threat-modeling.md

Threat Model Analysis for puppetlabs/puppet

Threat: Puppet Server Compromise

Description: An attacker exploits vulnerabilities in the Puppet Server software, operating system, or misconfigurations to gain unauthorized access. They might use remote code execution exploits, brute-force attacks on weak credentials, or social engineering to compromise administrator accounts. Once compromised, the attacker can control the entire Puppet infrastructure.

Impact: Critical. Complete control over Puppet infrastructure, allowing for widespread deployment of malicious code, data exfiltration (secrets, node data), system disruption, and denial of service across all managed nodes.

Affected Puppet Component: Puppet Server (Master), Puppet Server Software

Risk Severity: Critical

Mitigation Strategies:

• Regularly patch and update Puppet Server software and OS.
• Implement strong authentication (MFA, certificate-based) for Puppet Server access.
• Harden Puppet Server OS and network (firewall, IDS/IPS).
• Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability scans of the Puppet Server.
• Apply principle of least privilege for user access to the Puppet Server.

Threat: Unauthorized Access to Puppet Server API/Web Interface

Description: An attacker gains unauthorized access to the Puppet Server's API or web interface, potentially through weak authentication, exposed endpoints, session hijacking, or cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in the Puppet Server web interface. They could then manipulate configurations, trigger runs, and access sensitive data.

Impact: High. Ability to modify configurations, trigger Puppet runs, access catalogs and reports, leading to configuration drift, malicious deployments, and information disclosure.

Affected Puppet Component: Puppet Server API, Puppet Server Web Interface

Risk Severity: High

Mitigation Strategies:

• Enforce strong authentication and authorization for Puppet Server API and web interface access.
• Use HTTPS and strong TLS configurations for all communication with the Puppet Server.
• Implement API rate limiting and input validation on the Puppet Server API.
• Regularly audit access logs for suspicious activity on the Puppet Server.
• Disable or restrict access to unnecessary API endpoints/web interface features of the Puppet Server.

Threat: Malicious Module Injection/Supply Chain Attack

Description: An attacker injects malicious code into Puppet modules. This could be done by compromising public repositories, creating fake modules, or infiltrating internal module development pipelines. The attacker leverages the Puppet module system to distribute malware through seemingly trusted Puppet modules.

Impact: Critical. Widespread deployment of malicious code across managed infrastructure via Puppet, leading to data breaches, system compromise, denial of service, and persistent access.

Affected Puppet Component: Puppet Modules, Puppet Module Repositories, Puppet Forge

Risk Severity: Critical

Mitigation Strategies:

• Implement a strict module vetting and approval process for all Puppet modules.
• Use private and controlled Puppet module repositories with robust access control.
• Regularly audit and scan Puppet modules for vulnerabilities and malicious code before use.
• Utilize module signing and verification mechanisms provided by Puppet or third-party tools.
• Minimize reliance on external Puppet modules and prefer internally developed and maintained modules where possible.
• Actively monitor Puppet module sources and dependencies for unexpected changes.

Threat: Denial of Service (DoS) against Puppet Server

Description: An attacker overloads the Puppet Server with requests, exhausts server resources, or exploits vulnerabilities in the Puppet Server software to cause a denial of service. They might flood the Puppet Server API, trigger resource-intensive Puppet operations, or exploit known DoS vulnerabilities in the Puppet Server software itself.

Impact: High. Inability to manage infrastructure using Puppet, delayed configuration updates, potential system instability due to configuration drift, and disruption of services reliant on Puppet-managed infrastructure.

Affected Puppet Component: Puppet Server (Master), Puppet Server Software

Risk Severity: High

Mitigation Strategies:

• Implement rate limiting and request throttling on the Puppet Server.
• Ensure sufficient resources are allocated to the Puppet Server to handle expected load.
• Regularly monitor Puppet Server performance and resource utilization.
• Implement redundancy and high availability for the Puppet Server infrastructure.
• Patch and update the Puppet Server software to address known DoS vulnerabilities.

Threat: Compromised Puppet Agent

Description: An attacker compromises a Puppet Agent running on a managed node. This could be through exploiting vulnerabilities in the Puppet Agent software itself, OS vulnerabilities that the Puppet Agent process can leverage, or by compromising other applications on the node and then pivoting to the Puppet Agent process. Once compromised, the attacker can gain local privileges and manipulate the node, potentially interfering with Puppet's management.

