- Business Priorities and Goals:
- Priority 1: Rapid Web Application Development. Django is designed to make it easy and fast for developers to build web applications.
- Priority 2: Robust and Scalable Applications. Applications built with Django should be reliable, performant, and able to handle increasing user loads.
- Priority 3: Secure Web Applications. Django aims to provide a secure foundation for web applications, protecting against common web vulnerabilities.
- Priority 4: Maintainable Codebase. Django promotes good coding practices and project structure to ensure long-term maintainability.
- Business Risks:
- Risk 1: Security vulnerabilities in applications built using Django could lead to data breaches, reputational damage, and financial losses.
- Risk 2: Performance bottlenecks in Django applications could result in poor user experience and loss of users.
- Risk 3: Complex or poorly designed Django applications can become difficult to maintain and update, increasing development costs and time.
- Risk 4: Misconfiguration of Django or its deployment environment can introduce security vulnerabilities or performance issues.
- Existing Security Controls:
- security control: CSRF protection - Implemented by default in Django forms and templates. Described in Django documentation on CSRF protection.
- security control: XSS protection - Django's template engine escapes HTML by default, mitigating XSS attacks. Described in Django documentation on template security.
- security control: SQL injection prevention - Django's ORM uses parameterized queries, preventing SQL injection. Described in Django documentation on database access.
- security control: User authentication and authorization - Django provides built-in user authentication and authorization frameworks. Described in Django documentation on authentication and permissions.
- security control: Password hashing - Django uses strong password hashing algorithms by default. Described in Django documentation on password management.
- security control: Security middleware - Django includes security middleware to provide basic security headers and protections. Described in Django documentation on security middleware.
- Accepted Risks:
- accepted risk: Vulnerabilities in third-party packages used in Django projects. Mitigation relies on dependency scanning and updates.
- accepted risk: Misconfiguration of Django security settings by developers. Mitigation relies on security training and best practices documentation.
- accepted risk: Zero-day vulnerabilities in Django framework itself. Mitigation relies on Django security team's responsiveness and patching process.
- accepted risk: Security issues arising from custom code developed within Django projects. Mitigation relies on secure coding practices and code reviews.
- Recommended Security Controls:
- security control: Static Application Security Testing (SAST) - Implement SAST tools to scan Django code for potential vulnerabilities during development.
- security control: Software Composition Analysis (SCA) - Implement SCA tools to scan project dependencies for known vulnerabilities.
- security control: Penetration testing - Conduct regular penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities in deployed Django applications.
- security control: Security training for developers - Provide security training to Django developers to promote secure coding practices.
- security control: Security audits - Conduct periodic security audits of Django applications and infrastructure.
- Security Requirements:
- Authentication:
- Requirement: Securely authenticate users accessing Django applications.
- Requirement: Support for various authentication methods (e.g., username/password, multi-factor authentication).
- Requirement: Protection against brute-force attacks on authentication mechanisms.
- Authorization:
- Requirement: Implement role-based access control to restrict access to resources and functionalities based on user roles.
- Requirement: Enforce least privilege principle in authorization policies.
- Requirement: Audit authorization decisions for security monitoring and compliance.
- Input Validation:
- Requirement: Validate all user inputs to prevent injection attacks (e.g., SQL injection, command injection, XSS).
- Requirement: Sanitize user inputs before displaying them to prevent XSS vulnerabilities.
- Requirement: Use Django's form validation features to enforce data integrity.
- Cryptography:
- Requirement: Use cryptography to protect sensitive data at rest and in transit.
- Requirement: Implement HTTPS for all communication to protect data in transit.
- Requirement: Securely store cryptographic keys and secrets.
- Requirement: Use appropriate encryption algorithms and key lengths for data at rest.
- C4 CONTEXT
flowchart LR
subgraph Django Project Context
direction LR
A["Web User"] -- "HTTP Requests" --> B(Django Application)
B -- "Database Queries" --> C["Database System"]
B -- "Static Files Requests" --> D["Web Server"]
B -- "Email Notifications" --> E["Email Service"]
F["Developer"] -- "Code Changes" --> G(Django Repository)
G -- "Deployment Configuration" --> H["Deployment Platform"]
B -- "Logging" --> I["Logging System"]
end
-
C4 CONTEXT Elements:
-
Element:
-
Name: Web User
-
Type: Person
-
Description: End-users who interact with the Django web application through web browsers or other clients.
-
Responsibilities: Accessing and using the functionalities provided by the Django application.
-
Security controls: Authentication to access protected resources, authorization to perform specific actions, input validation on user-provided data.
-
Element:
-
Name: Django Application
-
Type: Software System
-
Description: The Django web application itself, built using the Django framework. It handles HTTP requests, business logic, and interacts with other systems.
