sec-design.md

Okay, let's create a design document for the PgHero project, keeping in mind its purpose and potential security considerations.

BUSINESS POSTURE

PgHero is a performance dashboard for PostgreSQL. It's designed to provide insights into database performance, helping users identify bottlenecks and optimize their queries. It's an open-source project, likely used by a wide range of organizations, from small startups to larger enterprises.

Priorities:

• Provide clear and actionable performance insights.
• Easy to install and use.
• Minimal performance overhead on the monitored database.
• Support a wide range of PostgreSQL versions.
• Maintainability and extensibility of the codebase.

Goals:

• Help users identify slow queries.
• Provide information about database resource utilization (CPU, memory, disk I/O).
• Help users understand database configuration and potential improvements.
• Detect potential security issues related to database configuration.

Business Risks:

• Data Breach: Unauthorized access to sensitive database performance data, potentially revealing information about the database structure, queries, or even data previews.
• Data Modification: If an attacker gains write access to the PgHero instance, they could potentially modify settings or even execute arbitrary SQL commands if PgHero has elevated privileges.
• Denial of Service: An attacker could potentially overload the PgHero instance, making it unavailable to legitimate users, or even impact the performance of the monitored database if PgHero consumes excessive resources.
• Reputational Damage: Security vulnerabilities in PgHero could damage the reputation of the project and its maintainers.
• Compliance Violations: Depending on the data stored and regulations applicable to the user, inadequate security controls in PgHero could lead to compliance violations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS).

SECURITY POSTURE

Existing Security Controls:

• security control: Authentication: PgHero supports basic authentication (username/password) as described in the README.
• security control: Database User Permissions: The README recommends creating a dedicated PostgreSQL user with limited privileges for PgHero. This user should only have read-only access to the necessary system views and functions.
• security control: Rails Security Features: PgHero is built with Ruby on Rails, which provides some built-in security features, such as protection against cross-site scripting (XSS) and cross-site request forgery (CSRF). These are implicitly present due to the framework choice.
• security control: Input Sanitization: PgHero likely includes input sanitization to prevent SQL injection vulnerabilities, as it constructs SQL queries based on user input (e.g., selecting a database, time range). This is a standard practice in Rails applications.

Accepted Risks:

• accepted risk: Limited Authorization: PgHero's built-in authentication is relatively basic. It doesn't offer granular authorization controls (e.g., restricting access to specific dashboards or features based on user roles).
• accepted risk: No Built-in Encryption: PgHero doesn't appear to have built-in support for encrypting data in transit (HTTPS) or at rest. This is left to the user to configure at the infrastructure level.
• accepted risk: Dependency Vulnerabilities: Like any software project, PgHero depends on third-party libraries (gems). These dependencies could have security vulnerabilities that could be exploited.
• accepted risk: Limited Auditing: PgHero doesn't appear to have built-in auditing capabilities to track user actions or configuration changes.

Recommended Security Controls:

• security control: Enforce HTTPS: Strongly recommend running PgHero behind a reverse proxy (e.g., Nginx, Apache) that handles TLS termination and enforces HTTPS.
• security control: Implement Strong Password Policies: Enforce strong password policies for PgHero users, including minimum length, complexity requirements, and potentially password rotation.
• security control: Regularly Update Dependencies: Implement a process for regularly updating PgHero and its dependencies to patch security vulnerabilities. Consider using tools like Dependabot.
• security control: Consider Enhanced Authentication: Explore options for integrating with existing authentication systems (e.g., LDAP, OAuth) to provide more robust authentication and potentially authorization.
• security control: Implement Auditing: Add auditing capabilities to track user logins, configuration changes, and potentially queries executed through PgHero.
• security control: Content Security Policy (CSP): Implement a strong CSP to mitigate the risk of XSS attacks.
• security control: Network Segmentation: Deploy PgHero in a separate network segment from the production database to limit the impact of a potential compromise.

Security Requirements:

• Authentication:

  • Users must be authenticated before accessing PgHero dashboards.
  • Support for strong passwords.
  • Consider multi-factor authentication (MFA) if feasible.

• Authorization:

  • Implement role-based access control (RBAC) to restrict access to specific dashboards or features based on user roles (future enhancement).

• Input Validation:

  • All user input must be validated and sanitized to prevent SQL injection and other injection attacks.

• Cryptography:

  • All communication between the user's browser and PgHero must be encrypted using TLS (HTTPS).
  • Sensitive data (e.g., database credentials) should be stored securely, preferably using environment variables or a dedicated secrets management solution.

