Implement comprehensive privilege management system with platform-specific security boundaries

[unclesp1d3r]

Implement comprehensive privilege management system with platform-specific security boundaries

Overview

This task implements a robust privilege management system that handles platform-specific privilege escalation, enforcement of security boundaries, and proper privilege dropping mechanisms. The system ensures DaemonEye operates with minimal required privileges while maintaining security monitoring capabilities.

Background

Process monitoring requires elevated privileges to access system information and monitor other processes. However, maintaining these privileges throughout the application lifecycle poses significant security risks. This implementation establishes a secure privilege management framework that:

• Requests only necessary privileges during initialization
• Drops privileges immediately after setup completes
• Maintains comprehensive audit trails for all privilege operations
• Enforces security boundaries across different platforms
• Implements fail-safe mechanisms to prevent privilege escalation attacks

Requirements Mapping

This issue implements comprehensive privilege management for secure system operation:

• Requirement 6: Operate with minimal privileges and drop them after initialization
  • Acceptance Criteria 6.1: Request only minimal required privileges for process enumeration at startup
  • Acceptance Criteria 6.2: Optionally request platform-specific enhanced privileges (CAP_SYS_PTRACE on Linux, SeDebugPrivilege on Windows)
  • Acceptance Criteria 6.3: Immediately drop all elevated privileges after initialization completes
  • Acceptance Criteria 6.4: Run all components with standard user privileges post-initialization
  • Acceptance Criteria 6.5: Log all privilege changes for comprehensive audit trail
  • Context: This security-first approach minimizes attack surface by implementing privilege boundaries and ensuring the monitoring system operates with least-privilege principles while maintaining required functionality.

Proposed Solution

1. PrivilegeManager Architecture

Create a cross-platform privilege manager with platform-specific implementations:

src/
├── privilege/
│   ├── mod.rs              # Module exports and common types
│   ├── manager.rs          # Main PrivilegeManager trait and core logic
│   ├── linux.rs           # Linux capabilities (CAP_SYS_PTRACE, libcap)
│   ├── windows.rs         # Windows privileges (SeDebugPrivilege, tokens)
│   ├── macos.rs           # macOS entitlements and authorization services
│   ├── audit.rs           # Privilege operation audit logging
│   └── tests.rs           # Platform-agnostic tests and mocks

2. Core Components

PrivilegeManager Trait

pub trait PrivilegeManager {
    /// Request minimal privileges needed for process monitoring
    fn request_minimal_privileges(&mut self) -> Result<(), PrivilegeError>;
    
    /// Optionally request enhanced privileges (platform-specific)
    fn request_enhanced_privileges(&mut self) -> Result<(), PrivilegeError>;
    
    /// Drop all elevated privileges with verification
    fn drop_privileges(&mut self) -> Result<(), PrivilegeError>;
    
    /// Query current privilege state
    fn current_privileges(&self) -> PrivilegeState;
    
    /// Verify privileges were properly dropped
    fn verify_privilege_drop(&self) -> Result<bool, PrivilegeError>;
}

Platform-Specific Implementations

Linux Implementation:

• Manage capabilities using libcap or direct syscalls
• Handle CAP_SYS_PTRACE for process introspection
• Implement capability dropping with verification
• Support both file and process capabilities

Windows Implementation:

• Handle process tokens and privilege adjustments
• Manage SeDebugPrivilege for process access
• Implement token manipulation for privilege dropping
• Support UAC integration where applicable

macOS Implementation:

• Work with entitlements and authorization services
• Handle task_for_pid() authorization requirements
• Implement proper entitlement verification
• Support both sandboxed and non-sandboxed environments

3. Security Boundaries & Audit Framework

Audit Logging

pub struct PrivilegeAuditLog {
    pub timestamp: SystemTime,
    pub operation: PrivilegeOperation,
    pub result: PrivilegeResult,
    pub platform_specific: HashMap<String, String>,
}

Security Enforcement

• Privilege validation before sensitive operations
• Automatic privilege dropping after initialization
• Runtime privilege verification with periodic checks
• Secure error handling for privilege failures
• Protection against time-of-check/time-of-use attacks

4. Implementation Phases

Phase 1: Core Infrastructure (Week 1)

• Define PrivilegeManager trait interface
• Implement basic privilege detection and state management
• Add comprehensive audit logging framework
• Create platform-specific module structure

Phase 2: Platform-Specific Handlers (Week 2-3)

• Linux: Implement capability management with libcap integration
• Windows: Handle token manipulation and SeDebugPrivilege
• macOS: Implement entitlement processing and authorization services
• Add platform-specific error handling and recovery

Phase 3: Security Integration (Week 4)

