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Insecure functionality - User management

Need​

Secure user management and access control

Context​

  • Usage of Java for building cross-platform applications
  • Usage of javax.servlet for handling HTTP requests and responses in Java web applications
  • Usage of java.io for input/output operations in Java

Description​

Non compliant code​

import javax.servlet.*;
import javax.servlet.http.*;
import java.io.IOException;

public class VulnerabilityManagerServlet extends HttpServlet {
    private UserManager userManager;

    public void doPost(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)
            throws ServletException, IOException {

        String userEmail = request.getParameter("email");
        String vulnerabilityId = request.getParameter("vulnerabilityId");

        userManager.assignVulnerability(userEmail, vulnerabilityId);
    }
}

public class UserManager {
    private EmailService emailService;

    public void assignVulnerability(String userEmail, String vulnerabilityId) {
        // Check if user exists in the system
        User user = getUserByEmail(userEmail);
        if (user == null) {
            // User doesn't exist, but we still assign the vulnerability and send the email
            emailService.sendVulnerabilityInfo(userEmail, vulnerabilityId);
        } else {
            // Assign vulnerability to the user and send the email
            user.assignVulnerability(vulnerabilityId);
            emailService.sendVulnerabilityInfo(userEmail, vulnerabilityId);
        }
    }
}

The VulnerabilityManagerServlet class handles HTTP POST requests to assign vulnerabilities to users. It extracts the email of the user and the ID of the vulnerability from the request parameters and calls the assignVulnerability method of the UserManager class.

In the UserManager class, the assignVulnerability method first checks if the user exists in the system by calling the getUserByEmail method. If the user does not exist in the system, the method still assigns the vulnerability and sends an email to the provided email address. This is done without verifying if the email address is registered in the system or not. This means that anyone can assign vulnerabilities to any email address, even if it is not registered in the system. This can lead to sensitive information about vulnerabilities being sent to unauthorized individuals.

Furthermore, if a user is removed from all the projects of an organization, the assignVulnerability method will still send emails about vulnerabilities to the user's email address. This means that the user can still access sensitive information about vulnerabilities even after they have been removed from all projects. This is a major security issue as it can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Steps​

  • Implement proper user validation before assigning vulnerabilities
  • Ensure that only registered users can be assigned as treatment managers
  • Verify if the user is still active and has access to the project before assigning vulnerabilities
  • Remove the ability to assign vulnerabilities to non-users
  • Update the email service to only send vulnerability information to registered users

Compliant code​

import javax.servlet.*;
import javax.servlet.http.*;
import java.io.IOException;

public class VulnerabilityManagerServlet extends HttpServlet {
    private UserManager userManager;

    public void doPost(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)
            throws ServletException, IOException {

        String userEmail = request.getParameter("email");
        String vulnerabilityId = request.getParameter("vulnerabilityId");

        // Check if user exists and is active in the system before assigning vulnerability
        if (userManager.isUserActiveAndExists(userEmail)) {
            userManager.assignVulnerability(userEmail, vulnerabilityId);
        }
    }
}

public class UserManager {
    private EmailService emailService;

    public boolean isUserActiveAndExists(String userEmail) {
        User user = getUserByEmail(userEmail);
        // Check if user exists and is active
        return user != null && user.isActive();
    }

    public void assignVulnerability(String userEmail, String vulnerabilityId) {
        User user = getUserByEmail(userEmail);
        // Assign vulnerability to the user and send the email
        user.assignVulnerability(vulnerabilityId);
        emailService.sendVulnerabilityInfo(userEmail, vulnerabilityId);
    }
}

The updated code now includes a check to ensure that the user exists and is active before assigning a vulnerability. This is done in the doPost method of the VulnerabilityManagerServlet class, where it calls the isUserActiveAndExists method of the UserManager class.

The isUserActiveAndExists method retrieves the user by email and checks if the user exists and is active. If the user does not exist or is not active, the method returns false, and the vulnerability is not assigned.

In the assignVulnerability method of the UserManager class, the vulnerability is assigned to the user and an email is sent to the user with the vulnerability information. This method is only called if the user exists and is active.

This update ensures that vulnerabilities are only assigned to registered and active users, and that vulnerability information is only sent to these users. This prevents non-users and inactive users from being assigned vulnerabilities and receiving vulnerability information.

References​

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