Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
292 lines (229 loc) · 15 KB

sec-design.md

File metadata and controls

292 lines (229 loc) · 15 KB

BUSINESS POSTURE

Business Priorities and Goals:

  • Provide a powerful and flexible database abstraction layer (DBAL) that simplifies database interactions for PHP applications.
  • Offer compatibility with a wide range of database systems, allowing developers to switch databases with minimal code changes.
  • Ensure high performance and efficiency in database operations.
  • Maintain a stable and reliable library that is well-tested and actively maintained.
  • Provide clear and comprehensive documentation to facilitate ease of use.
  • Foster a strong community around the project, encouraging contributions and feedback.

Business Risks:

  • Data breaches or unauthorized access to sensitive data stored in databases.
  • Data corruption or loss due to bugs in the DBAL or underlying database systems.
  • Performance bottlenecks that impact the responsiveness of applications using the DBAL.
  • Compatibility issues with specific database systems or versions, leading to application failures.
  • Security vulnerabilities in the DBAL that could be exploited by attackers.
  • Lack of adoption or community support, hindering the long-term viability of the project.

SECURITY POSTURE

Existing Security Controls:

  • security control: Input validation: The DBAL uses prepared statements and parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection vulnerabilities. (Implemented in the Connection and Statement classes).
  • security control: Escaping: The DBAL provides mechanisms for escaping user-provided data to prevent SQL injection. (Implemented in the Connection and Platform classes).
  • security control: Error handling: The DBAL provides detailed error messages and exceptions to help developers identify and resolve database-related issues. (Implemented throughout the codebase).
  • security control: Testing: The DBAL has an extensive test suite that covers a wide range of scenarios and database systems. (Located in the tests/ directory).
  • security control: Code reviews: All code changes are reviewed by multiple developers before being merged. (Enforced by GitHub pull request process).
  • security control: Static analysis: The DBAL uses static analysis tools to identify potential security vulnerabilities and code quality issues. (Configured in CI workflows).
  • security control: Dependency management: The DBAL uses Composer to manage its dependencies and ensure that they are up-to-date. (Defined in composer.json).

Accepted Risks:

  • accepted risk: The DBAL relies on the security of the underlying database systems and drivers. Any vulnerabilities in these components could potentially impact the security of the DBAL.
  • accepted risk: The DBAL does not provide built-in encryption for data at rest or in transit. This is left to the underlying database system or application-level logic.
  • accepted risk: The DBAL does not provide built-in auditing or logging of database operations. This is left to the underlying database system or application-level logic.

Recommended Security Controls:

  • security control: Implement stricter input validation and sanitization, even for seemingly safe data types, to mitigate potential edge cases and future vulnerabilities.
  • security control: Consider integrating with security linters and static analysis tools that specifically focus on database security, such as those that detect potential SQL injection flaws beyond prepared statements.
  • security control: Provide documentation and examples on how to securely configure database connections, including recommendations for TLS/SSL encryption and secure authentication mechanisms.

Security Requirements:

  • Authentication: The DBAL should rely on the underlying database system's authentication mechanisms. It should not store or manage credentials directly.
  • Authorization: The DBAL should rely on the underlying database system's authorization mechanisms (e.g., GRANT/REVOKE). It should not implement its own authorization logic.
  • Input Validation: The DBAL must use prepared statements and parameterized queries for all database interactions to prevent SQL injection. All user-provided data must be properly escaped and validated.
  • Cryptography: The DBAL should support secure communication with the database server using TLS/SSL encryption where available. It should not handle data encryption/decryption itself, relying on database or application-level solutions.

DESIGN

C4 CONTEXT

graph LR
    User["User/Application"] -- "Uses" --> DBAL["Doctrine DBAL"]
    DBAL -- "Connects to" --> Database["Database Server"]
    DBAL -- "Uses" --> Driver["Database Driver (PDO, etc.)"]
Loading

Element Descriptions:

  • Element:

    • Name: User/Application
    • Type: Person/System
    • Description: A PHP application or user that utilizes the Doctrine DBAL to interact with a database.
    • Responsibilities: Initiates database requests, processes data returned from the database.
    • Security controls: Application-level security controls, such as authentication, authorization, and input validation.

  • Element:

    • Name: Doctrine DBAL
    • Type: System
    • Description: The Doctrine Database Abstraction Layer library.
    • Responsibilities: Provides an abstraction layer for interacting with various database systems, handles connection management, query building, and result processing.
    • Security controls: Input validation, prepared statements, escaping, error handling.