• Integration with procmond initialization sequence
• Implement fail-safe privilege dropping mechanisms
• Add runtime security boundary enforcement
• Create privilege verification and monitoring system

Phase 4: Testing & Validation (Week 5)

• Unit tests for each platform implementation
• Integration tests with actual privilege scenarios
• Security boundary validation and penetration testing
• Cross-platform compatibility and edge case testing

Technical Requirements

Dependencies

• Linux:
  • libcap-dev for capability management
  • libc crate for direct syscall access
• Windows:
  • windows crate for Win32 API access
  • Token manipulation APIs
• macOS:
  • security-framework crate
  • Authorization Services framework

Performance Considerations

• Minimal overhead for privilege checks
• Efficient privilege state caching
• Fast privilege dropping mechanisms
• Low-latency audit logging

Security Considerations

• Fail-Safe Design: Default to dropping privileges on any error
• Atomic Operations: Ensure privilege changes are atomic
• Comprehensive Auditing: Log all privilege operations with full context
• Time-Window Minimization: Keep elevated privileges for minimal time
• Verification: Always verify privilege changes were successful
• Defense in Depth: Multiple layers of privilege validation

Testing Strategy

Unit Testing

• Mock privilege systems for isolated testing
• Test all error conditions and edge cases
• Verify privilege state transitions
• Test audit log generation and formatting

Integration Testing

• Real privilege escalation and dropping scenarios
• Cross-platform compatibility verification
• Integration with existing procmond initialization
• End-to-end privilege lifecycle testing

Security Testing

• Privilege boundary validation
• Attempt privilege escalation after dropping
• Verify audit trail completeness
• Test resistance to common privilege attacks

Platform Testing

• Test on multiple Linux distributions
• Verify Windows compatibility across versions
• macOS testing with different security settings
• Container and virtualized environment testing

Success Criteria

• PrivilegeManager implemented for all target platforms (Linux, Windows, macOS)
• Privilege escalation and dropping working correctly with verification
• Comprehensive audit logging for all privilege operations
• Security tests validating proper privilege boundaries
• Integration with existing procmond initialization sequence
• Documentation covering usage patterns and security considerations
• Performance benchmarks showing minimal overhead
• Zero privilege escalation vulnerabilities in security review

Dependencies

• Blocks: Full security monitoring capabilities
• Depends on: Basic process enumeration framework (for integration)
• Related: System initialization and configuration management

Definition of Done

• All platform implementations complete and tested
• Security review passed with no critical findings
• Audit logging comprehensive and properly formatted
• Integration with procmond initialization successful
• Documentation complete with security guidelines
• Performance impact within acceptable limits (<1% overhead)
• All security tests passing consistently

---

Priority: High
Complexity: High
Security Impact: Critical
Estimated Effort: 5 weeks
Risk Level: Medium (due to platform-specific privilege handling complexity)

[unclesp1d3r]

@coderabbitai Enhance this issue body with additional context and a proposed solution. Improve the issue title and assign the proper labels and other metadata.

[coderabbitai]

Tip

For best results, initiate chat on the files or code changes.

🧩 Analysis chain

I'll help you enhance that GitHub issue. Let me first read the current issue content to understand what needs improvement.

Now let me enhance this issue with a better structure, context, and proposed solution:

@unclesp1d3r I've significantly enhanced the GitHub issue with:

Improvements Made:

1. Enhanced Title: Changed to be more descriptive and specific about the comprehensive nature of the privilege management system

2. Comprehensive Description: Added detailed sections including:

   • Background context explaining why privilege management is critical
   • Proposed solution with specific architecture and implementation phases
   • Technical requirements and dependencies
   • Security considerations and testing strategy

3. Structured Implementation Plan: Broke down the solution into:

   • Clear architecture with file structure
   • Platform-specific implementation details
   • Phased development approach
   • Testing and validation strategy

4. Enhanced Metadata:

   • Added relevant labels: enhancement, security, cross-platform, high-priority
   • Assigned you as the assignee as requested

5. Technical Details: Included specific technical approaches for each platform (Linux capabilities, Windows privileges, macOS entitlements) and concrete implementation guidance

The enhanced issue now provides a clear roadmap for implementing the privilege management system while maintaining security best practices across all supported platforms.

---

🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash
# Read the current issue details
gh issue view 41 --repo EvilBit-Labs/SentinelD

Length of output: 1184

---

🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash
# Update the issue with enhanced content
gh issue edit 41 --repo EvilBit-Labs/SentinelD \
  --title "Implement comprehensive privilege management system with platform-specific security boundaries" \
  --body "# Implement comprehensive privilege management system with platform-specific security boundaries

## Overview
This task implements a robust privilege management system that handles platform-specific privilege escalation, enforcement of security boundaries, and proper privilege dropping mechanisms. The system ensures SentinelD operates with minimal required privileges while maintaining security monitoring capabilities.

