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Okay, let's create a design document for the Iris web framework, focusing on aspects relevant for threat modeling.

BUSINESS POSTURE

Iris is a fast, simple, and efficient micro web framework for Go. It's designed to be a robust foundation for building high-performance web applications and APIs. The business priorities likely revolve around:

  • Developer Productivity: Enabling rapid development of web applications. This means ease of use, clear documentation, and a rich feature set are paramount.
  • Performance: Providing a high-throughput, low-latency framework. This is crucial for handling large volumes of requests and maintaining responsiveness.
  • Scalability: Allowing applications built with Iris to scale horizontally to meet increasing demand.
  • Maintainability: Ensuring the framework itself is well-maintained, with regular updates and bug fixes. This builds trust and ensures long-term viability.
  • Community: Fostering a strong community around the framework to provide support, contribute to its development, and promote its adoption.

Based on these priorities, the most important business risks are:

  • Security Vulnerabilities: Vulnerabilities in the framework could be exploited to compromise applications built upon it, leading to data breaches, service disruptions, and reputational damage. This is the most critical risk.
  • Performance Bottlenecks: If the framework itself has performance issues, it will limit the performance of applications built with it, impacting user experience and potentially leading to lost business.
  • Lack of Adoption: If the framework is difficult to use, poorly documented, or lacks essential features, it will not gain widespread adoption, limiting its impact and potentially leading to its abandonment.
  • Breaking Changes: Frequent or poorly managed breaking changes in the framework can disrupt existing applications and deter developers from using it.
  • Dependency Issues: Vulnerabilities or instability in Iris's dependencies can impact the security and reliability of applications built with it.

SECURITY POSTURE

The following security controls and accepted risks are inferred from the repository and general knowledge of web framework security:

  • security control: Input Validation: Iris likely provides mechanisms for validating user input, such as request parameter validation and data binding. (Needs verification in documentation/code).
  • security control: Output Encoding: Iris likely provides mechanisms for encoding output to prevent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. (Needs verification in documentation/code).
  • security control: Session Management: Iris likely provides secure session management features, including secure cookie handling and protection against session fixation. (Needs verification in documentation/code).
  • security control: Routing Security: Iris's routing mechanism should be designed to prevent common routing-related vulnerabilities, such as parameter tampering and forced browsing. (Needs verification in documentation/code).
  • security control: Middleware Support: Iris's middleware architecture allows developers to implement custom security controls, such as authentication, authorization, and rate limiting.
  • security control: Dependency Management: Go's module system helps manage dependencies and track vulnerabilities.
  • security control: Regular Updates: The Iris project appears to be actively maintained, with regular releases and bug fixes, which is crucial for addressing security vulnerabilities.
  • accepted risk: Third-Party Middleware: While middleware provides flexibility, using third-party middleware introduces a risk if that middleware has vulnerabilities. Developers are responsible for vetting the security of any middleware they use.
  • accepted risk: Developer Error: The framework itself can be secure, but developers can still introduce vulnerabilities in their applications using the framework. This is a fundamental risk in software development.
  • accepted risk: Configuration Errors: Misconfiguration of the framework or its deployment environment can lead to security vulnerabilities.

Recommended Security Controls (High Priority):

  • security control: Security Audits: Regular security audits (both manual and automated) of the Iris codebase are highly recommended to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.
  • security control: Fuzz Testing: Implementing fuzz testing can help uncover unexpected vulnerabilities by providing malformed input to the framework.
  • security control: Security Headers: Provide easy configuration options for setting standard security headers (e.g., HSTS, Content Security Policy, X-Frame-Options) to enhance application security.
  • security control: Documentation: Explicitly document security best practices for using the framework, including common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Security Requirements:

  • Authentication:
    • The framework should provide flexible mechanisms for integrating with various authentication schemes (e.g., OAuth 2.0, JWT, Basic Auth).
    • Support for multi-factor authentication (MFA) should be considered.
  • Authorization:
    • The framework should provide mechanisms for implementing role-based access control (RBAC) or other authorization models.
    • Fine-grained access control to specific resources and actions should be possible.
  • Input Validation:
    • All user-supplied input (including request parameters, headers, and body) must be validated against a strict whitelist of allowed characters and formats.
    • Validation should occur as early as possible in the request processing pipeline.
    • Clear error messages should be provided to the user when validation fails (without revealing sensitive information).
  • Cryptography:
    • The framework should use strong, industry-standard cryptographic algorithms for all security-sensitive operations (e.g., password hashing, session management).
    • Secure random number generation should be used where appropriate.
    • Key management should be carefully considered.
  • Output Encoding:
    • Context-aware output encoding should be used to prevent XSS vulnerabilities.
    • Encoding should be applied automatically where possible, with options for manual control when needed.

