This application claims priority to Indian Patent Application having Application No. 202311049317, filed in India on Jul. 21, 2023, entitled “DYNAMIC SOURCE VALUES FOR CONTENT SECURITY POLICIES,” the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Content Security Policy (CSP) is a security mechanism that helps to detect and mitigate certain types of attacks, including cross-site scripting (XSS) and data injection attacks. Web application administrators can define a set of CSPs that specify the types of resources, such as scripts, stylesheets, and images, that are allowed to be loaded and executed for a web application and valid sources for each of the different types of resources. By setting these policies, administrators can limit the potential vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious actors. When a web application is requested by a client device, a CSP header is returned in response with directives indicating the types of resources (e.g., JavaScript, CSS, images, etc.) that can be loaded and valid sources for the resources. The browser or other application executing the web application on the client device checks the CSP directives and enforces the defined restrictions, blocking or allowing requests based on the specified policies. This helps ensure that only trusted sources are allowed to interact with the web application, reducing the risk of code injection and other malicious activities.
Some aspects of the present technology relate to, among other things, a CSP management system that facilitates CSP management, deployment, and violation reporting. The CSP management system allows administrators to generate and edit CSP definitions for various web applications and stores the CSP definitions in a repository. When a specific web application is requested by a client device, the CSP management system retrieves the CSP definition for the web application, generates a CSP header based on the CSP definition, and provides the generated CSP header as a response header to the requesting client device. When a CSP violation occurs, information regarding the violation is provided to the CSP management system. The information can include, for instance, information identifying the violating source (i.e., a source called by the web application that is not specified by the CSP header) and the CSP header/definition. The CSP management system compares the violating source against a list of trusted sources. If the CSP management system determines the violating source matches a trusted source, the CSP management system causes the corresponding CSP definition to be updated to include a source value based on the violating source/matching trusted source. As such, when a CSP header is subsequently generated using the update CSP definition, the CSP header includes the added source value such that if the web application attempts to call the source corresponding to the previous violating source, the call will no longer result in a violation.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The present technology is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:
Traditionally, CSP headers are hard coded into each web application by the administrators responsible for each web application. This can be difficult for an enterprise to maintain, especially when there are a large number of web applications with different dependencies and different development teams responsible for the various web applications. As used herein, the term “web application” refers broadly to any application, document, or other code that is accessed by a client device over a network and executed by and/or rendered by an application (e.g., a web browser) on the client device. Among other things, the term encompasses web pages that include dynamic content, interactive elements, or other functionality.
To address these challenges associated with conventional use of CSPs, in some aspects, the technology described herein provides a CSP management system for managing CSPs for web applications. Among other things, the CSP management system facilitates CSP management, deployment, and violation reporting. The CSP management system provides a repository of CSP definitions. Each CSP definition can correspond with one or more web applications and include source values identifying valid sources (e.g., domains) for the corresponding web application(s). Administrators can use existing CSP definitions, modify existing CSP definitions, and/or create new CSP definitions. When a web application is requested by a client device, the CSP definition for the web application is retrieved from the repository (e.g., a CSP definitions datastore or a cache), a CSP header is generated based the CSP definition, and the generated CSP header is sent to the client device as a response header. Any CSP violations that occur when executing web applications on client devices are reported to the CSP management system, which logs the violations. The CSP management system then provides administrators the ability to view the violations and manage CSP definitions based on the violations.
In accordance with some aspects of the technology described herein, the CSP management system facilitates updating CSP definitions based on CSP violations. A CSP violation occurs when an application (e.g., a web browser) executing a web application on a client device attempts to call a resource from a source not specified by the relevant directive of the CSP header. When a CSP violation occurs, information regarding the violation is provide to the CSP management system, including, for instance, information regarding the violating source (i.e., the source that was called but not specified by the CSP header), the web application, the CSP header/definition, and/or the relevant directive. The CSP management system compares the violating source against a list of trusted sources. The trusted sources include sources that are known to be safe (i.e., a whitelist), including, for instance, an entity's own sources and trusted third-party sources. If the CSP management system determines the violating source matches a trusted sources, the CSP management system causes the relevant CSP definition to be updated to include a source value corresponding to the violating source/matching trusted source. As such, when the web application is subsequently request by a client device, the CSP header includes the source value such that if the web application calls the source corresponding to the violating source, the source will no longer cause a violation.
