STRIDE Threat Model
Last updated
Last updated
STRIDE is a threat categorization model developed by Microsoft to help security teams systematically identify and assess security threats in applications, networks, and systems. It is particularly useful in threat modeling, allowing organizations to anticipate potential attack vectors and implement appropriate mitigations early in the design phase.
Each letter in STRIDE represents a specific type of threat, covering different security principles such as authentication, integrity, non-repudiation, confidentiality, availability, and authorization.
Description: An attacker impersonates another entity, such as a legitimate user, process, or device, to gain unauthorized access to a system or resource.
Common Examples:
Using stolen credentials or session hijacking to impersonate users.
DNS spoofing (redirecting users to malicious sites by altering DNS responses).
IP spoofing (forging an IP address to disguise malicious activity).
Email spoofing (forging sender addresses to deceive recipients).
Mitigation Strategies:
Implement strong authentication mechanisms (e.g., Multi-Factor Authentication - MFA).
Use digital certificates and cryptographic signing.
Enforce secure session management to prevent session hijacking.
Description: An attacker modifies data, system files, or configurations to manipulate system behavior, corrupt data, or bypass security controls.
Common Examples:
Modifying logs to cover tracks.
Altering transmitted data via a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack.
Injecting malicious code into an application (e.g., SQL injection or code injection).
Mitigation Strategies:
Implement data integrity checks (e.g., hashing, cryptographic signing).
Enforce code integrity with signed and validated software.
Use secure communication protocols like TLS to prevent data tampering in transit.
Description: An attacker (or even a legitimate user) denies performing an action, making it difficult to trace their activities and hold them accountable.
Common Examples:
A user denies making a financial transaction, but there’s no proof to validate or dispute the claim.
Attackers deleting or modifying log files to erase evidence of their actions.
Mitigation Strategies:
Implement audit logging and digital signatures to provide non-repudiation.
Use tamper-resistant logging mechanisms to prevent log deletion or modification.
Enforce strict access controls to prevent unauthorized users from altering logs.
Description: An attacker gains access to confidential or sensitive information that they are not authorized to view. This is one of the leading causes of data breaches.
Common Examples:
Data leaks exposing Personally Identifiable Information (PII), credit card numbers, or medical records.
Unencrypted communications exposing sensitive data in transit.
Directory traversal attacks allowing unauthorized access to restricted files.
Misconfigured cloud storage (e.g., AWS S3 buckets) exposing sensitive company data.
Mitigation Strategies:
Encrypt sensitive data at rest and in transit.
Implement role-based access controls (RBAC) and least privilege principles.
Regularly scan and monitor for data leaks (e.g., DLP solutions).
Use secure coding practices to prevent unintended data exposure (e.g., parameterized queries to avoid SQL injection).
Description: An attacker disrupts or degrades the availability of a service, preventing legitimate users from accessing resources.
Common Examples:
Network-based DoS attacks, such as DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks that flood a server with traffic.
Application-layer DoS, such as sending excessive requests to overwhelm a system’s processing capabilities.
Resource exhaustion attacks, such as consuming all database connections.
Mitigation Strategies:
Deploy rate limiting and traffic filtering (e.g., Web Application Firewalls - WAFs).
Use DDoS protection services (e.g., Cloudflare, AWS Shield).
Implement auto-scaling and redundancy to absorb attack impact.
Description: An attacker gains higher-level access than they should have, potentially leading to full system compromise.
Common Examples:
Exploiting vulnerabilities in applications or OS to gain administrator (root) privileges.
Privilege escalation attacks, such as Windows token manipulation or Linux SUID exploits.
Bypassing authentication mechanisms to gain system-level access.
Mitigation Strategies:
Apply principle of least privilege (PoLP) for user and system permissions.
Regularly patch and update software to mitigate privilege escalation exploits.
Monitor and alert on unexpected privilege escalations using SIEM solutions.
STRIDE is commonly used in application security and system threat modeling to help developers, security teams, and architects proactively identify security risks. By systematically assessing potential threats based on STRIDE, organizations can: ✅ Understand and anticipate security threats before they occur. ✅ Strengthen security controls by mapping mitigations to each STRIDE category. ✅ Improve security in software development by incorporating security-by-design principles. ✅ Enhance incident response and detection by knowing the types of attacks to monitor.
The STRIDE model provides a structured and effective way to categorize and address cybersecurity threats. By considering Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information Disclosure, Denial of Service, and Elevation of Privilege, organizations can build stronger security defenses, reduce risk exposure, and improve overall cybersecurity posture.