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sec-design.md

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Okay, let's create a design document for the Gorilla WebSocket project.

BUSINESS POSTURE

Business Priorities and Goals:

  • Provide a robust, efficient, and well-maintained WebSocket implementation for Go applications.
  • Enable real-time, bidirectional communication between clients and servers.
  • Offer a developer-friendly API that simplifies WebSocket usage.
  • Maintain high performance and low resource consumption.
  • Ensure compatibility with relevant WebSocket standards (RFC 6455).
  • Foster a strong community and encourage contributions.

Most Important Business Risks:

  • Security vulnerabilities in the WebSocket implementation could lead to data breaches, denial-of-service attacks, or other security incidents.
  • Performance bottlenecks or resource exhaustion could impact the scalability and responsiveness of applications using the library.
  • Lack of compatibility with evolving WebSocket standards or browser implementations could limit the library's usefulness.
  • Inadequate documentation or support could hinder adoption and lead to developer frustration.
  • Failure to address reported bugs or security issues in a timely manner could damage the library's reputation.

SECURITY POSTURE

Existing Security Controls:

  • security control: Follows secure coding practices, as evidenced by the project's maturity and community scrutiny. (Implicit in the project's history and community involvement)
  • security control: Offers TLS support for secure communication. (Mentioned in the README and examples)
  • security control: Handles cross-origin resource sharing (CORS). (Mentioned in the documentation and implemented in the gorilla/websocket package)
  • security control: Provides options for setting read and write deadlines to mitigate slowloris attacks. (Available through the Conn type)
  • security control: Includes checks for valid UTF-8 in text messages. (Implemented in the message reading functions)

Accepted Risks:

  • accepted risk: The library relies on the underlying Go standard library's net/http and TLS implementations for security. Any vulnerabilities in those libraries could potentially impact Gorilla WebSocket.
  • accepted risk: Developers are responsible for implementing appropriate authentication and authorization mechanisms in their applications. Gorilla WebSocket itself does not provide these features.
  • accepted risk: Developers are responsible for handling potential denial-of-service attacks beyond the basic protections provided (e.g., rate limiting, connection limits).

Recommended Security Controls:

  • security control: Implement fuzz testing to proactively identify potential vulnerabilities.
  • security control: Conduct regular security audits and code reviews.
  • security control: Provide clear guidance on secure configuration and usage in the documentation.
  • security control: Establish a security reporting process for handling vulnerability disclosures.
  • security control: Consider integrating with a static analysis tool to automatically detect potential security issues.

Security Requirements:

  • Authentication:

    • The library itself does not handle authentication. Applications using Gorilla WebSocket MUST implement their own authentication mechanisms.
    • Authentication SHOULD be performed before establishing the WebSocket connection (e.g., using cookies, tokens, or other standard HTTP authentication methods).

  • Authorization:

    • The library itself does not handle authorization. Applications MUST implement their own authorization logic to control access to resources and operations.
    • Authorization checks SHOULD be performed based on the authenticated user's identity and permissions.

  • Input Validation:

    • The library MUST validate incoming data according to the WebSocket protocol (RFC 6455).
    • Applications MUST validate application-specific data received over WebSocket connections to prevent injection attacks and other vulnerabilities.
    • Input validation SHOULD include checks for data type, length, format, and allowed values.

  • Cryptography:

    • The library MUST support TLS for secure communication.
    • Applications SHOULD use TLS for all WebSocket connections.
    • Applications MUST use strong cryptographic algorithms and key management practices.
    • The library SHOULD use the Go standard library's crypto packages, which are regularly reviewed and updated.

DESIGN

C4 CONTEXT

graph LR
    User["Web Browser/Client Application"] -- WebSocket --> WebSocketServer["Gorilla WebSocket Server (Go)"];
    WebSocketServer -- HTTP --> OtherSystems["Other Backend Systems (e.g., Databases, APIs)"];
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Element Descriptions:

  • Element 1:

    • Name: User
    • Type: Person
    • Description: A user interacting with the application through a web browser or other client application that supports WebSockets.
    • Responsibilities: Initiates WebSocket connections, sends and receives messages.
    • Security controls: Relies on browser security mechanisms, application-level authentication, and authorization.

  • Element 2:

    • Name: WebSocketServer
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: A Go server application using the Gorilla WebSocket library to handle WebSocket connections.
    • Responsibilities: Accepts WebSocket connections, handles message framing, manages connection state, sends and receives messages.
    • Security controls: TLS, CORS handling, read/write deadlines, UTF-8 validation, application-level security.

  • Element 3:

    • Name: OtherSystems
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: Other backend systems that the WebSocket server might interact with, such as databases, APIs, or other services.
    • Responsibilities: Varies depending on the specific system.
    • Security controls: Depends on the specific system; should include appropriate security measures.

C4 CONTAINER

graph LR
    User["Web Browser/Client Application"] -- WebSocket --> WA["Web Application"];
    WA -- Go net/http --> WS["WebSocket Handler (gorilla/websocket)"];
    WS -.-> DB[(Database)];
    WS -.-> API["External API"];
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Element Descriptions:

  • Element 1:

    • Name: User
    • Type: Person
    • Description: A user interacting with the application through a web browser or other client application.
    • Responsibilities: Initiates WebSocket connections, sends and receives messages.
    • Security controls: Relies on browser security mechanisms, application-level authentication, and authorization.

  • Element 2:

    • Name: Web Application
    • Type: Container: Go Web Application
    • Description: The main web application, potentially serving HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and handling HTTP requests.
    • Responsibilities: Serves static content, handles initial HTTP requests, upgrades connections to WebSocket.
    • Security controls: Standard web application security practices (e.g., input validation, output encoding, session management).

