| Author: | Development Team |
|---|---|
| Date: | 2025-06-15 |
| Status: | RFC |
| Version: | 0.1 |
This document outlines the development of a JVM-based network protocol analysis and manipulation framework to replace the existing Canape tool. The new framework will provide feature parity while leveraging modern JVM capabilities, Clojure's functional programming paradigms, and improved architecture patterns.
Current limitations of Canape: - Windows/.NET dependency limits cross-platform deployment - Limited extensibility for custom protocol implementations - Steep learning curve for protocol graph configuration - Performance bottlenecks in high-throughput scenarios - Maintenance overhead of C#/.NET codebase
Benefits of JVM-based approach: - True cross-platform compatibility (Linux, Windows, macOS) - Rich ecosystem of networking and security libraries - Clojure's REPL-driven development for rapid prototyping - Better integration with existing Java security tools - Improved performance through JVM optimizations
- [ ] Binary protocol parsing framework
- Support for bit-level field extraction
- Configurable endianness handling
- Dynamic length field support
- Nested structure parsing capabilities
- [ ] Visual protocol graph designer
- Drag-and-drop node-based interface
- Real-time protocol flow visualization
- Export/import of protocol definitions
- Template library for common protocols
- [ ] Protocol library management
- Built-in parsers for common protocols (TCP, HTTP, TLS, etc.)
- Plugin architecture for custom protocol support
- Version control integration for protocol definitions
- Collaborative protocol development features
- [ ] Man-in-the-middle proxy capabilities
- Transparent SSL/TLS interception with certificate management
- HTTP/HTTPS proxy with custom CA support
- Raw socket interception and forwarding
- Multi-protocol proxy chaining support
- [ ] Packet modification engine
- Real-time packet field modification
- Conditional modification rules
- Scripted modification via Clojure DSL
- Packet replay with timing control
- [ ] Traffic capture and logging
- PCAP file import/export compatibility
- Custom binary log format for metadata preservation
- Distributed capture across multiple interfaces
- Real-time streaming to external analysis tools
- [ ] Protocol fuzzing engine
- Smart fuzzing based on protocol grammar
- Mutation-based fuzzing with genetic algorithms
- Coverage-guided fuzzing integration
- Crash detection and automatic triage
- [ ] Vulnerability exploitation framework
- Heap spray pattern generation
- ROP/JOP chain construction helpers
- Shellcode integration and encoding
- Multi-stage exploit orchestration
- [ ] Security assessment tools
- Automated vulnerability scanning
- Protocol compliance checking
- Encryption weakness detection
- Certificate validation bypass testing
netproto-core/ ├── parser/ ; Protocol parsing engine ├── graph/ ; Visual protocol flow management ├── proxy/ ; Network interception layer ├── fuzzer/ ; Security testing framework ├── crypto/ ; Cryptographic operations └── exploit/ ; Vulnerability exploitation tools
netproto-ui/ ├── designer/ ; Visual protocol designer ├── analyzer/ ; Traffic analysis interface ├── fuzzer-ui/ ; Fuzzing campaign management └── reports/ ; Security assessment reporting
netproto-plugins/ ├── protocols/ ; Protocol-specific implementations ├── exporters/ ; Data export formatters ├── integrations/ ; Third-party tool integrations └── custom/ ; User-defined extensions
Core Platform: - Clojure 1.11+ for core logic and DSL - Java 17+ for performance-critical components - Netty for high-performance networking - Chronicle Map for efficient data structures
UI Framework: - JavaFX for cross-platform desktop GUI - ClojureScript + Re-frame for web interface - D3.js for protocol flow visualization - Electron wrapper for standalone deployment
Additional Libraries: - Bouncy Castle for cryptographic operations - JNetPcap for packet capture integration - HikariCP for database connection pooling - Logback for structured logging
- [ ] Project structure and build system setup
- Leiningen multi-module project configuration
- CI/CD pipeline with GitHub Actions
- Code quality gates (eastwood, kibit, cljfmt)
- Documentation generation with Codox
- [ ] Core networking primitives
- Asynchronous socket handling with core.async
- Binary data parsing with gloss/byte-streams
- Protocol state machine implementation
- Basic packet capture/replay functionality
- [ ] Minimal viable proxy
- TCP tunnel with configurable endpoints
- Basic packet logging to filesystem
- Simple CLI interface for configuration
- Unit tests with clojure.test
- [ ] Protocol definition DSL
- S-expression based protocol grammar
- Field type system (integers, strings, arrays, etc.)
- Conditional parsing based on field values
- Protocol inheritance and composition
- [ ] Visual protocol designer (MVP)
- Basic node-and-edge graph editor
- Protocol definition export/import
- Real-time protocol parsing preview
- Integration with core parsing engine
- [ ] Built-in protocol support
- HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2 parsing
- TLS handshake analysis
- Common binary protocols (DNS, DHCP, etc.)
