Review Date: 2025-10-07 Reviewer: Claude Code Security Analysis Codebase Version: 2.1.0 Status: 🟡 MODERATE - Some issues require attention
GrabZilla 2.1 demonstrates good security practices in most areas, particularly in Electron security architecture and IPC isolation. However, there are several medium-priority issues that should be addressed before production release, primarily around input validation, path sanitization, and dependency management.
No critical security vulnerabilities were identified that would allow remote code execution, privilege escalation, or direct data exfiltration.
Location: src/main.js:806, src/main.js:473-478
Description:
File paths from user input are not fully sanitized against directory traversal attacks. While basic validation exists, there's no explicit prevention of ../ sequences or absolute path injection.
Impact: An attacker could potentially:
Code Example:
// src/main.js:806 - Insufficient sanitization
'-o', path.join(savePath, '%(title)s.%(ext)s'),
Recommendation:
// Add path sanitization function
function sanitizePath(userPath) {
// Resolve to absolute path
const resolved = path.resolve(userPath);
// Ensure it's within allowed directories
const allowedBase = path.resolve(app.getPath('home'));
if (!resolved.startsWith(allowedBase)) {
throw new Error('Path outside allowed directory');
}
// Remove dangerous characters
return resolved.replace(/[<>:"|?*]/g, '_');
}
// Usage:
const sanitizedPath = sanitizePath(savePath);
'-o', path.join(sanitizedPath, '%(title)s.%(ext)s'),
Priority: HIGH Estimated Effort: 2-3 hours
Location: src/main.js:811-813, src/main.js:1108-1115
Description: Cookie file paths are passed directly to yt-dlp without sufficient validation beyond existence checks. An attacker with file system access could point to arbitrary files.
Impact:
Code Example:
// src/main.js:811 - Insufficient validation
if (cookieFile && fs.existsSync(cookieFile)) {
args.unshift('--cookies', cookieFile)
}
Recommendation:
// Enhanced cookie file validation
function validateCookieFile(filePath) {
if (!filePath || typeof filePath !== 'string') {
throw new Error('Invalid cookie file path');
}
// Check file exists
if (!fs.existsSync(filePath)) {
throw new Error('Cookie file not found');
}
// Check it's a regular file (not directory/symlink)
const stats = fs.lstatSync(filePath);
if (!stats.isFile()) {
throw new Error('Cookie file must be a regular file');
}
// Validate file extension
const ext = path.extname(filePath).toLowerCase();
if (!['.txt', '.cookies'].includes(ext)) {
throw new Error('Invalid cookie file format');
}
// Check file size (reasonable limit)
if (stats.size > 1024 * 1024) { // 1MB max
throw new Error('Cookie file too large');
}
// Validate content format (basic Netscape cookie check)
const content = fs.readFileSync(filePath, 'utf8');
const lines = content.split('\n').filter(l => l.trim() && !l.startsWith('#'));
for (const line of lines.slice(0, 5)) { // Check first 5 lines
const parts = line.split('\t');
if (parts.length < 7) {
throw new Error('Invalid cookie file format');
}
}
return filePath;
}
// Usage in main.js:
const validatedCookieFile = cookieFile ? validateCookieFile(cookieFile) : null;
if (validatedCookieFile) {
args.unshift('--cookies', validatedCookieFile);
}
Priority: HIGH Estimated Effort: 3-4 hours
Location: scripts/utils/url-validator.js:23-27
Description: URL validation uses regex patterns that may not properly handle internationalized domain names (IDN), Unicode characters, or punycode sequences. This could allow malicious URLs to bypass validation.