DESIGN

C4 CONTEXT

graph LR
    User((User))
    IrisApp[("Iris Application")]
    ExternalSystem1(("External System 1\n(e.g., Database)"))
    ExternalSystem2(("External System 2\n(e.g., Payment Gateway)"))
    ExternalSystem3(("External System 3\n(e.g., Email Service)"))

    User -- HTTP/HTTPS --> IrisApp
    IrisApp -- DB Protocol --> ExternalSystem1
    IrisApp -- API Call --> ExternalSystem2
    IrisApp -- SMTP --> ExternalSystem3
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Context Diagram Element List:

  • Element:

    • Name: User
    • Type: Person
    • Description: A user interacting with the Iris Application through a web browser or other client.
    • Responsibilities: Initiates requests, views responses, provides input.
    • Security controls: Browser security features, user-implemented security practices.
  • Element:

    • Name: Iris Application
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: The web application built using the Iris framework.
    • Responsibilities: Handles user requests, processes data, interacts with external systems, generates responses.
    • Security controls: Input validation, output encoding, authentication, authorization, session management, secure configuration.
  • Element:

    • Name: External System 1 (e.g., Database)
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: An external system, such as a database, that the Iris Application interacts with.
    • Responsibilities: Stores and retrieves data.
    • Security controls: Database security features (access control, encryption), network security.
  • Element:

    • Name: External System 2 (e.g., Payment Gateway)
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: An external system, such as a payment gateway, that the Iris Application interacts with.
    • Responsibilities: Processes payments.
    • Security controls: PCI DSS compliance, secure communication protocols, fraud detection.
  • Element:

    • Name: External System 3 (e.g., Email Service)
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: An external system, such as an email service, that the Iris Application interacts with.
    • Responsibilities: Sends emails.
    • Security controls: Secure communication protocols, spam filtering, sender authentication.

C4 CONTAINER

graph LR
    User((User))
    WebApp[("Web Application\n(Go)")]
    API[("API Application\n(Go)")]
    ExternalSystem1(("External System 1\n(e.g., Database)"))
    ExternalSystem2(("External System 2\n(e.g., Payment Gateway)"))
    ExternalSystem3(("External System 3\n(e.g., Email Service)"))

    User -- HTTP/HTTPS --> WebApp
    User -- HTTP/HTTPS --> API
    WebApp -- Internal Call --> API
    API -- DB Protocol --> ExternalSystem1
    API -- API Call --> ExternalSystem2
    API -- SMTP --> ExternalSystem3

    subgraph IrisApp[Iris Application]
        WebApp
        API
    end
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Container Diagram Element List:

  • Element:

    • Name: User
    • Type: Person
    • Description: A user interacting with the Iris Application through a web browser or other client.
    • Responsibilities: Initiates requests, views responses, provides input.
    • Security controls: Browser security features, user-implemented security practices.
  • Element:

    • Name: Web Application (Go)
    • Type: Container
    • Description: The front-end web application, potentially serving HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
    • Responsibilities: Renders user interfaces, handles user interactions, communicates with the API Application.
    • Security controls: Output encoding, XSS prevention, CSRF protection, secure configuration.
  • Element:

    • Name: API Application (Go)
    • Type: Container
    • Description: The back-end API application, handling business logic and data access.
    • Responsibilities: Processes API requests, interacts with external systems, manages data.
    • Security controls: Input validation, authentication, authorization, session management, secure communication, rate limiting.
  • Element:

    • Name: External System 1 (e.g., Database)
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: An external system, such as a database, that the API Application interacts with.
    • Responsibilities: Stores and retrieves data.
    • Security controls: Database security features (access control, encryption), network security.
  • Element:

    • Name: External System 2 (e.g., Payment Gateway)
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: An external system, such as a payment gateway, that the API Application interacts with.
    • Responsibilities: Processes payments.
    • Security controls: PCI DSS compliance, secure communication protocols, fraud detection.
  • Element:

    • Name: External System 3 (e.g., Email Service)
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: An external system, such as an email service, that the API Application interacts with.
    • Responsibilities: Sends emails.
    • Security controls: Secure communication protocols, spam filtering, sender authentication.

