Insecure functionality - User management

Need

Secure user management and access control

Context

Usage of TypeScript for type-checking and compiling JavaScript code
Usage of Express for building web applications and APIs

Description

Non compliant code

import express from 'express';

const app = express();

// Insecure functionality - User management
app.post('/assignManager', (req, res) => {
  const { email, projectId } = req.body;

  // Assign non-users as treatment managers of vulnerabilities
  // This will send an email with vulnerability information even if the email is not registered on integrates
  // Accessible even if the user has been removed from all projects of an organization
  // This code does not perform any validation or authorization checks

  // Assign the email as a treatment manager for the specified project
  // ...

  res.send('Manager assigned successfully');
});

app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Server is running on port 3000');
});

The vulnerability in the code is related to insecure functionality in user management. Specifically, the code allows assigning non-users as treatment managers of vulnerabilities without performing any validation or authorization checks.

The vulnerable code is in the /assignManager route handler. It receives a POST request with the email and projectId parameters from the request body. The code then assigns the provided email as a treatment manager for the specified project without checking if the email belongs to a registered user or if the user has the necessary authorization to manage vulnerabilities.

This insecure functionality can lead to several issues. Firstly, it allows unauthorized administrators to manage user access to different system resources. By assigning non-users as treatment managers, these unauthorized individuals gain access to sensitive information and actions on the application.

Additionally, the code sends an email with vulnerability information even if the email is not registered on the application. This can lead to the disclosure of sensitive information to unauthorized individuals.

Furthermore, even if a user has been removed from all projects of an organization, the information of the vulnerabilities over time and the associated policies can still be accessed by the email. This violates the principle of least privilege and can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data.

To mitigate this vulnerability, it is recommended to implement proper validation and authorization checks. Access to projects should only be granted to users who have explicitly consented to receiving information from the application. Users who should not have access to any project should be disabled. Additionally, it is crucial to ensure that only authorized users have access to information and actions on the application.

Steps

Perform validation checks on the email and projectId inputs to ensure they are valid
Implement authorization checks to verify that the user assigning the manager is authorized to do so
Check if the email is registered on integrates before assigning it as a treatment manager
Remove access to vulnerability information and actions for users who have been removed from all projects of an organization
Only grant access to projects to users who have consented to receive information from the application
Disable all users from the organization who should not have access to any project

Compliant code

import express from 'express';

const app = express();

// Insecure functionality - User management
app.post('/assignManager', (req, res) => {
  const { email, projectId } = req.body;

  // Perform validation checks on the email and projectId inputs
  if (!isValidEmail(email) || !isValidProjectId(projectId)) {
    return res.status(400).send('Invalid email or projectId');
  }

  // Implement authorization checks to verify user's authorization
  if (!isAuthorized(req.user)) {
    return res.status(401).send('Unauthorized');
  }

  // Check if the email is registered on integrates
  if (!isRegisteredEmail(email)) {
    return res.status(400).send('Email is not registered');
  }

  // Remove access to vulnerability information and actions for users who have been removed from all projects
  if (isUserRemovedFromAllProjects(req.user)) {
    return res.status(401).send('User has been removed from all projects');
  }

  // Grant access to projects only to users who have consented to receive information
  if (!hasConsentedToReceiveInfo(req.user)) {
    return res.status(401).send('User has not consented to receive information');
  }

  // Assign the email as a treatment manager for the specified project
  // ...

  res.send('Manager assigned successfully');
});

app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Server is running on port 3000');
});

// Helper functions
function isValidEmail(email: string): boolean {
  // Perform email validation logic
  // ...
}

function isValidProjectId(projectId: string): boolean {
  // Perform projectId validation logic
  // ...
}

function isAuthorized(user: User): boolean {
  // Perform authorization logic
  // ...
}

function isRegisteredEmail(email: string): boolean {
  // Check if the email is registered on integrates
  // ...
}

function isUserRemovedFromAllProjects(user: User): boolean {
  // Check if the user has been removed from all projects of an organization
  // ...
}

function hasConsentedToReceiveInfo(user: User): boolean {
  // Check if the user has consented to receive information from the application
  // ...
}

The fixed code addresses the vulnerability related to insecure functionality in user management. Here is an explanation of the changes made:

The code now imports the 'express' module and creates an instance of the Express application.
The vulnerable functionality is handled in the '/assignManager' route, which is a POST route. It expects the request body to contain the 'email' and 'projectId' fields.
The code performs validation checks on the 'email' and 'projectId' inputs using the 'isValidEmail' and 'isValidProjectId' helper functions. If any of the inputs are invalid, a 400 Bad Request response is sent.
Authorization checks are implemented using the 'isAuthorized' helper function. If the user is not authorized, a 401 Unauthorized response is sent.
The code checks if the 'email' is registered on integrates using the 'isRegisteredEmail' helper function. If the email is not registered, a 400 Bad Request response is sent.
To address the vulnerability, the code checks if the user has been removed from all projects using the 'isUserRemovedFromAllProjects' helper function. If the user has been removed, a 401 Unauthorized response is sent.
The code also checks if the user has consented to receive information from the application using the 'hasConsentedToReceiveInfo' helper function. If the user has not consented, a 401 Unauthorized response is sent.
If all the checks pass, the code proceeds to assign the email as a treatment manager for the specified project. The implementation of this functionality is not shown in the code snippet.
Finally, the server listens on port 3000, and a log message is printed to indicate that the server is running.

The code addresses the vulnerability by performing proper validation checks, implementing authorization checks, and ensuring that only authorized users with valid consent have access to information and actions in the application.

References

324.Insecure functionality - User management

Need​

Context​

Description​

Non compliant code​

Steps​

Compliant code​

References​