Extension Security

Extension Security

When to Use

• Reviewing extension permissions for Chrome Web Store submission
• Preventing XSS in content scripts
• Handling sensitive user data (tokens, passwords)
• Configuring Content Security Policy

Core Jobs

1. Permission Minimization

• Request only permissions you actively use (CWS rejects over-permissioned extensions)
• Use optional_permissions for features users might enable later
• host_permissions: ["<all_urls>"] requires strong justification and detailed privacy policy
• Prefer specific host patterns: "*://*.github.com/*" over "<all_urls>"

2. Content Security Policy

MV3 default CSP (strict):

"content_security_policy": {
  "extension_pages": "script-src 'self'; object-src 'self'"
}

• No unsafe-inline, no unsafe-eval
• No remote scripts (all JS must be bundled)
• If using WebAssembly: add 'wasm-unsafe-eval'

3. Content Script XSS Prevention

// ❌ Dangerous — XSS if pageData contains script tags
element.innerHTML = pageData;

// ✅ Safe — text only, no HTML interpretation
element.textContent = pageData;

// ✅ Safe — create elements programmatically
const div = document.createElement('div');
div.textContent = userInput;
container.appendChild(div);

4. Secure Data Handling

• Never store passwords/secrets in chrome.storage (not encrypted)
• Use chrome.identity for OAuth (tokens managed by browser)
• For API keys: use backend proxy, not hardcoded in extension
• Sensitive operations (auth, payments) → send to backend, not done in extension

5. Message Validation

// Validate message sender in background
chrome.runtime.onMessage.addListener((msg, sender, sendResponse) => {
  // Verify sender is your extension (not a malicious page)
  if (sender.id !== chrome.runtime.id) return;
  // Validate message structure
  if (!msg.action || typeof msg.action !== 'string') return;
  // Process safely
});

6. web_accessible_resources Security

Only expose what's needed:

"web_accessible_resources": [{
  "resources": ["images/logo.png"],
  "matches": ["*://*.trusted-site.com/*"]
}]

Avoid "matches": ["<all_urls>"] for sensitive resources.

Key Concepts

• CSP — blocks inline scripts and remote code execution in MV3
• Isolated world — content scripts can't be accessed by page JS (security boundary)
• chrome.identity — secure OAuth without exposing tokens to page
• web_accessible_resources — extension files visible to web pages (exposure surface)
• Message validation — always verify sender origin and message structure

Checklist

• No <all_urls> without strong justification?
• No innerHTML with external/user data (use textContent or DOMParser)?
• No secrets/API keys hardcoded in extension code?
• Message listeners validate sender identity?
• web_accessible_resources scoped to specific match patterns?
• No eval() or dynamic code execution?
• Privacy policy URL in CWS listing?

Output Format

• 🔴 Critical — innerHTML with untrusted data (XSS), hardcoded API keys, eval() usage
• 🟡 Warning — overly broad host_permissions, missing message sender validation
• 🟢 Suggestion — optional_permissions for non-core features, backend proxy for API calls

Common Pitfalls

• innerHTML = userContent in content scripts is XSS — page can inject malicious content through DOM
• Hardcoded API keys in extension source are visible to anyone who downloads the extension
• chrome.storage is not encrypted — don't store auth tokens or sensitive data there