Security Best Practices

This section outlines some security best practices to consider when using KeyView.

  • Keep KeyView Up to Date. New releases may include security updates, including updates to third-party libraries. See Third-Party Library Upgrade Policy.
  • Protect the Temporary Directory. KeyView can write sensitive information to the temporary directory, so this location must be protected. See Protect the Temporary Directory.
  • Run KeyView with Minimal Privileges. In the event that a malicious actor causes KeyView to behave dangerously, the potential damage is limited if KeyView is running with fewer privileges. See Run Filter with Minimal Privileges.
  • Run Filter Out-of-Process. By default, Filter processes documents in a separate process, which protects the stability of the calling application. OpenText strongly recommends that you use this default.

  • Prevent DLL Pre-loading Attacks. When your application attempts to load the kvfilter shared library and it is not found, the Operating System may search various locations, which can lead to a DLL pre-loading attack. For ways to prevent this, see Mitigate Against DLL Pre-Loading.

  • Sanitize absolute paths when extracting subfiles. Container files can specify paths that point outside the extract directory, which can lead to a type of path traversal vulnerability known as Zip Slip. KeyView automatically sanitizes relative paths to prevent this, but OpenText recommends that you also configure KeyView to sanitize absolute paths. See Sanitize Absolute Paths.