Browser Runtime Supply Chain Security via CSP Data Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern web applications face significant security challenges due to vulnerabilities in external artifacts such as JavaScript source code files, images, and CSS files, which are often downloaded from untrusted sources, leading to potential malware infections and security breaches.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of browser-level runtime supply chain security and attack detection using Content Security Policy (CSP)-based data, where a reporting server generates a database of supply chain inventory, analyzes resources for malware, and performs actions to mitigate detected threats.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If static analysis and platform-level dynamic analysis are used to secure third-party dependencies, then security efforts are limited and resources are consumed at platform level, but browser-level runtime security detection and mitigation capabilities are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments security analysis from platform-level to browser-level, creating a dedicated runtime analysis layer within the browser environment. This segmentation allows security detection to occur at the most relevant level (browser runtime) without requiring complete platform-level intervention, thus improving detection capability while managing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces Content Security Policy (CSP) reporting mechanisms as an intermediary between web applications and security analysis systems. CSP reports serve as a mediator that captures runtime information about loaded resources and potential threats, enabling browser-level security detection without direct platform-level intervention.
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive malware analysis is performed on all loaded resources, then security detection accuracy improves, but computing resources on client devices are excessively consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by analyzing only specific resources that trigger CSP violations or match known threat patterns, rather than performing comprehensive analysis on all loaded resources. This selective approach maintains detection accuracy for suspicious resources while avoiding excessive consumption of client device computing resources on benign resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by establishing CSP policies and reporting mechanisms before runtime threats occur. Security rules and analysis criteria are pre-configured, allowing the system to quickly evaluate resources against known threats without performing exhaustive analysis at runtime, thus reducing client device resource consumption.
3Reliability
If browser-level runtime analysis is implemented, then security detection at the point of resource loading improves, but implementation complexity and deployment difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the universal CSP mechanism that is already supported by all modern browsers. By building runtime security analysis on top of this existing universal framework, the implementation achieves broad compatibility without requiring browser-specific modifications or complex deployment procedures, thus improving ease of implementation while maintaining runtime detection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables browsers to self-serve security analysis functions by utilizing native CSP reporting capabilities. The browser itself generates and processes security reports without requiring external platform-level tools, making the implementation simpler and more self-contained while maintaining effective runtime security detection.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage mediums are described for enabling runtime supply chain security of web applications and the discovery of active malware attacks. For example, a server is configured to receive CSP-based data from browsers executing on various clients. Such data may be received via a browser extension or via a proxy between the web applications and the browsers. Using the CSP-based data, the server generates a database of supply chain inventory. The database specifies resources that are loaded for a particular web application, along with a location from where such resources are loaded. The database further specifies a chain of dependencies between such resources. The database is analyzed to determine whether any such resources have been compromised with malware or whether clients on which such resource have been loaded have been compromised with malware. Responsive to determining such cases, actions(s) may be performed to mitigate the malware.