Impact:
youtubе.com with Cyrillic 'е')Code Example:
// Current validation - vulnerable to Unicode bypasses
const videoPattern = /^(https?:\/\/)?(www\.)?(youtube\.com\/...|youtu\.be\/)[\w\-_]{11}([?&].*)?$/i;
Recommendation:
// Add URL normalization and stricter validation
function validateAndNormalizeUrl(url) {
try {
// Parse URL with built-in URL API (handles Unicode)
const parsed = new URL(url);
// Normalize hostname (converts punycode, lowercase)
const normalizedHost = parsed.hostname.toLowerCase().normalize('NFKC');
// Whitelist allowed domains (prevent homograph attacks)
const allowedDomains = [
'youtube.com',
'www.youtube.com',
'youtu.be',
'm.youtube.com',
'vimeo.com',
'www.vimeo.com',
'player.vimeo.com'
];
if (!allowedDomains.includes(normalizedHost)) {
throw new Error('Domain not allowed');
}
// Ensure protocol is http/https only
if (!['http:', 'https:'].includes(parsed.protocol)) {
throw new Error('Invalid protocol');
}
// Prevent private IP ranges (SSRF protection)
if (/^(10\.|172\.(1[6-9]|2[0-9]|3[01])\.|192\.168\.)/.test(parsed.hostname)) {
throw new Error('Private IP addresses not allowed');
}
return parsed.toString();
} catch (error) {
throw new Error(`Invalid URL: ${error.message}`);
}
}
Priority: MEDIUM Estimated Effort: 4-5 hours
Location: scripts/utils/ffmpeg-converter.js:473-478
Description: While file paths are handled relatively safely, there's no explicit escaping or validation of format/quality parameters that become part of ffmpeg command arguments.
Impact:
Code Example:
// Current - assumes quality/format are safe
const args = [
'-i', inputPath,
'-y',
...this.getEncodingArgs(format, quality), // Potentially unsafe
outputPath
];
Recommendation:
// Add parameter validation and whitelisting
function validateConversionParams(format, quality) {
const ALLOWED_FORMATS = ['H264', 'ProRes', 'DNxHR', 'Audio only'];
const ALLOWED_QUALITIES = ['4K', '1440p', '1080p', '720p', '480p', 'best'];
if (!ALLOWED_FORMATS.includes(format)) {
throw new Error(`Invalid format: ${format}`);
}
if (!ALLOWED_QUALITIES.includes(quality)) {
throw new Error(`Invalid quality: ${quality}`);
}
return { format, quality };
}
// Usage:
async convertVideo(options) {
const validated = validateConversionParams(options.format, options.quality);
const args = [
'-i', inputPath,
'-y',
...this.getEncodingArgs(validated.format, validated.quality),
outputPath
];
// ...
}
Priority: MEDIUM Estimated Effort: 2 hours
Location: src/main.js:237-266
Description: Clipboard monitoring reads all clipboard content and applies regex matching. This could expose sensitive data if users copy passwords, tokens, or API keys that happen to match video URL patterns.
Impact:
Code Example:
// src/main.js:243-259 - Monitors all clipboard content
clipboardMonitorInterval = setInterval(() => {
const currentText = clipboard.readText();
// Processes all clipboard content
}, 1000);
Recommendation:
// 1. Add explicit user consent
// 2. Implement clipboard data sanitization
// 3. Don't log clipboard content
ipcMain.handle('start-clipboard-monitor', async (event, options = {}) => {
try {
// Ensure explicit consent
if (!options.userConsented) {
return {
success: false,
message: 'User consent required for clipboard monitoring'
};
}
// Already monitoring
if (clipboardMonitorInterval) {
return { success: false, message: 'Already monitoring' };
}
lastClipboardText = clipboard.readText();
clipboardMonitorInterval = setInterval(() => {
const currentText = clipboard.readText();
if (currentText && currentText !== lastClipboardText) {
lastClipboardText = currentText;
// ONLY check for video URLs, don't process or log other content
const youtubeMatch = /^https?:\/\/(www\.)?(youtube\.com|youtu\.be)\/.*$/i.test(currentText);
const vimeoMatch = /^https?:\/\/(www\.)?vimeo\.com\/\d+$/i.test(currentText);
if (youtubeMatch || vimeoMatch) {
// Only send if it's a valid video URL
event.sender.send('clipboard-url-detected', currentText);
}
// Don't log or process non-URL clipboard content
}
}, 1000);
return { success: true };
} catch (error) {
// Don't expose clipboard content in error logs
console.error('Error starting clipboard monitor');
return { success: false, error: 'Monitoring failed' };
}
});
Priority: MEDIUM Estimated Effort: 2-3 hours
Location: package.json:32, npm audit output
Description: Electron version 33.0.0 has a known moderate severity vulnerability (GHSA-vmqv-hx8q-j7mg) - ASAR Integrity Bypass via resource modification.
