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attack-surface.md

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Attack Surface Analysis for ruffle-rs/ruffle

Attack Surface: Malformed SWF File Parsing Leading to Memory Corruption

  • Description: Ruffle's SWF parser encounters a maliciously crafted SWF file with structures designed to exploit parsing vulnerabilities, leading to memory corruption within Ruffle's process.
  • Ruffle Contribution: Ruffle's core function is parsing SWF files, making it directly responsible for handling potentially malicious file structures.
  • Example: A SWF file contains a crafted data structure that triggers a buffer overflow in Ruffle's parser when processing a specific tag, overwriting critical memory regions.
  • Impact: Arbitrary Code Execution, potential for complete compromise of the application or user's system if Ruffle is running with elevated privileges or within a vulnerable context.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Keep Ruffle Updated: Immediately apply updates from the Ruffle project, as parser vulnerabilities are often targeted by security patches.
    • Strict Input Validation (Application Level - Limited Effectiveness): While SWF format is complex, implement basic checks like file size limits or rudimentary header validation at the application level to reject obviously suspicious files before they reach Ruffle.
    • Sandboxing and Isolation (Advanced): Run Ruffle in a sandboxed environment with restricted permissions to limit the impact of potential code execution exploits.

Attack Surface: ActionScript Bytecode Interpreter Sandbox Escape

  • Description: Vulnerabilities within Ruffle's ActionScript bytecode interpreter allow a malicious SWF file to break out of the intended ActionScript sandbox and gain unauthorized access to the host environment.
  • Ruffle Contribution: Ruffle's ActionScript interpreter is responsible for enforcing the sandbox. Flaws in its implementation directly lead to sandbox escape vulnerabilities.
  • Example: A malicious SWF leverages a vulnerability in Ruffle's implementation of the navigateToURL ActionScript function to execute arbitrary JavaScript code on the hosting webpage, bypassing the intended security restrictions.
  • Impact: Arbitrary Code Execution within the browser context (XSS), potential for data theft, session hijacking, website defacement, or further exploitation of the user's system.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Keep Ruffle Updated: Prioritize updating Ruffle to the latest version to patch known sandbox escape vulnerabilities in the interpreter.
    • Content Security Policy (CSP): Implement a robust CSP to restrict the capabilities of any JavaScript code that might be injected via a sandbox escape, limiting the damage an attacker can cause.
    • Isolate Ruffle Execution (Advanced): Consider isolating Ruffle within web workers or iframes with restricted permissions to further limit the scope of a potential sandbox escape.

Attack Surface: ActionScript Bytecode Interpreter Arbitrary Code Execution

  • Description: Exploitable vulnerabilities in Ruffle's ActionScript bytecode interpreter allow a malicious SWF file to directly execute arbitrary machine code on the user's system.
  • Ruffle Contribution: Bugs in the interpreter's code generation or execution paths can be exploited to bypass intended security measures and achieve native code execution.
  • Example: A crafted SWF file exploits a just-in-time (JIT) compilation vulnerability in Ruffle's ActionScript interpreter to inject and execute shellcode, gaining full control over the user's machine. (While Ruffle doesn't use JIT in the traditional sense, the principle of interpreter vulnerabilities leading to code execution remains).
  • Impact: Full System Compromise, complete control over the user's machine, data theft, malware installation, and other severe consequences.
  • Risk Severity: Critical
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Keep Ruffle Updated: Immediately apply security updates from the Ruffle project, as code execution vulnerabilities are of the highest priority.
    • Operating System Security Measures: Ensure the user's operating system and browser have up-to-date security patches and exploit mitigation technologies enabled (e.g., ASLR, DEP).
    • Sandboxing and Isolation (Advanced): Running Ruffle within a strong sandbox environment is crucial to contain the impact of potential code execution vulnerabilities.

Attack Surface: Resource Handling Vulnerabilities Leading to Code Execution

  • Description: Maliciously crafted resources (images, sounds, fonts) embedded within SWF files exploit vulnerabilities in Ruffle's resource decoding or processing logic, leading to arbitrary code execution.
  • Ruffle Contribution: Ruffle's responsibility to handle and decode resources from SWF files makes it vulnerable to flaws in its resource processing components or underlying libraries.
  • Example: A SWF file contains a specially crafted JPEG image that triggers a heap buffer overflow in the image decoding library used by Ruffle when processing the image, allowing for arbitrary code execution.
  • Impact: Arbitrary Code Execution, potential for system compromise, data theft, malware installation.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Keep Ruffle Updated: Ensure Ruffle and its dependencies, especially media decoding libraries, are kept up-to-date to patch vulnerabilities.
    • Dependency Audits: Regularly audit Ruffle's dependencies for known vulnerabilities in media processing libraries and update them promptly.
    • Resource Type Validation (Limited): While content validation is difficult, ensure that resource types declared in the SWF are handled as expected and prevent unexpected resource types from being processed.

Attack Surface: Browser API Misuse Leading to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

  • Description: Ruffle's web version incorrectly uses browser APIs when handling data from SWF files, leading to Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities where malicious SWF content can inject and execute JavaScript in the context of the hosting website.
  • Ruffle Contribution: Ruffle's interaction with the DOM and JavaScript APIs in the browser environment, if not handled securely, can directly introduce XSS vulnerabilities.
  • Example: Ruffle fails to properly sanitize user-controlled text from a SWF file before injecting it into the DOM. An attacker can craft a SWF that injects malicious JavaScript through this unsanitized data, leading to XSS on the webpage.
  • Impact: Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), allowing attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the user's browser, potentially leading to session hijacking, data theft, website defacement, and redirection to malicious sites.
  • Risk Severity: High
  • Mitigation Strategies:
    • Keep Ruffle Updated: Security updates may address issues related to insecure browser API usage.
    • Content Security Policy (CSP): Implement a strict CSP that significantly restricts JavaScript execution and DOM manipulation to mitigate the impact of potential XSS vulnerabilities.
    • Regular Security Audits: Conduct security audits specifically focused on Ruffle's DOM interactions and data handling to identify and fix potential XSS vulnerabilities.