DEPLOYMENT

Possible deployment solutions:

  1. Traditional Server Deployment: Deploying the compiled Go application to a virtual machine or physical server running an operating system (e.g., Linux) and a web server (e.g., Nginx, Apache) as a reverse proxy.
  2. Containerized Deployment (Docker): Packaging the Go application and its dependencies into a Docker container and deploying it to a container orchestration platform (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker Swarm).
  3. Serverless Deployment (AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, Azure Functions): Deploying the Go application as a serverless function, triggered by HTTP requests.
  4. PaaS Deployment (Heroku, Google App Engine): Deploying the Go application to a Platform as a Service (PaaS) provider.

Chosen solution for detailed description: Containerized Deployment (Docker with Kubernetes).

graph LR
    Internet((Internet))
    LoadBalancer[("Load Balancer")]
    Ingress[("Kubernetes Ingress")]
    Service[("Kubernetes Service")]
    Pod1(("Pod 1\n(Iris App Container)"))
    Pod2(("Pod 2\n(Iris App Container)"))
    Pod3(("Pod 3\n(Iris App Container)"))
    Database[(Database)]

    Internet -- HTTPS --> LoadBalancer
    LoadBalancer -- HTTPS --> Ingress
    Ingress -- HTTP --> Service
    Service -- HTTP --> Pod1
    Service -- HTTP --> Pod2
    Service -- HTTP --> Pod3
    Pod1 -- DB Protocol --> Database
    Pod2 -- DB Protocol --> Database
    Pod3 -- DB Protocol --> Database
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Deployment Diagram Element List:

  • Element:

    • Name: Internet
    • Type: Network
    • Description: The public internet.
    • Responsibilities: Routes traffic to the load balancer.
    • Security controls: Network firewalls, DDoS protection.
  • Element:

    • Name: Load Balancer
    • Type: Infrastructure
    • Description: Distributes incoming traffic across multiple instances of the application.
    • Responsibilities: Health checks, traffic routing.
    • Security controls: SSL/TLS termination, DDoS protection.
  • Element:

    • Name: Kubernetes Ingress
    • Type: Infrastructure
    • Description: Manages external access to the services within the Kubernetes cluster.
    • Responsibilities: Routing rules, TLS termination.
    • Security controls: TLS configuration, access control.
  • Element:

    • Name: Kubernetes Service
    • Type: Infrastructure
    • Description: Provides a stable endpoint for accessing the application pods.
    • Responsibilities: Service discovery, load balancing within the cluster.
    • Security controls: Network policies.
  • Element:

    • Name: Pod 1 (Iris App Container)
    • Type: Container Instance
    • Description: A running instance of the Iris application container.
    • Responsibilities: Handles user requests, processes data.
    • Security controls: Container security best practices (minimal base image, non-root user), resource limits.
  • Element:

    • Name: Pod 2 (Iris App Container)
    • Type: Container Instance
    • Description: A running instance of the Iris application container.
    • Responsibilities: Handles user requests, processes data.
    • Security controls: Container security best practices (minimal base image, non-root user), resource limits.
  • Element:

    • Name: Pod 3 (Iris App Container)
    • Type: Container Instance
    • Description: A running instance of the Iris application container.
    • Responsibilities: Handles user requests, processes data.
    • Security controls: Container security best practices (minimal base image, non-root user), resource limits.
  • Element:

    • Name: Database
    • Type: Database Instance
    • Description: The database used by the application.
    • Responsibilities: Stores and retrieves data.
    • Security controls: Database security features (access control, encryption), network security.

