[CRITICAL] Lack of comprehensive authentication and authorization check... #8
Description
# [CRITICAL] Implement Comprehensive Authentication and Authorization Checks on All RPC Endpoints
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### 🚨 **Priority:** Critical
### 🏷️ Labels: `critical`, `bug`, `security`
### 🕵️♂️ Related Milestone: AI Development Plan Milestone #1
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## 🧩 Problem Statement
The current implementation of the Solana MCP Server's RPC endpoints lacks **comprehensive authentication and authorization checks**, exposing critical security vulnerabilities. Without rigorous access control, unauthorized users or malicious actors could exploit RPC methods, leading to data leakage, unauthorized transactions, or denial of service attacks. This issue is **high risk** and demands immediate remediation to safeguard blockchain data integrity and maintain trustworthiness of the service.
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## 🏗️ Technical Context
- The project `openSVM/solana-mcp-server` is a Rust-based MCP server exposing numerous RPC endpoints to query Solana blockchain data.
- Recent development efforts have improved documentation and some validation, but no uniform or foolproof authentication/authorization layer is currently enforced.
- The server runs in diverse environments (local, Docker, Kubernetes), so the solution must be environment-agnostic and scalable.
- RPC endpoints currently accept requests with minimal validation, increasing susceptibility to unauthorized access and injection attacks.
- Security & Input Validation Enhancements are identified as a **Must** priority with **High** risk.
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## 🎯 Objectives
1. **Audit all existing RPC endpoints** for missing or insufficient authentication and authorization logic.
2. **Design and implement a robust auth layer** that:
- Authenticates users/clients making RPC calls (e.g., API keys, JWT tokens, OAuth2, or Solana wallet signatures).
- Authorizes access based on roles, scopes, or permissions aligned with endpoint sensitivity.
3. Integrate **secure input validation** to complement auth checks and prevent injection or malformed requests.
4. