slug Collision Errors in Production

• Mitigation Strategy: Monitor for Slug Collision Errors in Production
• Description:
  1. Implement logging and monitoring to capture any errors or exceptions related to slug generation or uniqueness violations in your production environment.
  2. Specifically, monitor for database errors related to unique constraint violations on slug columns.
  3. Set up alerts to notify administrators or developers immediately when slug collision errors are detected.
  4. Regularly review logs and monitoring dashboards to identify any trends or patterns in slug collision errors.
  5. Investigate and address the root cause of any detected slug collision errors promptly.
• List of Threats Mitigated:
  • Slug Collision and Uniqueness Issues (Low Severity): Enables early detection and mitigation of slug collision issues that might occur in production.
• Impact:
  • Slug Collision and Uniqueness Issues (Medium Reduction): Reduces the impact of slug collisions by allowing for timely detection and resolution, minimizing potential data integrity or availability issues.
• Currently Implemented:
  • Basic error logging is in place using a logging library. Errors are logged to files and a centralized logging system.
• Missing Implementation:
  • No specific monitoring or alerting is configured for database unique constraint violations related to slugs. Need to set up specific alerts in the monitoring system for these types of errors.

Mitigation Strategy: 7. Carefully Select Attributes for Slug Generation

• Mitigation Strategy: Carefully Select Attributes for Slug Generation
• Description:
  1. Review the attributes currently used for slug generation in your application.
  2. Avoid using sensitive or confidential information directly in slugs, such as user IDs, email addresses, or personal details.
  3. Choose attributes that are descriptive and relevant to the resource but do not reveal private or security-sensitive data.
  4. If sensitive information is part of the descriptive attribute, consider removing or masking it before generating the slug.
  5. Prioritize using public or non-sensitive attributes for slug generation.
• List of Threats Mitigated:
  • Information Disclosure through Slugs (Medium Severity): Prevents accidental exposure of sensitive information in publicly accessible URLs.
• Impact:
  • Information Disclosure through Slugs (Medium Reduction): Reduces the risk of information leakage through slugs by avoiding the use of sensitive attributes.
• Currently Implemented:
  • Generally followed for most resources. Usernames are used for user profile slugs, which are considered public.
• Missing Implementation:
  • Project descriptions, which can sometimes contain sensitive project details, are used directly in project slugs. Need to review and potentially sanitize or use a more generic attribute for project slugs.

Mitigation Strategy: 8. Use Generic or Abstract Slugs for Sensitive Resources

• Mitigation Strategy: Use Generic or Abstract Slugs for Sensitive Resources
• Description:
  1. Identify resources in your application that contain highly sensitive information or require strict access control.
  2. For these resources, consider using more generic or abstract slugs that do not directly relate to the resource's title or content.
  3. Use UUIDs, random strings, or opaque identifiers as slugs for sensitive resources.
  4. Ensure that access to these resources is strictly controlled through authorization mechanisms, independent of slug predictability.
• List of Threats Mitigated:
  • Information Disclosure through Slugs (High Severity): Minimizes the risk of information leakage for highly sensitive resources by using non-descriptive slugs.
  • Predictable Slugs and Resource Enumeration (Medium Severity): Makes it harder to guess slugs for sensitive resources, adding a layer of obscurity.
• Impact:
  • Information Disclosure through Slugs (High Reduction): Significantly reduces the risk of information disclosure for sensitive resources through URL inspection.
  • Predictable Slugs and Resource Enumeration (Medium Reduction): Adds a layer of obscurity, making enumeration of sensitive resources less likely.
• Currently Implemented:
  • Not currently implemented. All resources use slugs derived from titles or names.
• Missing Implementation:
  • Consider implementing generic slugs for private documents or internal project resources. Need to identify sensitive resource types and update slug generation logic for them.

Mitigation Strategy: 9. Regularly Review and Audit Slug Generation Logic

• Mitigation Strategy: Regularly Review and Audit Slug Generation Logic
• Description:
  1. Schedule periodic reviews of your application's slug generation logic and configuration.
  2. As part of security audits or code reviews, specifically examine the friendly_id configurations and slug generation methods.
  3. Ensure that the chosen attributes for slug generation are still appropriate and do not inadvertently expose sensitive information as the application evolves.
  4. Verify that slug uniqueness and collision handling mechanisms are still effective and aligned with security best practices.
  5. Update slug generation logic and mitigation strategies as needed based on new threats, application changes, or security findings.
• List of Threats Mitigated:
  • All Threats (Low Severity - Preventative): Proactively identifies and addresses potential slug-related security issues before they are exploited.
• Impact:
  • All Threats (Low Reduction - Preventative, but High Long-Term Impact): Reduces the overall long-term risk by ensuring ongoing security maintenance and adaptation to evolving threats.
• Currently Implemented:
  • No formal scheduled reviews of slug generation logic are in place.
• Missing Implementation:
  • Need to incorporate slug generation logic review into the regular security audit schedule (e.g., quarterly audits). Add a checklist item for reviewing friendly_id configurations and slug generation methods during security audits.