sec-design.md

BUSINESS POSTURE

This project, based on the uvdesk/community-skeleton repository, aims to provide a foundation for building a customer support help desk system.

• Business Priorities:

  • Provide a customizable and extensible platform for customer support.
  • Enable businesses to manage customer inquiries and support tickets efficiently.
  • Offer a community-driven open-source alternative to commercial help desk solutions.

• Business Goals:

  • Increase user adoption of the UVDesk platform.
  • Foster a community of developers and users around the platform.
  • Enable businesses to improve customer satisfaction through efficient support.

• Business Risks:

  • Data breaches exposing sensitive customer and business information.
  • System unavailability disrupting customer support operations.
  • Malicious attacks leading to data manipulation or system compromise.
  • Reputation damage due to security vulnerabilities or data leaks.
  • Compliance violations with data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) if handling personal data.

SECURITY POSTURE

• Existing Security Controls:

  • security control: Code hosted on GitHub, leveraging GitHub's security features for repository access control and vulnerability scanning. (Implemented: GitHub platform)
  • security control: Open-source nature allows for community security reviews and contributions. (Implemented: Open Source Community)
  • security control: Project likely follows general web application security best practices, although specific controls need to be verified within the codebase. (Description: Codebase - needs verification)

• Accepted Risks:

  • accepted risk: Reliance on community contributions for security vulnerability identification and patching might lead to delays in addressing critical issues.
  • accepted risk: Potential for vulnerabilities in third-party dependencies used by the project.
  • accepted risk: Security posture is dependent on the security practices of developers contributing to the open-source project.

• Recommended Security Controls:

  • security control: Implement automated Static Application Security Testing (SAST) in the CI/CD pipeline to identify potential vulnerabilities in the codebase.
  • security control: Implement automated Dependency Scanning to identify vulnerabilities in third-party libraries.
  • security control: Conduct regular manual security code reviews by security experts.
  • security control: Implement a vulnerability disclosure program to encourage responsible reporting of security issues by the community.
  • security control: Implement security awareness training for developers contributing to the project.
  • security control: Define and enforce secure coding guidelines for all contributors.

• Security Requirements:

  • Authentication:
    • Requirement: Secure user authentication mechanism to verify the identity of users (customers, agents, administrators).
    • Requirement: Support for strong password policies and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for enhanced security.
    • Requirement: Protection against common authentication attacks such as brute-force and credential stuffing.
  • Authorization:
    • Requirement: Role-based access control (RBAC) to manage user permissions and restrict access to sensitive features and data based on roles (e.g., administrator, agent, customer).
    • Requirement: Enforce least privilege principle, granting users only the necessary permissions to perform their tasks.
    • Requirement: Secure API authorization to protect backend services and data from unauthorized access.
  • Input Validation:
    • Requirement: Comprehensive input validation on all user-supplied data to prevent injection attacks (e.g., SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)).
    • Requirement: Input sanitization and encoding to neutralize potentially malicious input.
    • Requirement: Use of parameterized queries or ORM frameworks to mitigate SQL injection risks.
  • Cryptography:
    • Requirement: Use HTTPS for all communication to protect data in transit.
    • Requirement: Secure storage of sensitive data at rest, such as passwords and API keys, using strong encryption algorithms.
    • Requirement: Proper handling and management of cryptographic keys, including secure key generation, storage, and rotation.

DESIGN

C4 CONTEXT

flowchart LR
    subgraph "UVDesk Community Skeleton Project"
        Project["UVDesk Community Skeleton"]
    end
    Customers["Customers"]
    SupportAgents["Support Agents"]
    ExternalEmail["External Email System"]
    KnowledgeBase["Knowledge Base System"]
    PaymentGateway["Payment Gateway (Optional)"]

    Customers --> Project
    SupportAgents --> Project
    Project --> ExternalEmail
    Project --> KnowledgeBase
    Project --> PaymentGateway