Updating of the CSP definition can be performed automatically, semi-automatically or manually. When performed automatically, the CSP management system automatically identifies the relevant directive of the CSP header (e.g., based on the information regarding the CSP violation) and adds a source value to that directive. When performed semi-automatically, a user interface is initially provided to an admin device that identifies the violating source as matching the trusted source and includes a user interface element for selecting to update the CSP definition. If the user interface element is selected by the administrator, the CSP management system automatically updates the CSP definition to include the source value. When performed manually, a user interface is provided to an admin device that identifies the violating source as matching the trusted source. The administrator can review the information and employ the admin device to access the relevant CSP definition from the CSP repository and update the CSP definition by adding the source value.
Aspects of the technology described herein provide a number of improvements over existing technologies. For instance, aspects of the technology described herein increase security for web applications by providing a centralized platform for managing CSPs for various web applications. The ability of the CSP management system to update CSP headers based on violations resulting from trusted sources also improves performance. In particular, the updated CSP headers will no longer cause violations to occur when the corresponding source is called by web applications. Web application performance is also improved in turn by allowing resources to be retrieved from the trusted source. Advantageously, efficiencies of computing and network resources can also be enhanced using implementations described herein. In particular, the centralized updating of CSP headers for multiple web applications based on CSP violations provides for a more efficient use of computing resources (e.g., higher throughput and reduced latency for a network, less packet generation costs, etc.) than conventional methods of manually updating hard-coded CSP headers in web applications.
With reference now to the drawings,
The system 100 is an example of a suitable architecture for implementing certain aspects of the present disclosure. Among other components not shown, the system 100 includes a user device 102, an admin device 104, and a CSP management system 106. Each of the user device 102, admin device 104, and CSP management system 106 shown in
The CSP management system 106 facilitates management, deployment, and violation reporting for CSPs. For instance, the CSP management system 106 can be employed by an entity having multiple web applications to manage CSPs for its web applications. The CSP management system 106 can be implemented using one or more server devices, one or more platforms with corresponding application programming interfaces, cloud infrastructure, and the like. Additional details regarding various components of the CSP management system 106 are described below with reference to
Among other things, the CSP management system 106 allows an administrator responsible for managing CSPs to generate and/or edit CSP definitions. In some configurations, the CSP management system 106 also logs violation reports for CSPs and provides information regarding CSP violations to the administrator. For instance, the CSP management system 106 can provide one or more user interfaces to the admin device 104 for CSP management and violation reporting. As shown in
The CSP management system 106 further facilitates deployment of CSP headers when web applications are requested by user devices, such as the user device 102. When a request for a web application is received from the user device 102, the CSP management system 106 retrieves a CSP definition for the requested web application, generates a CSP header based on the CSP definition, and provides the CSP header as a response header to the user device 102. As shown in
The user device 102 and admin device 104 comprise any type of computing device capable of use by a user and administrator, respectively. For example, in one aspect, the user device 102 and admin device 104 each comprises the type of computing device 700 described in relation to
Turning next to
In one aspect, the functions performed by components of the CSP management system 206 are associated with one or more applications, services, or routines. In particular, such applications, services, or routines can operate on one or more user devices, servers, can be distributed across one or more user devices and servers, or be implemented in the cloud. Moreover, in some aspects, these components of the CSP management system 206 can be distributed across a network, including one or more servers and client devices, in the cloud, and/or can reside on a user device. Moreover, these components, functions performed by these components, or services carried out by these components can be implemented at appropriate abstraction layer(s) such as the operating system layer, application layer, hardware layer, etc., of the computing system(s). Alternatively, or in addition, the functionality of these components and/or the aspects of the technology described herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components that can be used include Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), etc. Additionally, although functionality is described herein with regards to specific components shown in example system 200, it is contemplated that in some aspects, functionality of these components can be shared or distributed across other components.
