CAPEC-690 Metadata Spoofing

An adversary alters the metadata of a resource (e.g., file, directory, repository, etc.) to present a malicious resource as legitimate/credible.

One approach to this attack entails the adversary altering a maliciously modified resource's metadata in order to hide their malicious activity. Another approach involves altering the metadata of an adversary-created resource to make the source appear more credible. Adversaries may spoof a variety of metadata across a number of resources, such as the following: • Authors of Version Control System (VCS) repository commits • Open source package statistics • File attributes, such as when a file was last update The ultimate goal of a Metadata Spoofing attack is to trick victims into believing the malicious resource being provided originates from a reputable source. However, the victim instead leverages the malicious resource, which could result in a number of negative technical impacts.

• Identification of a resource whose metadata is to be spoofed

• [Medium] Ability to spoof a variety of metadata to convince victims the source is trusted

• Integrity: Modify Data • Accountability: Hide Activities • Access Control, Authorization: Execute Unauthorized Commands

• Validate metadata of resources such as authors, timestamps, and statistics. • Confirm the pedigree of open source packages and ensure the code being downloaded does not originate from another source. • Even if the metadata is properly checked and a user believes it to be legitimate, there may still be a chance that they've been duped. Therefore, leverage automated testing techniques to determine where malicious areas of the code may exist.