  • Element:

    • Name: Database Server
    • Type: System
    • Description: The database server (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server).
    • Responsibilities: Stores and manages data, processes queries, enforces access controls.
    • Security controls: Database-level security controls, such as authentication, authorization, encryption, and auditing.

  • Element:

    • Name: Database Driver
    • Type: System
    • Description: The low-level driver that facilitates communication between the DBAL and the database server (e.g., PDO, mysqli).
    • Responsibilities: Handles the actual communication with the database server, executes queries, and returns results.
    • Security controls: Driver-level security controls, such as connection security and parameter handling.

C4 CONTAINER

graph LR
    User["User/Application"] -- "Uses" --> Connection["Connection"]
    Connection -- "Uses" --> Statement["Statement"]
    Connection -- "Uses" --> Platform["Platform"]
    Statement -- "Executes SQL on" --> Database["Database Server"]
    Platform -- "Provides database-specific logic for" --> Connection
    Connection -- "Uses" --> Driver["Driver (PDO)"]
    Driver -- "Connects to" --> Database
Loading

Element Descriptions:

  • Element:

    • Name: User/Application
    • Type: Person/System
    • Description: A PHP application or user that utilizes the Doctrine DBAL to interact with a database.
    • Responsibilities: Initiates database requests, processes data returned from the database.
    • Security controls: Application-level security controls, such as authentication, authorization, and input validation.

  • Element:

    • Name: Connection
    • Type: Container
    • Description: Represents a connection to a database.
    • Responsibilities: Manages the connection to the database, provides methods for executing queries and managing transactions.
    • Security controls: Uses prepared statements, escaping.

  • Element:

    • Name: Statement
    • Type: Container
    • Description: Represents a prepared statement.
    • Responsibilities: Executes prepared statements with bound parameters, fetches results.
    • Security controls: Parameterized queries.

  • Element:

    • Name: Platform
    • Type: Container
    • Description: Provides database-specific functionality.
    • Responsibilities: Handles differences between database systems, such as SQL dialects and data type conversions.
    • Security controls: Escaping, data type validation.

  • Element:

    • Name: Driver
    • Type: Container
    • Description: Low-level driver (e.g., PDO).
    • Responsibilities: Handles communication with the database.
    • Security controls: Driver-level security.

  • Element:

    • Name: Database Server
    • Type: System
    • Description: The database server (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL).
    • Responsibilities: Stores and manages data.
    • Security controls: Database-level security.

DEPLOYMENT

Possible Deployment Solutions:

  1. Traditional LAMP/LEMP stack: PHP application deployed on a server with Apache/Nginx, MySQL/PostgreSQL, and PHP.
  2. Containerized deployment: PHP application and database server deployed as Docker containers, orchestrated by Docker Compose or Kubernetes.
  3. Cloud-based deployment: PHP application deployed on a cloud platform (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) using services like Elastic Beanstalk, App Service, or Cloud Run, with a managed database service (e.g., RDS, Cloud SQL).
  4. Serverless deployment: PHP application deployed as serverless functions (e.g., AWS Lambda, Azure Functions) that connect to a managed database service.

Chosen Deployment Solution (Containerized Deployment with Kubernetes):

graph LR
    Internet["Internet"] -- "HTTPS" --> Ingress["Ingress Controller"]
    Ingress -- "Routing Rules" --> Service["Kubernetes Service (DBAL)"]
    Service -- "Load Balancing" --> Pod1["Pod (DBAL Container)"]
    Service -- "Load Balancing" --> Pod2["Pod (DBAL Container)"]
    Pod1 -- "TCP" --> DBService["Kubernetes Service (Database)"]
    Pod2 -- "TCP" --> DBService
    DBService -- "Load Balancing" --> DBInstance1["Database Instance (Pod)"]
    DBService -- "Load Balancing" --> DBInstance2["Database Instance (Pod)"]
    DBInstance1 -- "Persistence" --> PV1["Persistent Volume (Database)"]
    DBInstance2 -- "Persistence" --> PV2["Persistent Volume (Database)"]
Loading

Element Descriptions:

  • Element:

    • Name: Internet
    • Type: External
    • Description: The public internet.
    • Responsibilities: Source of external requests.
    • Security controls: Firewall, DDoS protection.