CSP Management: The CSP manager service 208 of the CSP management system 206 facilitates the generation and modification of CSP definitions and stores the CSP definitions in a CSP definitions datastore 210. The CSP manager service 208 provides user interfaces to the admin device 204 (which can correspond to the admin device 104 of
In some configurations, the CSP manager service 208 can control different administrators' access to and/or ability to modify different CSP definitions stored in the CSP definitions datastore 210. For instance, rights to individual CSP definitions or groups of CSP definition can be defined based on administrator role.
A CSP definition can comprise one or more directives. Directives are specific instructions that define the security policies for handling various types of resources for a web application. Each directive targets a specific type of resource and determines how it should be handled by the user device. By way of example, below is a list of commonly used directives in CSP:
Each directive can specify one or more valid sources that are defined in the directive using source values, such as specific domains (e.g., ebay.com), domains with wildcard patterns (e.g., *.ebay.com covering all subdomains within the ebay.com domain), or keywords like ‘self’ (referring to the current domain) or ‘none’ (disallowing the resource type). The sources can be defined in a directive using static source values and dynamic source values. A static source value is one in which the source value specified in the directive remains the same when generating a CSP header using the CSP definition. A dynamic source value is one in which the source value specified in the directive is used to dynamically generate a source value that is included in the CSP definition at the time the web application is requested, as will be described in further detail below in the CSP deployment section. Each dynamic source value can be dynamic at the top-level domain, a second-level domain, and/or a subdomain. By configuring these directives appropriately, administrators can enforce stricter security policies and reduce the risk of various types of content-based attacks.
By way of example to illustrate,
As shown in
CSP Deployment: The CSP management system 206 includes a frontend 212 that facilitates deployment of CSPs. When the user device 202 requests a web application, the frontend 212 receives the request and retrieves a CSP definition for the requested web application from the repository of CSP definitions. For instance, the frontend 212 can retrieve the CSP definition from the CSP definitions datastore 210 or a CSP cache 214 associated with the frontend 212.
The frontend 212 generates a CSP header as a response header based on the retrieved CSP definition, and provides the generated CSP header to the user device 202. The generated CSP header provides the set of directives specifying one or more source values for each directive as set forth in the CSP definition. For each dynamic source value in the CSP definition, the frontend 212 dynamically generates the source value included in the CSP header based on the domain of the requested web application. As noted above, a dynamic source value in the CSP header specifies a dynamic portion, which can be a top-level domain, a second-level domain, and/or a subdomain. Based on which portion of the dynamic source value is dynamic, the corresponding level of the domain of the requested web application is used to dynamically generate the source value included in the CSP header.
By way of example, in some cases, a CSP header could correspond with a web application that varies for different geographical region, with each region having a different top-level domain (e.g., .de, .ca, .co.jp, .co.uk, etc.). In this example, when a web application is requested for a particular geographical region, a dynamic source value having a dynamic top-level domain potion will result in a source value for the CSP header being generated with the top-level domain of the requested web application. Accordingly, when the web application for Canada is requested, a dynamic source value in a CSP definition would be used to generate a .ca source value in the CSP header returned in response. However, when the web application for the UK is requested, the dynamic source value in the CSP definition would be used to generate a .co.uk source value in the CSP header returned in response.
CSP Violation Reporting: The CSP reporting service 216 of the CSP management system 206 receives CSP violations from user devices, such as the user device 202, and logs the CSP violations in a CSP violations datastore 218. CSP violations occur when a web application on a user device attempts to call a resource from a source that is not specified in the relevant directive from the CSP header for that web application. In some configurations, a CSP header is configured to include a URL for the CSP reporting service 216, which is used by the client device to route information when a CSP violation occurs. For instance, the CSP header 402 includes a portion “report-uri” that specifies the URL: “https://monitor.ebay.com/csp-report”. When a web application attempts to call a source not specified in a relevant directive of the CSP header, the application (e.g., a web browser) executing the web application on the user device 202 calls the URL to provide information regarding the violation, including information identifying the violating source (i.e., the source that was attempted but not included in the relevant directive of the CSP header), as well as information identifying, for instance, the web application, the CSP that was violated, and/or the directive of the CSP that was violated.