Impact:
CVE Details:
Recommendation:
// package.json - Update Electron
{
"devDependencies": {
"electron": "^35.7.5" // Update from 33.0.0
}
}
Then run:
npm install electron@35.7.5
npm audit fix
Priority: MEDIUM Estimated Effort: 1-2 hours (testing required)
Location: Throughout codebase - 102 console.log statements in main process
Description: Excessive logging in production could expose:
Impact:
Code Example:
// src/main.js:89 - Logs full path
console.log('Selected save directory:', selectedPath)
// src/main.js:165 - Logs cookie file path
console.log('Selected cookie file:', selectedPath)
Recommendation:
// Implement log level system
const LOG_LEVEL = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' ? 'ERROR' : 'DEBUG';
const logger = {
debug: (msg, data) => {
if (LOG_LEVEL === 'DEBUG') {
console.log(msg, data);
}
},
info: (msg) => console.log(msg),
warn: (msg, data) => console.warn(msg, data),
error: (msg, error) => console.error(msg, error),
// Sanitize sensitive data
sanitizePath: (fullPath) => {
if (!fullPath) return 'N/A';
return `.../${path.basename(fullPath)}`;
}
};
// Usage:
logger.debug('Selected save directory:', logger.sanitizePath(selectedPath));
// In production, this won't log
// In development, it shows: "Selected save directory: .../MyFolder"
Priority: MEDIUM Estimated Effort: 4-6 hours (refactoring required)
Location: src/preload.js - All IPC handlers
Description: No rate limiting on IPC calls from renderer process. While not immediately exploitable, a compromised renderer could flood the main process with requests.
Impact:
Recommendation:
// Implement IPC rate limiter
class IPCRateLimiter {
constructor(maxCalls = 100, windowMs = 1000) {
this.maxCalls = maxCalls;
this.windowMs = windowMs;
this.calls = new Map();
}
isAllowed(channel) {
const now = Date.now();
const calls = this.calls.get(channel) || [];
// Remove old calls outside window
const recentCalls = calls.filter(time => now - time < this.windowMs);
if (recentCalls.length >= this.maxCalls) {
return false;
}
recentCalls.push(now);
this.calls.set(channel, recentCalls);
return true;
}
}
const rateLimiter = new IPCRateLimiter();
// Wrap IPC handlers
ipcMain.handle('download-video', async (event, options) => {
if (!rateLimiter.isAllowed('download-video')) {
throw new Error('Rate limit exceeded');
}
// ... rest of handler
});
Priority: LOW Estimated Effort: 3-4 hours
Location: src/main.js:1523-1612 - parseDownloadError function
Description: Error messages from yt-dlp are partially sanitized but could still expose internal paths or system information.
Impact:
Recommendation:
function sanitizeErrorMessage(error) {
if (!error) return 'Unknown error';
// Remove file paths
let sanitized = error.replace(/[A-Za-z]:\\[\w\\.-]+/g, '[PATH]');
sanitized = sanitized.replace(/\/[\w\/.-]+/g, '[PATH]');
// Remove IP addresses
sanitized = sanitized.replace(/\b\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\b/g, '[IP]');
// Remove URLs (except domain)
sanitized = sanitized.replace(/https?:\/\/[^\s]+/g, (url) => {
try {
const parsed = new URL(url);
return `https://${parsed.hostname}`;
} catch {
return '[URL]';
}
});
return sanitized;
}
Priority: LOW Estimated Effort: 2 hours
Location: setup.js (not reviewed in detail, but likely present)
Description: Downloaded binaries (yt-dlp, ffmpeg) don't appear to have checksum/signature verification.
Impact:
Recommendation:
// Add checksum verification in setup.js
const crypto = require('crypto');
async function verifyBinaryChecksum(filePath, expectedHash, algorithm = 'sha256') {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
const hash = crypto.createHash(algorithm);
const stream = fs.createReadStream(filePath);
stream.on('data', (data) => hash.update(data));
stream.on('end', () => {
const calculatedHash = hash.digest('hex');
if (calculatedHash === expectedHash) {
resolve(true);
} else {
reject(new Error(`Checksum mismatch: expected ${expectedHash}, got ${calculatedHash}`));
}
});
stream.on('error', reject);
});
}
// Usage:
const YTDLP_CHECKSUMS = {
'darwin-arm64': 'abc123...',
'darwin-x64': 'def456...',
'win32': 'ghi789...'
