STRIDE Framework
Use STRIDE as a guide for structured threat identification. Some vulnerabilities won't map cleanly to STRIDE — that's expected.
| Category | Question to Ask | Example Threats | Typical Mitigations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spoofing | Can an attacker impersonate a user or component? | Forged auth tokens, session hijacking, credential stuffing | Strong authentication, token validation, MFA |
| Tampering | Can an attacker modify data in transit or at rest? | Man-in-the-middle, database manipulation, parameter tampering | Integrity checks, signed payloads, TLS, input validation |
| Repudiation | Can an attacker deny performing an action? | Missing audit logs, unsigned transactions | Audit logging, digital signatures, timestamps |
| Information Disclosure | Can an attacker access data they shouldn't? | Verbose errors, insecure storage, side-channel leaks | Encryption, access controls, error sanitization |
| Denial of Service | Can an attacker degrade or prevent service? | Resource exhaustion, algorithmic complexity attacks | Rate limiting, input size bounds, circuit breakers |
| Elevation of Privilege | Can an attacker gain unauthorized access? | Broken access control, privilege escalation, IDOR | Authorization checks at every layer, least privilege |