threat-modeling.md

Threat Model Analysis for thoughtbot/factory_bot

Threat: Sensitive Data Exposure in Test Databases

• Description: An attacker, with unauthorized access to test environments, could exploit sensitive data accidentally created in test databases by factory_bot. Factories might generate realistic but sensitive data (PII, secrets) and weak test database security allows exfiltration. The attacker could use this data for identity theft, espionage, or further attacks.
• Impact: Data breach, privacy violation, reputational damage, legal repercussions, compromise of internal systems if secrets are exposed.
• Affected Factory_Bot Component: Factory definitions, data generation logic within factories, database interaction through factories.
• Risk Severity: High
• Mitigation Strategies:
  • Data Sanitization in Factories: Use Faker or similar libraries to generate realistic but non-sensitive data. Avoid hardcoding or copying production data.
  • Secure Test Databases: Implement strong access controls and encryption for test databases. Treat them as sensitive environments.
  • Regular Factory Audits: Review factory definitions to sanitize inadvertently created sensitive data.
  • Environment Isolation: Strictly separate test, staging, and production environments with access controls.

Threat: Authentication/Authorization Bypass Masking Real Vulnerabilities

• Description: Overly permissive factories for testing authentication/authorization can bypass production security checks. Tests might pass (false positive) despite real vulnerabilities. An attacker could exploit these undetected vulnerabilities in production.
• Impact: Undetected security vulnerabilities in production, leading to unauthorized access, data breaches, or system compromise.
• Affected Factory_Bot Component: Factory definitions related to user creation, role assignment, and permission setup.
• Risk Severity: High
• Mitigation Strategies:
  • Realistic User Factories: Design factories to create users with roles and permissions accurately reflecting production roles. Avoid overly privileged "admin" factories unless necessary.
  • Explicit Authorization Tests: Write tests explicitly verifying authorization logic for various user roles created by factories.
  • Code Review of Factories: Review factory definitions to ensure accurate representation of user roles and no inadvertent security bypasses.
  • Security Testing: Supplement tests with penetration testing and vulnerability scanning to identify missed vulnerabilities.

Threat: Dependency Vulnerabilities in Factory_Bot or its Dependencies

• Description: Attackers could exploit known vulnerabilities in factory_bot or its dependencies. Using vulnerable versions can lead to Remote Code Execution (RCE), Denial of Service (DoS), or other exploits.
• Impact: Application compromise, data breach, denial of service, system instability, potential for remote code execution.
• Affected Factory_Bot Component: factory_bot library itself, its dependencies.
• Risk Severity: High
• Mitigation Strategies:
  • Regular Dependency Updates: Keep factory_bot and dependencies updated to patch known vulnerabilities.
  • Dependency Scanning Tools: Use automated dependency scanning in CI/CD to detect vulnerabilities.
  • Security Audits: Include factory_bot and dependencies in regular security audits.
  • Vulnerability Monitoring: Subscribe to security advisories for vulnerability information.

Threat: Accidental Data Modification/Deletion in Non-Test Environments

• Description: Misconfigured factory_bot in test environments might connect to and modify data in non-test environments (staging, production) due to incorrect database connection settings. An attacker manipulating test environment configuration could trigger this for data corruption or loss in production.
• Impact: Data corruption, data loss, application downtime, business disruption, potential financial losses.
• Affected Factory_Bot Component: Database connection configuration used by factory_bot in test environments, test environment setup.
• Risk Severity: Critical
• Mitigation Strategies:
  • Environment-Specific Configuration: Enforce environment-specific database connection configurations using variables or separate files.
  • Database Isolation: Isolate test databases from non-test databases using dedicated instances or schemas.
  • Configuration Validation: Implement automated checks to validate database connection configurations in test environments.
  • Principle of Least Privilege (Database Access): Grant minimal database privileges to test users and processes.
  • Immutable Infrastructure (for test environments): Use immutable infrastructure for consistent and correct test environment configurations.