Data Flow Tracing

Data Flow Tracing

Purpose

Guide the process of tracing user-controlled input from entry points (sources) through the application to security-sensitive functions (sinks). This is essential for confirming vulnerability exploitability.

When to Use

Activate this skill when:

• Confirming if identified sinks receive user input
• Mapping the path from source to sink
• Understanding data transformations and filters
• Determining if sanitization can be bypassed

Core Concepts

Sources (Input Entry Points)

HTTP Sources:

Language	Common Sources
PHP	$_GET, $_POST, $_REQUEST, $_COOKIE, $_FILES, $_SERVER
Java	request.getParameter(), request.getHeader(), @RequestParam
Python	request.args, request.form, request.data, request.json
Node.js	req.query, req.body, req.params, req.headers
.NET	Request.QueryString, Request.Form, Request["param"]

Other Sources:

• Database queries (stored user data)
• File contents (user-uploaded or modified)
• Environment variables
• External API responses

Sinks (Dangerous Functions)

Refer to the dangerous-functions skill for comprehensive sink lists.

Data Transformations

Track how data changes between source and sink:

• Encoding/Decoding (base64, URL, HTML)
• Concatenation with other strings
• Array/object property access
• Type conversions
• String manipulations

Tracing Methodology

Step 1: Identify the Sink

Start from the dangerous function identified during code review.

Step 2: Find Direct Parameters

Identify what variables/parameters are passed to the sink.

Example: system($cmd);
Direct parameter: $cmd

Step 3: Trace Backwards

Follow each parameter to its origin:

1. Check function parameters
2. Check variable assignments
3. Check conditional branches
4. Check loop iterations
5. Check included/required files

Step 4: Identify Sources

Determine where user input enters:

$cmd = $_GET['command'];  // Direct source
$cmd = $row['command'];   // Database (check how it was stored)
$cmd = $config['cmd'];    // Config file (check if user-modifiable)

Step 5: Map Transformations

Document all changes to the data:

Source: $_GET['input']
  -> urldecode()
  -> str_replace(['../', '..\\'], '', $input)
  -> escapeshellarg()
  -> Sink: exec()

Step 6: Assess Exploitability

Consider:

• Are filters/sanitization bypassable?
• Is the full input controllable?
• Are there alternative paths?

Tracing Techniques

Static Analysis (Manual)

Forward Tracing: Start from source, follow to sinks

$input = $_GET['x'];
$processed = process($input);
dangerous_function($processed);

Backward Tracing: Start from sink, trace to source

dangerous_function($var);
  <- $var = transform($data);
  <- $data = $_POST['param'];

Using IDE Features

• Find all references to variable
• Go to definition
• Find usages
• Call hierarchy

Using Grep

# Find where variable is assigned
grep -rn "\$varname\s*=" --include="*.php"

# Find where variable is used
grep -rn "\$varname" --include="*.php"

# Find function calls
grep -rn "functionName\s*(" --include="*.php"

Common Patterns

Direct Flow

$input = $_GET['cmd'];
system($input);  // Vulnerable

Database-Mediated Flow

// Store
$db->insert(['cmd' => $_POST['cmd']]);

// Later, retrieve and execute
$row = $db->query("SELECT cmd FROM jobs")->fetch();
system($row['cmd']);  // Vulnerable if original input wasn't sanitized

Configuration Flow

// Config loaded from user-modifiable file
$config = parse_ini_file('/var/www/config.ini');
system($config['backup_cmd']);  // Vulnerable if config is modifiable

Multi-File Flow

// file1.php
$_SESSION['cmd'] = $_GET['cmd'];

// file2.php
system($_SESSION['cmd']);  // Vulnerable

Sanitization Analysis

Identify Sanitization Functions

$input = htmlspecialchars($_GET['x']);  // XSS protection
$input = escapeshellarg($_GET['x']);    // Command injection protection
$input = intval($_GET['x']);            // Type casting
$input = preg_replace('/[^a-z]/', '', $_GET['x']);  // Whitelist

Assess Bypass Potential

Sanitization	Bypass Considerations
Blacklist	Missing characters, encoding
Whitelist	Logic errors, regex flaws
Type casting	Depends on sink requirements
Encoding	Double encoding, context
Length limits	Truncation attacks

Common Bypass Techniques

• Case variations
• Encoding (URL, Unicode, HTML)
• Null bytes
• Double encoding
• Alternative representations

Documentation Template

When tracing, document findings:

## Finding: [Vulnerability Type]

### Sink
- File: path/to/file.php
- Line: 42
- Function: system($cmd)

### Source
- File: path/to/file.php  
- Line: 35
- Source: $_GET['command']

### Data Flow
1. $_GET['command'] received (line 35)
2. Passed to sanitize() function (line 36)
3. Concatenated with prefix (line 38)
4. Passed to system() (line 42)

### Sanitization
- sanitize() removes semicolons and pipes
- Bypass: Use newline (%0a) or $() syntax

### Exploitability
- Confirmed exploitable
- Payload: `valid_command%0awhoami`

Integration with Other Skills

• Use dangerous-functions to identify sinks
• Use vuln-patterns for exploitation techniques
• Use exploit-techniques to develop PoC