Description

Detects when sensitive information is transmitted over cleartext (non-encrypted) connections using the urllib3 library in Python. This creates a risk of data exposure since the traffic could be intercepted and read by attackers monitoring the network.

Detection Strategy

• Identifies import statements or usage of the urllib3 library in the Python code

• Looks for urllib3 HTTP requests that are not using HTTPS/SSL encryption

• Checks if sensitive data (like credentials, tokens, or personal information) is being sent in these cleartext requests

• Reports a vulnerability when sensitive information is transmitted without encryption via urllib3

Vulnerable code example

import urllib3

# VULNERABLE: Sending password in plaintext over insecure HTTP
http = urllib3.PoolManager()
http.request("POST", "http://api.example.com/login", 
            fields={"password": "secret123"})  # Credentials sent over cleartext HTTP

✅ Secure code example

import urllib3

# SAFE: Using HTTPS ensures password is encrypted in transit
http = urllib3.PoolManager()
http.request("POST", "https://api.example.com/login", 
            fields={"password": "secret123"})  # Credentials protected by TLS