BUSINESS POSTURE

Business priorities and goals:
- Provide a modern, high-performance web framework for building APIs with Python.
- Enhance developer productivity and reduce development time.
- Promote code quality and maintainability through type hints and automatic data validation.
- Foster a strong and active community around the framework.
Business risks:
- Adoption risk: If developers do not find FastAPI compelling or easy to use, adoption may be limited.
- Community risk: Reliance on open-source community for support, contributions, and security updates.
- Security risk: Vulnerabilities in the framework could impact applications built with FastAPI, damaging reputation and user trust.
- Dependency risk: Reliance on underlying libraries and frameworks (e.g., Starlette, Pydantic) for functionality and security.

SECURITY POSTURE

Existing security controls:
- security control: HTTPS enforcement in deployed applications (developer responsibility, recommended in documentation).
- security control: Input validation using Pydantic (built-in feature, described in documentation).
- security control: Dependency management using pip and requirements.txt (standard Python practice, repository files).
- security control: Security considerations documentation (partially covered in FastAPI documentation, e.g., CORS, HTTPS).
Accepted risks:
- accepted risk: Security vulnerabilities in user-provided application code built on FastAPI.
- accepted risk: Security vulnerabilities in dependencies (addressed by dependency updates, but inherent risk).
- accepted risk: Misconfiguration of deployed applications by users (mitigated by documentation and examples).
Recommended security controls:
- recommended security control: Implement automated security scanning (SAST/DAST) in FastAPI's CI/CD pipeline to detect potential vulnerabilities in the framework itself.
- recommended security control: Provide more comprehensive security documentation, including best practices for secure API development with FastAPI, common security pitfalls, and hardening guidelines.
- recommended security control: Establish a clear vulnerability reporting and response process for the FastAPI project.
- recommended security control: Encourage and facilitate community security audits and contributions.
Security requirements:
- Authentication:
  - FastAPI provides tools and examples for implementing various authentication mechanisms (OAuth2, JWT, API keys, HTTP Basic Auth) using dependencies and security utilities.
  - Security requirement: Applications built with FastAPI must implement appropriate authentication mechanisms based on their specific needs.
- Authorization:
  - FastAPI allows for implementing authorization logic within application code using dependencies and security utilities.
  - Security requirement: Applications built with FastAPI must implement proper authorization to control access to resources and functionalities.
- Input validation:
  - FastAPI leverages Pydantic for automatic data validation based on type hints and schemas.
  - Security requirement: Applications built with FastAPI should define comprehensive Pydantic models to validate all user inputs and prevent injection attacks.
- Cryptography:
  - FastAPI itself does not provide built-in cryptography primitives but relies on standard Python libraries and user-implemented cryptography.
  - Security requirement: Applications built with FastAPI should use secure cryptography practices for sensitive data handling, such as password hashing, encryption, and secure communication.

DESIGN

C4 CONTEXT

flowchart LR
    subgraph "FastAPI Ecosystem"
    center("FastAPI Framework")
    end

    UserDevelopers("Developers")
    WebApp("Web Application (built with FastAPI)")
    ExternalAPI("External API Services")
    Database("Database System")
    FrontendApp("Frontend Application")
    CLIClients("CLI Clients")

    UserDevelopers -- "Develops and uses" --> WebApp
    WebApp -- "Uses" --> center
    WebApp -- "Interacts with" --> Database
    WebApp -- "Calls" --> ExternalAPI
    FrontendApp -- "Calls" --> WebApp
    CLIClients -- "Calls" --> WebApp

