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sec-design.md

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Okay, let's create a design document for the rails_admin project.

BUSINESS POSTURE

Business Priorities and Goals:

  • Provide a user-friendly interface for managing data in Ruby on Rails applications.
  • Reduce development time and effort required for building administrative backends.
  • Offer a customizable and extensible solution to adapt to various application needs.
  • Maintain a secure and reliable admin interface to protect application data.
  • Provide a well-maintained and supported open-source project.

Business Risks:

  • Unauthorized access to sensitive data through the admin interface.
  • Data breaches or modification due to vulnerabilities in the gem or its dependencies.
  • Disruption of service due to misconfiguration or improper use of the admin interface.
  • Exposure of internal application details through the admin interface.
  • Reputational damage due to security incidents related to the admin interface.
  • Compliance violations if the admin interface is not used in accordance with relevant regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA).

SECURITY POSTURE

Existing Security Controls:

  • security control: Authentication: Rails Admin relies on existing authentication solutions in the Rails application (e.g., Devise, Clearance). It does not provide its own authentication mechanism. Described in: README, Wiki.
  • security control: Authorization: Rails Admin supports authorization through integration with gems like CanCanCan and Pundit. Described in: README, Wiki.
  • security control: Input Validation: Rails Admin leverages Rails' built-in model validations and sanitization mechanisms. Described in: Rails documentation.
  • security control: CSRF Protection: Rails Admin benefits from Rails' built-in CSRF protection. Described in: Rails documentation.
  • security control: Dependency Management: The project uses Bundler to manage dependencies and keep them up-to-date. Described in: Gemfile, Gemfile.lock.
  • security control: Security Audits: The project's community and maintainers perform security audits and address reported vulnerabilities. Described in: GitHub Issues, Security Advisories.

Accepted Risks:

  • accepted risk: Reliance on external authentication and authorization solutions. The security of Rails Admin depends on the proper configuration and security of these external gems.
  • accepted risk: Potential for misconfiguration. Incorrect configuration of Rails Admin or its associated security gems can lead to vulnerabilities.
  • accepted risk: Dependence on the security of underlying Rails framework and its components.

Recommended Security Controls:

  • security control: Implement robust logging and monitoring of all admin actions.
  • security control: Enforce strong password policies and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for admin users.
  • security control: Regularly review and update dependencies to address known vulnerabilities.
  • security control: Conduct penetration testing and security assessments of the application, including the Rails Admin interface.
  • security control: Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) to mitigate XSS attacks.
  • security control: Implement Subresource Integrity (SRI) to ensure that fetched resources haven't been tampered with.

Security Requirements:

  • Authentication:

    • All admin users must be authenticated before accessing any Rails Admin functionality.
    • Support integration with existing authentication systems (e.g., Devise, Clearance).
    • Enforce strong password policies.
    • Provide support for multi-factor authentication (MFA).

  • Authorization:

    • Implement role-based access control (RBAC) to restrict access to specific resources and actions based on user roles.
    • Support integration with authorization gems like CanCanCan and Pundit.
    • Ensure that users can only access data and perform actions that they are authorized to.

  • Input Validation:

    • Validate all user inputs to prevent common vulnerabilities like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and command injection.
    • Leverage Rails' built-in model validations and sanitization mechanisms.
    • Sanitize all output to prevent XSS attacks.

  • Cryptography:

    • Use strong encryption algorithms to protect sensitive data at rest and in transit.
    • Store passwords securely using strong hashing algorithms (e.g., bcrypt).
    • Use HTTPS for all communication between the client and the server.