-
Responsibilities: Handling user requests, implementing business logic, managing data, rendering web pages, interacting with databases and other services.
-
Security controls: Input validation, output encoding, authentication, authorization, session management, CSRF protection, XSS protection, SQL injection prevention, security middleware, logging and monitoring.
-
Element:
-
Name: Database System
-
Type: Software System
-
Description: Database system (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL) used by the Django application to store and retrieve data.
-
Responsibilities: Storing application data, providing data persistence, ensuring data integrity and availability.
-
Security controls: Database access control, encryption at rest, regular backups, vulnerability patching, database firewall.
-
Element:
-
Name: Web Server
-
Type: Software System
-
Description: Web server (e.g., Nginx, Apache) that serves static files and potentially acts as a reverse proxy for the Django application.
-
Responsibilities: Serving static files (CSS, JavaScript, images), handling SSL/TLS termination, load balancing, reverse proxying requests to the Django application.
-
Security controls: Web server hardening, access control, SSL/TLS configuration, DDoS protection, regular security updates.
-
Element:
-
Name: Email Service
-
Type: Software System
-
Description: External email service (e.g., SMTP server, SendGrid, Mailgun) used by the Django application to send emails (e.g., password resets, notifications).
-
Responsibilities: Sending emails on behalf of the Django application.
-
Security controls: Secure SMTP configuration, API key management, rate limiting, SPF/DKIM/DMARC configuration.
-
Element:
-
Name: Developer
-
Type: Person
-
Description: Software developers who write, maintain, and deploy the Django application.
-
Responsibilities: Developing new features, fixing bugs, maintaining the codebase, deploying updates, ensuring application security.
-
Security controls: Secure coding practices, code reviews, access control to code repositories and deployment environments, security training.
-
Element:
-
Name: Django Repository
-
Type: Software System
-
Description: Version control system (e.g., GitHub) where the Django project source code is stored and managed.
-
Responsibilities: Storing source code, tracking changes, facilitating collaboration among developers, managing project history.
-
Security controls: Access control to the repository, branch protection, code review process, vulnerability scanning of dependencies.
-
Element:
-
Name: Deployment Platform
-
Type: Software System
-
Description: Platform where the Django application is deployed and run (e.g., cloud provider, on-premises servers).
-
Responsibilities: Hosting the application, providing infrastructure resources, managing application runtime environment.
-
Security controls: Infrastructure security, access control, network security, operating system hardening, security monitoring.
-
Element:
-
Name: Logging System
-
Type: Software System
-
Description: System for collecting, storing, and analyzing logs generated by the Django application and its components.
-
Responsibilities: Centralized logging, security monitoring, troubleshooting, auditing.
-
Security controls: Secure log storage, access control to logs, log integrity protection, log analysis and alerting.
-
C4 CONTAINER
flowchart LR
subgraph Django Application Container Diagram
direction LR
A["Web User"] -- "HTTP Requests" --> B(Web Server Container)
B -- "Reverse Proxy/Static Files" --> C(Django Application Container)
C -- "Database Queries" --> D(Database Container)
C -- "Cache Operations" --> E(Cache Container)
C -- "Email Sending" --> F(Email Service)
end
-
C4 CONTAINER Elements:
-
Element:
-
Name: Web Server Container
-
Type: Container
-
Description: Container running a web server (e.g., Nginx, Apache) responsible for serving static files, handling SSL/TLS termination, and reverse proxying requests to the Django application container.
-
Responsibilities: Serving static content, handling HTTPS, load balancing, routing requests to the application container.
-
Security controls: Web server hardening, SSL/TLS configuration, access control, rate limiting, DDoS protection.
-
Element:
-
Name: Django Application Container
-
Type: Container
-
Description: Container running the Django application code (Python, Django framework, application logic). This container processes requests, interacts with the database and cache, and renders responses.
-
Responsibilities: Handling application logic, processing user requests, interacting with the database and cache, rendering dynamic content.
-
Security controls: Input validation, output encoding, authentication, authorization, session management, CSRF protection, XSS protection, SQL injection prevention, security middleware, application-level firewall (if applicable).
-
Element:
-
Name: Database Container
-
Type: Container
-
Description: Container running the database system (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL) used by the Django application.
-
Responsibilities: Storing and managing application data, providing data persistence and integrity.
-
Security controls: Database access control, database hardening, encryption at rest, regular backups, vulnerability patching, database firewall.
-
Element:
-
Name: Cache Container
-
Type: Container
-
Description: Container running a caching system (e.g., Redis, Memcached) to improve application performance by caching frequently accessed data.
-
Responsibilities: Caching data to reduce database load and improve response times.
-
Security controls: Cache access control, secure configuration, data encryption if caching sensitive data.
