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content: draft: Update threat-overview table to use new threat diagram #1209

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merged 11 commits into from
Oct 24, 2024
44 changes: 27 additions & 17 deletions docs/spec/draft/threats-overview.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -45,50 +45,60 @@ Many recent high-profile attacks were consequences of supply chain integrity vul
<thead>
<tr>
<th>
<th>Integrity threat
<th>Threats from
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<th>Known example
<th>How SLSA could help
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>A
<td>Submit unauthorized change (to source repo)
<td>Producer
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XZ_Utils_backdoor">XZ Utils Backdoor</a>: A maintainer intentionally inserted malicious behavior into a legitimate package.
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<td>SLSA does not directly address this threat but could make it easier to discover malicious behavior in open source software, by forcing it into the publicly available source code.
<tr>
<td>B
<td>Authoring & reviewing
<td><a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2021/09/cryptocurrency-launchpad-hit-by-3-million-supply-chain-attack/">SushiSwap</a>: Contractor with repository access pushed a malicious commit redirecting cryptocurrency to themself.
<td>Two-person review could have caught the unauthorized change.
<tr>
<td>B
<td>Compromise source repo
<td>C
<td>Source code management
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<td><a href="https://news-web.php.net/php.internals/113838">PHP</a>: Attacker compromised PHP's self-hosted git server and injected two malicious commits.
<td>A better-protected source code platform would have been a much harder target for the attackers.
<td>A better-protected source code system would have been a much harder target for the attackers.
<tr>
<td>C
<td>Build from modified source (not matching source repo)
<td>D
<td>External build parameters
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<td><a href="https://www.webmin.com/exploit.html">Webmin</a>: Attacker modified the build infrastructure to use source files not matching source control.
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<td>A SLSA-compliant build server would have produced provenance identifying the actual sources used, allowing consumers to detect such tampering.
<tr>
<td>D
<td>Use compromised dependency (i.e. A-H, recursively)
<td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210909051737/https://schneider.dev/blog/event-stream-vulnerability-explained/">event-stream</a>: Attacker added an innocuous dependency and then later updated the dependency to add malicious behavior. The update did not match the code submitted to GitHub (i.e. attack F).
<td>Applying SLSA recursively to all dependencies would have prevented this particular vector, because the provenance would have indicated that it either wasn't built from a proper builder or that the source did not come from GitHub.
<tr>
<td>E
<td>Compromise build process
<td>Build process
<td><a href="https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/sunspot-malware-technical-analysis/">SolarWinds</a>: Attacker compromised the build platform and installed an implant that injected malicious behavior during each build.
<td>Higher SLSA levels require <a href="requirements#build-requirements">stronger security controls for the build platform</a>, making it more difficult to compromise and gain persistence.
<tr>
<td>F
<td>Upload modified package (not matching build process)
<td>Artifact publication
<td><a href="https://about.codecov.io/apr-2021-post-mortem/">CodeCov</a>: Attacker used leaked credentials to upload a malicious artifact to a GCS bucket, from which users download directly.
<td>Provenance of the artifact in the GCS bucket would have shown that the artifact was not built in the expected manner from the expected source repo.
<tr>
<td>G
<td>Compromise package registry
<td>Distribution channel
<td><a href="https://theupdateframework.io/papers/attacks-on-package-managers-ccs2008.pdf">Attacks on Package Mirrors</a>: Researcher ran mirrors for several popular package registries, which could have been used to serve malicious packages.
<td>Similar to above (F), provenance of the malicious artifacts would have shown that they were not built as expected or from the expected source repo.
<tr>
<td>H
<td>Use compromised package
<td>Package selection
<td><a href="https://blog.sonatype.com/damaging-linux-mac-malware-bundled-within-browserify-npm-brandjack-attempt">Browserify typosquatting</a>: Attacker uploaded a malicious package with a similar name as the original.
<td>SLSA does not directly address this threat, but provenance linking back to source control can enable and enhance other solutions.
<tr>
<td>I
<td>Usage
<td><a href="https://www.horizon3.ai/attack-research/disclosures/cve-2023-27524-insecure-default-configuration-in-apache-superset-leads-to-remote-code-execution/">Default credentials</a>: Attacker could leverage default credentials to access sensitive data.
<td>SLSA does not address this threat.
<tr>
<td>N/A
<td>Dependency threats (i.e. A-H, recursively)
<td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210909051737/https://schneider.dev/blog/event-stream-vulnerability-explained/">event-stream</a>: Attacker added an innocuous dependency and then later updated the dependency to add malicious behavior. The update did not match the code submitted to GitHub (i.e. attack F).
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<td>Applying SLSA recursively to all dependencies would prevent this particular vector, because the provenance would indicate that it either wasn't built from a proper builder or that the source did not come from GitHub.
</table>

<table>
Expand All @@ -100,7 +110,7 @@ Many recent high-profile attacks were consequences of supply chain integrity vul
<th>How SLSA could help
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>D
<td>N/A
<td>Dependency becomes unavailable
<td><a href="https://www.techradar.com/news/this-popular-code-library-is-causing-problems-for-hundreds-of-thousands-of-devs">Mimemagic</a>: Producer intentionally removes package or version of package from repository with no warning. Network errors or service outages may also make packages unavailable temporarily.
<td>SLSA does not directly address this threat.
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