BUILD

The Iris framework itself, and applications built upon it, are typically built using the Go build system.

graph LR
    Developer[("Developer\n(Local Machine)")]
    GitRepository[("Git Repository\n(e.g., GitHub)")]
    CI[("CI/CD Pipeline\n(e.g., GitHub Actions)")]
    ArtifactRepository[("Artifact Repository\n(e.g., Docker Hub)")]
    VulnerabilityScanner[("Vulnerability Scanner")]

    Developer -- "git push" --> GitRepository
    GitRepository -- "Webhook Trigger" --> CI
    CI -- "go build" --> CompiledBinary(("Compiled Binary"))
    CI -- "go test" --> TestResults(("Test Results"))
    CI -- "Run" --> VulnerabilityScanner
    VulnerabilityScanner -- "Scan" --> CompiledBinary
    VulnerabilityScanner -- "Report" --> ScanReport(("Scan Report"))
    CI -- "Build & Push" --> ArtifactRepository
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Build Process Description:

  1. Developer: The developer writes code and commits it to a Git repository (e.g., GitHub, GitLab).
  2. Git Repository: The repository stores the source code and triggers the CI/CD pipeline upon changes (e.g., a push to the main branch).
  3. CI/CD Pipeline (e.g., GitHub Actions):
    • Checks out the code from the repository.
    • Runs go build to compile the Go code into an executable binary.
    • Runs go test to execute unit and integration tests.
    • Runs a vulnerability scanner (e.g., Trivy, Snyk) against the compiled binary or the source code (SAST).
    • If all checks pass, builds a Docker image containing the compiled binary and its dependencies.
    • Pushes the Docker image to an artifact repository (e.g., Docker Hub, Amazon ECR).
  4. Artifact Repository: Stores the built Docker image, making it available for deployment.
  5. Vulnerability Scanner: Analyzes the code or binary for known vulnerabilities.

Security Controls in Build Process:

  • security control: Code Review: Pull requests and code reviews are essential for identifying security flaws before they are merged into the main codebase.
  • security control: Static Application Security Testing (SAST): Integrating SAST tools into the CI/CD pipeline helps detect vulnerabilities in the source code.
  • security control: Software Composition Analysis (SCA): SCA tools identify and track dependencies, alerting developers to known vulnerabilities in third-party libraries.
  • security control: Container Scanning: Scanning Docker images for vulnerabilities before deployment is crucial.
  • security control: Build Automation: Automating the build process ensures consistency and reduces the risk of manual errors.
  • security control: Least Privilege: The CI/CD pipeline should run with the least privileges necessary to perform its tasks.
  • security control: Secret Management: Sensitive information (e.g., API keys, database credentials) should be securely managed and not hardcoded in the repository.

RISK ASSESSMENT

  • Critical Business Processes:

    • User authentication and authorization.
    • Data processing and storage.
    • Interactions with external systems (e.g., payment gateways, email services).
    • Serving web content and API responses.
  • Data to Protect and Sensitivity:

    • User Data (Personally Identifiable Information - PII): This includes names, email addresses, passwords (hashed), addresses, phone numbers, etc. Sensitivity: High.
    • Financial Data (if applicable): Credit card numbers, bank account details, transaction history. Sensitivity: Very High.
    • Session Data: Session identifiers and associated data. Sensitivity: Medium.
    • Application Data: Data specific to the application's functionality. Sensitivity: Varies depending on the application.
    • Configuration Data: API keys, database credentials, other secrets. Sensitivity: Very High.

QUESTIONS & ASSUMPTIONS

  • Questions:

    • What specific security features are built into Iris (e.g., detailed documentation on input validation, output encoding, session management)?
    • Are there any known security vulnerabilities in Iris or its dependencies?
    • What is the recommended deployment configuration for Iris applications?
    • What are the specific security responsibilities of developers using Iris?
    • What is the process for reporting security vulnerabilities in Iris?
    • Does Iris provide built-in support for security headers?
    • Does Iris have any built-in protection against common web attacks like CSRF or clickjacking?
  • Assumptions:

    • BUSINESS POSTURE: The primary goal is to build high-performance web applications, and security is a critical requirement.
    • SECURITY POSTURE: Developers using Iris are responsible for implementing application-level security controls. The framework provides building blocks, but secure coding practices are still essential.
    • DESIGN: The application architecture will likely involve a front-end web application and a back-end API, potentially interacting with external systems. The deployment will likely use containers. The build process will use Go's build system and likely involve a CI/CD pipeline.
    • The Iris framework is actively maintained, and security vulnerabilities are addressed promptly.
    • Developers using Iris are aware of common web security vulnerabilities and best practices.
    • External systems (databases, payment gateways, etc.) have their own security measures in place.
    • Go's built-in security features (e.g., memory safety) provide a baseline level of protection.