Loading

Elements of context diagram:
- - Name: FastAPI Framework
  - Type: Software System
  - Description: The FastAPI framework itself, providing the core functionalities for building APIs.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Providing routing, request handling, dependency injection, data validation, and documentation generation.
    - Ensuring performance and developer-friendly experience.
  - Security controls:
    - Security control: Input validation through Pydantic.
    - security control: Documentation and examples promoting secure development practices.
- - Name: Developers
  - Type: Person
  - Description: Software developers who use FastAPI to build web applications and APIs.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Writing application code using FastAPI framework.
    - Implementing security measures in their applications.
    - Deploying and maintaining FastAPI applications.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Following secure coding practices.
    - security control: Implementing authentication and authorization in applications.
    - security control: Configuring secure deployment environments.
- - Name: Web Application (built with FastAPI)
  - Type: Software System
  - Description: Web applications and APIs built by developers using the FastAPI framework.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Implementing specific business logic and API endpoints.
    - Handling user requests and responses.
    - Interacting with databases and external services.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Input validation (using FastAPI/Pydantic).
    - security control: Authentication and authorization mechanisms.
    - security control: Secure data handling and storage.
    - security control: HTTPS enforcement.
- - Name: Database System
  - Type: External System
  - Description: Databases used by FastAPI applications to store and retrieve data.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Storing application data.
    - Providing data access to FastAPI applications.
    - Ensuring data integrity and availability.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Database access control (authentication and authorization).
    - security control: Data encryption at rest and in transit.
    - security control: Regular security patching and updates.
- - Name: External API Services
  - Type: External System
  - Description: External APIs that FastAPI applications may interact with.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Providing external data or functionalities.
    - Authenticating and authorizing requests from FastAPI applications.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: API authentication and authorization.
    - security control: Secure communication protocols (HTTPS).
    - security control: Rate limiting and input validation.
- - Name: Frontend Application
  - Type: External System
  - Description: Frontend applications (web, mobile, etc.) that consume APIs built with FastAPI.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Presenting data to users.
    - Sending requests to FastAPI APIs.
    - Handling user authentication (in some cases).
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Secure communication with backend APIs (HTTPS).
    - security control: Input validation on the client-side.
    - security control: Protection against client-side vulnerabilities (e.g., XSS).
- - Name: CLI Clients
  - Type: External System
  - Description: Command-line interface clients that interact with APIs built with FastAPI.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Interacting with FastAPI APIs programmatically.
    - Automating tasks using APIs.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: API authentication and authorization.
    - security control: Secure handling of API credentials.

C4 CONTAINER

flowchart LR
    subgraph "FastAPI Application Container"
    FastAPIApp("FastAPI Application Code")
    ASGIContainer("ASGI Server (Uvicorn, Hypercorn)")
    PydanticLib("Pydantic Library")
    StarletteLib("Starlette Library")
    PythonRuntime("Python Runtime")
    end

    FastAPIApp -- "Uses" --> PydanticLib
    FastAPIApp -- "Uses" --> StarletteLib
    FastAPIApp -- "Runs on" --> PythonRuntime
    ASGIContainer -- "Hosts" --> FastAPIApp
    ASGIContainer -- "Requires" --> PythonRuntime

    Database("Database System")
    ExternalAPI("External API Services")
    FrontendApp("Frontend Application")
    CLIClients("CLI Clients")

    FrontendApp -- "Calls" --> ASGIContainer
    CLIClients -- "Calls" --> ASGIContainer
    ASGIContainer -- "Interacts with" --> Database
    ASGIContainer -- "Calls" --> ExternalAPI