• Database Permissions:

  • PgHero should connect to the PostgreSQL database using a dedicated user with the minimum required privileges (read-only access to system views).

DESIGN

C4 CONTEXT

graph LR
    subgraph PgHero System
        pghero[("PgHero")]
    end
    user(("User"))
    postgres[("PostgreSQL Database")]
    user -- "Views performance dashboards, configures settings" --> pghero
    pghero -- "Queries performance data" --> postgres

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Element Descriptions:

• Element:

  • Name: User
  • Type: Person
  • Description: A person who uses PgHero to monitor PostgreSQL database performance.
  • Responsibilities: Views dashboards, configures settings, analyzes performance data.
  • Security controls: Authentication (username/password, potentially MFA), authorization (future RBAC).

• Element:

  • Name: PgHero
  • Type: Software System
  • Description: The PgHero performance dashboard application.
  • Responsibilities: Collects data from PostgreSQL, presents data to users, provides configuration options.
  • Security controls: Input validation, authentication, database connection security, Rails security features (XSS, CSRF protection).

• Element:

  • Name: PostgreSQL Database
  • Type: Software System
  • Description: The PostgreSQL database being monitored by PgHero.
  • Responsibilities: Stores data, executes queries, provides performance metrics.
  • Security controls: Database user permissions (limited privileges for PgHero user), standard PostgreSQL security configuration.

C4 CONTAINER

graph LR
    subgraph PgHero System
        webapp[("Web Application")]
        postgres[("PostgreSQL Database")]
    end
    user(("User"))
    user -- "HTTPS" --> webapp
    webapp -- "PostgreSQL Protocol" --> postgres

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Element Descriptions:

• Element:

  • Name: User
  • Type: Person
  • Description: A person who uses PgHero to monitor PostgreSQL database performance.
  • Responsibilities: Views dashboards, configures settings, analyzes performance data.
  • Security controls: Authentication (username/password, potentially MFA), authorization (future RBAC).

• Element:

  • Name: Web Application
  • Type: Container (Ruby on Rails Application)
  • Description: The PgHero web application, built with Ruby on Rails.
  • Responsibilities: Handles user requests, interacts with the database, renders dashboards.
  • Security controls: Input validation, authentication, database connection security, Rails security features (XSS, CSRF protection), session management.

• Element:

  • Name: PostgreSQL Database
  • Type: Container (PostgreSQL Database)
  • Description: The PostgreSQL database being monitored.
  • Responsibilities: Stores data, executes queries, provides performance metrics.
  • Security controls: Database user permissions (limited privileges for PgHero user), standard PostgreSQL security configuration, network access controls.

DEPLOYMENT

Possible Deployment Solutions:

1. Bare Metal/VM: PgHero deployed directly on a server (physical or virtual).
2. Docker Container: PgHero packaged as a Docker container and deployed on a container orchestration platform (e.g., Docker Compose, Kubernetes).
3. Cloud Platform (e.g., Heroku, AWS, GCP): PgHero deployed using a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering.

Chosen Solution (for detailed description): Docker Container on Kubernetes

graph LR
    subgraph Kubernetes Cluster
        subgraph pghero-namespace [PgHero Namespace]
            pghero[("PgHero Pod")]
            postgres[("PostgreSQL Pod")]
            ingress[("Ingress")]
        end
    end
    user(("User")) --> ingress
    ingress -- "HTTPS" --> pghero
    pghero -- "PostgreSQL Protocol" --> postgres

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Element Descriptions:

• Element:

  • Name: User
  • Type: Person
  • Description: A person who uses PgHero to monitor PostgreSQL database performance.
  • Responsibilities: Views dashboards, configures settings, analyzes performance data.
  • Security controls: Authentication (username/password, potentially MFA), authorization (future RBAC).

• Element:

  • Name: Ingress
  • Type: Kubernetes Ingress
  • Description: Exposes PgHero to external traffic, handles TLS termination.
  • Responsibilities: Routing traffic to the PgHero service, enforcing HTTPS.
  • Security controls: TLS configuration, potentially web application firewall (WAF) integration.

• Element:

  • Name: PgHero Pod
  • Type: Kubernetes Pod
  • Description: Runs the PgHero web application container.
  • Responsibilities: Serves user requests, interacts with the database.
  • Security controls: Container security (minimal base image, vulnerability scanning), network policies.

