mesh-security

name	mesh-security
description	Analyze Istio, Consul, and Linkerd service mesh configurations for security vulnerabilities with NIST 800-53 control mappings. Use when users need to audit mesh security, identify misconfigurations, check mTLS settings, review ACL policies, or prepare for FedRAMP assessments. Triggers on keywords like "mesh config", "istio security", "consul ACL", "linkerd policy", "service mesh audit", or "NIST compliance".
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"mesh-config-analyzer","version":"1.0.0"}

Service Mesh Security Analyzer

Comprehensive security analysis for Istio, Consul, and Linkerd service mesh configurations with NIST 800-53 Rev 5 control mappings.

Quick Start

Analyze a Configuration File

# Run the analyzer wrapper directly
node ~/.codex/skills/mesh-security/lib/analyzer-wrapper.js <config-file>

# Examples
node ~/.codex/skills/mesh-security/lib/analyzer-wrapper.js ./istio-meshconfig.yaml
node ~/.codex/skills/mesh-security/lib/analyzer-wrapper.js ./consul-config.json
node ~/.codex/skills/mesh-security/lib/analyzer-wrapper.js ./linkerd-config.yaml --json

Sample Configurations

Test configs are available in the samples/ directory:

• Istio: samples/sample-meshconfig.yaml
• Consul: samples/sample-consul-config.json
• Linkerd: samples/sample-linkerd-config.yaml

Supported Mesh Types

Istio

Auto-detection: Files with kind: MeshConfig and apiVersion containing istio.io

Security Checks:

Category	What It Checks
mTLS	Enabled status, STRICT mode enforcement
Certificates	CA provider, validity duration (optimal 90 days)
Peer Authentication	Default peer auth, STRICT mode
Proxy Config	Privileged mode, image versioning, holdApplicationUntilProxyStarts
Secret Discovery	SDS enabled for certificate management
Trust Domain	Explicitly configured, not using default
Authorization	Default deny policies
Telemetry	Enabled collection, access logging
RBAC	Role-based access control enforcement
Traffic Policy	Outbound traffic restricted to REGISTRY_ONLY

Consul

Auto-detection: Files with mesh_type: "consul" or containing connect, tls, and acl fields

Security Checks:

Category	What It Checks
Service Mesh	Connect enabled
Proxy Security	No privileged mode
TLS Security	verify_incoming, verify_outgoing, hostname verification
Access Control	ACL enabled, default deny policy, agent tokens
Telemetry	Service metrics enabled
Auto-Encryption	TLS auto-encrypt feature
Gossip Encryption	Key configured, proper length, verification
FedRAMP Compliance	TLS 1.2+, FIPS ciphers, strong encryption

Linkerd

Auto-detection: Files with mesh_type: "linkerd" or containing identity, proxy, and policy fields

Security Checks:

Category	What It Checks
TLS Security	Enabled, enforced, cipher suites, min version 1.2
Service Identity	Enabled, certificate issuer, validity period
Proxy Config	Non-privileged, versioning, timeouts, resource limits
Authorization	Policy enforcement, default deny, specific rules
Authentication	Strict mode enforcement
Observability	Tracing enabled, sampling, collector config
Metrics	Enabled, Prometheus integration, retention
Traffic Rules	TLS in destination rules, system namespace protection

Severity Levels

Level	Meaning	Example Issues
Critical	Immediate security risk	RBAC/ACL disabled, mTLS not enforced, gossip encryption missing
High	Significant vulnerability	Permissive auth modes, privileged containers, missing hostname verification
Medium	Security weakness	Default trust domains, long certificate validity, missing telemetry
Low	Best practice violation	Non-pinned images, missing timeouts, default CA providers

NIST 800-53 Control Mappings

Findings are mapped to these NIST 800-53 Rev 5 controls:

Control	Title	Relevant Checks
AC-3	Access Enforcement	RBAC, ACL, Authorization policies
AC-4	Information Flow Enforcement	Outbound traffic policy, Policy enforcement
AC-17	Remote Access	mTLS, TLS configuration
AU-2	Audit Events	Telemetry, Access logging
AU-3	Content of Audit Records	Logging configuration
AU-12	Audit Generation	Metrics, Tracing
CA-3	System Interconnections	Trust domain, Peer authentication
CM-2	Baseline Configuration	Proxy config, Default settings
CM-6	Configuration Settings	Security hardening
CM-7	Least Functionality	Privileged mode, Outbound restrictions
IA-2	Identification and Authentication	Service identity, Authentication
IA-5	Authenticator Management	Certificate management, SDS
SC-7	Boundary Protection	Traffic policy, Network segmentation
SC-8	Transmission Confidentiality	mTLS, TLS settings
SC-12	Cryptographic Key Management	Certificate validity, CA settings
SC-13	Cryptographic Protection	Cipher suites, TLS versions
SC-23	Session Authenticity	Peer authentication, Trust chain
SI-4	System Monitoring	Telemetry, Metrics, Tracing

Workflow: Analyze a Mesh Configuration

1. Read the configuration file to understand its structure
2. Run the analyzer using the wrapper script
3. Review findings by severity (Critical first)
4. Check NIST mappings for compliance requirements
5. Generate remediation recommendations if needed

Example Analysis Session

User: Analyze my Istio mesh configuration at ./istio-config.yaml

Steps:
1. Read the file to understand the mesh configuration
2. Run: node ~/.codex/skills/mesh-security/lib/analyzer-wrapper.js ./istio-config.yaml
3. Present findings grouped by severity
4. Highlight critical/high severity issues first
5. Include NIST control mappings for compliance context
6. Offer to generate fixes or compliance report

Output Format

Markdown (Default)

## Security Analysis Results

**Mesh Type:** Istio
**File:** ./istio-config.yaml
**Total Findings:** 5

| Severity | Count |
|----------|-------|
| Critical | 1     |
| High     | 2     |
| Medium   | 2     |
| Low      | 0     |

### Critical Findings

#### 1. mTLS Configuration
**Issue:** mTLS is not set to STRICT mode
**Location:** `spec.mtls.mode`
**Recommendation:** Set mTLS mode to STRICT to enforce mutual TLS
**NIST Controls:** SC-8, SC-13

JSON (--json flag)

{
  "success": true,
  "meshType": "istio",
  "findings": [...],
  "summary": { "critical": 1, "high": 2, "medium": 2, "low": 0, "total": 5 }
}

Related Skills

• mesh-remediation - Generate and apply security fixes
• mesh-compliance-reporter - Generate FedRAMP/NIST compliance reports

Programmatic Usage

const { analyzeConfig, formatFindings } = require('~/.codex/skills/mesh-security/lib/analyzer-wrapper.js');

// Analyze a config file
const results = analyzeConfig('./istio-config.yaml');
console.log(formatFindings(results));

// Or specify mesh type explicitly
const consulResults = analyzeConfig('./config.json', 'consul');