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attack-surface.md

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Attack Surface Analysis for neondatabase/neon

Attack Surface: Unauthorized Access to Neon Control Plane API

  • Description: Attackers gain unauthorized access to the Neon Control Plane API, which manages projects, databases, and users.
  • Neon Contribution: Neon provides a Control Plane API for managing Neon projects. Vulnerabilities in this API directly expose project metadata and management functions, creating a direct attack vector.
  • Example: An attacker exploits an authentication bypass vulnerability in the Neon Control Plane API to gain administrative access to a Neon project. They then access connection strings for all databases within that project.
  • Impact: Information disclosure (connection strings, database names, user details), project manipulation (database deletion, configuration changes), potential data breach if connection strings are used to access databases directly.
  • Risk Severity: High to Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Neon's Responsibility:
      • Implement strong authentication and authorization mechanisms for the Control Plane API.
      • Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing of the API.
      • Promptly patch any identified vulnerabilities.
      • Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for user accounts.
    • User/Developer Responsibility:
      • Use strong and unique passwords for Neon accounts.
      • Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) if offered by Neon.
      • Monitor Neon's security advisories and apply any recommended user-side mitigations.

Attack Surface: Neon Proxy Vulnerabilities and Misconfiguration

  • Description: Vulnerabilities in the Neon Proxy component or misconfigurations of the proxy lead to security breaches.
  • Neon Contribution: Neon Proxy acts as the entry point for client connections to Neon databases. Its security is critical and vulnerabilities here are directly attributable to Neon's architecture.
  • Example: A buffer overflow vulnerability in the Neon Proxy is exploited by an attacker to gain remote code execution on the proxy server. This could allow them to intercept database traffic or pivot to other Neon infrastructure.
  • Impact: Data interception, denial of service, unauthorized access to database connections, potential compromise of Neon infrastructure.
  • Risk Severity: High to Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Neon's Responsibility:
      • Ensure the Neon Proxy is developed with secure coding practices.
      • Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing of the proxy component.
      • Timely patching of any identified proxy vulnerabilities.
      • Enforce secure default configurations for the proxy.
    • User/Developer Responsibility:
      • Ensure connections to Neon are always using TLS (enforced by Neon, but verify).
      • Report any suspicious proxy behavior or error messages to Neon support.

Attack Surface: Storage Layer (Page Server/Safekeeper) Access Control Weaknesses

  • Description: Weaknesses in access control to the Neon storage layer (Page Server and Safekeepers) allow unauthorized access to database pages and data.
  • Neon Contribution: Neon's unique architecture relies on Page Servers and Safekeepers for storing and managing database data. Access control vulnerabilities in this layer are a direct consequence of Neon's design.
  • Example: An attacker exploits a vulnerability in the Page Server's access control logic to directly access database pages belonging to another Neon project, leading to a data breach.
  • Impact: Data breach, data corruption, loss of data integrity, potential for persistent compromise of the storage layer.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Neon's Responsibility:
      • Implement robust and rigorously tested access control mechanisms for the storage layer.
      • Ensure strict isolation between projects and databases at the storage level.
      • Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing specifically targeting the storage layer.
      • Implement encryption of data at rest and in transit within the storage layer.
    • User/Developer Responsibility:
      • Rely on Neon's security measures for the storage layer.
      • Trust Neon's security posture and any certifications they provide.
      • Report any suspected data integrity issues or unusual behavior to Neon support.

Attack Surface: Neon Compute Node (Postgres Instance) Misconfiguration or Integration Vulnerabilities

  • Description: Misconfigurations specific to Neon's managed Postgres instances or vulnerabilities in the integration between Postgres and Neon storage introduce security risks.
  • Neon Contribution: Neon manages Postgres instances and integrates them with its unique storage layer. This integration and Neon-specific configurations can introduce new and specific attack vectors not present in standard Postgres deployments.
  • Example: A misconfiguration in the Neon-managed Postgres instance allows a user to bypass intended access controls and gain elevated privileges within the database due to a Neon-specific setting. Or, a vulnerability in the communication protocol between the Postgres instance and the Page Server allows for data manipulation.
  • Impact: Privilege escalation within the database, data corruption, unauthorized data access, potential for denial of service on the compute node.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Neon's Responsibility:
      • Ensure secure default configurations for managed Postgres instances, considering Neon-specific settings.
      • Thoroughly test the integration between Postgres and Neon storage for security vulnerabilities.
      • Regularly patch Postgres instances and Neon-specific integration components with the latest security updates.
    • User/Developer Responsibility:
      • Follow Neon's best practices for database user and role management within the managed Postgres environment.
      • Avoid making configuration changes that might weaken security unless explicitly recommended by Neon.
      • Report any unexpected behavior or potential misconfigurations to Neon support.