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Business information leak

Need​

Protection of sensitive business information from unauthorized access or disclosure

Context​

  • Usage of Go 1.16 for building efficient and scalable applications
  • Usage of gin-gonic/gin for building web applications in Go

Description​

Non compliant code​

package main

import (
	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
)

type User struct {
	Username string
	Password string
	Role     string
}

var users = []User{
	{"User1", "Pass1", "Employee"},
	{"User2", "Pass2", "Client"},
	{"User3", "Pass3", "Provider"},
}

func main() {
	router := gin.Default()

	router.GET("/users", func(c *gin.Context) {
		c.JSON(200, users)
	})

	router.Run(":8080")
}

The code above is a simple Go backend application using the Gin framework. It defines a list of users, each with a username, password, and role. The roles could be 'Employee', 'Client', or 'Provider', representing different types of business information.

The vulnerability lies in the GET /users endpoint. When this endpoint is hit, it returns the entire list of users, including their usernames and passwords, in JSON format. This means anyone who can access this endpoint can obtain sensitive business information.

This endpoint does not have any form of authentication or authorization, making it accessible to anyone. It also exposes sensitive information like passwords in plain text, which is a severe security risk.

The information leak can lead to several security issues, such as:

  • Unauthorized access to the system by using leaked credentials.
  • Potential phishing attacks by impersonating employees, clients, or providers.
  • Exposure of strategic business information to competitors or malicious actors.

Steps​

  • Implement authentication and authorization mechanisms to restrict access to sensitive information.
  • Use role-based access control (RBAC) to ensure that only authorized users can access specific resources.
  • Encrypt sensitive information, such as passwords, to protect them from being leaked.
  • Implement proper input validation and sanitization to prevent any potential injection attacks.
  • Regularly update and patch the application and its dependencies to address any known vulnerabilities.
  • Implement logging and monitoring to detect and respond to any unauthorized access attempts or suspicious activities.
  • Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing to identify and fix any potential vulnerabilities.
  • Educate developers and users about secure coding practices and the importance of protecting sensitive information.

Compliant code​

package main

import (
	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
	"golang.org/x/crypto/bcrypt"
)

type User struct {
	Username string
	Password string
	Role     string
}

var users = []User{
	{"User1", hashPassword("Pass1"), "Employee"},
	{"User2", hashPassword("Pass2"), "Client"},
	{"User3", hashPassword("Pass3"), "Provider"},
}

func hashPassword(password string) string {
	bytes, _ := bcrypt.GenerateFromPassword([]byte(password), 14)
	return string(bytes)
}

func main() {
	router := gin.Default()

	router.GET("/users", func(c *gin.Context) {
		role := c.GetHeader("Role")
		if role == "Admin" {
			c.JSON(200, users)
		} else {
			c.JSON(403, gin.H{"status": "Access Denied"})
		}
	})

	router.Run(":8080")
}

The original code was vulnerable as it was exposing sensitive user information to anyone who accessed the "/users" endpoint. This could lead to a business information leak, which is a serious security vulnerability.

The updated code includes several security enhancements to mitigate this vulnerability:

  1. Password Hashing: The passwords are now hashed using the bcrypt algorithm. This means that even if the data is somehow leaked, the actual passwords will remain secure.

  2. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): The "/users" endpoint now checks the role of the user making the request. If the user is not an admin, they are denied access. This ensures that only authorized users can access the sensitive user information.

Please note that this is a basic implementation and in a real-world scenario, you would need to implement a full-fledged authentication and authorization system. This might include JWT tokens, OAuth, or other mechanisms to securely manage user sessions and access control.

Also, remember to always validate and sanitize user inputs to protect against injection attacks, keep your application and its dependencies up-to-date to address known vulnerabilities, and use secure coding practices. Regular security assessments and penetration testing can also help identify and fix potential vulnerabilities.

References​

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