microcks / microcks/microcks-cli

SSRF via Unvalidated import-url Artifact URLs

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Dominant language
Go
Stars
52
Forks
68
Avg merge
6h 54m
Merged PRs (30d)
10

Description

### Describe the bug

There is a SSRF vulnerability due to unvalidated `import-url` artifact URLs. The `import-url` command accepts arbitrary URLs (e.g., `https://`, `http://`) and passes them directly to the `DownloadArtifact` method. This function sends the URL as a form field (`url`) up to the Microcks API endpoint `/api/artifact/download`. The Microcks server then fetches the URL without sufficient validation, lacking an allowlist, private-IP-range blocking, or scheme restriction.

### Expected behavior

The provided URL should be strictly validated before being fetched by the Microcks server. The validation should deny access to private/internal IP ranges (e.g., `169.254.169.254`, `localhost`, `10.x.x.x`), restrict schemes to only allowed protocols, or enforce an explicit allowlist to prevent arbitrary internal network access.

### Actual behavior

The URL is accepted and processed without validation. When the server fetches the provided URL, an attacker can coerce the server to interact with internal networks. The `secret` field (for repository authentication) may also be passed along, meaning the server could be tricked into sending stored credentials to attacker-controlled external endpoints.

### How to Reproduce?

1. Authenticate with the Microcks CLI (e.g., `microcks login ...`).
2. Run the `import-url` command with a payload targeting an internal network resource or cloud metadata endpoint, such as:
```sh
microcks import-url http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/
```
Or to access an internal service:
```sh
microcks import-url http://localhost:8080/api/admin/
```
3. The CLI passes the URL to the server, and the Microcks server fetches it, acting as an SSRF proxy to the internal resource.

### Microcks version or git rev

master

### Install method (`docker-compose`, `helm chart`, `operator`, `docker-desktop extension`,...)

Any deployment where an attacker has CLI or API access to perform a URL import. Highly critical on Cloud environments.

### Additional information

**Code References:**
- `cmd/importURL.go`: The URL from arguments is handled and directly passed to `DownloadArtifact`.
- `pkg/connectors/microcks_client.go`: `DownloadArtifact` embeds the `url` and `secret` unsanitized in the `POST` form data submitted to the server endpoint.

**Real-World Impact:**
In a shared Microcks instance or CI pipeline, any user with `import-url` capabilities can pivot to internal network resources. In cloud deployments, this opens the door to leaking IAM credentials, probing internal networks, and extracting sensitive API responses.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with cmd/importURL.go and pkg/connectors/microcks_client.go, then trace how the URL and secret reach the /api/artifact/download endpoint. Clarify where validation belongs and test the required scheme restrictions and private or internal address blocking; done means arbitrary internal fetches and credential forwarding are prevented.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
go
Domain
api, cli, security
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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