From 9a25926696cd6c55eb603f2cba9b027cf177c88c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ned Wolpert Date: Sat, 6 Jun 2026 08:26:02 -0700 Subject: [PATCH] build: drop Gradle dependency verification MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Removes gradle/verification-metadata.xml (added in #30). With Dependabot auto-merging patch/minor Gradle bumps, the checksum metadata would have to be regenerated automatically from whatever was just downloaded and then approved unattended — which notarizes the artifact rather than vetting it. That provides no protection against a malicious dependency *release* (the actual threat, which dependency-review-action covers via the advisory DB) while breaking the build on every bump: a bump updates the version catalog but cannot update the checksum file, so verification fails. This also repairs main: an auto-merged gradle bump (#33: aws-sdk 2.46.5, flyway 12.8.1) had drifted from the pinned 2.46.4/12.8.0 checksums, failing verification for ~50 artifacts on every PR (including the npm-only #32). Kept: SHA-pinned Actions, wrapper distributionSha256Sum + wrapper-validation (pins the Gradle distribution itself, no Dependabot conflict), dependency-review, scoped auto-merge, signed releases. Threat model updated to record the rationale. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) --- docs/threat-model.md | 15 +- gradle/verification-metadata.xml | 4716 ------------------------------ 2 files changed, 9 insertions(+), 4722 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 gradle/verification-metadata.xml diff --git a/docs/threat-model.md b/docs/threat-model.md index 3c3102b..7ff3ab6 100644 --- a/docs/threat-model.md +++ b/docs/threat-model.md @@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ The controls below are defense-in-depth; none alone is sufficient. | Threat | Mitigation | |---|---| -| A dependency or plugin is swapped for a malicious build (hijacked artifact, MITM of a repository) | **Gradle dependency verification** (`gradle/verification-metadata.xml`) pins a SHA-256 for every resolved dependency, plugin, and build-script artifact; resolution fails if a downloaded artifact does not match. Repositories are restricted to `mavenCentral()` + `gradlePluginPortal()` over HTTPS — no HTTP or untrusted mirrors. All versions are pinned in a single version catalog with no dynamic (`+` / `latest.release`) ranges. | +| A dependency or plugin is swapped for a malicious build (hijacked artifact, MITM of a repository) | Repositories are restricted to `mavenCentral()` + `gradlePluginPortal()` over HTTPS — no HTTP or untrusted mirrors — and Maven Central artifacts are immutable, so a published coordinate cannot be silently re-bytes'd. All versions are pinned in a single version catalog with no dynamic (`+` / `latest.release`) ranges. **Gradle dependency-verification checksums are intentionally *not* used:** with Dependabot auto-merging patch/minor bumps, the metadata would have to be regenerated automatically from whatever was just downloaded and approved unattended, which notarizes the artifact rather than vetting it — providing no protection against a malicious *release* (the actual threat) while breaking the build on every bump. The "is this version known-bad?" question is instead answered by `dependency-review-action` (next row). | | The Gradle distribution itself is tampered with | `gradle-wrapper.properties` carries `distributionSha256Sum`, so the wrapper refuses to run a distribution that doesn't match the published checksum. CI additionally runs `gradle/actions/wrapper-validation` to confirm `gradle-wrapper.jar` matches a known-good Gradle release. | | A CI action is repointed to malicious code via a mutable tag | Every GitHub Actions `uses:` is pinned to a full **commit SHA** (with the human-readable version in a trailing comment), not a floating `@vN` tag. This is most important for third-party actions that run in privileged jobs (e.g. `softprops/action-gh-release` in the release pipeline). | | A compromised dependency release is merged automatically | The Dependabot auto-merge workflow only auto-approves **patch and minor** bumps, and **never** auto-merges GitHub Actions updates (a privileged surface) — majors and action bumps require human review. A green CI run is not treated as evidence that a newly published version is trustworthy. | @@ -112,11 +112,14 @@ The controls below are defense-in-depth; none alone is sufficient. | A forged or unsigned release reaches consumers | Maven Central artifacts are GPG-signed in CI (`release.yml`); the signing key, passphrase, and Central Portal credentials are injected from GitHub secrets at publish time, scoped to the publish steps only and never exposed to the third-party release action. Releases are triggered exclusively by maintainer-pushed `vX.Y.Z` tags or manual dispatch, so untrusted PR code cannot trigger a publish. CI itself runs on `pull_request` with `contents: read`, so fork PRs execute without secret access. | | Secrets leak through the repository | No secrets are committed (`.gitignore` covers `.env`); release credentials exist only as GitHub secrets and, on the ephemeral runner, in a `chmod 600` `~/.gradle/gradle.properties` written at publish time. | -**Residual risk.** Dependency verification records checksums, not signatures -(`verify-signatures` is off), so it pins *what* was resolved when the metadata was -generated but does not independently establish provenance — refreshing the metadata -on a compromised host would pin compromised hashes. The npm SDK is published manually -(see `RELEASE.md`) and is not yet covered by a provenance attestation +**Residual risk.** Without artifact-checksum pinning, the project trusts Maven +Central's and the Gradle Plugin Portal's own integrity (immutability + TLS) for the +bytes behind each pinned coordinate; a compromise of those registries themselves is +out of scope. Auto-merged patch/minor dependency bumps are gated by CI and +`dependency-review-action` but are not human-reviewed, so a malicious release that is +not yet in the advisory database could land — keep the auto-merge window to patch/minor +and rely on the advisory feed and post-merge Dependabot alerts. The npm SDK is published +manually (see `RELEASE.md`) and is not yet covered by a provenance attestation (`npm publish --provenance`). Neither the Maven nor npm release is reproducible-build verified. These are accepted for now; revisit if the project adopts SLSA provenance. diff --git a/gradle/verification-metadata.xml b/gradle/verification-metadata.xml deleted file mode 100644 index 1360173..0000000 --- a/gradle/verification-metadata.xml +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4716 +0,0 @@ - - - - true - false - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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