  • Element 3:

    • Name: WebSocket Handler
    • Type: Container: Go Code (using gorilla/websocket)
    • Description: The specific part of the Go application that uses the Gorilla WebSocket library.
    • Responsibilities: Handles WebSocket connection upgrades, manages connection state, sends and receives messages, implements application-specific WebSocket logic.
    • Security controls: TLS, CORS handling, read/write deadlines, UTF-8 validation, application-level security.

  • Element 4:

    • Name: Database
    • Type: Container: Database
    • Description: A database used by the application.
    • Responsibilities: Stores and retrieves data.
    • Security controls: Database security best practices (e.g., access control, encryption, auditing).

  • Element 5:

    • Name: External API
    • Type: Container: External API
    • Description: An external API that the application interacts with.
    • Responsibilities: Provides external services.
    • Security controls: API security best practices (e.g., authentication, authorization, rate limiting).

DEPLOYMENT

Possible Deployment Solutions:

  1. Standalone Go application running on a virtual machine or bare-metal server.
  2. Go application packaged as a Docker container and deployed to a container orchestration platform (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker Swarm).
  3. Go application deployed to a serverless platform (e.g., AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, Azure Functions) using a WebSocket gateway.

Chosen Solution (Example: Docker Container on Kubernetes):

graph LR
    Internet["Internet"] -- HTTPS --> Ingress["Kubernetes Ingress"];
    Ingress -- HTTPS --> Service["Kubernetes Service"];
    Service -- HTTPS --> Pod["Pod (Go Application Container)"];
    Pod -- TCP --> DB[(Database)];
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Element Descriptions:

  • Element 1:

    • Name: Internet
    • Type: Network
    • Description: The public internet.
    • Responsibilities: Routes traffic to the Kubernetes cluster.
    • Security controls: Standard internet security protocols (e.g., TLS).

  • Element 2:

    • Name: Ingress
    • Type: Kubernetes Ingress
    • Description: A Kubernetes Ingress controller that manages external access to services in the cluster.
    • Responsibilities: Terminates TLS, routes traffic to the appropriate service based on hostnames and paths.
    • Security controls: TLS termination, potentially WAF (Web Application Firewall) integration.

  • Element 3:

    • Name: Service
    • Type: Kubernetes Service
    • Description: A Kubernetes Service that provides a stable endpoint for accessing the Go application pods.
    • Responsibilities: Load balances traffic across multiple pods.
    • Security controls: Network policies.

  • Element 4:

    • Name: Pod
    • Type: Kubernetes Pod
    • Description: A Kubernetes Pod containing the Go application container.
    • Responsibilities: Runs the Go application.
    • Security controls: Container security best practices (e.g., minimal base image, non-root user, security context).

  • Element 5:

    • Name: Database
    • Type: Database
    • Description: Database instance.
    • Responsibilities: Stores and retrieves data.
    • Security controls: Database security best practices (e.g., access control, encryption, auditing).

BUILD

graph LR
    Developer["Developer"] -- Git Push --> Repo["Source Code Repository (GitHub)"];
    Repo -- Webhook --> CI["CI/CD System (e.g., GitHub Actions)"];
    CI -- Build --> Artifact["Container Image"];
    CI -- SAST --> SAST_Report["SAST Report"];
    CI -- Push --> Registry["Container Registry"];
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Build Process Description:

  1. Developer pushes code changes to the source code repository (GitHub).
  2. A webhook triggers the CI/CD system (e.g., GitHub Actions).
  3. The CI/CD system checks out the code.
  4. The CI/CD system builds the Go application.
  5. The CI/CD system runs unit tests and integration tests.
  6. The CI/CD system runs a SAST (Static Application Security Testing) tool to scan for vulnerabilities.
  7. The CI/CD system builds a Docker container image.
  8. The CI/CD system pushes the container image to a container registry.

Security Controls:

  • security control: Source code management with Git, providing version control and auditability.
  • security control: CI/CD system (e.g., GitHub Actions) for automated builds and tests.
  • security control: Unit tests and integration tests to verify code correctness.
  • security control: SAST tool to identify potential security vulnerabilities in the code.
  • security control: Container image scanning to identify vulnerabilities in the container image.
  • security control: Secure container registry for storing container images.
  • security control: Use of signed commits.
  • security control: Use minimal base image for container.

RISK ASSESSMENT

Critical Business Processes:

  • Real-time communication between clients and servers.
  • Data exchange between clients and the server.

Data Sensitivity:

  • The sensitivity of the data transmitted over WebSocket connections depends on the specific application using the library. It could range from non-sensitive public data to highly sensitive personal or financial information.
  • Application developers are responsible for classifying the data handled by their applications and implementing appropriate security measures.

QUESTIONS & ASSUMPTIONS

Questions:

  • What specific types of applications will be using this library? (This will help determine the data sensitivity and security requirements.)
  • What are the expected traffic patterns and load requirements? (This will inform performance and scalability considerations.)
  • Are there any specific compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) that need to be considered?
  • What is the existing security infrastructure and tooling in place?
  • What level of security expertise is available within the development team?

Assumptions:

  • BUSINESS POSTURE: The project prioritizes security and is willing to invest in necessary security measures.
  • SECURITY POSTURE: Developers using the library have a basic understanding of WebSocket security concepts.
  • DESIGN: The underlying Go standard library's net/http and TLS implementations are secure.
  • DESIGN: The deployment environment will be properly secured.
  • DESIGN: The build process will include security checks.