    style Project fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px

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• Context Diagram Elements:
  • • Name: UVDesk Community Skeleton
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: The core help desk system being designed and built. It provides functionalities for ticket management, customer communication, and support workflows.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Managing customer support tickets.
      • Facilitating communication between customers and support agents.
      • Providing a platform for knowledge base integration.
      • Optionally integrating with payment gateways for paid support services.
    • Security controls:
      • Authentication and authorization for users (customers, agents, administrators).
      • Input validation to protect against injection attacks.
      • Secure session management.
      • Data encryption at rest and in transit.
  • • Name: Customers
    • Type: Actor
    • Description: End-users who require support and interact with the help desk system to submit tickets and track their progress.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Submitting support requests.
      • Communicating with support agents.
      • Accessing knowledge base articles.
    • Security controls:
      • Authentication to access their tickets and information.
      • Limited authorization to only access their own data.
  • • Name: Support Agents
    • Type: Actor
    • Description: Users who are responsible for providing customer support, managing tickets, and resolving customer issues.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Responding to customer support requests.
      • Managing and resolving support tickets.
      • Updating knowledge base articles.
    • Security controls:
      • Strong authentication to access the system.
      • Role-based authorization to manage tickets and access customer data.
      • Audit logging of agent actions.
  • • Name: External Email System
    • Type: External System
    • Description: An external email service (e.g., SMTP server) used by the help desk system to send and receive emails for ticket notifications and communication.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Sending email notifications to customers and agents.
      • Receiving emails from customers to create support tickets.
    • Security controls:
      • Secure configuration of SMTP connection (TLS/SSL).
      • Authentication to the email server.
      • Email content filtering (anti-spam, anti-malware).
  • • Name: Knowledge Base System
    • Type: External System
    • Description: A separate system or module (potentially within UVDesk or external) that stores and manages knowledge base articles for self-service support.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Providing a repository of knowledge articles.
      • Allowing customers to search for solutions to common issues.
      • Enabling agents to create and manage knowledge articles.
    • Security controls:
      • Access control to knowledge base articles (public vs. agent-only).
      • Input validation for article creation and editing.
  • • Name: Payment Gateway (Optional)
    • Type: External System
    • Description: An optional external payment gateway (e.g., Stripe, PayPal) integrated with the help desk system to process payments for premium support services or features.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Processing payments for support services.
      • Managing subscriptions and billing.
    • Security controls:
      • Secure integration with the payment gateway API.
      • PCI DSS compliance if handling credit card information directly (though ideally, payment processing is offloaded to the gateway).

C4 CONTAINER

flowchart LR
    subgraph "UVDesk Community Skeleton Project"
        WebApp["Web Application"]
        Database["Database"]
        JobQueue["Job Queue"]
        Cache["Cache"]
    end
    Customers["Customers"]
    SupportAgents["Support Agents"]
    ExternalEmail["External Email System"]
    KnowledgeBase["Knowledge Base System"]
    PaymentGateway["Payment Gateway (Optional)"]

    Customers --> WebApp
    SupportAgents --> WebApp
    WebApp --> Database
    WebApp --> JobQueue
    WebApp --> Cache
    WebApp --> ExternalEmail
    WebApp --> KnowledgeBase
    WebApp --> PaymentGateway
    JobQueue --> WebApp
    Cache --> WebApp

    style WebApp fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style Database fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style JobQueue fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style Cache fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px

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• Container Diagram Elements:
  • • Name: Web Application
    • Type: Container
    • Description: The main web application component built using PHP (likely Laravel or Symfony framework based on typical open-source help desk systems). Handles user requests, business logic, and presentation.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Handling HTTP requests from customers and support agents.
      • Implementing application logic for ticket management, user management, etc.
      • Rendering user interfaces (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
      • Interacting with the database, job queue, and cache.
      • Communicating with external systems (email, knowledge base, payment gateway).
    • Security controls:
      • Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect against web attacks.
      • Input validation and output encoding.
      • Authentication and authorization mechanisms.
      • Secure session management.
      • Protection against common web vulnerabilities (OWASP Top 10).
  • • Name: Database
    • Type: Container
    • Description: Relational database (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL) to store application data, including user accounts, tickets, knowledge base articles, and configuration settings.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Persistent storage of application data.
      • Data retrieval and manipulation for the web application.
      • Data integrity and consistency.
    • Security controls:
      • Database access control (user permissions, network restrictions).
      • Data encryption at rest.
      • Regular database backups.
      • Database vulnerability scanning and patching.
      • Protection against SQL injection attacks (handled by Web Application through parameterized queries/ORM).
  • • Name: Job Queue
    • Type: Container
    • Description: Asynchronous job queue (e.g., Redis, RabbitMQ) to handle background tasks, such as sending email notifications, processing large data imports, and scheduled tasks.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Asynchronous processing of tasks.
      • Decoupling long-running operations from the web application's request-response cycle.
      • Improving application performance and responsiveness.
    • Security controls:
      • Access control to the job queue (authentication and authorization).
      • Secure communication between the web application and the job queue.
      • Monitoring and logging of job queue activity.
  • • Name: Cache
    • Type: Container
    • Description: In-memory cache (e.g., Redis, Memcached) to store frequently accessed data for faster retrieval and improved application performance.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Caching frequently accessed data (e.g., user sessions, configuration settings, query results).
      • Reducing database load and improving response times.
    • Security controls:
      • Access control to the cache (if applicable).
      • Secure configuration of the cache service.
      • Consideration of sensitive data caching and appropriate security measures.

