Dynamic Security Review Triggering for Web Applications
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large web applications with numerous user interface components and backend services pose challenges in conducting comprehensive security reviews, as they require significant resources and effort, often leading to overlooking vulnerabilities that can expose businesses to security risks.
Innovation Solution
A monitoring system tracks and assigns weights to code changes along an end-to-end request call path, using factors like sensitivity classification, code safety history, and cyclomatic complexity to determine if a security review is warranted, triggering reviews as needed based on cumulative weights exceeding a threshold.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If comprehensive security reviews are conducted on all user interface components and backend services, then security vulnerability detection is improved, but resource consumption and effort increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of security review frequency from uniform (all components reviewed every time) to variable (components reviewed based on their risk weight scores). High-risk components with weights above a threshold trigger mandatory reviews, while low-risk components use extended review intervals, optimizing resource allocation while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different security review strategies to different components based on their local characteristics. Each user interface component and backend service is assigned a risk weight based on factors like data sensitivity, change frequency, and criticality, allowing tailored review approaches for each component rather than a one-size-fits-all method.
2Reliability
If security reviews are conducted frequently on all components, then vulnerability detection is improved, but development productivity deteriorates due to repeated reviews
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic security review scheduling where the review frequency and trigger conditions adapt based on component risk weights and historical security performance. Low-risk components can extend their review intervals, while high-risk components maintain frequent review schedules, allowing development to proceed efficiently without unnecessary security review interruptions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial security review action by focusing review efforts only on components that exceed the risk threshold, rather than reviewing all components equally. This selective approach reduces the overall burden on development productivity while maintaining adequate security coverage for critical areas.
3Use of energy by moving object
If security reviews are conducted only on changed components, then resource consumption is reduced, but vulnerability detection completeness deteriorates due to overlooking inter-component vulnerabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where security review results and vulnerability findings are used to adjust risk weights of components and their associated services. This feedback loop ensures that components previously identified as high-risk or involved in vulnerabilities maintain elevated review frequencies, improving detection completeness while managing resources through learned patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the risk weight calculation system universal by applying the same weighting methodology across all user interface components and backend services, considering multiple factors (data sensitivity, change frequency, criticality) that universally indicate security risk. This consistent approach ensures comprehensive vulnerability detection across the entire system while maintaining resource efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
An end-to-end request path associated with an application frontend is determined. A change to a service in the end-to-end request path is identified. A weight value to associate with the change is determined based at least in part on the characteristics of the change. The weight value is aggregated with weight values associated with other code changes is obtained from aggregating the weight value with the weight values of other code changes to produce a collective weight of the code changes. A security review is determined to be triggered based at least in part on the collective weight reaching a value relative to a threshold.