Insecure object reference - Data

Need

Secure access control for data objects

Context

• Usage of PHP 7.0 for server-side scripting and web development
• Usage of Laravel framework for PHP web development

Description

Non compliant code

public function show($id)
{
    $store = Store::find($id);
    return view('store.show', compact('store'));
}

public function update(Request $request, $id)
{
    $store = Store::find($id);
    $store->update($request->all());
    return redirect()->route('store.index');
}

public function destroy($id)
{
    $store = Store::find($id);
    $store->delete();
    return redirect()->route('store.index');
}

The above code snippets are examples of Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR) vulnerability. They represent functions in a Laravel controller that retrieve, update, and delete a store entity from the database by its ID.

In the show function, the application retrieves a store's information by its ID without checking if the authenticated user has the necessary permissions to access this store. This allows an attacker to view any store's information by simply changing the store's ID in the request.

Similarly, in the update function, the application updates a store's information by its ID without validating if the authenticated user has the necessary permissions to modify this store. This allows an attacker to modify any store's information by simply changing the store's ID in the request and providing the new data.

In the destroy function, the application deletes a store by its ID without checking if the authenticated user has permission to delete this store. This allows an attacker to delete any store by simply changing the store's ID in the request.

These vulnerabilities exist because the application does not perform any authorization checks before performing sensitive operations on the store entities. This allows any authenticated user to perform any operation on any store as long as they know the store's ID.

Steps

• Add authentication middleware to ensure only authenticated users can access the methods.
• Implement authorization checks to ensure the authenticated user has the necessary permissions to perform the actions.
• Validate the store ID to ensure it belongs to the authenticated user before performing any actions.
• Use Laravel's Policy or Gates to handle authorization logic for resources.
• For the update and delete methods, validate the incoming request data before performing any actions.

Compliant code

public function __construct()
{
    $this->middleware('auth');
}

public function show($id)
{
    $store = Store::where('id', $id)->where('user_id', auth()->id())->firstOrFail();
    return view('store.show', compact('store'));
}

public function update(Request $request, $id)
{
    $store = Store::where('id', $id)->where('user_id', auth()->id())->firstOrFail();
    $this->validate($request, [
        'name' => 'required',
        'description' => 'required',
    ]);
    $store->update($request->all());
    return redirect()->route('store.index');
}

public function destroy($id)
{
    $store = Store::where('id', $id)->where('user_id', auth()->id())->firstOrFail();
    $store->delete();
    return redirect()->route('store.index');
}

The updated code now includes several security measures to prevent insecure object reference vulnerabilities.

1. Authentication Middleware: The constructor method now includes a middleware that ensures only authenticated users can access the methods in the controller.

2. Authorization Checks: Before any action is performed on a store, the code now checks if the authenticated user is the owner of the store. This is done by adding a where clause to the query that fetches the store, which checks if the user_id of the store matches the ID of the authenticated user.

3. Validation: For the update method, the incoming request data is now validated before any action is performed. This ensures that the necessary data is present and in the correct format before the store is updated.

4. First or Fail: The firstOrFail method is used to fetch the store. This method will automatically return a 404 error if no store is found with the given ID and user ID. This prevents the application from trying to perform actions on a non-existent store, which could potentially lead to errors or unexpected behavior.

By implementing these measures, the application now properly validates the necessary permissions to access and modify a store, preventing users from accessing or modifying stores they do not own.

References

• 307.Insecure object reference - Data