Potential solution

The plan to solve the bug is to integrate CSRF protection into the Express application by adding the csurf middleware. This will involve updating the package.json to include the csurf package, installing the package, and then configuring the middleware in the server.js file. Additionally, we need to update the authRoutes.js file to include CSRF tokens in the forms for registration and login and validate these tokens in the POST route handlers.

What is causing this bug?

The bug is caused by the lack of CSRF protection in the application. CSRF attacks exploit the trust that a site has in a user's browser, and without proper CSRF mitigation, attackers can perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. The application's current state does not check for CSRF tokens in the request handling process, leaving it vulnerable to such attacks.

Code

To resolve the issue, the following changes should be made:

Update package.json to include csurf:

"dependencies": {
 // ... other dependencies ...
 "csurf": "^1.11.0"
}

Install the csurf package:
```
npm install
```

Import and configure csurf in server.js:

const csrf = require('csurf');
const csrfProtection = csrf({ cookie: false });
app.use(csrfProtection);
app.use((req, res, next) => {
 res.locals.csrfToken = req.csrfToken();
 next();
});

Update authRoutes.js to include CSRF tokens in forms and validate them:

const csrf = require('csurf');
const csrfProtection = csrf({ cookie: true });

router.get('/auth/register', csrfProtection, (req, res) => {
 res.render('register', { csrfToken: req.csrfToken() });
});

router.get('/auth/login', csrfProtection, (req, res) => {
 res.render('login', { csrfToken: req.csrfToken() });
});

router.post('/auth/register', csrfProtection, async (req, res) => {
 // ... existing code ...
});

router.post('/auth/login', csrfProtection, async (req, res) => {
 // ... existing code ...
});

How to replicate the bug

To replicate the bug, perform the following steps:

Set up the application without CSRF protection.
Authenticate as a user in the application.
Simulate a CSRF attack by crafting a malicious request from another site or context that attempts to perform an action on behalf of the authenticated user.
Observe that the application processes the request without validating a CSRF token, indicating the vulnerability.

By following the above solution, the application will be protected against CSRF attacks, and the bug will be resolved.

Click here to create a Pull Request with the proposed solution

Files used for this task:

Changes on pilot/templates/tpl/node_express_mongoose/package.json

The task for the `package.json` file is to add the CSRF middleware package to the dependencies list to protect against cross-site request forgery attacks. The current `dependencies` list in the provided `package.json` file does not include any CSRF middleware. A popular CSRF middleware package for Express applications is `csurf`. To address the issue, the `csurf` package (or another CSRF protection middleware) should be added to the `dependencies` list. The `package.json` file should be updated as follows: ```json { "name": "{{ project_name }}", "version": "1.0.0", "description": "", "main": "server.js", "scripts": { "start": "node server.js", "test": "echo \"Error: no test specified\" && exit 1" }, "keywords": [], "author": "", "license": "ISC", "dependencies": { "bcrypt": "^5.1.1", "body-parser": "^1.20.2", "chart.js": "^4.4.1", "connect-flash": "^0.1.1", "csv-writer": "^1.6.0", "dotenv": "^16.4.1", "ejs": "^3.1.9", "express": "^4.18.2", "express-session": "^1.18.0", "connect-mongo": "^5.1.0", "moment": "^2.30.1", "mongoose": "^8.1.1", "csurf": "^1.11.0" // Added CSRF middleware package } } ``` The version number `^1.11.0` is used as an example and should be replaced with the latest version of `csurf` at the time of implementation. After updating the `package.json` file, the next step would be to run `npm install` to install the new package and then proceed to import and configure the CSRF middleware in the `server.js` file, which is part of another agent's task.

