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Improper control of interaction frequency

Description​

The system does not limit the amount of requests (rate limit) that a user can post to the server in a short period of time.

Impact​

  • Fill the application logs with junk information.
  • Saturate the server with multiple requests causing a possible denial of service.

Recommendation​

Limit the number of requests that can be made by the same host in defined time slots.

Threat​

Anonymous attacker from the Internet.

Expected Remediation Time​

⌚ 60 minutes.

Score​

Default score using CVSS 3.1. It may change depending on the context of the vulnerability.

Base​

  • Attack vector: N
  • Attack complexity: L
  • Privileges required: N
  • User interaction: N
  • Scope: U
  • Confidentiality: N
  • Integrity: L
  • Availability: L

Temporal​

  • Exploit code madurity: X
  • Remediation level: X
  • Report confidence: X

Result​

  • Vector string: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L/E:X/RL:X/RC:X
  • Score:
    • Base: 6.5
    • Temporal: 6.5
  • Severity:
    • Base: Medium
    • Temporal: Medium

Code Examples​

Compliant code​

Set a reasonable limit to the number of requests allowed for a user

import rateLimit from 'express-rate-limit';
//Middleware that limits the amount of requests
export const rateLimiterUsingThirdParty = rateLimit({
  windowMs: 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000,
  max: 100,
  message: 'You have exceeded the 100 requests in 24 hrs limit!',
  headers: true,
});

Non compliant code​

The application does not restrict the number of requests performed by a single user

const rateLimit = require("express-rate-limit");
const apiLimiter = rateLimit({
  windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000,
  max: None
});

Requirements​

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