Impact: High. Local privilege escalation on the managed node, ability to tamper with Puppet configurations applied to the node, potential to pivot to other systems from the compromised node, and disruption of services on the node managed by Puppet.

Affected Puppet Component: Puppet Agent, Puppet Agent Software

Risk Severity: High

Mitigation Strategies:

• Regularly patch and update Puppet Agent software and the underlying OS on managed nodes.
• Harden the OS on managed nodes and follow security best practices to limit attack surface for Puppet Agents.
• Implement host-based intrusion detection/prevention systems on managed nodes to detect Agent compromise.
• Apply principle of least privilege for the Puppet Agent process and user account on managed nodes.
• Regular security audits and vulnerability scans of managed nodes, including Puppet Agent installations.

Threat: Local Privilege Escalation via Puppet Agent Vulnerabilities

Description: An attacker exploits vulnerabilities directly within the Puppet Agent software itself to gain elevated privileges on the managed node. This could involve buffer overflows, insecure file handling, or other software flaws present in the Puppet Agent code.

Impact: High. Full control over the managed node, ability to bypass security controls enforced by Puppet, install malware, access sensitive data on the node, and pivot to other systems from the compromised node.

Affected Puppet Component: Puppet Agent Software

Risk Severity: High

Mitigation Strategies:

• Keep Puppet Agent software consistently up-to-date with the latest security patches released by Puppet.
• Follow security best practices for system hardening and privilege management on managed nodes to limit the impact of Agent vulnerabilities.
• Regularly monitor security advisories and vulnerability databases specifically related to Puppet Agent software.
• Implement security scanning and vulnerability management processes for managed nodes, focusing on Puppet Agent software.

Threat: Secrets Hardcoded in Puppet Code

Description: Developers accidentally or intentionally hardcode sensitive information like passwords, API keys, or certificates directly into Puppet manifests or modules. This practice exposes secrets within the Puppet codebase, version control history, and potentially compiled catalogs, making them accessible to unauthorized individuals.

Impact: Critical. Exposure of secrets, leading to unauthorized access to other systems and services managed by those secrets, potential data breaches, and account compromise across the infrastructure.

Affected Puppet Component: Puppet Modules, Puppet Manifests, Puppet Code Repositories

Risk Severity: Critical

Mitigation Strategies:

• Strictly enforce a policy of never hardcoding secrets directly in Puppet code.
• Utilize external secret management solutions (e.g., HashiCorp Vault, CyberArk) to securely store and retrieve secrets for use in Puppet.
• Leverage Puppet's built-in features for secret management, such as the sensitive data type and encrypted data types, in conjunction with external secret stores.
• Implement mandatory code review processes to actively identify and prevent accidental hardcoding of secrets in Puppet code.
• Regularly scan Puppet code repositories and catalogs for potential secrets using automated secret scanning tools.

Threat: Logic Errors and Misconfigurations in Puppet Manifests

Description: Developers introduce errors in Puppet code logic or create security misconfigurations in Puppet manifests. This can result in unintended security vulnerabilities being deployed to managed nodes, such as overly permissive firewall rules, insecure service configurations, or incorrect file/directory permissions, all managed by Puppet.

Impact: High. Introduction of security vulnerabilities across managed infrastructure due to Puppet-driven misconfigurations, potentially leading to data breaches, system compromise, and denial of service incidents.

Affected Puppet Component: Puppet Manifests, Puppet Modules, Puppet Configuration Language

Risk Severity: High

Mitigation Strategies:

• Implement thorough testing and validation of Puppet code before deployment, including unit tests, integration tests, and linting to catch errors early.
• Establish mandatory code review processes to have a second pair of eyes review Puppet code for logic errors and misconfigurations.
• Follow security best practices and hardening guidelines when writing Puppet code to minimize the introduction of vulnerabilities.
• Utilize configuration compliance tools to continuously monitor and enforce desired configurations on managed nodes, detecting and remediating drifts from secure baselines.
• Implement rollback mechanisms within Puppet workflows to quickly revert to previous known-good configurations in case of errors or unintended consequences from new Puppet code.