Need

Protection of user privacy

Context

• Usage of PHP 7.0 for server-side scripting and web development
• Usage of Illuminate\\Http\\Request for handling HTTP requests in Laravel
• Usage of the App\\User module for user-related functionality

Description

Non compliant code

The above code is a simple example of a Privacy Violation vulnerability in a Laravel application. In this code, we have a UserController with an index method that retrieves all users from the database and passes them to a view.

The vulnerability lies in the fact that the index method retrieves all the User model's attributes, including private and sensitive data like passwords, email addresses, etc., and exposes them to the view. This is a breach of privacy as sensitive user data should not be exposed unnecessarily.

In a real-world scenario, this vulnerability could be exploited by an attacker who can access the view (either by direct access or through other vulnerabilities like Cross-Site Scripting) and retrieve sensitive user information.

This vulnerability can be mitigated by limiting the data retrieved from the database to only what is necessary. For example, if only the user's name and id are needed, then only those attributes should be retrieved.

Another mitigation strategy is to use Laravel's built-in functionality to hide or protect sensitive attributes. For example, the User model can be configured to automatically hide the password and remember_token fields when converting to an array or JSON.

Steps

• Implement a privacy policy that clearly states what data is collected, how it is used, and who it is shared with.
• Ensure that only necessary data is collected from users.
• Encrypt sensitive user data to protect it from unauthorized access.
• Implement access controls to restrict who can view user data.
• Regularly audit the system to ensure privacy requirements are being met.
• Provide users with the ability to view, update, and delete their own data.
• Ensure that data is not retained longer than necessary.

Compliant code

        makeHidden(['password', 'email']); // Hide sensitive data
        
        return view('user.index', compact('users'));
    }
}
        
        

The original code was vulnerable because it fetched all user data, including sensitive information like passwords and emails, and passed it to the view. This could lead to privacy violations if the data is mishandled in the view or if an unauthorized person gains access to the view.

The fixed code uses the makeHidden method to hide sensitive data before passing it to the view. This ensures that even if the data is mishandled in the view or an unauthorized person gains access to the view, they will not be able to see the sensitive data.

However, this is just one step towards fixing the privacy violation vulnerability. Other steps that should be taken include:

- Implementing a privacy policy that clearly states what data is collected, how it is used, and who it is shared with.
- Ensuring that only necessary data is collected from users.
- Encrypting sensitive user data to protect it from unauthorized access.
- Implementing access controls to restrict who can view user data.
- Regularly auditing the system to ensure privacy requirements are being met.
- Providing users with the ability to view, update, and delete their own data.
- Ensuring that data is not retained longer than necessary.

References

• 088. Privacy violation