-
Element:
-
Name: Email Service
-
Type: External System
-
Description: External email service used by the Django application to send emails.
-
Responsibilities: Sending emails.
-
Security controls: Secure API key management, secure SMTP configuration, rate limiting, SPF/DKIM/DMARC configuration.
-
DEPLOYMENT
-
Deployment Architecture Options:
-
Option 1: Traditional Server Deployment - Deploying Django application directly on virtual machines or physical servers.
-
Option 2: Containerized Deployment - Deploying Django application and its dependencies within Docker containers, orchestrated by Kubernetes or Docker Compose.
-
Option 3: Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) Deployment - Deploying Django application to a PaaS provider like Heroku, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, or Google App Engine.
-
Detailed Deployment Architecture (Containerized Deployment with Kubernetes):
flowchart LR
subgraph Kubernetes Cluster
direction TB
A[Load Balancer] -- "HTTP/HTTPS" --> B{Ingress Controller}
B -- "HTTP" --> C{Kubernetes Services}
subgraph Pods
direction LR
D[Web Server Pod]
E[Django App Pod]
F[Database Pod]
G[Cache Pod]
end
C -- "Service: web-server-service" --> D
C -- "Service: django-app-service" --> E
C -- "Service: database-service" --> F
C -- "Service: cache-service" --> G
H[Persistent Volume] -- "Data Storage" --> F
end
I[External User] -- "Internet" --> A
-
DEPLOYMENT Elements:
-
Element:
-
Name: Kubernetes Cluster
-
Type: Infrastructure
-
Description: Kubernetes cluster providing container orchestration and management for the Django application.
-
Responsibilities: Container orchestration, scaling, health monitoring, service discovery, resource management.
-
Security controls: Kubernetes RBAC, network policies, pod security policies, security audits, vulnerability scanning of Kubernetes components.
-
Element:
-
Name: Load Balancer
-
Type: Infrastructure Component
-
Description: Cloud provider's load balancer distributing incoming traffic across Ingress Controllers.
-
Responsibilities: Load balancing, traffic distribution, SSL/TLS termination.
-
Security controls: DDoS protection, SSL/TLS configuration, access control, rate limiting.
-
Element:
-
Name: Ingress Controller
-
Type: Container
-
Description: Ingress controller within the Kubernetes cluster routing external requests to the appropriate Kubernetes services.
-
Responsibilities: Routing traffic based on rules, providing entry point to the cluster, potentially handling SSL/TLS termination within the cluster.
-
Security controls: Ingress controller hardening, access control, rate limiting, web application firewall (WAF) integration.
-
Element:
-
Name: Kubernetes Services
-
Type: Kubernetes Resource
-
Description: Kubernetes Services abstracting access to sets of pods, providing stable endpoints for inter-pod communication and external access.
-
Responsibilities: Service discovery, load balancing within the cluster, providing stable network endpoints.
-
Security controls: Network policies to restrict traffic between services, service account security.
-
Element:
-
Name: Web Server Pod
-
Type: Pod
-
Description: Kubernetes Pod running the Web Server Container.
-
Responsibilities: Serving static files, reverse proxying to Django application pods.
-
Security controls: Container security, resource limits, security context.
-
Element:
-
Name: Django App Pod
-
Type: Pod
-
Description: Kubernetes Pod running the Django Application Container.
-
Responsibilities: Handling application logic, processing requests, interacting with database and cache pods.
-
Security controls: Container security, resource limits, security context, application-level security controls.
-
Element:
-
Name: Database Pod
-
Type: Pod
-
Description: Kubernetes Pod running the Database Container.
-
Responsibilities: Database management, data storage.
-
Security controls: Container security, resource limits, security context, database security controls, persistent volume security.
-
Element:
-
Name: Cache Pod
-
Type: Pod
-
Description: Kubernetes Pod running the Cache Container.
-
Responsibilities: Caching data.
-
Security controls: Container security, resource limits, security context, cache security controls.
-
Element:
-
Name: Persistent Volume
-
Type: Kubernetes Resource
-
Description: Kubernetes Persistent Volume providing persistent storage for the Database Pod.
-
Responsibilities: Persistent data storage for the database.
-
Security controls: Access control to persistent volume, encryption at rest (if supported by infrastructure).
-
BUILD
flowchart LR
A[Developer] -- "Code Commit" --> B[Version Control System (e.g., GitHub)]
B -- "Webhook Trigger" --> C[CI/CD Pipeline (e.g., GitHub Actions)]
C -- "Checkout Code" --> D[Build Stage]
D -- "Run Tests, Linters, SAST" --> E[Test & Security Stage]
E -- "Build Container Image" --> F[Container Image Build Stage]
F -- "Push Image to Registry" --> G[Container Registry (e.g., Docker Hub, AWS ECR)]
G -- "Deployment Trigger" --> H[Deployment System (e.g., Kubernetes)]
H -- "Deploy Application" --> I[Production Environment]
- BUILD Elements:
- Element:
- Name: Developer
- Type: Person
- Description: Software developer writing and committing code changes.
