Property-Based Testing Caught a Security Bug I Never Would Have Found
a day ago
- #Property-Based Testing
- #JavaScript
- #Security
- Property-Based Testing (PBT) uncovered a security bug in a storage service for a chat application that traditional testing methods would have missed.
- The bug involved mishandling JavaScript prototypes when a malicious string ('__proto__') was used as a provider name, potentially leading to security vulnerabilities.
- The issue was identified during the 75th iteration of a property-based test, demonstrating PBT's ability to explore edge cases beyond human intuition.
- The fix included defensive measures like using 'Object.create(null)' to avoid prototype pollution and validating keys to prevent prototype-related vulnerabilities.
- This case highlights the importance of PBT in security, offering unbiased, thorough testing that connects directly to requirements and provides executable specifications.