• Element:

  • Name: PostgreSQL Pod
  • Type: Kubernetes Pod
  • Description: Runs the PostgreSQL database container.
  • Responsibilities: Stores data, executes queries.
  • Security controls: Container security, network policies, database user permissions, data encryption at rest (if supported by the PostgreSQL image).

• Element:

  • Name: PgHero Namespace
  • Type: Kubernetes Namespace
  • Description: Logical grouping for PgHero resources.
  • Responsibilities: Provides isolation and resource management.
  • Security controls: RBAC for namespace access.

BUILD

The build process for PgHero likely involves the following steps:

1. Developer: Writes code and commits changes to the Git repository (GitHub).
2. Continuous Integration (CI): A CI system (e.g., GitHub Actions, Travis CI) is triggered by the commit.
3. Dependency Management: The CI system installs Ruby gems using Bundler.
4. Testing: The CI system runs automated tests (unit tests, integration tests).
5. Static Analysis: Linters (e.g., RuboCop) and static analysis security testing (SAST) tools (e.g., Brakeman) are run to identify code quality and security issues.
6. Docker Build (Optional): If PgHero is packaged as a Docker container, a Dockerfile is used to build the image. This involves copying the application code, installing dependencies, and configuring the runtime environment.
7. Artifact Publication: The built Docker image (if applicable) is pushed to a container registry (e.g., Docker Hub, GitHub Container Registry).

graph LR
    developer[("Developer")]
    github[("GitHub Repository")]
    ci[("CI System")]
    tests[("Tests")]
    sast[("SAST")]
    docker[("Docker Build")]
    registry[("Container Registry")]

    developer -- "Commits code" --> github
    github -- "Triggers CI" --> ci
    ci -- "Runs tests" --> tests
    ci -- "Runs SAST" --> sast
    ci -- "Builds Docker image" --> docker
    docker -- "Pushes image" --> registry

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Security Controls in Build Process:

• security control: Dependency Scanning: Tools like Bundler-audit or Dependabot can be used to scan for known vulnerabilities in Ruby gems.
• security control: SAST: Static analysis security testing tools (e.g., Brakeman) can identify potential security vulnerabilities in the application code.
• security control: Code Review: Require code reviews before merging changes to the main branch.
• security control: Least Privilege: The CI system should have limited permissions, only those necessary to build and test the application.
• security control: Docker Image Security: Use minimal base images, scan for vulnerabilities in the Docker image, and avoid including unnecessary tools or credentials in the image.

RISK ASSESSMENT

Critical Business Processes:

• Database Performance Monitoring: Ensuring the availability and performance of the PostgreSQL database is critical for the applications that rely on it. PgHero helps monitor this.
• Database Optimization: Identifying and resolving performance bottlenecks is crucial for maintaining a responsive and efficient database.

Data We Are Trying to Protect:

• Database Performance Metrics: CPU usage, memory usage, disk I/O, query execution times, etc. (Sensitivity: Medium - Could reveal information about database structure and workload).
• Database Configuration: Settings, parameters, and extensions used by the database. (Sensitivity: Medium - Could reveal potential vulnerabilities or misconfigurations).
• Query Examples (potentially): PgHero might display snippets of SQL queries, which could potentially contain sensitive data if not properly redacted. (Sensitivity: High - Depending on the query and data).
• PgHero Configuration: Usernames, passwords, database connection strings. (Sensitivity: High - Direct access to credentials).

QUESTIONS & ASSUMPTIONS

Questions:

• What is the expected user base and scale of deployment for PgHero instances? (This impacts the importance of scalability and high availability).
• Are there any specific compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS) that apply to the users of PgHero?
• What is the current process for handling security vulnerabilities reported in PgHero or its dependencies?
• Is there any existing monitoring or alerting system in place for PgHero instances?
• What level of access does PgHero require to the PostgreSQL database? (Ideally, read-only access to specific system views).
• Are there plans to add support for other database systems besides PostgreSQL?

Assumptions:

• BUSINESS POSTURE: PgHero is primarily used for monitoring, not for making direct changes to the database.
• BUSINESS POSTURE: Users are generally technically proficient and understand the basics of database administration.
• SECURITY POSTURE: The PostgreSQL database being monitored is already configured with basic security best practices.
• SECURITY POSTURE: Users are responsible for securing the network environment where PgHero is deployed.
• DESIGN: PgHero is typically deployed behind a reverse proxy that handles TLS termination.
• DESIGN: The database connection string is stored securely (e.g., as an environment variable).
• DESIGN: The build process is automated using a CI system.