Key rotation mechanism

[ralyodio]

📋 Product Requirements Document

PRD: Key rotation mechanism

Issue: #146
Milestone: Phase 4: Security
Labels: secrets-encryption, hacktoberfest

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PRD: Key Rotation Mechanism for MeshHook

Overview

The introduction of a key rotation mechanism represents a significant security enhancement for MeshHook, a webhook-first, deterministic, Postgres-native workflow engine. This mechanism is designed to periodically update the encryption keys used to secure secrets within the project's secrets vault, thus enhancing the security posture of MeshHook by minimizing the risks associated with key compromise. This feature is essential for maintaining MeshHook's commitment to robust, multi-tenant RLS security and adheres to best practices in secrets management.

Objectives

• Enhance security by minimizing the risks associated with the compromise of long-standing encryption keys.
• Ensure backward compatibility and access to data encrypted with previous keys.
• Automate the process to reduce administrative overhead and potential human error.
• Provide clear, actionable auditing trails for compliance and security analysis.

Functional Requirements

1. Key Rotation Logic: The system must support generating new encryption keys and transitioning encrypted secrets to use these new keys without service interruption.
2. Backward Compatibility: It must be possible to decrypt secrets encrypted with previous keys after a rotation event, ensuring uninterrupted access to historical data.
3. Automatic Rotation Schedule: Administrators should be able to configure an automatic rotation schedule (e.g., every 90 days) through a simple interface.
4. Manual Rotation Trigger: Provide mechanisms (CLI and API) for administrators to manually initiate a key rotation event.
5. Key Versioning: Implement a versioning scheme for keys to manage and reference different keys used over time.
6. Audit Logging: All key rotation activities (initiations, completions, failures) must be logged for compliance and analysis.

Non-Functional Requirements

• Performance: The key rotation process must be optimized to minimize impact on system performance and availability.
• Reliability: The system should handle failures gracefully, allowing for retry or rollback without compromising security or data integrity.
• Security: Secure cryptographic practices must be employed for key generation, storage, and handling, with appropriate access controls for rotation operations.
• Maintainability: Code should be modular, well-documented, and align with existing project patterns for easy future maintenance and updates.

Technical Specifications

Architecture Context

MeshHook leverages SvelteKit for its front end and Supabase, including Postgres, for backend services. The key rotation mechanism must integrate seamlessly, focusing on secure handling and storage of encryption keys within a Postgres environment, adhering to MeshHook's security-first design principles.

Implementation Approach

1. Analysis: Review existing encryption and secrets management implementations to identify integration points for key rotation.
2. Design:
   • Define a schema in Postgres for storing encryption keys, incorporating versioning and active status indicators.
   • Design a procedure for migrating secrets to new keys post-rotation.
   • Develop logic for both automatic and manual rotation triggers, including administrative interfaces.
3. Implementation:
   • Implement key rotation logic, focusing on security and minimal performance impact.
   • Develop the scheduling system for automatic rotations and the necessary API/CLI interfaces for manual triggers.
   • Ensure comprehensive audit logging for all key rotation activities.
4. Testing: Conduct thorough testing, including unit, integration, and system tests, to ensure reliability and security.

Data Model Changes

• EncryptionKeys Table: A new table to store information about encryption keys, including fields for key ID, version, creation date, and active status.

API Endpoints

• POST /api/keys/rotate: Endpoint to manually trigger a key rotation, accessible only to users with administrative privileges.

Acceptance Criteria

• Key rotation seamlessly re-encrypts secrets without data loss or service interruption.
• Automatic and manual rotation mechanisms operate according to specifications.
• Key versioning effectively tracks and facilitates the management of multiple key generations.
• Audit logs comprehensively record key rotation activities.
• System performance remains stable during and after key rotation events.
• Documentation accurately and clearly describes the key rotation feature, including configuration and operation.

Dependencies

• Access to the project's Supabase instance for schema modifications and testing.
• Review of existing encryption and secrets management implementations for compatibility.

Implementation Notes

Development Guidelines

• Adhere to modern JavaScript best practices and the project's coding standards.
• Utilize recommended cryptographic libraries for key generation and management.
• Ensure comprehensive automated test coverage for all new code.

Testing Strategy

• Unit Tests: Cover key rotation logic, version management, and scheduling with unit tests.
• Integration Tests: Test the integration of the key rotation mechanism with the secrets encryption and storage systems.
• Manual Testing: Manually verify the functionality of the manual rotation trigger and the integrity of audit logs.

Security Considerations

• Employ secure cryptographic algorithms and libraries for all operations.
• Restrict key rotation operations to authorized users through robust authentication and authorization mechanisms.
• Manage old keys securely, ensuring they remain accessible for decrypting historical data while protecting against unauthorized use.

Monitoring and Observability

• Implement monitoring to track key rotation successes, durations, and failures.
• Integrate key rotation activities into existing logging systems for audit and troubleshooting purposes.

By following this PRD, MeshHook will implement a robust key rotation mechanism that enhances its security posture, ensuring the protection of sensitive data and compliance with security best practices.

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This PRD was AI-generated using gpt-4-turbo-preview from GitHub issue #146
Generated: 2025-10-10

📎 Generated Documentation

• 📄 PRD Document: 146-key-rotation-mechanism.md
• 🎨 PlantUML Diagram: 146-key-rotation-mechanism.puml
• 🖼️ Diagram Image: 146-key-rotation-mechanism.png

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This issue body was auto-generated from the PRD. Original issue content is preserved in the PRD document.
Last updated: 2025-10-10