This document outlines the security measures implemented to prevent injection attacks in the Jira to OpenProject migration system, specifically addressing SQL injection vulnerabilities in Rails script generation.

The migration system generated Ruby scripts for execution in the Rails console by directly interpolating user-provided Jira keys into string templates. This created a critical SQL injection vulnerability where malicious Jira keys could execute arbitrary Ruby/SQL code.

Example vulnerable code:

# VULNERABLE - Direct string interpolation
f"operations << {{jira_key: '{jira_key}', wp_id: {wp_id}, status: 'success'}}"

Attack vector:

jira_key = "TEST'; User.destroy_all; puts 'pwned"
# Results in: operations << {jira_key: 'TEST'; User.destroy_all; puts 'pwned', wp_id: 123, status: 'success'}

Files:

• src/utils/enhanced_user_association_migrator.py
• src/utils/enhanced_timestamp_migrator.py

Method: _validate_jira_key(jira_key: str)

Validation Rules:

1. Non-empty validation: Rejects empty strings and None values
2. Character whitelist: Only allows A-Z, 0-9, and - characters
3. Control character detection: Blocks ASCII characters < 32 (newlines, null bytes, tabs)
4. Length limits: Maximum 100 characters to prevent buffer overflow

Regex pattern: ^[A-Z0-9\-]+$

Blocked attack patterns:

• SQL injection: '; DROP TABLE users;
• Script injection: <script>alert('xss')</script>
• Control characters: \n, \r, \t, \x00
• Command injection: ; rm -rf /
• Format strings: %s, %n, %x

Implementation: All validated jira_key values are escaped using json.dumps() before inclusion in Ruby scripts.

Before (vulnerable):

f"{{jira_key: '{jira_key}', wp_id: {wp_id}}}"

After (secure):

escaped_jira_key = json.dumps(jira_key)
f"{{jira_key: {escaped_jira_key}, wp_id: {wp_id}}}"

Security benefit: json.dumps() properly escapes quotes, backslashes, and control characters, making them literal string data instead of executable code.

Multiple security layers:

1. Input validation at the entry point (when jira_key is first used)
2. Output escaping during script generation
3. Error isolation with begin/rescue blocks in generated Ruby
4. Parameterized queries for database operations (WorkPackage.find(id))

• 55+ test cases across 3 comprehensive test files
• 40+ attack vectors tested including SQL injection, script injection, control characters
• Unit tests for validation logic with edge cases and boundary conditions
• Integration tests for script generation security
• Regression tests to ensure functionality preservation

1. tests/security/test_jira_key_validation.py - Unit tests for validation
2. tests/security/test_script_generation_security.py - Integration security tests
3. tests/security/test_security_regression.py - Regression and compatibility tests

# Run all security tests
pytest tests/security/ -v -m security

# Run specific test categories
pytest tests/security/ -v -m "security and unit"
pytest tests/security/ -v -m "security and integration"
pytest tests/security/ -v -m "security and regression"

1. Always validate external input before using in script generation
2. Use json.dumps() for escaping user data in Ruby hash literals
3. Never use direct string interpolation with user-provided data
4. Add security tests for any new script generation functionality
5. Review generated scripts to ensure no unescaped user data appears

• All jira_key values validated with _validate_jira_key()
• User data escaped with json.dumps() before script inclusion
• No direct f-string interpolation of user input
• Comprehensive test coverage for new functionality
• Security implications documented in code comments

# ✅ SAFE - Validate then escape
self._validate_jira_key(jira_key)
escaped_key = json.dumps(jira_key)
script_line = f"{{jira_key: {escaped_key}, wp_id: {wp_id}}}"

# ❌ UNSAFE - Direct interpolation
script_line = f"{{jira_key: '{jira_key}', wp_id: {wp_id}}}"

# ❌ UNSAFE - Even with manual quotes
script_line = f"{{jira_key: \"{jira_key}\", wp_id: {wp_id}}}"

1. Jira API responses - External data source requiring validation
2. User configuration files - Could contain malicious jira_key mappings
3. Import/export functionality - File-based data input

• Input validation at all entry points
• Centralized escaping logic
• Comprehensive test coverage
• Security-focused code review process

• Log validation failures for security monitoring
• Track script execution errors that could indicate attack attempts
• Monitor for unusual patterns in jira_key values

1. Immediate: Stop script execution and isolate affected systems
2. Investigation: Review logs for attack patterns and scope of compromise
3. Remediation: Apply security patches and update validation rules
4. Prevention: Add test cases for new attack vectors discovered

• Development Team: Review and approve security-related changes
• Security Team: Escalate for critical vulnerabilities
• Operations Team: Monitor for attack patterns in production

• Input validation according to OWASP guidelines
• Output encoding for injection prevention
• Defense in depth with multiple security layers
• Comprehensive testing including negative test cases

• All validation failures logged with specific error messages
• Script generation events tracked for monitoring
• Test execution results maintained for compliance verification

Last Updated: 2024-12-19 Version: 1.0 Status: Active - All security measures implemented and tested