- Plugin interface for custom protocols
- [ ] Fuzzing framework implementation
- Field-aware mutation strategies
- Generation-based fuzzing from protocol grammar
- Crash detection and reproduction
- Campaign management and statistics
- [ ] Cryptographic operations
- Symmetric/asymmetric encryption/decryption nodes
- Hash function integration
- Key derivation and management
- SSL/TLS certificate manipulation
- [ ] Exploitation toolkit
- Pattern matching for vulnerability signatures
- Payload generation and encoding
- Multi-stage attack orchestration
- Integration with Metasploit modules
- [ ] Distributed analysis capabilities
- Cluster coordination with Apache Kafka
- Distributed fuzzing across multiple nodes
- Centralized result aggregation
- Real-time collaboration features
- [ ] Machine learning integration
- Anomaly detection in protocol flows
- Intelligent fuzzing target selection
- Automated vulnerability classification
- Behavioral analysis and clustering
- [ ] Enterprise integration
- SIEM integration (Splunk, ELK stack)
- Compliance reporting templates
- Role-based access control
- Audit logging and forensics support
|-----------------------------|---------------------------|--------| | Protocol Graph Designer | JavaFX + core.graph | TODO | | Binary Parser Nodes | gloss + custom DSL | TODO | | Encryption/Decryption | Bouncy Castle integration | TODO | | Compression Handling | Java built-ins + custom | TODO | | Packet Replay Server | Netty + core.async | TODO | | Fuzzing Engine | Custom + generative tests | TODO | | Memory Corruption Detection| JVM-based static analysis | TODO | | Traffic Interception | JNetPcap + raw sockets | TODO | | Visual Protocol Flow | D3.js + ClojureScript | TODO | | Plugin Architecture | Dynamic class loading | TODO |
- [ ] Canape project import tool
- Parse existing .canape project files
- Convert protocol definitions to new DSL format
- Migrate packet capture logs
- Generate compatibility reports
- [ ] Side-by-side operation support
- Export protocols to Canape format
- Import Canape packet logs
- Cross-validation of parsing results
- Gradual migration workflow
- [ ] Property-based testing with test.check
- Protocol parsing round-trip properties
- Fuzzing input validation
- Cryptographic operation correctness
- Network state machine properties
- [ ] Protocol compliance testing
- RFC compliance test suites
- Interoperability with existing tools
- Regression testing against known protocols
- Performance benchmarking suite
- [ ] End-to-end workflow testing
- Complete MITM attack simulation
- Multi-protocol analysis scenarios
- Distributed fuzzing campaigns
- Real-world protocol corpus testing
- [ ] Security validation
- Penetration testing of framework itself
- Secure coding practices validation
- Dependency vulnerability scanning
- Fuzzing of framework components
- Minimum 1Gbps packet processing throughput
- Sub-millisecond latency for simple protocol parsing
- Support for 10,000+ concurrent connections
- Memory usage under 2GB for typical workloads
- Horizontal scaling to 100+ analysis nodes
- Protocol definitions up to 10MB in size
- Packet logs up to 1TB without performance degradation
- Real-time processing of 1M packets/second
- [ ] Sandboxed plugin execution
- Custom ClassLoader with restricted permissions
- Resource usage limitations (CPU, memory, network)
- Audit logging of plugin activities
- Digital signature verification for plugins
- [ ] Secure communication channels
- TLS 1.3 for all network communications
- Certificate pinning for critical connections
- Encrypted storage of sensitive configuration
- Key rotation and management procedures
- [ ] Input validation and sanitization
- Robust parsing of untrusted network data
- Buffer overflow protection
- SQL injection prevention in logging
- Cross-site scripting prevention in web UI
[ ] Clear terms of service and acceptable use policy [ ] Integration with responsible disclosure frameworks [ ] Educational resources on ethical security testing [ ] Reporting mechanisms for misuse detection
[ ] Architecture decision records (ADRs) [ ] API documentation with examples [ ] Plugin development guide [ ] Contributing guidelines and coding standards
[ ] Getting started tutorial series [ ] Protocol analysis cookbook [ ] Security testing best practices [ ] Troubleshooting guide and FAQ
- MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH semantic versioning
- Alpha/Beta releases for early feedback
- LTS releases every 2 years
- Security patches within 48 hours
[ ] Standalone JAR with embedded dependencies [ ] Docker containers for containerized deployment [ ] Native binaries via GraalVM native-image [ ] Package manager integration (Homebrew, APT, etc.)
[ ] Apache 2.0 license for maximum adoption [ ] GitHub-based development workflow [ ] Regular community calls and demos [ ] Conference presentations and workshops
[ ] Code of conduct enforcement [ ] Contributor licensing agreement (CLA) [ ] Mentorship program for new contributors [ ] Recognition and reward system
- Protocol parsing accuracy > 99.9%
- Zero-day vulnerability discovery rate
- Framework adoption by security teams
- Performance improvements over Canape
- GitHub stars and fork count
- Active contributor base size
- Issue resolution time
- User satisfaction scores
- Enterprise deployment count
- Training and consulting revenue
- Market share in security testing tools
- Integration partnerships established
|--------------------------------|--------|-------------|-------------------------------| | JVM performance limitations | High | Medium | Native compilation, profiling | | Complex protocol compatibility| High | High | Extensive testing, community | | Security vulnerabilities | High | Medium | Security audits, bounty program| | Maintenance overhead | Medium | High | Automated testing, CI/CD |
|-------------------------------|--------|-------------|--------------------------------| | Canape remains dominant | High | Medium | Superior features, migration | | Competing open source tools | Medium | High | Community building, innovation | | Legal challenges | High | Low | Patent research, legal review | | Funding constraints | High | Medium | Diverse funding sources |
The proposed JVM-based replacement for Canape represents a significant opportunity to modernize network protocol analysis and security testing workflows. By leveraging Clojure's expressiveness and the JVM's performance characteristics, we can deliver a more maintainable, extensible, and powerful framework for the security community.
The phased approach ensures steady progress while allowing for community feedback and course correction. Success will be measured not only by technical capabilities but also by adoption and community engagement.
Next steps: 1. Stakeholder review and approval of this proposal 2. Formation of core development team 3. Detailed technical design and prototyping 4. Community outreach and early adopter recruitment
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For questions or feedback on this proposal, please contact the development team or open an issue in the project repository.