- Responsibilities: Writing code, committing changes, initiating the build process.
- Security controls: Secure development environment, code signing (optional).
- Element:
- Name: Version Control System (e.g., GitHub)
- Type: Software System
- Description: System for managing source code and tracking changes.
- Responsibilities: Storing source code, managing versions, triggering build pipelines.
- Security controls: Access control, branch protection, audit logs.
- Element:
- Name: CI/CD Pipeline (e.g., GitHub Actions)
- Type: Software System
- Description: Automated CI/CD pipeline for building, testing, and deploying the Django application.
- Responsibilities: Automating build, test, and deployment processes, running security checks.
- Security controls: Secure pipeline configuration, secret management, access control to pipeline, audit logs.
- Element:
- Name: Build Stage
- Type: Pipeline Stage
- Description: Stage in the CI/CD pipeline where the application is built (e.g., dependencies are installed, static files are collected).
- Responsibilities: Compiling code (if necessary), installing dependencies, preparing build artifacts.
- Security controls: Dependency scanning, build environment security.
- Element:
- Name: Test & Security Stage
- Type: Pipeline Stage
- Description: Stage in the CI/CD pipeline where automated tests are run (unit tests, integration tests) and security checks are performed (SAST, linters).
- Responsibilities: Running tests, performing static analysis, identifying potential vulnerabilities.
- Security controls: SAST tools, linters, test coverage, security test reports.
- Element:
- Name: Container Image Build Stage
- Type: Pipeline Stage
- Description: Stage in the CI/CD pipeline where a container image for the Django application is built.
- Responsibilities: Building container image, including application code and dependencies.
- Security controls: Base image security, container image scanning, minimal image creation.
- Element:
- Name: Container Registry (e.g., Docker Hub, AWS ECR)
- Type: Software System
- Description: Registry for storing and managing container images.
- Responsibilities: Storing container images, providing access to images for deployment.
- Security controls: Access control, image scanning, vulnerability scanning, image signing (optional).
- Element:
- Name: Deployment System (e.g., Kubernetes)
- Type: Software System
- Description: System responsible for deploying and managing the application in the production environment.
- Responsibilities: Deploying application, managing application instances, scaling, monitoring.
- Security controls: Deployment automation, infrastructure as code, access control to deployment system.
- Element:
- Name: Production Environment
- Type: Environment
- Description: Target environment where the Django application is running and serving users.
- Responsibilities: Running the application, serving user requests.
- Security controls: Runtime security controls, infrastructure security, monitoring and logging.
- Critical Business Processes:
- Process 1: User Authentication and Session Management - Ensuring only authorized users can access the application and maintain secure sessions.
- Process 2: Data Storage and Retrieval - Securely storing and retrieving application data, including user data and business data.
- Process 3: Handling User Input - Processing user input safely to prevent injection attacks and ensure data integrity.
- Process 4: Application Availability - Maintaining application uptime and performance to ensure business continuity.
- Data Sensitivity:
- Data 1: User Credentials (passwords, usernames) - Highly sensitive. Requires strong encryption and access control.
- Data 2: User Personal Information (email, profile data) - Sensitive. Requires protection against unauthorized access and disclosure.
- Data 3: Application Data (business logic data) - Sensitivity depends on the specific application. May contain confidential or proprietary information. Requires appropriate access control and protection.
- Data 4: Logs and Audit Trails - Moderately sensitive. Contains information about application activity and security events. Requires secure storage and access control for auditing and security monitoring.
- Questions:
- Question 1: What is the specific business criticality of the Django application? (e.g., mission-critical, business-critical, non-critical).
- Question 2: What type of data will the Django application be processing and storing? (e.g., PII, financial data, health data).
- Question 3: What is the expected user base and traffic volume for the Django application?
- Question 4: What are the specific compliance requirements for the Django application (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS)?
- Question 5: What is the organization's risk appetite for security vulnerabilities in the Django application?
- Question 6: What is the existing security infrastructure and tooling available for the Django project?
- Question 7: What is the team's current level of Django and security expertise?
- Assumptions:
- Assumption 1: The Django application is a web application serving external users over the internet.
- Assumption 2: Security is a significant concern for the Django application.
- Assumption 3: The Django application will be deployed in a containerized environment using Kubernetes.
- Assumption 4: A CI/CD pipeline will be used for building and deploying the Django application.
- Assumption 5: The organization is willing to invest in security controls to protect the Django application and its data.
- Assumption 6: Developers are expected to follow secure coding practices and utilize Django's built-in security features.