Loading

Elements of container diagram:
- - Name: FastAPI Application Code
  - Type: Container - Code
  - Description: The Python code written by developers using the FastAPI framework to define API endpoints, business logic, and data models.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Implementing API endpoints and business logic.
    - Defining data models using Pydantic.
    - Handling requests and responses.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Input validation logic using Pydantic models.
    - security control: Implementation of authentication and authorization logic.
    - security control: Secure coding practices within the application code.
- - Name: ASGI Server (Uvicorn, Hypercorn)
  - Type: Container - Application Server
  - Description: An ASGI server (e.g., Uvicorn, Hypercorn) that hosts and runs the FastAPI application. It handles incoming HTTP requests and passes them to the FastAPI application.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Receiving and processing HTTP requests.
    - Serving the FastAPI application.
    - Managing application lifecycle.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: HTTPS termination and enforcement.
    - security control: Configuration hardening of the ASGI server.
    - security control: Rate limiting and request filtering (can be implemented in ASGI server or reverse proxy).
- - Name: Pydantic Library
  - Type: Container - Library
  - Description: A Python library used by FastAPI for data validation and serialization.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Defining data models and schemas.
    - Validating input data against schemas.
    - Serializing and deserializing data.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Input validation enforced by Pydantic schemas.
    - security control: Regular updates to Pydantic library to address potential vulnerabilities.
- - Name: Starlette Library
  - Type: Container - Library
  - Description: A lightweight ASGI framework upon which FastAPI is built, providing core functionalities like routing and middleware.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Providing routing and request handling mechanisms.
    - Implementing middleware functionality.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Security features inherited from Starlette (e.g., request handling security).
    - security control: Regular updates to Starlette library to address potential vulnerabilities.
- - Name: Python Runtime
  - Type: Container - Runtime Environment
  - Description: The Python interpreter and standard library required to run the FastAPI application and its dependencies.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Executing Python code.
    - Providing standard library functionalities.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Regular updates to Python runtime to address potential vulnerabilities.
    - security control: Secure configuration of the Python environment.
- - Name: Database System, External API Services, Frontend Application, CLI Clients
  - Type: External Containers
  - Description: Same as described in C4 Context diagram.
  - Responsibilities: Same as described in C4 Context diagram.
  - Security controls: Same as described in C4 Context diagram.

DEPLOYMENT

Deployment solution: Cloud Container Platform (e.g., Kubernetes on AWS EKS, Google GKE, Azure AKS)

flowchart LR
    subgraph "Cloud Container Platform (Kubernetes)"
        subgraph "Kubernetes Cluster"
            subgraph "Worker Node 1"
                Pod1("Pod: FastAPI App Instance 1")
                ASGIContainer1("Container: ASGI Server")
                FastAPIAppContainer1("Container: FastAPI App")
                ASGIContainer1 -- "Hosts" --> FastAPIAppContainer1
            end
            subgraph "Worker Node 2"
                Pod2("Pod: FastAPI App Instance 2")
                ASGIContainer2("Container: ASGI Server")
                FastAPIAppContainer2("Container: FastAPI App")
                ASGIContainer2 -- "Hosts" --> FastAPIAppContainer2
            end
            LoadBalancer("Load Balancer")
            IngressController("Ingress Controller")
        end
    end

    LoadBalancer -- "Forwards traffic to" --> IngressController
    IngressController -- "Routes traffic to" --> Pod1 & Pod2
    Pod1 -- "Interacts with" --> Database("Database System")
    Pod2 -- "Interacts with" --> Database
    Pod1 -- "Calls" --> ExternalAPI("External API Services")
    Pod2 -- "Calls" --> ExternalAPI
    FrontendApp("Frontend Application") -- "Calls" --> LoadBalancer
    CLIClients("CLI Clients") -- "Calls" --> LoadBalancer