  • Element:

    • Name: Ingress Controller
    • Type: Infrastructure
    • Description: Kubernetes Ingress controller (e.g., Nginx Ingress Controller).
    • Responsibilities: Routes external traffic to the appropriate Kubernetes services.
    • Security controls: TLS termination, request filtering, rate limiting.

  • Element:

    • Name: Kubernetes Service (DBAL)
    • Type: Infrastructure
    • Description: Kubernetes Service for the DBAL application.
    • Responsibilities: Provides a stable endpoint for accessing the DBAL application pods.
    • Security controls: Network policies.

  • Element:

    • Name: Pod (DBAL Container)
    • Type: Container
    • Description: Kubernetes Pod running the Doctrine DBAL application container.
    • Responsibilities: Executes the DBAL application code.
    • Security controls: Container security context, resource limits.

  • Element:

    • Name: Kubernetes Service (Database)
    • Type: Infrastructure
    • Description: Kubernetes Service for the database.
    • Responsibilities: Provides a stable endpoint for accessing the database instances.
    • Security controls: Network policies.

  • Element:

    • Name: Database Instance (Pod)
    • Type: Container
    • Description: Kubernetes Pod running the database server (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL).
    • Responsibilities: Stores and manages data.
    • Security controls: Database-level security controls, container security context.

  • Element:

    • Name: Persistent Volume (Database)
    • Type: Infrastructure
    • Description: Kubernetes Persistent Volume for database storage.
    • Responsibilities: Provides persistent storage for the database.
    • Security controls: Storage encryption, access controls.

BUILD

graph LR
    Developer["Developer"] -- "Commits code" --> GitRepo["Git Repository (GitHub)"]
    GitRepo -- "Webhook Trigger" --> CI["CI/CD Server (GitHub Actions)"]
    CI -- "Runs tests" --> TestSuite["Test Suite"]
    CI -- "Performs static analysis" --> StaticAnalysis["Static Analysis Tools"]
    CI -- "Builds artifacts" --> Artifacts["Build Artifacts (Composer Packages)"]
    Artifacts -- "Published to" --> PackageRepo["Package Repository (Packagist)"]
Loading

Build Process Description:

  1. Developer commits code changes to the Git repository (GitHub).
  2. A webhook triggers the CI/CD server (GitHub Actions).
  3. The CI/CD server runs the test suite.
  4. The CI/CD server performs static analysis using tools like PHPStan and Psalm.
  5. If tests and static analysis pass, the CI/CD server builds the artifacts (Composer packages).
  6. The artifacts are published to the package repository (Packagist).

Security Controls:

  • security control: Code reviews: All code changes are reviewed before merging.
  • security control: Automated testing: Extensive test suite ensures code quality and prevents regressions.
  • security control: Static analysis: Static analysis tools identify potential vulnerabilities and code quality issues.
  • security control: Dependency management: Composer manages dependencies and ensures they are up-to-date.
  • security control: CI/CD pipeline: Automated build and deployment process ensures consistency and reduces manual errors.
  • security control: Signed commits: Developers should sign their commits to ensure authenticity.
  • security control: Two-factor authentication: Enforce two-factor authentication for all contributors to the repository.

RISK ASSESSMENT

Critical Business Processes:

  • Database interaction for PHP applications: The DBAL is a critical component for any PHP application that needs to interact with a database.
  • Data persistence: The DBAL is responsible for ensuring that data is stored and retrieved correctly from the database.

Data Sensitivity:

  • The DBAL itself does not handle sensitive data directly. However, it facilitates access to databases, which may contain sensitive data such as:
    • Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
    • Financial data
    • Authentication credentials
    • Application-specific sensitive data
  • The sensitivity of the data depends on the specific application and database using the DBAL.

QUESTIONS & ASSUMPTIONS

Questions:

  • Are there any specific compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) that the applications using the DBAL must adhere to?
  • What are the specific database systems and versions that the DBAL needs to support?
  • What is the expected load and performance requirements for applications using the DBAL?
  • Are there any existing security policies or guidelines that need to be followed?

Assumptions:

  • business posture: The primary goal is to provide a secure and reliable database abstraction layer.
  • security posture: The underlying database systems and drivers are properly secured.
  • security posture: Application developers using the DBAL will implement appropriate security measures at the application level.
  • design: The DBAL will be used in a standard PHP environment.
  • design: The deployment environment will be properly secured.