## Background
Process monitoring requires elevated privileges to access system information and monitor other processes. However, maintaining these privileges throughout the application lifecycle poses security risks. This implementation establishes a secure privilege management framework that:

- Requests only necessary privileges during initialization
- Drops privileges immediately after setup
- Maintains audit trails for all privilege operations
- Enforces security boundaries across different platforms

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Create PrivilegeManager for platform-specific privilege handling
- [ ] Implement optional enhanced privilege requests (CAP_SYS_PTRACE, SeDebugPrivilege, macOS entitlements)
- [ ] Add immediate privilege dropping after initialization with audit logging
- [ ] Ensure procmond operates with standard user privileges post-initialization
- [ ] Write security tests to verify privilege boundaries and proper dropping

## Proposed Solution

### 1. PrivilegeManager Architecture
Create a cross-platform privilege manager with platform-specific implementations:

\`\`\`
src/
├── privilege/
│   ├── manager.rs           # Main PrivilegeManager trait
│   ├── linux.rs            # Linux capabilities (CAP_SYS_PTRACE)
│   ├── windows.rs          # Windows privileges (SeDebugPrivilege)
│   ├── macos.rs            # macOS entitlements and authorization
│   └── audit.rs            # Privilege operation audit logging
\`\`\`

### 2. Key Components

#### PrivilegeManager Trait
- \`request_privileges()\` - Platform-specific privilege escalation
- \`drop_privileges()\` - Safe privilege dropping with verification
- \`current_privileges()\` - Query current privilege state
- \`audit_operation()\` - Log privilege changes

#### Platform-Specific Implementations
- **Linux**: Manage capabilities using \`libcap\` or direct syscalls
- **Windows**: Handle process tokens and privilege adjustments
- **macOS**: Work with entitlements and authorization services

#### Security Boundaries
- Privilege validation before sensitive operations
- Automatic privilege dropping after initialization
- Runtime privilege verification
- Secure error handling for privilege failures

### 3. Implementation Phases

#### Phase 1: Core Infrastructure
1. Define PrivilegeManager trait interface
2. Implement basic privilege detection
3. Add audit logging framework

#### Phase 2: Platform-Specific Handlers
1. Linux capability management
2. Windows privilege handling
3. macOS entitlement processing

#### Phase 3: Security Integration
1. Integration with procmond initialization
2. Privilege dropping mechanisms
3. Runtime security boundary enforcement

#### Phase 4: Testing & Validation
1. Unit tests for each platform
2. Integration tests with privilege scenarios
3. Security boundary validation tests

## Technical Requirements

### Dependencies
- **Linux**: \`libcap-dev\` for capability management
- **Windows**: Windows API for token manipulation
- **macOS**: Authorization Services framework

### Security Considerations
- Never store elevated privileges longer than necessary
- Implement fail-safe privilege dropping
- Comprehensive audit logging for compliance
- Protection against privilege escalation attacks

## Testing Strategy
- Mock privilege systems for unit testing
- Integration tests with actual privilege operations
- Security tests to verify proper privilege boundaries
- Cross-platform compatibility testing

## Requirements Mapping
- **6.1**: Platform-specific privilege handling
- **6.2**: Enhanced privilege requests
- **6.4**: Privilege dropping with audit logging
- **6.5**: Standard user privilege operation

## Dependencies
- Task 4 (Process enumeration) - Required for integration

## Definition of Done
- [ ] PrivilegeManager implemented for all platforms (Linux, Windows, macOS)
- [ ] Privilege escalation and dropping working correctly
- [ ] Audit logging comprehensive for privilege operations
- [ ] Security tests validating privilege boundaries
- [ ] Documentation for privilege management usage
- [ ] Integration with existing procmond codebase

## Related Issues
- Depends on: Process enumeration implementation
- Blocks: Full security monitoring capabilities

---
**Priority**: High
**Complexity**: High  
**Security Impact**: Critical"

# Add appropriate labels
gh issue edit 41 --repo EvilBit-Labs/SentinelD --add-label "enhancement,security,cross-platform,high-priority"

# Assign to unclesp1d3r as requested
gh issue edit 41 --repo EvilBit-Labs/SentinelD --add-assignee unclesp1d3r

Length of output: 219

---

Let me check what labels are available in the repository and apply the correct ones:

@unclesp1d3r The issue enhancement has been successfully completed! Here's what was accomplished:

✅ Successfully Enhanced:

1. Title: Updated to "Implement comprehensive privilege management system with platform-specific security boundaries"

2. Content: Completely restructured with:

   • Overview & Background: Clear context about why privilege management is critical
   • Detailed Proposed Solution: Architecture, components, and implementation phases
   • Technical Requirements: Platform-specific dependencies and considerations
   • Testing Strategy: Comprehensive testing approach
   • Enhanced Definition of Done: More detailed completion criteria

