CRITICAL SECURITY: Filename sanitization bypassed - command injection characters allowed #946
Description
CRITICAL SECURITY EMERGENCY: Comprehensive Vulnerability Elimination Suite
CONSOLIDATED SECURITY RESPONSE: This issue represents unified response to 5 critical security vulnerabilities discovered during Sprint #3 PLAY phase security audit.
🚨 CRITICAL SECURITY THREATS IDENTIFIED
PRIMARY ATTACK VECTOR: Command Injection Vulnerabilities
Filename Sanitization Bypass:
- Attack Method: Malicious filenames with shell metacharacters (
;, backticks,|,&) - Exploitation:
savefig('plot; rm -rf /')enables arbitrary command execution - Current Vulnerability: Only
..path traversal blocked, command injection completely open - Risk Level: CRITICAL - Full system compromise possible
Windows Command Execution Vulnerability:
- Source: secure_exec inadequate quote escaping (consolidated from CRITICAL: Windows command injection vulnerability in secure_exec quote handling #593)
- Attack Method: Quote breaking enables arbitrary command injection on Windows
- Exploitation: Shell metacharacter injection through argument parsing
- Risk Level: CRITICAL - Windows system compromise
MEMORY SAFETY VULNERABILITIES
Resource Exhaustion Attack Vector:
- Source: secure_exec strdup memory leaks (consolidated from CRITICAL: Memory leak in secure_exec strdup calls allows DoS attacks #592)
- Attack Method: Repeated calls exhaust system memory
- Exploitation: DoS attacks through resource exhaustion
- Risk Level: HIGH - System instability and DoS
Buffer Overflow Vulnerability:
- Source: C directory creation path handling (consolidated from SECURITY: C directory creation code has buffer overflow vulnerability in path handling #908)
- Attack Method: Long path names trigger buffer overflow
- Exploitation: Potential code execution through buffer overflow
- Risk Level: CRITICAL - Memory corruption possible
SYSTEM STABILITY VULNERABILITIES
Windows Deadlock Vulnerability:
- Source: secure_close_pipe INFINITE timeout (consolidated from CRITICAL: Potential deadlock in Windows secure_close_pipe with INFINITE timeout #597)
- Attack Method: Trigger pipe operations to cause system hangs
- Exploitation: System deadlock and resource starvation
- Risk Level: HIGH - System stability compromise
COMPREHENSIVE SECURITY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
PHASE 1: Command Injection Elimination (HIGHEST PRIORITY)
Filename Validation Hardening:
- Comprehensive filename sanitization blocking all shell metacharacters
- Whitelist-based validation for acceptable filename characters
- Path traversal prevention with comprehensive bypass detection
- Input length validation preventing buffer overflow
Windows Command Execution Security:
- Replace inadequate quote escaping with parameterized execution
- Implement proper Windows argument sanitization
- Add comprehensive shell metacharacter blocking
- Validate all command construction paths
PHASE 2: Memory Safety Implementation
Automatic Memory Management:
- Replace manual malloc/free with automatic allocation patterns
- Implement RAII patterns for resource cleanup
- Add comprehensive memory leak detection
- Establish memory usage monitoring
Buffer Overflow Prevention:
- Replace fixed buffers with dynamic allocation
- Add bounds checking for all buffer operations
- Implement safe string handling throughout C components
- Add buffer overflow detection tooling
PHASE 3: System Stability Hardening
Timeout Management:
- Replace INFINITE timeouts with finite, configurable timeouts
- Add timeout monitoring and recovery mechanisms
- Implement graceful timeout handling
- Add deadlock detection and prevention
SECURITY VALIDATION REQUIREMENTS
MANDATORY SECURITY TESTING
Malicious Input Testing:
- Comprehensive filename injection testing with all shell metacharacters
- Windows-specific command injection validation
- Path traversal attempt validation with various bypass techniques
- Unicode and encoding attack validation
Memory Safety Validation:
- Valgrind memory leak detection clean
- AddressSanitizer buffer overflow detection clean
- Stress testing with resource exhaustion scenarios
- Memory usage monitoring under attack conditions
System Stability Testing:
- Timeout boundary testing with edge cases
- Deadlock prevention validation under stress
- Resource cleanup verification after failures
- System stability under concurrent attack scenarios
INDEPENDENT SECURITY AUDIT REQUIREMENTS
Third-Party Validation: Independent security review required before closure
Penetration Testing: Systematic attack attempt validation
Code Review: Security-focused code review by security expert
Documentation: Comprehensive security implementation documentation
BUSINESS IMPACT ANALYSIS
RISK ASSESSMENT
Pre-Fix Risk: EXISTENTIAL - Project reputation destroyed if security breach occurs
User Impact: User system compromise possible through malicious plots or filenames
Legal Implications: Potential liability for security vulnerabilities in user systems
Professional Adoption: Enterprise adoption impossible with known security vulnerabilities
SUCCESS CRITERIA FOR CLOSURE
- ALL command injection paths blocked - Comprehensive testing validates no injection possible
- ALL memory leaks eliminated - Valgrind clean under stress conditions
- ALL buffer overflows prevented - AddressSanitizer clean with malicious input
- ALL deadlock conditions resolved - Timeout testing validates system stability
- Independent security audit PASSES - Third-party validation confirms security hardening
CONSOLIDATION RATIONALE
Strategic Security Response: 5 individual vulnerabilities form coordinated attack surface requiring unified defense
Resource Optimization: Comprehensive security hardening more effective than scattered vulnerability patches
Quality Assurance: Single focused security implementation with comprehensive validation more reliable
Long-term Maintenance: Unified security architecture easier to maintain and audit than scattered fixes
SECURITY MANDATE: This vulnerability represents existential project risk requiring immediate comprehensive elimination with zero tolerance for incomplete fixes.