};
await verifyBinaryChecksum(ytdlpPath, YTDLP_CHECKSUMS[platform]);
Priority: LOW Estimated Effort: 4-6 hours (requires checksum management)
Location: src/main.js:1485-1491 - Cleanup of temporary files
Description: Temporary files are deleted but not securely wiped. On some file systems, deleted files can be recovered.
Impact:
Recommendation:
// Secure file deletion
function secureDelete(filePath) {
try {
// Overwrite with random data before deletion (basic)
const stats = fs.statSync(filePath);
const size = stats.size;
const buffer = crypto.randomBytes(Math.min(size, 1024 * 1024)); // 1MB max
const fd = fs.openSync(filePath, 'r+');
fs.writeSync(fd, buffer, 0, buffer.length, 0);
fs.fsyncSync(fd);
fs.closeSync(fd);
// Now delete
fs.unlinkSync(filePath);
} catch (error) {
console.warn('Secure deletion failed, using standard delete:', error);
fs.unlinkSync(filePath);
}
}
// Usage:
secureDelete(inputPath);
Note: This is basic security. For high-security needs, use specialized tools.
Priority: LOW Estimated Effort: 2-3 hours
Location: src/main.js:23-27
webPreferences: {
nodeIntegration: false, // ✅ Disabled
contextIsolation: true, // ✅ Enabled
enableRemoteModule: false, // ✅ Disabled
preload: path.join(__dirname, 'preload.js')
}
Why This is Good:
Location: src/preload.js:1-85
Why This is Good:
contextBridge to expose limited API surfaceLocation: src/main.js:52-55
mainWindow.webContents.setWindowOpenHandler(({ url }) => {
shell.openExternal(url)
return { action: 'deny' }
})
Why This is Good:
Location: src/main.js:87-88, 154-156
await fs.promises.access(selectedPath, fs.constants.W_OK) // Write check
await fs.promises.access(selectedPath, fs.constants.R_OK) // Read check
Why This is Good:
Location: src/main.js:722-734
if (!fs.existsSync(ytDlpPath)) {
const error = 'yt-dlp binary not found...'
throw new Error(error)
}
Why This is Good:
Location: Throughout main.js
const downloadProcess = spawn(ytDlpPath, args, {
stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
cwd: process.cwd()
})
Why This is Good:
spawn instead of exec (safer for user input)Location: src/main.js:113-115, 189-191
if (!dirPath || typeof dirPath !== 'string') {
return { success: false, error: 'Invalid directory path' }
}
Why This is Good:
Finding: ✅ No hardcoded passwords, API keys, or secrets found
Method: Grep search for common secret patterns
Why This is Good:
Total Dependencies: 479 (10 prod, 469 dev)
Known Vulnerabilities: 1 moderate
| Package | Severity | Issue | Fix Available |
|---|---|---|---|
| electron | Moderate | ASAR Integrity Bypass (GHSA-vmqv-hx8q-j7mg) | Yes - Update to 35.7.5+ |
Recommendation: Update Electron to latest stable version (35.7.5+)
Location: src/main.js:574-631
Findings:
User-Agent: GrabZilla/2.1.0 (Electron)
Recommendation: Consider adding API request signing or token-based authentication for future updates.
Cookie Files:
Download History:
URLs:
[ ] Path Traversal Testing
../, ..\\, and absolute paths[ ] Command Injection Testing
[ ] URL Validation Testing
[ ] Cookie File Testing
[ ] IPC Security Testing
GrabZilla 2.1 demonstrates solid security fundamentals with proper Electron architecture and secure IPC implementation. The identified issues are manageable and fixable within a reasonable timeframe.
Strengths:
Areas for Improvement:
✅ Safe for internal testing and beta release with the following conditions:
With these improvements, GrabZilla 2.1 will meet industry-standard security requirements for a desktop video downloader application.
Report End