DEPLOYMENT

Deployment Solution: Cloud-based Deployment on a Platform as a Service (PaaS) like AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Google App Engine, or Heroku. This is a common and scalable approach for web applications.

flowchart LR
    subgraph "Cloud PaaS Environment"
        subgraph "Load Balancer"
            LoadBalancer["Load Balancer"]
        end
        subgraph "Application Servers"
            WebAppInstance1["Web Application Instance 1"]
            WebAppInstance2["Web Application Instance 2"]
        end
        subgraph "Database Server"
            DatabaseServer["Database Server"]
        end
        subgraph "Job Queue Server"
            JobQueueServer["Job Queue Server"]
        end
        subgraph "Cache Server"
            CacheServer["Cache Server"]
        end
    end

    Customers["Customers"] --> LoadBalancer
    SupportAgents["Support Agents"] --> LoadBalancer
    LoadBalancer --> WebAppInstance1
    LoadBalancer --> WebAppInstance2
    WebAppInstance1 --> DatabaseServer
    WebAppInstance2 --> DatabaseServer
    WebAppInstance1 --> JobQueueServer
    WebAppInstance2 --> JobQueueServer
    WebAppInstance1 --> CacheServer
    WebAppInstance2 --> CacheServer

    style LoadBalancer fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style WebAppInstance1 fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style WebAppInstance2 fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style DatabaseServer fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style JobQueueServer fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style CacheServer fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px

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• Deployment Diagram Elements:
  • • Name: Load Balancer
    • Type: Infrastructure
    • Description: Distributes incoming traffic across multiple Web Application Instances for high availability and scalability.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Traffic distribution.
      • Health checks of application instances.
      • SSL termination (HTTPS).
    • Security controls:
      • DDoS protection.
      • SSL/TLS configuration.
      • Access control lists (ACLs).
  • • Name: Web Application Instance 1 & 2
    • Type: Infrastructure (Compute Instance/Container)
    • Description: Instances of the Web Application container running on compute resources provided by the PaaS.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Running the Web Application code.
      • Handling user requests.
      • Processing application logic.
    • Security controls:
      • Operating system and runtime environment hardening.
      • Security patching and updates.
      • Instance-level firewalls.
      • Intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) at the PaaS level.
  • • Name: Database Server
    • Type: Infrastructure (Managed Database Service)
    • Description: Managed database service provided by the PaaS provider, offering scalability, reliability, and automated backups.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Hosting the application database.
      • Database management and maintenance.
      • Data backups and recovery.
    • Security controls:
      • Database access control and encryption.
      • Regular security patching by the PaaS provider.
      • Network isolation within the PaaS environment.
      • Data encryption at rest and in transit (within PaaS).
  • • Name: Job Queue Server
    • Type: Infrastructure (Managed Queue Service)
    • Description: Managed job queue service provided by the PaaS provider for asynchronous task processing.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Hosting the job queue.
      • Message queuing and delivery.
      • Scalability and reliability of the queue service.
    • Security controls:
      • Access control to the job queue service.
      • Secure communication within the PaaS environment.
      • Monitoring and logging.
  • • Name: Cache Server
    • Type: Infrastructure (Managed Cache Service)
    • Description: Managed cache service provided by the PaaS provider for in-memory data caching.
    • Responsibilities:
      • Hosting the cache.
      • Data caching and retrieval.
      • Scalability and performance of the cache service.
    • Security controls:
      • Access control to the cache service (if applicable).
      • Secure configuration within the PaaS environment.

BUILD

flowchart LR
    Developer["Developer"] --> CodeRepository["Code Repository (GitHub)"]
    CodeRepository --> CI["CI/CD Pipeline (GitHub Actions)"]
    CI --> BuildArtifacts["Build Artifacts (Container Image, Packages)"]
    BuildArtifacts --> ContainerRegistry["Container Registry (e.g., Docker Hub, PaaS Registry)"]
    ContainerRegistry --> DeploymentEnvironment["Deployment Environment (PaaS)"]

    subgraph "CI/CD Pipeline (GitHub Actions)"
        SourceCodeCheckout["Source Code Checkout"]
        BuildStep["Build Application"]
        UnitTest["Unit Tests"]
        SAST["SAST Scanning"]
        DependencyCheck["Dependency Check"]
        Containerize["Containerize Application (if applicable)"]
        PushArtifacts["Push Artifacts"]
    end