As noted above, the CSP reporting service 216 stores a log of CSP violations in the CSP violations datastore 218. The log of CSP violations includes information regarding each CSP violation reported to the CSP reporting service 216. For instance, the log of CSP violations can store, for each CSP violation, information identifying the violating source, the web application that attempted to call the violating source, the CSP definition resulting in the violation, and the directive of the CSP definition resulting in the violation. The CSP manager service 208 interfaces with the CSP violations datastore 218 to access the violations information and generate reports that are provided to the admin device 204. In some instances, the CSP management system 206 incorporates a search engine, such as an Elasticsearch search engine, to allow an administrator to search the CSP violations. Among other things, the administrator can employ the information regarding violations logged in the CSP violations datastore 218 to update CSP definitions to address the violations.
In some cases, violating sources included in the violation logs are trusted sources. Trusted sources are ones that are known by the entity to be safe sources. In such cases, the CSP management system 206 facilitates updating CSP definitions to include those trusted sources, such that they do not trigger violations. In particular, the CSP management system 206 maintains a list of trusted sources for the entity. The list of trusted sources can include, for instance, the entity's own domains, as well as trusted third-party domains (e.g., trusted domains for payments, advertisements, tracking, security, etc.). In accordance with some aspects, the CSP manager service 208 compares sources listed in the violation logs in the CSP violations datastore 218 against the list of trusted sources to identify trusted sources in the violation logs.
By way of example to illustrate,
When a match is found between violating sources and the list of trusted sources, the CSP management system 206 facilitates updating the CSP definition corresponding with the CSP header that caused the violation such that the CSP definition includes the trusted source. For instance, in the context of the example in
In some configurations, updating of a CSP definition is fully automatic. In particular, the CSP manager service 208 of
In some configurations, updating of a CSP definition is semi-automatic. In particular, the CSP manager server 208 provides a user interface to the admin device 204 with information identifying the identified match and providing an option to approve updating a corresponding CSP definition. If the administer selects the option to approve the update, the CSP manager service 208 updates the relevant directive of the CSP definition to include the identified source. For instance, continuing the example of
In further configurations, updating of a CSP definition is manual. In particular, the CSP manager service 208 provides a user interface to the admin device 204 with information identifying the identified match (e.g., information identifying the violating source that matched a trusted source, the CSP definition that resulted in the violation, and/or the directive of the CSP that resulted in the violation), and the administrator can decide whether to manually update the corresponding CSP definition based on the provided information. For instance, continuing the example of
With reference now to
As shown at block 602, information for a CSP violation is received. The CSP violation information identifies a CSP header that resulted in the CSP violation and a violating source. As discussed herein, a CSP violation occurs when an application (e.g., a web browser) executing a web application attempts to call a source not included in a relevant directive of a CSP header. That source is identified as a violating source.
The violating source for the CSP violation is compared against a list of trusted sources, as shown at block 604. The list of trusted sources includes safe sources for an entity, including for instance, the entity's own sources and/or known third-party sources. Based on the comparison, a first trusted source in the list of trusted sources is identified as matching the violating source for the CSP violation, as shown at block 606.
In response to identifying the first trusted source as matching the violating source, a CSP definition associated with the CSP header is caused to be updated to include a source value based on the violating source or the first trusted source, as shown at block 608. This provides an updated CSP definition that includes that source value. As such, when the CSP definition is subsequently used to generate a CSP header for a web application in response to a request for the web application from a client device, the CSP header includes a source value such that if the web application attempts to call the source corresponding with the previous violating source, the source will no longer cause a violation.
Updating of the CSP definition at block 608 can be performed automatically, semi-automatically or manually. When performed automatically, the system (e.g., via the CSP manager service 208 of
Having described implementations of the present disclosure, an exemplary operating environment in which embodiments of the present technology can be implemented is described below in order to provide a general context for various aspects of the present disclosure. Referring initially to
The technology can be described in the general context of computer code or machine-useable instructions, including computer-executable instructions such as program modules, being executed by a computer or other machine, such as a personal data assistant or other handheld device. Generally, program modules including routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., refer to code that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The technology can be practiced in a variety of system configurations, including hand-held devices, consumer electronics, general-purpose computers, more specialty computing devices, etc. The technology can also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote-processing devices that are linked through a communications network.
