git.stella-ops.org/docs/security/authority-threat-model.md

Authority Threat Model (STRIDE)

Prepared by Security Guild — 2025-10-12. Scope covers Authority host, Standard plug-in, CLI, bootstrap workflow, and offline revocation distribution.

1. Scope & Method

• Methodology: STRIDE applied to primary Authority surfaces (token issuance, bootstrap, revocation, operator tooling, plug-in extensibility).
• Assets in scope: identity credentials, OAuth tokens (access/refresh), bootstrap invites, revocation manifests, signing keys, audit telemetry.
• Out of scope: Third-party IdPs federated via OpenIddict (tracked separately in SEC6 backlog).

2. Assets & Entry Points

Asset / Surface	Description	Primary Actors
Token issuance APIs (/token, /authorize)	OAuth/OIDC endpoints mediated by OpenIddict	CLI, UI, automation agents
Bootstrap channel	Initial admin invite + bootstrap CLI workflow	Platform operators
Revocation bundle	Offline JSON + detached JWS consumed by agents	Feedser, Agents, Zastava
Plug-in manifests	Standard plug-in configuration and password policy overrides	Operators, DevOps
Signing keys	ES256 signing keys backing tokens and revocation manifests	Security Guild, HSM/KeyOps
Audit telemetry	Structured login/audit stream persisted to Mongo/observability stack	SOC, SecOps

3. Trust Boundaries

Boundary	Rationale	Controls
TB1 — Public network ↔️ Authority ingress	Internet/extranet exposure for /token, /authorize, /bootstrap	TLS 1.3, reverse proxy ACLs, rate limiting (SEC3.A / CORE8.RL)
TB2 — Authority host ↔️ Mongo storage	Credential store, revocation state, audit log persistence	Authenticated Mongo, network segmentation, deterministic serializers
TB3 — Authority host ↔️ Plug-in sandbox	Plug-ins may override password policy and bootstrap flows	Code signing, manifest validation, restart-time loading only
TB4 — Operator workstation ↔️ CLI	CLI holds bootstrap secrets and revocation bundles	OS keychain storage, MFA on workstations, offline kit checksum
TB5 — Authority ↔️ Downstream agents	Revocation bundle consumption, token validation	Mutual TLS (planned), detached JWS signatures, bundle freshness checks

4. Data Flow Diagrams

4.1 Runtime token issuance

flowchart LR
    subgraph Client Tier
        CLI[StellaOps CLI]
        UI[UI / Automation]
    end
    subgraph Perimeter
        RP[Reverse Proxy / WAF]
    end
    subgraph Authority
        AUTH[Authority Host]
        PLGIN[Standard Plug-in]
        STORE[(Mongo Credential Store)]
    end
    CLI -->|OAuth password / client creds| RP --> AUTH
    UI -->|OAuth flows| RP
    AUTH -->|PasswordHashOptions + Secrets| PLGIN
    AUTH -->|Verify / Persist hashes| STORE
    STORE -->|Rehash needed| AUTH
    AUTH -->|Access / refresh token| RP --> Client Tier

4.2 Bootstrap & revocation

flowchart LR
    subgraph Operator
        OPS[Operator Workstation]
    end
    subgraph Authority
        AUTH[Authority Host]
        STORE[(Mongo)]
    end
    subgraph Distribution
        OFFKIT[Offline Kit Bundle]
        AGENT[Authorized Agent / Feedser]
    end
    OPS -->|Bootstrap CLI (`stellaops auth bootstrap`)| AUTH
    AUTH -->|One-time invite + Argon2 hash| STORE
    AUTH -->|Revocation export (`stellaops auth revoke export`)| OFFKIT
    OFFKIT -->|Signed JSON + .jws| AGENT
    AGENT -->|Revocation ACK / telemetry| AUTH

5. STRIDE Analysis

Threat	STRIDE Vector	Surface	Risk (L×I)	Existing Controls	Gaps / Actions	Owner
Spoofed revocation bundle	Spoofing	TB5 — Authority ↔️ Agents	Med×High	Detached JWS signature (planned), offline kit checksums	Finalise signing key registry & verification script (SEC4.B/SEC4.HOST); add bundle freshness requirement	Security Guild (follow-up: SEC5.B)
Parameter tampering on /token	Tampering	TB1 — Public ingress	Med×High	ASP.NET model validation, OpenIddict, rate limiter (CORE8.RL)	Tampered requests emit authority.token.tamper audit events (request.tampered, unexpected parameter names) correlating with /token outcomes (SEC5.C)	Security Guild + Authority Core (follow-up: SEC5.C)
Bootstrap invite replay	Repudiation	TB4 — Operator CLI ↔️ Authority	Low×High	One-time bootstrap tokens, Argon2id hashing on creation	Invites expire automatically and emit audit events on consumption/expiration (SEC5.D)	Security Guild
Token replay by stolen agent	Information Disclosure	TB5	Med×High	Signed revocation bundles, device fingerprint heuristics, optional mTLS	Monitor revocation acknowledgement latency via Zastava and tune replay alerting thresholds	Security Guild + Zastava (follow-up: SEC5.E)
Privilege escalation via plug-in override	Elevation of Privilege	TB3 — Plug-in sandbox	Med×High	Signed plug-ins, restart-only loading, configuration validation	Add static analysis on manifest overrides + runtime warning when policy weaker than host	Security Guild + DevOps (follow-up: SEC5.F)
Offline bundle tampering	Tampering	Distribution	Low×High	SHA256 manifest, signed bundles (planned)	Add supply-chain attestation for Offline Kit, publish verification CLI in docs	Security Guild + Ops (follow-up: SEC5.G)
Failure to log denied tokens	Repudiation	TB2 — Authority ↔️ Mongo	Med×Med	Serilog structured events (partial), Mongo persistence path (planned)	Finalise audit schema (SEC2.A) and ensure /token denies include subject/client/IP fields	Security Guild + Authority Core (follow-up: SEC5.H)

Risk scoring uses qualitative scale (Low/Med/High) for likelihood × impact; mitigation priority follows High > Med > Low.

6. Follow-up Backlog Hooks

Backlog ID	Linked Threat	Summary	Target Owners
SEC5.B	Spoofed revocation bundle	Complete libsodium/Core signing integration and ship revocation verification script.	Security Guild + Authority Core
SEC5.C	Parameter tampering on /token	Finalise audit contract (SEC2.A) and add request tamper logging.	Security Guild + Authority Core
SEC5.D	Bootstrap invite replay	Implement expiry enforcement + audit coverage for unused bootstrap invites.	Security Guild
SEC5.E	Token replay by stolen agent	Coordinate Zastava alerting with the new device fingerprint heuristics and surface stale revocation acknowledgements.	Security Guild + Zastava
SEC5.F	Plug-in override escalation	Static analysis of plug-in manifests; warn on weaker password policy overrides.	Security Guild + DevOps
SEC5.G	Offline bundle tampering	Extend Offline Kit build to include attested manifest + verification CLI sample.	Security Guild + Ops
SEC5.H	Failure to log denied tokens	Ensure audit persistence for all /token denials with correlation IDs.	Security Guild + Authority Core

Update src/StellaOps.Cryptography/TASKS.md (Security Guild board) with the above backlog entries to satisfy SEC5.A exit criteria.