DESIGN

C4 CONTEXT

graph LR
    User["User"]
    RailsAdmin["Rails Admin\n(Project)"]
    RailsApp["Rails Application"]
    Database["Database"]
    ExternalAuth["External Authentication\n(e.g., Devise)"]
    ExternalAuthz["External Authorization\n(e.g., CanCanCan)"]
    ExternalServices["External Services\n(e.g., Email, Payment)"]

    User -- Administers --> RailsAdmin
    RailsAdmin -- Uses --> RailsApp
    RailsApp -- Reads/Writes --> Database
    RailsAdmin -- Integrates with --> ExternalAuth
    RailsAdmin -- Integrates with --> ExternalAuthz
    RailsApp -- Uses --> ExternalServices
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Element Descriptions:

  • Element:

    • Name: User
    • Type: Person
    • Description: A person who interacts with the Rails Admin interface to manage the application's data.
    • Responsibilities: Authenticates, views data, modifies data, performs administrative tasks.
    • Security controls: Authentication, Authorization, Session Management.

  • Element:

    • Name: Rails Admin (Project)
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: The Rails Admin gem, providing a web-based interface for managing data.
    • Responsibilities: Provides UI, handles user requests, interacts with the Rails application, enforces authorization.
    • Security controls: Input Validation, Output Encoding, CSRF Protection, Integration with External Authentication and Authorization.

  • Element:

    • Name: Rails Application
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: The main Ruby on Rails application that Rails Admin is integrated with.
    • Responsibilities: Business logic, data access, interacts with external services.
    • Security controls: Application-specific security controls, Data Validation, Secure Configuration.

  • Element:

    • Name: Database
    • Type: Database
    • Description: The database used by the Rails application to store data.
    • Responsibilities: Stores data, provides data access to the Rails application.
    • Security controls: Database security controls (e.g., access control, encryption).

  • Element:

    • Name: External Authentication (e.g., Devise)
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: An external gem or service used for user authentication.
    • Responsibilities: Authenticates users, manages user accounts, provides authentication tokens.
    • Security controls: Authentication mechanisms, Password Management, Session Management.

  • Element:

    • Name: External Authorization (e.g., CanCanCan)
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: An external gem or service used for user authorization.
    • Responsibilities: Defines user roles and permissions, enforces access control rules.
    • Security controls: Authorization mechanisms, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).

  • Element:

    • Name: External Services (e.g., Email, Payment)
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: External services used by the Rails application.
    • Responsibilities: Provides specific functionalities (e.g., sending emails, processing payments).
    • Security controls: Service-specific security controls, Secure Communication.

C4 CONTAINER

graph LR
    User["User"]
    Browser["Web Browser"]
    RailsApp["Rails Application\n(Container)"]
    RailsAdminEngine["Rails Admin Engine\n(Container)"]
    Database["Database\n(Container)"]
    ExternalAuth["External Authentication\n(Container)"]
    ExternalAuthz["External Authorization\n(Container)"]

    User -- HTTPS --> Browser
    Browser -- HTTPS --> RailsApp
    RailsApp -- Mounts --> RailsAdminEngine
    RailsAdminEngine -- Uses --> RailsApp
    RailsApp -- Reads/Writes --> Database
    RailsApp -- Uses --> ExternalAuth
    RailsAdminEngine -- Uses --> ExternalAuthz
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Element Descriptions:

  • Element:

    • Name: User
    • Type: Person
    • Description: A person who interacts with the Rails Admin interface.
    • Responsibilities: Authenticates, views data, modifies data, performs administrative tasks.
    • Security controls: Authentication, Authorization, Session Management.

  • Element:

    • Name: Web Browser
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: The user's web browser.
    • Responsibilities: Renders the Rails Admin interface, sends user requests to the server.
    • Security controls: Browser security features (e.g., XSS protection, CSP).

  • Element:

    • Name: Rails Application (Container)
    • Type: Container: Web Application
    • Description: The main Ruby on Rails application.
    • Responsibilities: Business logic, data access, interacts with external services, serves the Rails Admin engine.
    • Security controls: Application-specific security controls, Data Validation, Secure Configuration.

