Blog | G5 Cyber Security

Open Source Library Security: A Quick Checklist

G5 Cyber Security

TL;DR

Using open source libraries is great, but they can introduce security risks. This checklist helps you quickly assess and mitigate those risks.

1. Check the Project’s Reputation

  1. Stars & Forks: A higher number of stars on GitHub (or similar platforms) generally indicates wider use and scrutiny, but isn’t a guarantee.
  2. Community Activity: Look at recent commits, issues, and pull requests. A lively community suggests ongoing maintenance and bug fixes.
  3. Maintainers: Who are the people responsible for the project? Are they known in the cyber security community?
  4. Security Reports: Does the project have a dedicated security page or policy outlining how vulnerabilities are handled?

2. Review Licensing

  1. Permissive Licenses (MIT, Apache 2.0): Generally allow you to use, modify and distribute the code freely. Be aware of any obligations (e.g., including copyright notices).
  2. Copyleft Licenses (GPL): Require that derivative works also be licensed under GPL. Understand the implications for your project.

3. Dependency Analysis

  1. Direct Dependencies: These are libraries you explicitly include in your project.
  2. Transitive Dependencies: These are dependencies *of* your direct dependencies. They can be harder to track but pose equal risks.
  3. Use a Dependency Scanner: Tools like npm audit (for Node.js), pip check (for Python) or bundler-audit (for Ruby) identify known vulnerabilities in your dependencies. 
    npm audit

4. Vulnerability Scanning

  1. Static Analysis: Tools scan the code for potential security flaws without running it. Examples include SonarQube, Bandit (Python), or ESLint with security rules.
  2. Dynamic Analysis: Tools analyze the code while it's running to identify runtime vulnerabilities.
  3. Regular Scanning: Integrate vulnerability scanning into your CI/CD pipeline for continuous monitoring.

5. Keep Libraries Updated

  1. Automated Dependency Updates: Use tools like Dependabot (GitHub) or Renovate Bot to automatically create pull requests when new versions of dependencies are released.
  2. Monitor Security Advisories: Subscribe to security mailing lists and advisories for the libraries you use.
  3. Test After Updating: Always test your application thoroughly after updating a library to ensure compatibility and prevent regressions.

6. Code Review

  1. Focus on Security-Sensitive Areas: Pay close attention to code that handles user input, authentication, authorization, or data storage.
  2. Look for Common Vulnerabilities: SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), buffer overflows, and insecure deserialization are common issues.

7. Principle of Least Privilege

  1. Limit Permissions: Ensure the library only has access to the resources it absolutely needs. Avoid granting unnecessary privileges.
  2. Sandboxing: Consider running the library in a sandboxed environment to isolate it from the rest of your application.
Exit mobile version