AppSec Threat Modeling Process

⚠️ Prioritization Note

As of 2023-11-02, AppSec is only prioritizing P1 AppSec reviews and threat models. This does not mean P2 or P3 AppSec reviews or threat model requests can’t be submitted, but please understand that due to capacity limitations we will only be able to prioritize P1 reviews. Reach out to us in the #sec-appsec Slack channel if you have any questions or concerns.

AppSec wants to encourage teams to create their own threat models, and the team will try to support any queries in regards to the process.

Using the threat model scoped labels

To assist in the creation of threat models the two labels ~threat model::needed and ~threat model::done should be used. Whenever a threat model for a particular issue or epic should be created the Appsec stable counterpart will apply the ~threat model::needed label to the epic or issue. The Appsec stable counterpart will also create a dedicated threat modeling issue in the threat-models(internal link) project. Within the issue the development and the application security team should collaborate on the creation of a threat model. The development team must provide technical documentation in the issue before the process starts. The issue template contains detailed steps to guide through the process.

If you’re new to threat modeling: for a beginner friendly start please have a look at our threat modeling how to page.

Creating the threat model

The scope definition and priortization is a very first step towards building a proper threat model for the to-be-reviewed item. If time allows and the complexity of to-be-reviewed feature justifies it, a more in-depth threat model should be developed. In the context of an AppSec review we will follow the PASTA approach which has been chosen to be the most flexible approach fitting for various threat modeling cases throughout GitLab.

• In the AppSec review we should start with the Stage III - Application Decomposition as soon as we have a clear scope definition for the review. This stage of application decomposition is an extension of the priortization step where much more details should be considered.
• The threat analysis Stage IV - Threat Analysis should be used to create a detailed test plan for the review.
• Finally the Stage V - Vulnerability and Weakness Analysis would be the actual technical review process which allows us to verify the assumptions of the two previous stages.

In total this would reflect the evidence driven threat model within the review.

Stage III - Application Decomposition

This stage of the threat modeling approach is listed in the review template as a dedicated item. In this stage, the most work is being done to actually have a model of what is being reviewed.

For the typical AppSec review of a new GitLab feature a few things should be considered to get a meaningful threat modeling output. The threat model should be developed starting at the entry points of external data considering any security or trust boundaries the data passes. This will result in a of Data Flow Diagram which can be used to guide the actual review process. In the threat modeling context a Data Flow Diagram is a visual representations of the modeled item, showing the components and their interaction along with trust boundaries which might be traversed by data form untrusted sources.

A good starting point for a data flow diagram in threat model is usually to take (a maybe existing) architecture diagram, like to following from the GitLab Agent for Kubernetes:

graph TB
  agentk -- gRPC bidirectional streaming --> nginx

  subgraph "GitLab"
  nginx -- proxy pass port 5005 --> kas
  kas[kas]
  GitLabRoR[GitLab RoR] -- gRPC --> kas
  kas -- gRPC --> Gitaly[Gitaly]
  kas -- REST API --> GitLabRoR
  end

  subgraph "Kubernetes cluster"
  agentk[agentk]
  end

Considering this diagram we can already spot a trust boundary between the agentk and the GitLab components. The flow of data is also depicted in a usable way for threat modeling and the involved components wich consume or provide data are visible. Such a diagram can now be used and complemented with actual threat and security context to form an actual threat model.

More specific instructions and steps are listed in the review template.

Stage IV - Threat Analysis

This stage is the actual doing of the review. Any findings made are the main output of the threat analysis.

Stage V - Vulnerability and weakness analysis

The output of the review process done in stage IV should be mapped back to the decomposition in stage III. That way we can verify that our decomposition and the initial threat assumptions did provide meaningful guidance for the review process. The output and mapping can be documented in the conclusion’s summary and coverage sections.

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