Managing the Security Impact of Bundled Open Source Software from OSCON

Managing the Security Impactof Bundled Third-Party Software Tim Sammut tsammut@cisco.com

About meCisco Security Research & Gentoo Linux Security Team ICASI Third-Party Software Operations Member Security Working Group Chair tsammut@cisco.com underling@gentoo.org

About you

Do you produce a product, service or package?

Do you disclose vulnerabilities to your customers?

Where is third-party software creating security problems for you?

 Open Source Software vs. Third-Party SoftwareQuick Level Set  Do we even care about this stuff?  What are we trying to accomplish?

It is not our code, but it is our product!

The Challenges

 Which packages?  Which versions?  Which compile-time options? Knowing Where  Which kernel versions? TPS is Used Given a vulnerable TPS package can you reliably determine affected products?Knowing Where TPS is Understanding Inconsistent Package Unmanageable Learning of Inconsistent Fixes External Development Used Dependencies Naming Selection Processes Vulnerabilities Partners

 Exposure expands in under-understood ways  Dependencies are equally exposed to vulnerabilities Understanding  Tools hide build and run-time dependencies Dependencies Focus is often on point requirements without documenting every TPS package incorporated.Knowing Where TPS is Understanding Inconsistent Package Unmanageable Learning of Inconsistent Fixes External Development Used Dependencies Naming Selection Processes Vulnerabilities Partners

 No naming scheme  Even authoritative names change  Locally modified packages are indistinguishable Inconsistent  Simple input variances Package Naming  Versioning is itself complex Are you able to efficiently process large amounts of TPS usage data?Knowing Where TPS is Understanding Inconsistent Package Unmanageable Learning of Inconsistent Fixes External Development Used Dependencies Naming Selection Processes Vulnerabilities Partners

 How are development teams choosing which TPS is used?  Are the considering stability or security? Unmanageable  Are they planing for the ongoing maintenance? Selection Processes Are you gaining development-time freedoms at the expense of long-term maintainability?Knowing Where TPS is Understanding Inconsistent Package Unmanageable Learning of Inconsistent Fixes External Development Used Dependencies Naming Selection Processes Vulnerabilities Partners

 No “Single Source of Truth” Learning of Newly  Disclosure formats, vehicles and time lines vary wildly Disclosed  Monitoring the CVE dictionary is incomplete Vulnerabilities Do you learn of new and relevant TPS vulnerabilities before your customers?Knowing Where TPS is Understanding Inconsistent Package Unmanageable Learning of Inconsistent Fixes External Development Used Dependencies Naming Selection Processes Vulnerabilities Partners

 Do we wait for a new upstream release?  Do we upgrade? Can we upgrade?  Do we patch? Inconsistent Fixing  Will an upstream fix ever come? of Vulnerabilities  Is the upstream even active? Solving this one time is easy. Do you know what you did last time or across many products?Knowing Where TPS is Understanding Inconsistent Package Unmanageable Learning of Inconsistent Fixes External Development Used Dependencies Naming Selection Processes Vulnerabilities Partners

 Who is responsible to fix the issue? External  How quickly?  In what cases? Development  And for how long? Partners  Are each of the previous challenges covered? Combining TPS and external partners creates efficiency and vast unknowns that must be managed.Knowing Where TPS is Understanding Inconsistent Package Unmanageable Learning of Inconsistent Fixes External Development Used Dependencies Naming Selection Processes Vulnerabilities Partners

What other challenges exist?Knowing Where TPS is Understanding Inconsistent Package Unmanageable Learning of Inconsistent Fixes External Development Used Dependencies Naming Selection Processes Vulnerabilities Partners

The “Solutions”

Absolutely critical and foundational to success Build a Strong Catalog of TPS UseKnowing Where TPS is Understanding Inconsistent Package Unmanageable Learning of Inconsistent Fixes External Development Used Dependencies Naming Selection Processes Vulnerabilities Partners

Creates tremendous efficiencies throughout the problem space Standardize Everything PossibleKnowing Where TPS is Understanding Inconsistent Package Unmanageable Learning of Inconsistent Fixes External Development Used Dependencies Naming Selection Processes Vulnerabilities Partners

Must produce a consistent vulnerability feed for internal consumption Monitor Vulnerability Disclosure ScalablyKnowing Where TPS is Understanding Inconsistent Package Unmanageable Learning of Inconsistent Fixes External Development Used Dependencies Naming Selection Processes Vulnerabilities Partners

Key to understanding todays impact and the historic record Instrument the Bug DatabaseKnowing Where TPS is Understanding Inconsistent Package Unmanageable Learning of Inconsistent Fixes External Development Used Dependencies Naming Selection Processes Vulnerabilities Partners

Support and require the equivalent of internal processes Require Contract Language with PartnersKnowing Where TPS is Understanding Inconsistent Package Unmanageable Learning of Inconsistent Fixes External Development Used Dependencies Naming Selection Processes Vulnerabilities Partners

Questions? It is not our code, but it is our product!

Thank you.tsammut@cisco.com

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Managing the Security Impact of Bundled Open Source Software from OSCON

by Cisco Security on Jul 23, 2012

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Managing the Security Impact of Bundled Open Source Software from OSCON Presentation Transcript