Loading

Elements of deployment diagram:
- - Name: Kubernetes Cluster
  - Type: Infrastructure
  - Description: A Kubernetes cluster providing container orchestration and management.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Managing container deployments and scaling.
    - Providing networking and service discovery.
    - Ensuring high availability and fault tolerance.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Kubernetes RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) for cluster access.
    - security control: Network policies to control traffic within the cluster.
    - security control: Security audits and vulnerability scanning of Kubernetes components.
    - security control: Regular updates and patching of Kubernetes cluster.
- - Name: Worker Node (Worker Node 1, Worker Node 2)
  - Type: Infrastructure - Compute Instance
  - Description: Virtual machines or physical servers that run containerized applications within the Kubernetes cluster.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Providing compute resources for containers.
    - Running Kubernetes kubelet and container runtime.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Hardening of worker node operating system.
    - security control: Security monitoring and logging on worker nodes.
    - security control: Regular patching of worker node OS and software.
- - Name: Pod (Pod 1, Pod 2)
  - Type: Deployment Unit
  - Description: The smallest deployable unit in Kubernetes, encapsulating one or more containers (ASGI Server and FastAPI App).
  - Responsibilities:
    - Running application containers.
    - Providing shared network namespace and storage.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Container security context (user, group, capabilities).
    - security control: Resource limits and quotas for pods.
    - security control: Pod security policies/Pod security admission.
- - Name: Container (ASGI Server, FastAPI App)
  - Type: Container Image Instance
  - Description: Instances of the ASGI Server and FastAPI Application containers running within pods.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Running the application code.
    - Serving API requests.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Container image scanning for vulnerabilities.
    - security control: Principle of least privilege for container processes.
    - security control: Immutable container images.
- - Name: Load Balancer
  - Type: Infrastructure - Network Component
  - Description: A cloud load balancer distributing incoming traffic across multiple instances of the FastAPI application.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Distributing traffic to application instances.
    - Providing high availability and scalability.
    - HTTPS termination.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: HTTPS termination and enforcement.
    - security control: DDoS protection.
    - security control: Access control lists (ACLs) or security groups.
- - Name: Ingress Controller
  - Type: Software - Kubernetes Component
  - Description: A Kubernetes Ingress controller routing external HTTP/HTTPS traffic to the appropriate services within the cluster.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Routing traffic based on hostnames and paths.
    - Providing SSL termination and TLS routing.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Configuration hardening of Ingress controller.
    - security control: Regular updates and patching of Ingress controller.
    - security control: Web Application Firewall (WAF) integration (optional).
- - Name: Database System, External API Services, Frontend Application, CLI Clients
  - Type: External Systems
  - Description: Same as described in C4 Context diagram.
  - Responsibilities: Same as described in C4 Context diagram.
  - Security controls: Same as described in C4 Context diagram.

BUILD

flowchart LR
    Developer["Developer"] --> SourceCode["Source Code (GitHub)"];
    SourceCode -- "Code Changes" --> CI["CI System (GitHub Actions)"];
    CI -- "Build & Test" --> BuildArtifacts["Build Artifacts (PyPI)"];
    BuildArtifacts -- "Publish" --> PackageRegistry["Package Registry (PyPI)"];
    PackageRegistry -- "Download" --> DeploymentEnvironment["Deployment Environment"];

    subgraph "CI System (GitHub Actions)"
        BuildJob["Build Job"]
        TestJob["Test Job"]
        SecurityScanJob["Security Scan Job (SAST)"]
        PublishJob["Publish Job"]

        CI --> BuildJob
        BuildJob --> TestJob
        TestJob --> SecurityScanJob
        SecurityScanJob --> PublishJob
    end