    CI --> SourceCodeCheckout
    SourceCodeCheckout --> BuildStep
    BuildStep --> UnitTest
    UnitTest --> SAST
    SAST --> DependencyCheck
    DependencyCheck --> Containerize
    Containerize --> PushArtifacts
    PushArtifacts --> BuildArtifacts

    style Developer fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style CodeRepository fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style CI fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style BuildArtifacts fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style ContainerRegistry fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style DeploymentEnvironment fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    style SourceCodeCheckout fill:#ccf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style BuildStep fill:#ccf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style UnitTest fill:#ccf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style SAST fill:#ccf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style DependencyCheck fill:#ccf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style Containerize fill:#ccf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style PushArtifacts fill:#ccf,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px

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• Build Process Description:

  • Developer commits code changes to the Code Repository (GitHub).
  • A CI/CD Pipeline (e.g., GitHub Actions) is triggered on code changes.
  • CI Pipeline Stages:
    • Source Code Checkout: Retrieves the latest code from the repository.
    • Build Application: Compiles the application code and builds necessary assets.
    • Unit Tests: Executes automated unit tests to ensure code quality and functionality.
    • SAST Scanning: Performs Static Application Security Testing to identify potential vulnerabilities in the source code.
    • Dependency Check: Scans project dependencies for known vulnerabilities.
    • Containerize Application (if applicable): Builds a container image of the application (e.g., Docker image).
    • Push Artifacts: Pushes build artifacts (container image, packages) to a Container Registry or artifact repository.
  • Build Artifacts are stored in a Container Registry (e.g., Docker Hub, PaaS Registry).
  • Deployment Environment (PaaS) pulls the Build Artifacts from the Container Registry for deployment.

• Build Process Security Controls:

  • security control: Code Repository Access Control: Restrict access to the code repository to authorized developers. (Implemented: GitHub Permissions)
  • security control: CI/CD Pipeline Security: Secure configuration of the CI/CD pipeline, including access control, secret management, and secure build environment. (Implemented: GitHub Actions Security Best Practices)
  • security control: Automated Security Scans (SAST, Dependency Check): Integrate security scanning tools into the CI/CD pipeline to automatically identify vulnerabilities. (Implemented: CI Pipeline - needs to be configured)
  • security control: Build Artifact Signing: Sign build artifacts to ensure integrity and authenticity. (Recommended)
  • security control: Vulnerability Scanning of Container Images: Scan container images for vulnerabilities before deployment. (Recommended)
  • security control: Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Security Scanning: If IaC is used for deployment, scan IaC configurations for security misconfigurations. (Recommended if IaC is used)
  • security control: Regular Security Audits of Build Process: Periodically review and audit the build process for security weaknesses. (Recommended)

RISK ASSESSMENT

• Critical Business Processes:

  • Customer Support Ticket Management: The core function of the system. Disruption or compromise can directly impact customer satisfaction and business operations.
  • Customer Communication: Secure and reliable communication channels are essential for effective support.
  • User Authentication and Authorization: Secure access control is critical to protect sensitive data and prevent unauthorized actions.
  • Data Storage and Backup: Protecting customer and business data from loss or unauthorized access.

• Data Sensitivity:

  • Customer Personal Data: Names, email addresses, contact information, support history. Sensitivity: High (PII, subject to privacy regulations).
  • Support Ticket Content: Customer inquiries, potentially containing sensitive information. Sensitivity: Medium to High (depending on the nature of inquiries).
  • Agent Personal Data: Names, contact information, roles, permissions. Sensitivity: Medium (Employee data).
  • System Configuration Data: API keys, database credentials, application settings. Sensitivity: Critical (Secrets, compromise can lead to full system access).
  • Payment Information (if applicable): Credit card details, billing addresses. Sensitivity: Critical (PCI DSS scope if handled directly, ideally offloaded to payment gateway).

QUESTIONS & ASSUMPTIONS

• Questions:

  • What is the intended deployment environment (cloud provider, on-premises)?
  • Are there any specific compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS)?
  • What is the expected scale of users and support tickets?
  • Are there any existing security policies or guidelines that need to be followed?
  • Is there a dedicated security team or person responsible for security?
  • What is the process for vulnerability management and incident response?
  • Is there a budget allocated for security tools and resources?
  • What are the performance and availability requirements for the system?

• Assumptions:

  • BUSINESS POSTURE:
    • The primary business goal is to provide a functional and secure open-source help desk system.
    • Data privacy and security are important considerations for user trust and compliance.
    • The project aims for a balance between functionality, security, and ease of use.
  • SECURITY POSTURE:
    • Basic security controls are in place (GitHub security features, open-source community review).
    • There is a need to enhance security controls, especially in automated testing and secure development practices.
    • Security requirements include standard web application security principles (authentication, authorization, input validation, cryptography).
  • DESIGN:
    • The system will be deployed in a cloud environment using a PaaS.
    • The architecture will be based on a typical three-tier web application model (web application, database, background processing).
    • The build process will utilize CI/CD pipelines for automation and security checks.