Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
46 lines (39 loc) · 4.99 KB

attack-surface.md

File metadata and controls

46 lines (39 loc) · 4.99 KB

Attack Surface Analysis for dalance/procs

Attack Surface: 1. Information Disclosure: Sensitive Process Data

  • Description: Exposure of sensitive information about running processes, including command-line arguments, environment variables, user IDs, and process paths.
    • How procs Contributes: procs is the direct mechanism used to access this sensitive process information. The library's functions provide the capability to query and retrieve these details.
    • Example: An application uses procs.NewProc(pid) and then accesses .Cmdline() or .Environ() to display process details in a log file or web interface. An attacker gains access to this log or interface and obtains database credentials or API keys passed as command-line arguments or environment variables.
    • Impact: Leakage of credentials, API keys, internal network configurations, leading to unauthorized access, data breaches, and potential system compromise.
    • Risk Severity: Critical
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Data Minimization: Never retrieve Cmdline() or Environ() unless absolutely necessary and with a strong, documented justification. If you only need the process name, use a safer method.
      • Access Control: Strictly control access to any functionality that uses procs to retrieve process details. Only authorized users or system components should have this access.
      • Output Sanitization: If, and only if, displaying this information is unavoidable, always sanitize and redact sensitive data (passwords, keys) before display. Use appropriate escaping for the output context (HTML, shell, etc.).
      • Least Privilege: The application using procs should run with the absolute minimum necessary privileges. Never run as root unless there's no other option.
      • Auditing: Log every instance where procs is used to access sensitive process data (especially Cmdline() and Environ()), including the user, timestamp, and the specific data accessed.

Attack Surface: 2. Information Disclosure: System Reconnaissance

  • Description: Discovery of running services, software versions, and user accounts, enabling attackers to identify vulnerabilities and plan further attacks.
    • How procs Contributes: procs provides the direct means to enumerate running processes, giving attackers a snapshot of the system's software and user landscape.
    • Example: An application uses procs.Processes() to display a list of all running processes. An attacker uses this feature to identify that an outdated version of a database server (visible in the process name or path) is running, which has a known, exploitable vulnerability.
    • Impact: Facilitates targeted attacks by revealing vulnerable software and services.
    • Risk Severity: High
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Restrict Process Listing: Do not provide a feature that allows listing all processes to unprivileged users. Offer only filtered views or aggregated information, if necessary.
      • Access Control: Limit access to any functionality that uses procs.Processes() (or similar functions) to authorized users or administrators.
      • Harden System: Keep all software up-to-date. This is a general security best practice, but it directly mitigates the risk of reconnaissance by reducing the number of known vulnerabilities.

Attack Surface: 3. Privilege Escalation (Indirect - TOCTOU)

  • Description: Exploitation of race condition. Application checks process information and acts on that information, but the process state changes between the check and the action.
    • How procs Contributes: procs is used to get potentially outdated process information.
    • Example:
      1. Application uses procs to check if process named "X" is running as user "Y".
      2. Application confirms.
      3. Application sends signal to process "X", assuming it's still running as "Y".
      • Attack: Between steps 1 and 3, attacker terminates "X" and starts new process with the same name ("X") but running as "root".
    • Impact: Attacker gains elevated privileges.
    • Risk Severity: High
    • Mitigation Strategies:
      • Avoid TOCTOU: Do not make security decisions based on potentially stale process information. Use secure inter-process communication.
      • Secure IPC: Use secure inter-process communication (IPC) mechanisms.
      • Capabilities: Use capabilities (on Linux) to grant specific permissions to processes.
      • Verification: Re-verify process identity immediately before interacting with it.
      • Least Privilege: Ensure that even if a process is compromised, it has limited privileges.