With reference to
Computing device 700 typically includes a variety of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by computing device 700 and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media can comprise computer storage media and communication media.
Computer storage media includes both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by computing device 700. Computer storage media does not comprise signals per se.
Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.
Memory 712 includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory. The memory can be removable, non-removable, or a combination thereof. Exemplary hardware devices include solid-state memory, hard drives, optical-disc drives, etc. Computing device 700 includes one or more processors that read data from various entities such as memory 712 or I/O components 720. Presentation component(s) 716 present data indications to a user or other device. Exemplary presentation components include a display device, speaker, printing component, vibrating component, etc.
I/O ports 718 allow computing device 700 to be logically coupled to other devices including I/O components 720, some of which can be built in. Illustrative components include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, printer, wireless device, etc. The I/O components 720 can provide a natural user interface (NUI) that processes air gestures, voice, or other physiological inputs generated by a user. In some instance, inputs can be transmitted to an appropriate network element for further processing. A NUI can implement any combination of speech recognition, touch and stylus recognition, facial recognition, biometric recognition, gesture recognition both on screen and adjacent to the screen, air gestures, head and eye-tracking, and touch recognition associated with displays on the computing device 700. The computing device 700 can be equipped with depth cameras, such as, stereoscopic camera systems, infrared camera systems, RGB camera systems, and combinations of these for gesture detection and recognition. Additionally, the computing device 700 can be equipped with accelerometers or gyroscopes that enable detection of motion.
The present technology has been described in relation to particular embodiments, which are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present technology pertains without departing from its scope.
Having identified various components utilized herein, it should be understood that any number of components and arrangements can be employed to achieve the desired functionality within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the components in the embodiments depicted in the figures are shown with lines for the sake of conceptual clarity. Other arrangements of these and other components can also be implemented. For example, although some components are depicted as single components, many of the elements described herein can be implemented as discrete or distributed components or in conjunction with other components, and in any suitable combination and location. Some elements can be omitted altogether. Moreover, various functions described herein as being performed by one or more entities can be carried out by hardware, firmware, and/or software, as described below. For instance, various functions can be carried out by a processor executing instructions stored in memory. As such, other arrangements and elements (e.g., machines, interfaces, functions, orders, and groupings of functions) can be used in addition to or instead of those shown.
Embodiments described herein can be combined with one or more of the specifically described alternatives. In particular, an embodiment that is claimed can contain a reference, in the alternative, to more than one other embodiment. The embodiment that is claimed can specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed.
The subject matter of embodiments of the technology is described with specificity herein to meet statutory requirements. However, the description itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent. Rather, the inventors have contemplated that the claimed subject matter might also be embodied in other ways, to include different steps or combinations of steps similar to the ones described in this document, in conjunction with other present or future technologies. Moreover, although the terms “step” and/or “block” can be used herein to connote different elements of methods employed, the terms should not be interpreted as implying any particular order among or between various steps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individual steps is explicitly described.
For purposes of this disclosure, the word “including” has the same broad meaning as the word “comprising,” and the word “accessing” comprises “receiving,” “referencing,” or “retrieving.” Further, the word “communicating” has the same broad meaning as the word “receiving,” or “transmitting” facilitated by software or hardware-based buses, receivers, or transmitters using communication media described herein. In addition, words such as “a” and “an,” unless otherwise indicated to the contrary, include the plural as well as the singular. Thus, for example, the constraint of “a feature” is satisfied where one or more features are present. Also, the term “or” includes the conjunctive, the disjunctive, and both (a or b thus includes either a or b, as well as a and b).
For purposes of a detailed discussion above, embodiments of the present technology are described with reference to a distributed computing environment; however, the distributed computing environment depicted herein is merely exemplary. Components can be configured for performing novel embodiments of embodiments, where the term “configured for” can refer to “programmed to” perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types using code. Further, while embodiments of the present technology can generally refer to the technical solution environment and the schematics described herein, it is understood that the techniques described can be extended to other implementation contexts.
From the foregoing, it will be seen that this technology is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects set forth above, together with other advantages which are obvious and inherent to the system and method. It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and can be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202311049317 | Jul 2023 | IN | national |