Skip to content

SECURITY_AUDIT.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
327 lines (206 loc) · 8.38 KB

SECURITY_AUDIT.md

File metadata and controls

327 lines (206 loc) · 8.38 KB

Security Audit Report - JustDB

Date: 2024-01-XX
Application: JustDB - PostgreSQL Database Explorer
Severity Levels: CRITICAL | HIGH | MEDIUM | LOW

🔴 CRITICAL VULNERABILITIES

1. SQL Injection in Query Execution

Location: lib/db.ts:executeQuery(), app/api/query/route.ts

Issue: User-provided SQL queries are executed directly without validation, sanitization, or whitelisting. This allows arbitrary SQL execution including:

  • Data exfiltration
  • Data modification/deletion
  • Database schema changes
  • Privilege escalation

Risk: Complete database compromise

Recommendation:

  • Implement query whitelisting (only allow SELECT statements)
  • Add query parsing and validation
  • Implement query timeout limits
  • Restrict to read-only operations for production

2. Sensitive Data in Cookies (Unencrypted)

Location: app/api/connect/route.ts:33-40

Issue: Database credentials (including passwords) are stored in cookies using base64 encoding, which is NOT encryption. Base64 is easily reversible.

Risk:

  • Credentials exposed if cookies are intercepted
  • XSS attacks can read cookies
  • Credentials visible in browser DevTools

Recommendation:

  • Encrypt credentials before storing in cookies using AES-256
  • Use server-side session storage instead of cookies for sensitive data
  • Implement proper key management
  • Consider using secure session tokens instead

🟠 HIGH VULNERABILITIES

3. No Authentication/Authorization

Location: All API routes

Issue: The application has no user authentication. Anyone with access to the application can:

  • Connect to any database
  • Execute arbitrary queries
  • Access all data

Risk: Unauthorized database access

Recommendation:

  • Implement user authentication (JWT, session-based, or OAuth)
  • Add role-based access control (RBAC)
  • Implement database connection restrictions per user
  • Add audit logging

4. SSL Certificate Validation Disabled

Location: lib/db.ts:23, lib/db.ts:35

Issue: rejectUnauthorized: false disables SSL certificate validation, making the application vulnerable to Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks.

Risk: Database credentials and data can be intercepted

Recommendation:

  • Enable SSL certificate validation in production
  • Use proper CA certificates
  • Make SSL validation configurable but default to secure

🟡 MEDIUM VULNERABILITIES

5. No Rate Limiting

Location: All API routes

Issue: API endpoints have no rate limiting, allowing:

  • Brute force attacks
  • DoS attacks
  • Resource exhaustion

Risk: Service disruption, abuse

Recommendation:

  • Implement rate limiting per IP/user
  • Use middleware like express-rate-limit or Next.js middleware
  • Set appropriate limits for different endpoints

6. Error Information Disclosure

Location: All API routes

Issue: Database error messages are returned directly to clients, potentially revealing:

  • Database structure
  • Table names
  • Column names
  • Internal errors

Risk: Information leakage for reconnaissance

Recommendation:

  • Sanitize error messages
  • Log detailed errors server-side only
  • Return generic error messages to clients
  • Implement error logging

7. No CSRF Protection

Location: All POST endpoints

Issue: No CSRF tokens on state-changing operations (connect, disconnect, query execution).

Risk: Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks

Recommendation:

  • Implement CSRF tokens
  • Use SameSite cookie attribute (already set to 'lax', consider 'strict')
  • Validate Origin/Referer headers

8. No Query Timeout

Location: lib/db.ts:executeQuery()

Issue: Queries can run indefinitely, potentially:

  • Exhausting database connections
  • Causing DoS
  • Hanging the application

Risk: Resource exhaustion, service disruption

Recommendation:

  • Implement query timeout (e.g., 30 seconds)
  • Use connection timeout settings
  • Monitor long-running queries

🟢 LOW VULNERABILITIES

9. Sensitive Data in Logs

Location: lib/db.ts:62-66, app/api/connect/route.ts:42

Issue: Connection configurations are logged to console, potentially exposing:

