I'm interested in full-blown support for CSP (Content Security Policy) in Cordova. While we're close to having new and improved whitelist functionality, there are gaps in what the whitelist is able to protect against. In particular, inline script and eval() are higher risks that are not addressed by whitelists.
Many Cordova apps may use only static content, or not include any third-party content. However, there are certainly examples of apps that need to include user input/third-party content, mixed with the app's own HTML content. In some cases, platforms may even restrict functionality (see [1]). I think CSP is a compelling answer for these scenarios, and for security in general for apps. Assuming CSP support is valuable, the question is how to implement? Support for CSP is not universal across platforms. It is known to be supported on Android (KitKat and later), iOS (since 7.1), and Firefox. Where supported, it is typically via a HTTP response header, or a META tag in the document. I've done some investigation into feasible approaches. As a result, I'm proposing as below. Long term goal: Cordova supports CSP in apps *and* plugins, and is enabled/secure by default. Ideally, CSP rules can be configurable and automatically applied to all content (i.e. so developers can fall into the pit of success) Achieving this goal will likely require incremental progress over a number of releases. At a high level, first make changes so developers can manually apply CSP to their apps. Longer term, add support for configurability and automatic application of CSP. Short term plan: - Change new app template to contain CSP meta tag with a default, secure policy (i.e. no inline script, eval(), only local app content) - Remove any blockers to default policy from framework and core plugins. This would be a continuation of the work in CB-8210, applied to other platforms. For example, this would fix any framework code that relies on sending javascript to be executed inline, from the native side - Deprecate any framework APIs that allow less secure practices. Many already are marked as deprecated (at least on Android) - Update docs/samples to include CSP, and clearly state that use of inline javascript is deprecated Long term plan: - In a future major release, remove the previously deprecated framework APIs - Define/implement a configuration model for CSP rules - Implement a build/package step to apply configured CSP rules to all content as meta tags. Run-time support involves re-writing content, and/or intercepting resource requests. The feasibility of intercepting requests is highly variable across platforms, at greater cost/complexity than build-time. I'm very interested in any comments on this proposal. This includes questions around use cases (missing or otherwise), different requirements, technical concerns, .etc. Thanks, Jason Google Cordova Team [1] http://callback.markmail.org/thread/yxmmya2o2lc26tpi