  • Element:

    • Name: Rails Admin Engine (Container)
    • Type: Container: Rails Engine
    • Description: The Rails Admin gem, packaged as a Rails Engine.
    • Responsibilities: Provides the admin interface, handles admin requests, interacts with the Rails application models.
    • Security controls: Input Validation, Output Encoding, CSRF Protection, Integration with External Authentication and Authorization.

  • Element:

    • Name: Database (Container)
    • Type: Container: Database
    • Description: The database used by the Rails application.
    • Responsibilities: Stores data, provides data access to the Rails application.
    • Security controls: Database security controls (e.g., access control, encryption).

  • Element:

    • Name: External Authentication (Container)
    • Type: Container: Web Application/Service
    • Description: An external gem or service used for user authentication (e.g., Devise).
    • Responsibilities: Authenticates users, manages user accounts, provides authentication tokens.
    • Security controls: Authentication mechanisms, Password Management, Session Management.

  • Element:

    • Name: External Authorization (Container)
    • Type: Container: Web Application/Service
    • Description: An external gem or service used for user authorization (e.g., CanCanCan).
    • Responsibilities: Defines user roles and permissions, enforces access control rules.
    • Security controls: Authorization mechanisms, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).

DEPLOYMENT

Possible Deployment Solutions:

  1. Heroku: Deploy the Rails application (including Rails Admin) to Heroku.
  2. AWS Elastic Beanstalk: Deploy the Rails application to AWS Elastic Beanstalk.
  3. Docker/Kubernetes: Containerize the Rails application and deploy it using Docker and Kubernetes.
  4. Traditional Server (e.g., Nginx/Apache + Passenger): Deploy the Rails application to a traditional server using a web server like Nginx or Apache and an application server like Passenger.

Chosen Solution (Example: Heroku):

graph LR
    User["User"]
    Browser["Web Browser"]
    HerokuRouter["Heroku Router"]
    HerokuDyno["Heroku Dyno\n(Rails App + Rails Admin)"]
    HerokuPostgres["Heroku Postgres"]
    ExternalAuth["External Authentication\n(e.g., Devise)"]
    ExternalAuthz["External Authorization\n(e.g., CanCanCan)"]

    User -- HTTPS --> Browser
    Browser -- HTTPS --> HerokuRouter
    HerokuRouter -- HTTPS --> HerokuDyno
    HerokuDyno -- Reads/Writes --> HerokuPostgres
    HerokuDyno -- Uses --> ExternalAuth
    HerokuDyno -- Uses --> ExternalAuthz
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Element Descriptions:

  • Element:

    • Name: User
    • Type: Person
    • Description: A person who interacts with the Rails Admin interface.
    • Responsibilities: Authenticates, views data, modifies data, performs administrative tasks.
    • Security controls: Authentication, Authorization, Session Management.

  • Element:

    • Name: Web Browser
    • Type: Software System
    • Description: The user's web browser.
    • Responsibilities: Renders the Rails Admin interface, sends user requests to the server.
    • Security controls: Browser security features (e.g., XSS protection, CSP).

  • Element:

    • Name: Heroku Router
    • Type: Infrastructure Node
    • Description: Heroku's routing layer.
    • Responsibilities: Routes incoming requests to the appropriate Heroku Dyno.
    • Security controls: Heroku platform security controls, DDoS protection.

  • Element:

    • Name: Heroku Dyno (Rails App + Rails Admin)
    • Type: Infrastructure Node
    • Description: A Heroku Dyno running the Rails application and Rails Admin.
    • Responsibilities: Executes the application code, handles requests, interacts with the database and external services.
    • Security controls: Application-specific security controls, Rails Admin security controls, Heroku Dyno isolation.

  • Element:

    • Name: Heroku Postgres
    • Type: Infrastructure Node
    • Description: A Heroku Postgres database instance.
    • Responsibilities: Stores data, provides data access to the Rails application.
    • Security controls: Heroku Postgres security controls (e.g., access control, encryption).

