[PyCon APAC 2022] Writing secure code in Python

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Writing secure code in Python @yyyyyyyan_ Yan Orestes Software engineer PyCon APAC

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“Programming in Python is easy”

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Is programming in Python easy?

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01. eval() is really dangerous

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eval(expression[, globals[, locals]]) Evaluates a Python expression and return the result. Optional parameters: globals: dict locals: Any mapping object

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The danger begins when… ⚠

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What if we clean the global variables?

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Python automatically inserts builtins… ⚠

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What if we speciﬁcally clean the builtins?

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Creating a payload

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Creating a payload ⚠

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eval() is really dangerous ❤ @SamuelAntilla / netsec.expert ⚠

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Alternatives - ast.literal_eval(node_or_string) - String parsing

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So when should we use eval()? When there is no other viable way to accomplish a task

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So when should we use eval()? When there is no other viable way to accomplish a task (never)

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02. arbitrary code execution with pickle

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Serializes a Python object to a sequence of bytes. Optional parameters: protocol: int denoting the protocol used for the serialization. Currently goes from 0 (oldest) to 5 (Python 3.8) pickle.dump(obj, file, protocol=None, *) pickle.dumps(obj, protocol=None, *)

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The magic method __reduce__() Used to customize how class instances are serialized. Should return a str or a tuple containing a callable and its parameters.

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The magic method __reduce__() Used to customize how class instances are serialized. Should return a str or a tuple containing a callable and its parameters. ⚠

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Opening the pickle jar with pickletools

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But what about arbitrary code execution?

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Serializing arbitrary code with marshal

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And to run it? ⚠

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Assembling the malicious pickle

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Demo

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Prevention pickle signing with HMAC Alternative Using a safer serialization format (JSON)

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03. the power of pip install

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What happens when we run pip install? 1. Identiﬁcation of base requirements and given parameters 2. Resolution of dependencies and determination of what will be installed 3. Determination of installation method 4. Installation of packages

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Determination of installation method If wheel is available: Download wheel and install from it; Else: Download package source code; If it's possible to build wheel from source code: Build wheel and install from it; Else: Install from setup.py;

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setup.py - dynamic metadata

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Arbitrary code execution in package installation

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Demo

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Real life risk Typosquatting

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Real life risk --extra-index-url https://medium.com/@alex.birsan/dependency-confusion-4a5d60fec610

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Prevention - --only-binary - --require-hashes - NEVER download a package as sudo/admin

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Prevention - --only-binary - --require-hashes - NEVER download a package as sudo/admin

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04. outdated dependencies

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Vulnerabilities are found all the time!

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Prevention - Keep up with the releases of packages we use - Keep up with the CVE vulnerabilities list (cve.mitre.org)

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05. outdated python

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Vulnerabilities are found all the time!

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Understanding Python's versions status

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Be cautious with deprecated functions!

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06. the problem with pseudorandomness

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How not to generate secure passwords

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The random module and the infamous seed

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Alternatives - The secrets module - os.urandom() - random.SystemRandom

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07. watch out for bomb ﬁles

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Billion laughs attack

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Prevention

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Tarbombs and path traversal

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Prevention Don't use extractall() without prior inspection of the ﬁles!

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08. assert is for debug!

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What is the purpose of assert?

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Saving a line with assert?

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Are not equivalent Are equivalent

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The __debug__ constant and the -O ﬂag

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Auditing our code

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Lots of options! ● Codacy (free for open source projects) ● Horusec (open source) ● Pyre/Pysa (open source) ● Coverity Scan (exclusive for open source projects) ● Bandit (open source)

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Using bandit

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key points to never forget

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01. never trust user input

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02. avoid running Python code as sudo/admin

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03. keep your system up-to-date

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04. read the docs

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04. read the docs

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05. use static code analysis tools

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Thank you! Twitter: @yyyyyyyan_ GitHub: @yyyyyyyan LinkedIn: /in/yyyyyyyan yan@orestes.tech | contact@yyyyyyyan.tech PyCon APAC