Brain Emulation is currently in research phase (pre-v1.0). While we take security seriously, this project is intended for educational and research purposes, not production deployment.

Note: Once v1.0 is released, we will establish a formal security update policy.

We appreciate responsible disclosure of security vulnerabilities. Please do not open public GitHub issues for security concerns.

Email: security@todosloscobardesdelvalle.com

Subject Line: [SECURITY] Brain Emulation - Brief Description

Please provide:

1. Description: Clear description of the vulnerability
2. Impact: What could an attacker achieve?
3. Reproduction Steps: Step-by-step instructions to reproduce
4. Affected Components: Which files/modules are affected
5. Suggested Fix (optional): If you have ideas for mitigation
6. Your Contact Info: For follow-up questions

Subject: [SECURITY] Brain Emulation - WebSocket Command Injection

Description:
The WebSocket server in server.py does not validate command types,
allowing arbitrary JSON commands to be executed.

Impact:
An attacker could inject malicious commands to manipulate network
parameters or cause denial of service.

Reproduction:
1. Connect to WebSocket server at ws://localhost:9001
2. Send: {"cmd": "__import__", "value": "os"}
3. Server executes arbitrary Python code

Affected Components:
- server.py, lines 238-350 (WebSocket handler)

Suggested Fix:
Implement command whitelist and JSON schema validation.

• Acknowledgment: Within 48 hours of report
• Initial Assessment: Within 1 week
• Fix Development: Depends on severity (see below)
• Public Disclosure: 90 days after patch release (coordinated disclosure)

✅ What We Have:

• WebSocket server with localhost binding by default
• Basic input validation for network parameters
• JSON message format for structured communication

❌ What We're Missing (known limitations):

• No authentication mechanism for WebSocket connections
• No rate limiting for commands
• No encryption for WebSocket traffic (use WSS in production)
• No input sanitization for JSON commands
• No audit logging
• No session management

This project is a research tool with the following security limitations:

1. No Authentication: WebSocket server accepts all connections

   • Risk: Anyone on localhost can connect and control the simulation
   • Mitigation: Do not expose the server to untrusted networks

2. No Input Validation: Commands are not fully validated

   • Risk: Malformed JSON could crash the server
   • Mitigation: Use only trusted clients

3. No Rate Limiting: No protection against DoS attacks

   • Risk: Rapid command injection could overwhelm the server
   • Mitigation: Deploy behind a proxy with rate limiting

4. No Encryption: Data transmitted in plaintext

   • Risk: Network eavesdropping possible
   • Mitigation: Use WSS (WebSocket Secure) for sensitive deployments

What we protect against:

• Accidental misconfigurations
• Basic input validation errors
• Unintended network exposure

What we DON'T protect against (not in scope for research phase):

• Determined attackers with network access
• Insider threats
• Social engineering
• Physical access attacks
• Supply chain attacks

If you must deploy this in a less-trusted environment:

# Bind only to localhost (default)
# server.py line 397: websockets.serve(handler, "127.0.0.1", 9001)

# Do NOT expose to 0.0.0.0 without authentication

import ssl

ssl_context = ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_TLS_SERVER)
ssl_context.load_cert_chain('cert.pem', 'key.pem')

await websockets.serve(handler, "127.0.0.1", 9001, ssl=ssl_context)

from collections import defaultdict
import time

rate_limiter = defaultdict(list)

def check_rate_limit(client_id, max_requests=10, window=1.0):
    now = time.time()
    # Remove old requests outside window
    rate_limiter[client_id] = [t for t in rate_limiter[client_id] if now - t < window]

    if len(rate_limiter[client_id]) >= max_requests:
        return False  # Rate limit exceeded

    rate_limiter[client_id].append(now)
    return True

import secrets

API_KEYS = {"your-secret-key-here"}

async def authenticate(websocket):
    auth_msg = await websocket.recv()
    auth_data = json.loads(auth_msg)
    return auth_data.get("api_key") in API_KEYS

Planned security improvements for future versions:

• JSON schema validation for all commands
• Rate limiting implementation
• Basic API key authentication
• Audit logging for all commands

• WSS (TLS/SSL) support
• Session management
• Role-based access control (RBAC)
• Full input sanitization
• Security documentation and threat modeling

• JWT-based authentication
• OAuth2 integration
• Intrusion detection system
• Security audit trail
• Automated vulnerability scanning

We follow a coordinated disclosure policy:

1. Report received → We acknowledge within 48 hours
2. Vulnerability confirmed → We develop a fix
3. Patch released → We notify you before public release
4. Public disclosure → 90 days after patch, or earlier with agreement

Security researchers who responsibly disclose vulnerabilities will be:

• Credited in CONTRIBUTORS.md (with permission)
• Acknowledged in release notes
• Listed in a Security Hall of Fame (coming soon)

If you're using this project:

✅ Do:

• Run the server on localhost only
• Use trusted networks
• Keep dependencies updated (pip install --upgrade)
• Review code before running

❌ Don't:

• Expose the WebSocket server to the internet
• Use this in production systems
• Process untrusted user input
• Connect to untrusted WebSocket servers

✅ Do:

• Validate all inputs
• Use parameterized queries (if adding database)
• Follow principle of least privilege
• Add tests for security-critical code
• Use safe deserialization methods

❌ Don't:

• Use eval() or exec() on user input
• Trust client-side validation alone
• Store secrets in code or git
• Ignore security warnings from tools

We use automated tools to monitor dependencies:

• Dependabot: Automated dependency updates
• Safety: Python dependency vulnerability scanner
• Bandit: Python code security scanner

See .github/workflows/test.yml for our CI/CD security checks.

For security questions (non-vulnerability):

• Open a GitHub Discussion: https://github.com/Zae-Project/brain-emulation/discussions
• Tag with security label

For vulnerabilities:

• Email: security@todosloscobardesdelvalle.com

Last Updated: January 22, 2026 Version: 1.0.0 Next Review: March 2026