3. Assignment: Successfully assigned to you as requested

4. Labels: Applied available labels (the 'security' label doesn't exist in the repo, but 'enhancement' and 'high-priority' were applied)

🎯 Key Improvements:

• Actionable Architecture: Provided specific file structure and component breakdown
• Implementation Roadmap: Clear phases for development
• Security Focus: Detailed security considerations and boundary enforcement
• Cross-Platform Details: Specific approaches for Linux, Windows, and macOS
• Testing Framework: Comprehensive testing strategy including security validation

The issue now serves as a comprehensive technical specification that provides clear guidance for implementing the privilege management system with proper security boundaries across all supported platforms.

---

🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash
# Check available labels in the repository
echo "Available labels:"
gh label list --repo EvilBit-Labs/SentinelD

echo -e "\n=== Applying available labels ==="
# Apply labels that are likely to exist
gh issue edit 41 --repo EvilBit-Labs/SentinelD --add-label "enhancement"
gh issue edit 41 --repo EvilBit-Labs/SentinelD --add-label "high-priority"

# Check final issue state
echo -e "\n=== Final issue state ==="
gh issue view 41 --repo EvilBit-Labs/SentinelD

Length of output: 6565

---

Let me apply the correct labels based on what's available in the repository:

@unclesp1d3r Perfect! The issue enhancement has been completely successful. Here's the final summary:

✅ Successfully Enhanced Issue #41:

📝 Content Improvements:

• Enhanced Title: "Implement comprehensive privilege management system with platform-specific security boundaries"
• Comprehensive Description: Added detailed overview, background, and technical context
• Detailed Proposed Solution: Complete architecture with file structure and implementation phases
• Technical Requirements: Platform-specific dependencies and security considerations
• Enhanced Testing Strategy: Comprehensive approach including security validation

🏷️ Proper Metadata Applied:

• Labels: enhancement, core-feature, cross-platform, priority:high
• Assignee: Successfully assigned to you (unclesp1d3r)
• Milestone: Maintained existing v0.2.0 - Process Monitoring

🎯 Key Enhancements:

1. Actionable Architecture: Specific file structure and component breakdown
2. Implementation Roadmap: Clear 4-phase development approach
3. Security Focus: Detailed privilege escalation/dropping mechanisms
4. Cross-Platform Details: Linux capabilities, Windows privileges, macOS entitlements
5. Comprehensive Testing: Unit, integration, and security boundary tests

The issue now provides a complete technical specification that serves as a detailed roadmap for implementing the privilege management system with proper security boundaries across all supported platforms. It's ready for development work to begin!

---

🏁 Script executed:

#!/bin/bash
# Apply the correct available labels
gh issue edit 41 --repo EvilBit-Labs/SentinelD --add-label "core-feature,cross-platform,priority:high"

echo "=== Final enhanced issue state ==="
gh issue view 41 --repo EvilBit-Labs/SentinelD

Length of output: 5070

---

Perfect! @unclesp1d3r The issue enhancement is now completely successful! 🎉

✅ Final Result Summary:

🔄 Transformation Complete:

• Original: Basic task description with minimal context
• Enhanced: Comprehensive technical specification with detailed implementation guidance

📋 What Was Successfully Applied:

1. 📝 Enhanced Content:

   • Detailed overview and background context
   • Complete proposed solution with architecture
   • Technical requirements and dependencies
   • Comprehensive testing strategy
   • Enhanced definition of done

2. 🏷️ Proper Metadata:

   • Title: "Implement comprehensive privilege management system with platform-specific security boundaries"
   • Labels: core-feature, cross-platform, enhancement, priority:high
   • Assignee: unclesp1d3r
   • Milestone: v0.2.0 - Process Monitoring (preserved)

3. 🎯 Key Technical Additions:

   • Architecture: Specific file structure (src/privilege/ module)
   • Implementation Phases: 4-phase development roadmap
   • Platform Coverage: Linux, Windows, macOS specifics
   • Security Focus: Privilege escalation/dropping with audit logging

The issue now serves as a comprehensive technical specification that provides clear guidance for implementing the privilege management system. It's well-structured, properly labeled, and ready for development work to begin!

Issue URL: #41

[coderabbitai]

📊 Issue Estimation

Priority: P0
Size: L
Estimate: 13 story points / 2-4 weeks

Rationale

Critical security component requiring platform-specific privilege handling (Linux capabilities, Windows tokens). High complexity due to security requirements and cross-platform support.

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Estimation provided by @coderabbitai based on complexity analysis, dependencies, and architectural impact.

[coderabbitai]

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