| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to vulnerabilities in the Matrix messenger protocol has happened within the same organization or with its products and services. The vulnerabilities reported in the article were found in the first generation of Matrix apps, including Element, but newer generation apps like ElementX, Hydrogen, and Third Room were unaffected [132144].
(b) The software failure incident related to vulnerabilities in the Matrix messenger protocol has not been reported to have happened at other organizations or with their products and services. The vulnerabilities highlighted in the research paper were specific to the Matrix protocol and its implementation in the first generation of client software developer kits [132144]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident in the Matrix messenger protocol was primarily due to design factors introduced during the system development phase. The vulnerabilities that were exploited by the attackers were related to flaws in the protocol design and the implementation bugs in the first generation of Matrix apps, including Element [132144].
(b) Additionally, the software failure incident also had elements related to operation factors. The attacks described in the research paper required the aid of a malicious or compromised homeserver that targeted the users who connected to it. This indicates that the operation or misuse of the system, such as allowing unauthorized access to homeservers, played a role in the failure incident [132144]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident in the Matrix messenger protocol was primarily due to vulnerabilities and flaws within the system itself. The vulnerabilities reported by the researchers highlighted flaws in the protocol design and the flagship client implementation, Element [132144]. The attacks described in the research paper required the aid of a malicious or compromised homeserver, indicating that the issues originated from within the system [132144]. The disagreements between the researchers and Matrix's project lead, Matthew Hodgson, regarding the severity and nature of the vulnerabilities also point to internal issues within the system [132144].
(b) outside_system: There is no indication in the articles that the software failure incident in the Matrix messenger protocol was caused by contributing factors originating from outside the system. The vulnerabilities and flaws reported by the researchers were related to the protocol design and the implementation of the Matrix apps, rather than external factors [132144]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the Matrix messenger protocol was primarily due to non-human actions, specifically vulnerabilities in the protocol and implementation bugs in the first generation of Matrix apps like Element. The vulnerabilities allowed for attacks that compromised confidentiality and authentication guarantees, such as impersonation, decryption of communications, and spoofing of messages. These issues were identified by researchers who reported them to Matrix for coordinated disclosure and subsequent patching [132144].
(b) However, human actions also played a role in the software failure incident. The disagreement between the researchers and Matrix's project lead, Matthew Hodgson, regarding the severity and nature of the vulnerabilities highlighted how human interpretations and responses to the identified issues influenced the incident analysis and resolution process. Hodgson emphasized that some of the vulnerabilities were implementation bugs in the first-generation client software developer kit, while the researchers pointed out protocol design flaws that needed to be addressed [132144]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The articles do not mention any hardware-related failures that contributed to the software failure incident. Therefore, there is no information available regarding hardware-related factors contributing to the incident.
(b) The software failure incident reported in the articles is primarily due to vulnerabilities and flaws in the software itself. The vulnerabilities identified in the Matrix messenger protocol, particularly in the Element app, were exploited by attackers to compromise confidentiality and authentication guarantees. The incident involved critical end-to-end encryption vulnerabilities that allowed malicious server operators or compromised servers to read users' messages and impersonate them to each other. The vulnerabilities were related to protocol design flaws and implementation bugs in the first generation of Matrix apps, including Element. The incident highlighted the need for updates and fixes to address these software-related issues [132144]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious, non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in this case is considered malicious. The vulnerabilities reported in the Matrix messenger protocol were identified as critical end-to-end encryption vulnerabilities that could be exploited by a malicious or compromised homeserver operator to read users' messages and impersonate them to each other [132144]. The attacks highlighted flaws in the protocol design and the flagship client implementation, Element, allowing for breaches in confidentiality and authentication guarantees [132144].
(b) The software failure incident is also related to non-malicious factors, specifically implementation bugs in the first generation of Matrix apps, including Element. The CEO of Element mentioned that a newer generation of Matrix apps, such as ElementX, Hydrogen, and Third Room, are unaffected by these vulnerabilities [132144]. Additionally, some of the vulnerabilities were attributed to flaws in how Matrix was implemented in its first-generation client software developer kit, matrix-js-sdk, rather than inherent issues in the protocol itself [132144]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
accidental_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident was not due to poor decisions but rather due to mistakes or unintended decisions. The vulnerabilities in the Matrix messenger protocol were reported by researchers who highlighted flaws in the protocol design and the flagship client implementation Element. The researchers pointed out various attacks that could compromise confidentiality and authentication guarantees, such as exploiting the homeserver's control over users and devices, attacking the out-of-band verification mechanism, and impersonating users to read their messages [132144]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the article. The vulnerabilities that were discovered in the Matrix messenger protocol were attributed to implementation bugs in the first generation of Matrix apps, including Element. The cofounder of Matrix, Matthew Hodgson, mentioned that the vulnerabilities were flaws in how Matrix was implemented in its first-generation client software developer kit, matrix-js-sdk. He stated that the newer generation of Matrix apps, such as ElementX, Hydrogen, and Third Room, were unaffected by these vulnerabilities [132144].
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is also present in the article. The researchers who discovered the vulnerabilities in the Matrix protocol reported that the attacks they identified highlighted flaws in the protocol design and the flagship client implementation, Element. They mentioned that the vulnerabilities allowed a malicious server operator or someone who gains control of a Matrix server to read the messages of users and impersonate them to each other. The researchers also noted that there were no indications that the vulnerabilities had ever been actively exploited [132144]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident in the Matrix messenger protocol was not permanent. It was a temporary failure caused by contributing factors introduced by certain circumstances. The vulnerabilities reported by the researchers required the aid of a malicious or compromised homeserver to target users, and there were ways for experienced users to detect that an attack was underway [132144]. |
| Behaviour |
value, other |
(a) crash: The incident reported in the articles does not involve a crash where the system loses state and fails to perform its intended functions. Instead, the vulnerabilities identified in the Matrix messenger protocol were related to confidentiality and authentication guarantees being subverted due to implementation bugs in the first generation of Matrix apps like Element [132144].
(b) omission: The vulnerabilities identified in the Matrix messenger protocol did not involve the system omitting to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). The issues were more related to unauthorized access and spoofing of messages due to flaws in the protocol design and implementation [132144].
(c) timing: The incident did not involve the system performing its intended functions correctly but too late or too early. The vulnerabilities identified in the Matrix messenger protocol were more about security flaws that could allow malicious actors to read messages of users and impersonate them to each other, rather than timing-related issues [132144].
(d) value: The software failure incident was related to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. Specifically, the vulnerabilities in the Matrix messenger protocol allowed for attacks that could break confidentiality, attack verification processes, and enable impersonation to read messages, indicating incorrect behavior of the system in terms of security and authentication [132144].
(e) byzantine: The incident did not involve the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions, which would align with a byzantine failure. The vulnerabilities identified in the Matrix messenger protocol were more focused on security weaknesses that could be exploited to compromise confidentiality and authentication, rather than inconsistent behavior [132144].
(f) other: The other behavior observed in this software failure incident was related to security vulnerabilities in the Matrix messenger protocol that allowed for attacks such as breaking confidentiality, attacking verification processes, and enabling impersonation to read messages. These vulnerabilities were attributed to implementation bugs in the first generation of Matrix apps, highlighting the importance of robust security measures in software development [132144]. |