Loading

Elements of build diagram:
- - Name: Developer
  - Type: Person
  - Description: Software developers contributing to the FastAPI project.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Writing and committing code changes.
    - Reviewing code changes.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Code review process.
    - security control: Secure development practices.
    - security control: Access control to the GitHub repository.
- - Name: Source Code (GitHub)
  - Type: Code Repository
  - Description: The FastAPI source code repository hosted on GitHub.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Storing and versioning source code.
    - Managing code contributions.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Access control to the repository (authentication and authorization).
    - security control: Branch protection rules.
    - security control: Audit logging of repository activities.
- - Name: CI System (GitHub Actions)
  - Type: Automation System
  - Description: GitHub Actions used for continuous integration and continuous delivery of FastAPI.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Automating build, test, and security scanning processes.
    - Publishing build artifacts.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Secure configuration of CI workflows.
    - security control: Access control to CI system and secrets management.
    - security control: Audit logging of CI activities.
- - Name: Build Job
  - Type: CI Job
  - Description: CI job responsible for compiling and building the FastAPI package.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Building the Python package.
    - Running linters and code formatters.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Dependency scanning during build.
    - security control: Build process isolation.
- - Name: Test Job
  - Type: CI Job
  - Description: CI job responsible for running automated tests against the built package.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Running unit tests and integration tests.
    - Ensuring code quality and functionality.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Comprehensive test suite.
    - security control: Test environment isolation.
- - Name: Security Scan Job (SAST)
  - Type: CI Job
  - Description: CI job responsible for performing static application security testing (SAST) on the codebase.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Identifying potential security vulnerabilities in the code.
    - Enforcing security coding standards.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: SAST tool integration.
    - security control: Vulnerability reporting and remediation process.
- - Name: Publish Job
  - Type: CI Job
  - Description: CI job responsible for publishing the built package to the package registry.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Publishing the package to PyPI.
    - Signing and verifying package integrity.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Secure credentials management for package registry access.
    - security control: Package signing and verification.
    - security control: Two-factor authentication for publishing.
- - Name: Build Artifacts (PyPI)
  - Type: Package Artifacts
  - Description: The built Python package artifacts (e.g., wheels, source distributions) ready for publishing.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Storing build artifacts temporarily.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Access control to build artifact storage.
- - Name: Package Registry (PyPI)
  - Type: Package Repository
  - Description: Python Package Index (PyPI) where FastAPI packages are published and distributed.
  - Responsibilities:
    - Hosting and distributing Python packages.
    - Providing package download and installation services.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Package signing and verification.
    - security control: Malware scanning of uploaded packages.
    - security control: Access control and account security for maintainers.
- - Name: Deployment Environment
  - Type: Target Environment
  - Description: Environment where FastAPI applications are deployed and run (e.g., cloud, on-premises).
  - Responsibilities:
    - Running FastAPI applications.
    - Downloading and installing FastAPI packages.
  - Security controls:
    - security control: Secure package installation process (using pip with HTTPS).
    - security control: Dependency verification (using package hashes).

RISK ASSESSMENT

Critical business process: Secure and reliable development and deployment of web applications and APIs using FastAPI framework. Maintaining developer trust and community support for FastAPI.
Data being protected:
- FastAPI framework source code: Sensitivity - Low to Medium (Publicly available, but integrity is important).
- FastAPI package artifacts (on PyPI): Sensitivity - Medium (Integrity and availability are important to prevent supply chain attacks).
- User applications built with FastAPI (code and data): Sensitivity - High (Depends on the application, can include sensitive user data, business logic, etc.).
Data sensitivity:
- FastAPI framework code and packages: Primarily integrity and availability are important.
- User application data: Sensitivity varies greatly depending on the application.

QUESTIONS & ASSUMPTIONS

Questions:
- What are the most critical features and functionalities of FastAPI from a business perspective?
- What are the primary use cases and target audience for FastAPI?
- Are there any specific compliance requirements or security standards that FastAPI needs to adhere to?
- What is the expected level of security expertise among developers using FastAPI?
- What are the acceptable levels of risk for security vulnerabilities in FastAPI and user applications?
Assumptions:
- BUSINESS POSTURE: The primary business goal is to provide a widely adopted, high-quality, and developer-friendly web framework. Security is important for maintaining trust and adoption.
- SECURITY POSTURE: Security is considered important but is primarily addressed through standard software development practices and user responsibility. More proactive security measures could be beneficial.
- DESIGN: FastAPI is designed as a framework/library, and its security relies heavily on how it is used and deployed by developers. The deployment environment is assumed to be a modern cloud-based container platform for detailed deployment diagram. Build process is assumed to be using GitHub Actions and PyPI for package distribution.

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

sec-design.md

sec-design.md

BUSINESS POSTURE

SECURITY POSTURE

DESIGN

C4 CONTEXT

C4 CONTAINER

DEPLOYMENT

BUILD

RISK ASSESSMENT

QUESTIONS & ASSUMPTIONS

Files

sec-design.md

Latest commit

History

sec-design.md

File metadata and controls

BUSINESS POSTURE

SECURITY POSTURE

DESIGN

C4 CONTEXT

C4 CONTAINER

DEPLOYMENT

BUILD

RISK ASSESSMENT

QUESTIONS & ASSUMPTIONS