  • Element:

    • Name: External Authentication (e.g., Devise)
    • Type: Software System/Container
    • Description: An external gem or service used for user authentication.
    • Responsibilities: Authenticates users, manages user accounts, provides authentication tokens.
    • Security controls: Authentication mechanisms, Password Management, Session Management.

  • Element:

    • Name: External Authorization (e.g., CanCanCan)
    • Type: Software System/Container
    • Description: An external gem or service used for user authorization.
    • Responsibilities: Defines user roles and permissions, enforces access control rules.
    • Security controls: Authorization mechanisms, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).

BUILD

The build process for Rails Admin is primarily focused on gem development and testing. It does not involve a traditional "build" in the sense of creating a deployable artifact like a Docker image. However, there are steps to ensure code quality and security.

graph LR
    Developer["Developer"]
    GitHub["GitHub Repository"]
    CI["CI Server\n(e.g., GitHub Actions)"]
    Rubygems["RubyGems.org"]
    Tests["Tests\n(RSpec, etc.)"]
    Linters["Linters\n(Rubocop)"]
    SecurityScanners["Security Scanners\n(Brakeman)"]

    Developer -- Pushes code --> GitHub
    GitHub -- Triggers --> CI
    CI -- Runs --> Tests
    CI -- Runs --> Linters
    CI -- Runs --> SecurityScanners
    CI -- Publishes --> Rubygems
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Build Process Description:

  1. Developer: A developer writes code and pushes it to the GitHub repository.
  2. GitHub: The GitHub repository hosts the source code and triggers the CI/CD pipeline.
  3. CI Server (GitHub Actions): A CI server (e.g., GitHub Actions) is triggered by events in the GitHub repository (e.g., push, pull request).
  4. Tests: The CI server runs the test suite (e.g., RSpec) to ensure code functionality and prevent regressions.
  5. Linters: The CI server runs linters (e.g., Rubocop) to enforce code style and identify potential code quality issues.
  6. Security Scanners: The CI server runs security scanners (e.g., Brakeman) to detect potential security vulnerabilities in the code.
  7. Rubygems: If all tests and checks pass, the CI server can be configured to publish a new version of the gem to RubyGems.org.

Security Controls in Build Process:

  • security control: Code Review: All code changes are reviewed by other developers before being merged into the main branch.
  • security control: Automated Testing: The test suite helps prevent regressions and ensures code functionality.
  • security control: Static Analysis: Linters and security scanners help identify potential code quality and security issues.
  • security control: Dependency Management: Bundler ensures that dependencies are managed and updated regularly.
  • security control: Secure Configuration: CI/CD configuration files are reviewed to ensure they do not expose sensitive information.

RISK ASSESSMENT

Critical Business Processes:

  • Data Management: The primary business process is managing data within the Rails application. Rails Admin provides the interface for this process.
  • User Authentication and Authorization: Ensuring that only authorized users can access and modify data.
  • Application Administration: Performing administrative tasks related to the application.

Data Sensitivity:

  • The data sensitivity depends on the specific Rails application that Rails Admin is used with. It can range from non-sensitive data to highly sensitive data (e.g., PII, financial data, health data).
  • Rails Admin itself does not store any data; it interacts with the application's database.

QUESTIONS & ASSUMPTIONS

Questions:

  • What specific types of data will be managed through Rails Admin in a typical installation? (This helps assess data sensitivity.)
  • What are the most common authentication and authorization solutions used with Rails Admin in practice?
  • Are there any specific compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) that need to be considered for typical Rails Admin deployments?

Assumptions:

  • BUSINESS POSTURE: The primary goal is to provide a convenient and secure way to manage data in Rails applications.
  • SECURITY POSTURE: The security of Rails Admin relies heavily on the security of the underlying Rails application and the chosen authentication/authorization solutions.
  • DESIGN: The deployment environment will be a typical Rails deployment (e.g., Heroku, AWS, Docker). The build process will follow standard Ruby gem development practices.