Operational context

XSLT Blender applications depend on a web browser with everything that entails regarding an application stack. "Web browser" in this case designates an application that implements the following specifications: HTML5, HTML, CSS, ECMAScript, DOM Level 4 XML/XSLT 1.0 API.

Further dependencies may be introduced for particular applications, so each application must be assessed independently. However if this operational base is not secure, the application cannot be secure, so an assessment must start with this context.

XSLT Blender Assessment

Assessing this application pattern, or one of these applications, for security exposure and risks.

Risk profile

What does failure mean? Assume (worst case scenario) this project deploys code with bugs in it. What could happen?

• Browser runtime errors resulting in defective page displays. If we deploy an XSLT with errors, you could see red boxes in your output or just empty spots.
• Failure to deliver results ("hang") - again, DOS limited to browser runtime. Assuming we mess up somehow, one of these applications might crash your browser, but not your entire system.
• Delivery of wrong results

What it doesn't mean -

• Data exposure or leakage (assuming the browser is secure)
• Wider system effects including runaway effects

From outside in

... tbd ...

To the extent that the latter two issues occur at all, they are relatively easy to defend against both by developers and users.