Microsoft has significantly upgraded its .NET Bounty Program, introducing substantial enhancements that broaden the program’s scope, refine award structures, and offer increased incentives for cybersecurity researchers. The revamped program now provides rewards of up to $40,000 USD for identifying critical vulnerabilities within the .NET ecosystem, underscoring Microsoft’s commitment to fortifying the security of one of the world’s most widely utilized development platforms.
Expanded Program Scope and Coverage
The updated .NET Bounty Program now encompasses all supported versions of .NET and ASP.NET, extending its reach to include related technologies such as the F# programming language and supported versions of ASP.NET Core for the .NET Framework. Additionally, the program covers templates provided with supported .NET and ASP.NET Core versions, as well as GitHub Actions within the .NET and ASP.NET Core repositories.
This expansion reflects Microsoft’s recognition of the interconnected nature of modern development frameworks, where vulnerabilities in one component can potentially impact entire application ecosystems. The inclusion of Blazor and Aspire technologies within the bounty scope demonstrates Microsoft’s commitment to securing emerging web development frameworks and cloud-native application platforms. Security researchers can now target a broader range of attack vectors, from traditional server-side vulnerabilities to client-side security flaws in modern single-page applications.
Refined Reward Structure
Microsoft has implemented a tiered reward structure that correlates award amounts with vulnerability severity and report quality. The new framework categorizes security impacts into specific types, including Remote Code Execution, Elevation of Privilege, Security Feature Bypass, Remote Denial of Service, Spoofing or Tampering, and Information Disclosure.
Critical Remote Code Execution vulnerabilities with complete exploits can earn researchers the maximum $40,000 reward, while important-level vulnerabilities of the same category receive $30,000.
The program introduces a binary classification system for report quality, distinguishing between complete submissions that include fully functional exploits and not complete submissions that present theoretical scenarios. This approach encourages researchers to provide actionable intelligence that enables Microsoft’s security teams to understand and remediate vulnerabilities effectively.
The award structure also addresses documentation security issues, offering rewards for identifying insecure coding practices in official documentation that could mislead developers.
Eligibility Criteria and Submission Guidelines
To qualify for bounty awards, vulnerability submissions must meet the following criteria:
– Originality: The vulnerability must be previously unreported and unknown to Microsoft.
– Reproducibility: The vulnerability must be reproducible in one of the in-scope products or services.
– Clarity: Submissions must include clear, concise, and reproducible steps, either in writing or video format, to enable Microsoft’s engineers to quickly reproduce, understand, and fix the issue.
Microsoft reserves the right to accept or reject any submission at its sole discretion if it determines that the submission does not meet the above criteria.
Out-of-Scope Submissions and Vulnerabilities
While Microsoft encourages all submissions, certain types of vulnerabilities and submissions are considered out of scope and may not qualify for bounty rewards. These include:
– Publicly Disclosed Vulnerabilities: Vulnerabilities already known to Microsoft and the wider security community.
– Unsupported Versions: Vulnerabilities in out-of-support versions of .NET or .NET Core.
– Low-Impact Issues: Vulnerabilities requiring extensive or unlikely user actions, low-impact CSRF bugs, and server-side information disclosure.
– Platform Technologies: Vulnerabilities in platform technologies that are not unique to .NET, .NET Core, or ASP.NET (e.g., IIS, OpenSSL).
Microsoft reserves the right to reject any submission that falls into these categories, even if otherwise eligible for a bounty.
Getting Started
Researchers interested in participating can install .NET and .NET Core, with the source available on GitHub. Following the .NET Blog will provide updates on the latest features and releases.
Additional Information
For further details, researchers can refer to Microsoft’s FAQ. Key points include:
– Duplicate Reports: If multiple reports for the same issue are received, the bounty will be granted to the first submission.
– Multiple Bounty Programs: If a submission is potentially eligible for multiple bounty programs, the researcher will receive the single highest payout award from a single program.
Microsoft reserves the right to reject any submission at its sole discretion that does not meet the specified criteria.
Conclusion
By enhancing the .NET Bounty Program, Microsoft aims to foster a more secure development environment and encourage the global security research community to contribute to the safety and reliability of its platforms. The increased rewards and expanded scope reflect the company’s dedication to proactive security measures and collaboration with external researchers.
