Audit Bypass

Category: Authentication & Authorization
Severity: Medium
MITRE ATT&CK Mapping: T1562.006 (Impair Defenses: Indicator Blocking)

Description

Lack of proper logging for delegated calls and missing audit trails, enabling attackers to perform actions without detection or accountability.

Technical Details

Attack Vector

  • Missing audit logging
  • Audit trail manipulation
  • Log bypass techniques
  • Accountability evasion

Common Techniques

  • Log suppression
  • Audit trail tampering
  • Logging bypass
  • Event obfuscation

Impact

  • Stealth Operations: Actions performed without detection
  • Accountability Loss: Inability to track malicious activities
  • Forensic Challenges: Difficulty investigating security incidents
  • Compliance Violations: Failure to meet audit requirements

Detection Methods

Audit Monitoring

  • Monitor audit log generation
  • Track logging patterns
  • Detect missing audit entries
  • Analyze audit completeness

Log Analysis

  • Analyze log integrity
  • Monitor log tampering
  • Detect log gaps
  • Track logging anomalies

Mitigation Strategies

Audit Implementation

  • Implement comprehensive audit logging
  • Use tamper-proof logging
  • Deploy audit monitoring
  • Monitor audit completeness

Log Security

  • Implement log integrity protection
  • Use centralized logging
  • Deploy log monitoring
  • Monitor log access

Real-World Examples

Example 1: Missing Audit Logging

def execute_sensitive_action(action, user_id):
    # No audit logging
    result = perform_action(action)
    
    # Should include: audit_log(action, user_id, result)
    return result

Example 2: Conditional Logging Bypass

def admin_operation(operation, user_id, bypass_audit=False):
    if not bypass_audit:
        audit_log(operation, user_id)
    
    # Attack: bypass_audit=True to avoid logging
    return execute_admin_operation(operation)

Example 3: Log Suppression

def delegated_call(target_function, params, log_level="INFO"):
    # Logging bypass through level manipulation
    if log_level != "SILENT":
        log_function_call(target_function, params)
    
    # Attack: log_level="SILENT" to suppress logging
    return target_function(params)

References & Sources

  • Structured MCP Threats - Comprehensive threat landscape analysis

Audit bypass attacks undermine security monitoring and accountability by evading detection and logging mechanisms.