Changes on pilot/templates/tpl/node_express_mongoose/routes/authRoutes.js

Upon reviewing the provided source code in `authRoutes.js`, it is clear that the file handles authentication routes for registering, logging in, and logging out users. However, there is no implementation of CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) protection in the current code. To address the issue described in the ticket, the following steps should be taken: 1. Import a CSRF middleware package, such as `csurf`, into the file. 2. Initialize the CSRF middleware and configure it to be used with the Express application. 3. Modify the route handlers to include CSRF tokens in the rendered forms for registration and login. 4. Update the POST route handlers for `/auth/register` and `/auth/login` to validate the CSRF tokens received from the client-side forms. Since the CSRF middleware is not present in the provided code, it is not possible to demonstrate the exact changes needed. However, a typical implementation would look something like this: ```javascript const csrf = require('csurf'); const csrfProtection = csrf({ cookie: true }); // ... other code ... // Include CSRF tokens in the rendered forms router.get('/auth/register', csrfProtection, (req, res) => { res.render('register', { csrfToken: req.csrfToken() }); }); router.get('/auth/login', csrfProtection, (req, res) => { res.render('login', { csrfToken: req.csrfToken() }); }); // Validate CSRF tokens in the route handlers router.post('/auth/register', csrfProtection, async (req, res) => { // ... existing code ... }); router.post('/auth/login', csrfProtection, async (req, res) => { // ... existing code ... }); ``` In the above example, `csrfProtection` is a middleware that checks for a valid CSRF token on incoming POST requests. The `csrfToken` method is used to generate a token that should be included as a hidden field in the forms rendered by the `register` and `login` routes. The actual implementation may vary depending on the specific requirements and configuration of the application. The CSRF middleware package will also need to be added to the `package.json` file, which is handled in a different part of the task. In conclusion, the `authRoutes.js` file does not currently include CSRF protection, and the necessary middleware and token handling need to be implemented to resolve the code scanning alert.

Changes on pilot/templates/tpl/node_express_mongoose/server.js

After reviewing the provided source code for `server.js`, it appears that CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) middleware is not currently implemented in the application. The task at hand is to import and configure CSRF middleware to protect against CSRF attacks. Here's a report on the current state of the `server.js` file and what needs to be done to address the issue: ### Current State: - The application uses Express.js as its web server framework. - Session management is configured with `express-session` and `connect-mongo`. - The application connects to a MongoDB database using Mongoose. - The application uses EJS as its templating engine and serves static files. - There are route handlers for authentication (`authRoutes`) and the root path. - There is basic error handling and logging for session creation. ### Missing CSRF Protection: - No CSRF middleware is imported or configured in the application. - There are no checks for CSRF tokens in the request handling process. ### Required Changes: - Import a CSRF middleware package such as `csurf` into the application. - Configure the CSRF middleware to work with the existing session management. - Apply the CSRF middleware to relevant routes, especially those that handle state-changing operations (POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.). - Ensure that the CSRF token is made available to the client, typically by including it in the rendered forms or as a meta tag in the HTML head for AJAX requests. ### Suggested Implementation: 1. Install the `csurf` package by adding it to the `package.json` dependencies and running `npm install`. 2. Import the `csurf` package in `server.js`: ```javascript const csrf = require('csurf'); ``` 3. Configure the CSRF middleware after the session middleware: ```javascript const csrfProtection = csrf({ cookie: false }); app.use(csrfProtection); ``` 4. Modify the route handlers to include the CSRF token in the response locals, so it can be used in the views: ```javascript app.use((req, res, next) => { res.locals.csrfToken = req.csrfToken(); next(); }); ``` 5. Update the views to include the CSRF token in forms as a hidden input field or in the HTML head for AJAX requests. ### Conclusion: The `server.js` file lacks CSRF protection middleware, which is necessary to safeguard against CSRF attacks. To resolve the issue, CSRF middleware should be added and configured appropriately within the application. This will involve changes to both the server setup and the client-facing forms or scripts that submit state-changing requests.

MarBeanInc1111 / refactored-engine

Fix code scanning alert - Missing CSRF middleware #8

Potential solution

What is causing this bug?

Code

How to replicate the bug