Please do not report security vulnerabilities through public GitHub issues.

If you discover a security vulnerability, please send an email to security@example.com with:

• Description of the vulnerability
• Steps to reproduce
• Potential impact
• Suggested fix (if any)

We will acknowledge your email within 48 hours and provide a detailed response within 7 days.

Data at Rest:

• All secrets encrypted using XChaCha20-Poly1305 AEAD
• 256-bit encryption keys derived from master key
• 192-bit random nonces (never reused)
• Authenticated encryption prevents tampering

Key Management:

• Master key stored in environment variable (not in database)
• Key versioning supports rotation without data loss
• Old keys retained for decryption of existing secrets
• Keys derived using Argon2id for password-based operations

Argon2id Parameters:

• Time cost: 3 iterations
• Memory: 64 MB
• Parallelism: 4 threads
• Output: 32 bytes

JWT Tokens:

• HMAC-SHA256 signatures
• User tokens: 24-hour expiry
• Service principal tokens: 1-hour expiry
• Token claims include user ID, type, permissions
• Tokens validated on every request

Multi-Factor Authentication:

• TOTP-based (Time-based One-Time Password)
• 6-digit codes, 30-second window
• Compatible with Google Authenticator, Authy
• Optional per-user enablement

Service Principals:

• Client ID and client secret authentication
• Scoped permissions (e.g., secrets:read, secrets:create)
• Rate limits configurable per service principal
• Secrets hashed with Argon2id before storage

TLS Configuration:

• TLS 1.3 minimum version
• Strong cipher suites only:
  • TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
  • TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
  • TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256
• Curve preferences: X25519, P-256
• Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS)

Security Headers:

• Strict-Transport-Security: 1-year HSTS with subdomains
• X-Frame-Options: DENY (clickjacking protection)
• X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
• X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block
• Content-Security-Policy: Restrictive policy
• Referrer-Policy: no-referrer
• Permissions-Policy: Disables unnecessary features

Protection Against Abuse:

• Per-IP rate limiting with sliding window
• Configurable limits (default: 100 requests/minute)
• HTTP 429 responses when exceeded
• Custom limits for service principals
• Automatic cleanup of stale entries

Implementation:

• In-memory cache for performance
• X-Forwarded-For support for reverse proxies
• Rate limit headers on every response
• No shared state (stateless across instances)

Request Validation:

• Maximum request body size (default: 1 MB)
• JSON schema validation
• SQL injection prevention via parameterized queries
• Path traversal prevention
• Strict username/email format validation

Data Sanitization:

• HTML escaping in error messages
• No user input in SQL queries
• Type-safe database operations
• Bounds checking on array access

Connection Security:

• SSL/TLS connections required in production
• Connection pooling with limits
• Prepared statements prevent SQL injection
• Row-level security policies

Password Storage:

• Argon2id hashing (never store plaintext)
• Unique salt per password
• Constant-time comparison prevents timing attacks

Audit Logging:

• All operations logged to audit_logs table
• Includes user ID, action, timestamp, IP address
• Immutable records (no updates, only inserts)
• Retention policy configurable

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC):

• User roles: regular, admin
• Service principal permissions: granular scopes
• Resource ownership checks
• Permission validation on every request

Secret Access Control:

• Users can only access their own secrets
• Service principals require explicit permissions
• Admin users have full access
• Audit trail for all access

1. Never commit secrets to version control

   • Use .env files (excluded by .gitignore)
   • Use environment variables in production
   • Rotate secrets if accidentally committed

2. Use strong, unique passwords

   • Minimum 12 characters
   • Mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols
   • Consider passphrase-based passwords

3. Enable TLS in production

   • Use certificates from trusted CA (Let's Encrypt)
   • Configure HSTS header
   • Test with SSL Labs

4. Protect the master encryption key

   • Store in secure environment variable
   • Never log or expose in errors
   • Rotate periodically (requires key rotation)
   • Consider using KMS (AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault)

5. Harden database access

   • Use SSL connections
   • Restrict network access
   • Use dedicated database user with minimal privileges
   • Regular backups with encryption

6. Configure reverse proxy properly

   • Set X-Forwarded-For correctly
   • Enable rate limiting at proxy level too
   • Restrict metrics endpoint access
   • Use fail2ban for brute force protection

7. Monitor and alert

   • High error rates
   • Failed authentication attempts
   • Rate limit violations
   • Database connection issues
   • Certificate expiry warnings

1. Keep dependencies updated

   go get -u ./...
   go mod tidy

2. Run security scanners

   # Vulnerability scanning
   go install golang.org/x/vuln/cmd/govulncheck@latest
   govulncheck ./...
   
   # Static analysis
   go install github.com/securego/gosec/v2/cmd/gosec@latest
   gosec ./...

3. Review code for security issues

   • SQL injection risks
   • Path traversal vulnerabilities
   • Insecure cryptography
   • Hardcoded secrets
   • Information leakage in errors

4. Write security tests

   • Test authentication bypass attempts
   • Test authorization boundaries
   • Test input validation
   • Test rate limiting

We are committed to working with security researchers to identify and resolve security issues.

Our Promise:

• We will respond to your report within 48 hours
• We will keep you informed of our progress
• We will credit you for responsible disclosure (if desired)
• We will not pursue legal action for good faith research

We Ask That You:

• Give us reasonable time to fix issues before public disclosure
• Avoid privacy violations, data destruction, or service disruption
• Only test against your own accounts or with explicit permission

Scope: Full application security review

Findings:

• ✅ Encryption implementation follows best practices
• ✅ Authentication mechanisms are secure
• ✅ Rate limiting effectively prevents abuse
• ✅ No SQL injection vulnerabilities found
• ✅ TLS configuration meets industry standards

Recommendations Implemented:

• Added request size limits
• Enhanced security headers
• Improved audit logging
• Added service principal rate limits

• Third-party penetration test (Q2 2024)
• Cryptographic review by independent expert
• OWASP compliance audit
• GDPR compliance review

Implemented CIS Controls:

• Control 3: Data Protection - Encryption at rest and in transit
• Control 4: Secure Configuration - Hardened defaults
• Control 6: Access Control - RBAC and authentication
• Control 8: Audit Log Management - Comprehensive logging
• Control 14: Security Monitoring - Metrics and alerts

1. In-Memory Rate Limiting

   • Does not persist across restarts
   • Not shared across multiple instances
   • Mitigation: Use Redis for distributed rate limiting in production

2. Master Key in Environment

   • Single point of failure
   • No automatic rotation
   • Mitigation: Consider integrating with KMS services

3. No Built-in Key Backup

   • Key rotation requires manual key preservation
   • Mitigation: Implement key backup procedures

4. Service Principal Secrets

   • Cannot be recovered if lost
   • Mitigation: Store securely during creation

Before deploying to production:

• Strong JWT secret (32+ bytes, randomly generated)
• TLS enabled with valid certificates
• Database SSL connections enabled
• Rate limiting configured appropriately
• Max request size set to reasonable value
• Metrics endpoint access restricted

• Firewall rules configured (only necessary ports open)
• Database on private network
• Regular automated backups configured
• Backup encryption enabled
• Monitoring and alerting set up

• Latest security patches applied
• Dependency vulnerabilities scanned
• Security headers verified
• Audit logging enabled
• Error messages don't leak sensitive info

• Incident response plan documented
• Key rotation procedures established
• Backup restoration tested
• Access controls reviewed
• Security team trained

• OWASP Cheat Sheet Series
• Go Security Best Practices
• NIST Cryptographic Standards
• CIS Controls

For security concerns, please contact: security@example.com

For general questions: support@example.com