  • Database hosts
  • Database names
  • Connection details

Risk: Information leakage if logs are exposed

Recommendation:

  • Remove or redact sensitive information from logs
  • Use structured logging with sensitive field filtering
  • Implement log rotation and secure storage

10. No Input Length Validation

Location: Query input, connection form inputs

Issue: No maximum length validation on user inputs, allowing:

  • Extremely long queries
  • Buffer overflow attempts
  • Resource exhaustion

Risk: DoS, potential buffer issues

Recommendation:

  • Implement maximum length limits
  • Validate input sizes before processing
  • Set reasonable limits (e.g., 10KB for queries)

11. Weak Session ID Generation

Location: lib/connection-store.ts:38-40

Issue: Session IDs use timestamp and random string, which may be predictable.

Risk: Session hijacking if predictable

Recommendation:

  • Use cryptographically secure random generation (crypto.randomBytes)
  • Increase entropy
  • Consider using UUID v4

✅ SECURITY STRENGTHS

  1. Table Name Validation: Proper regex validation for table names prevents some injection
  2. Parameterized Queries: Table data queries use parameterized queries correctly
  3. HttpOnly Cookies: Session cookies use HttpOnly flag (prevents XSS cookie theft)
  4. Input Type Validation: Basic type checking on API inputs
  5. SQL Identifier Escaping: Uses escapeIdentifier() for table names

📋 PRIORITY FIXES

✅ COMPLETED:

  1. ✅ Encrypt database credentials in cookies (AES-256 encryption implemented)
  2. ✅ Implement query whitelisting/restrictions (SELECT-only queries enforced)
  3. ✅ Sanitize error messages (Generic error messages returned to clients)
  4. ✅ Add query timeout (30-second default timeout)
  5. ✅ Input length validation (10KB query limit, 255 char input limits)
  6. ✅ Stronger session ID generation (crypto.randomBytes)
  7. ✅ CSRF protection improvement (SameSite: strict)

Immediate (Before Production):

  1. ⚠️ Add authentication/authorization (CRITICAL - Still needed)
  2. ⚠️ Enable SSL certificate validation (HIGH - Still needed)
  3. ⚠️ Implement rate limiting (MEDIUM - Still needed)
  4. ⚠️ Set ENCRYPTION_KEY environment variable (REQUIRED for encryption to work)

Short-term:

  1. Implement rate limiting
  2. Add CSRF protection
  3. Implement query timeouts
  4. Remove sensitive data from logs

Long-term:

  1. Add audit logging
  2. Implement query history/audit trail
  3. Add database connection pooling limits
  4. Implement monitoring and alerting

🔧 IMPLEMENTATION NOTES

  • This is a database explorer tool, so some risks are inherent (users need database access)
  • Focus on preventing unauthorized access and query abuse
  • Consider making this an internal tool only (behind VPN/firewall)
  • Add disclaimer about security risks for production databases
  • Consider read-only mode for production use

🔐 SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS IMPLEMENTED

Encryption

  • Database credentials are now encrypted using AES-256-CBC before storing in cookies
  • Encryption key must be set via ENCRYPTION_KEY environment variable
  • Generate key: openssl rand -hex 32

Query Security

  • Only SELECT queries are allowed (DROP, DELETE, UPDATE, INSERT, etc. are blocked)
  • Query length limited to 10KB
  • 30-second query timeout enforced
  • Query validation before execution

Input Validation

  • All connection inputs validated for length (255 char limit)
  • Port number validation (1-65535)
  • Table names validated with regex before use

Error Handling

  • Generic error messages returned to clients
  • Detailed errors logged server-side only
  • Prevents information leakage

Session Security

  • Cryptographically secure session ID generation
  • SameSite: strict cookies (improved CSRF protection)
  • HttpOnly cookies (prevents XSS cookie theft)

⚠️ REQUIRED ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

# REQUIRED: Generate with: openssl rand -hex 32
ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-32-byte-hex-key-here

# Optional
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=http://localhost:3000

WARNING: Without ENCRYPTION_KEY set, the application will generate a random key on startup, but this key will change on each restart, making encrypted cookies invalid. Always set a persistent ENCRYPTION_KEY in production.