[Security] Fix MEDIUM vulnerability: V-001

[orbisai0security]

Security Fix

This PR addresses a MEDIUM severity vulnerability detected by our security scanner.

Security Impact Assessment

Aspect	Rating	Rationale
Impact	Medium	In the Postiz app, which manages social media posts and media assets, unauthorized or malicious deletions without audit logs could lead to irreversible loss of user content, complicating incident response and potentially allowing attackers to cover their tracks during a breach, though it doesn't directly expose sensitive data or enable system compromise.
Likelihood	Medium	The repository's backend API handles media deletions, which could be targeted if an attacker gains authenticated access or exploits other vulnerabilities to reach the endpoint, but exploitation requires specific API knowledge and initial compromise, making it moderately likely in a deployed social media tool environment with user interactions.
Ease of Fix	Easy	Remediation involves adding a simple audit log statement in the deleteMedia function to record the user and timestamp, requiring minimal code changes without dependencies or architectural impacts.

Evidence: Proof-of-Concept Exploitation Demo

⚠️ For Educational/Security Awareness Only

This demonstration shows how the vulnerability could be exploited to help you understand its severity and prioritize remediation.

How This Vulnerability Can Be Exploited

The vulnerability in the deleteMedia function allows an attacker with API access (e.g., an authenticated user or via a compromised session/token) to delete media assets without any audit trail, enabling stealthy data destruction or sabotage. In the context of the Postiz app—a social media management platform where media assets (images/videos) are critical for user posts—this could be exploited to silently remove content, disrupting campaigns or erasing evidence of malicious activity. An attacker could automate deletions at scale, making it appear as accidental data loss rather than targeted attacks.

The vulnerability in the deleteMedia function allows an attacker with API access (e.g., an authenticated user or via a compromised session/token) to delete media assets without any audit trail, enabling stealthy data destruction or sabotage. In the context of the Postiz app—a social media management platform where media assets (images/videos) are critical for user posts—this could be exploited to silently remove content, disrupting campaigns or erasing evidence of malicious activity. An attacker could automate deletions at scale, making it appear as accidental data loss rather than targeted attacks.

// Proof-of-Concept: Exploit the lack of logging in deleteMedia by calling the API endpoint
// This assumes the Postiz backend is running locally (e.g., via npm run dev in the repository root)
// and the attacker has obtained a valid JWT token (e.g., via login or token theft).
// Replace 'YOUR_JWT_TOKEN' with a real token and 'MEDIA_ID' with an actual media asset ID from the app.

const axios = require('axios'); // Install via npm if needed: npm install axios

async function deleteMediaWithoutTrace() {
  const baseUrl = 'http://localhost:3000'; // Default backend URL from repository's docker-compose.yml or dev setup
  const token = 'YOUR_JWT_TOKEN'; // Obtained via compromised credentials or session hijacking
  const mediaId = 'MEDIA_ID'; // Target media ID, e.g., from listing endpoints like GET /api/media

  try {
    // Call the delete endpoint (based on media.controller.ts route)
    const response = await axios.delete(`${baseUrl}/api/media/${mediaId}`, {
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${token}`,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
      }
    });
    console.log('Media deleted successfully:', response.data);
    // No logging occurs in the backend (per vulnerability), so this action is untraceable
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error:', error.response?.data || error.message);
  }
}

// Run the exploit
deleteMediaWithoutTrace();

# Alternative: Using curl for a simple command-line exploit
# This demonstrates deleting media via HTTP request, showing the lack of server-side logging.
# Prerequisites: Backend running on localhost:3000, valid JWT token obtained (e.g., from browser dev tools or login).

curl -X DELETE "http://localhost:3000/api/media/MEDIA_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"

# Check server logs (e.g., via docker logs or app console): No audit entry for the deletion.
# In a production setup (e.g., deployed via Docker as per repository), an attacker could scale this with loops or scripts.

Exploitation Impact Assessment

Impact Category	Severity	Description
Data Exposure	Low	No direct data exposure occurs, as deletions remove assets rather than leaking them. However, if media contains sensitive user data (e.g., branded images with proprietary info), untraceable deletions could indirectly expose risks by forcing reliance on backups, potentially revealing cached or archived data.
System Compromise	Low	No system access is gained; the exploit is limited to API-level deletions. An attacker needs prior authentication, so this doesn't enable privilege escalation or code execution.
Operational Impact	Medium	Deletions could disrupt social media campaigns by removing critical media assets (e.g., post images/videos), leading to failed posts, user confusion, or manual recovery efforts. In a multi-user environment, repeated stealth deletions could cause perceived data loss, requiring database restores and temporary service downtime.
Compliance Risk	Medium	Violates audit and logging requirements under standards like SOC2 (for operational integrity) or GDPR (for data accountability in EU contexts, as user-generated media may involve personal data). Lack of deletion logs hinders incident response, potentially leading to non-compliance in security audits for social media tools.

Vulnerability Details

• Rule ID: V-001
• File: apps/backend/src/api/routes/media.controller.ts
• Description: The deleteMedia function in the MediaController does not record any audit log upon successful deletion of a media asset. This lack of logging makes it impossible to trace which user or process deleted an asset, hindering incident response and forensic analysis.

Changes Made

This automated fix addresses the vulnerability by applying security best practices.

Files Modified

• apps/backend/src/api/routes/media.controller.ts

Verification

This fix has been automatically verified through:

• ✅ Build verification
• ✅ Scanner re-scan
• ✅ LLM code review

🤖 This PR was automatically generated.

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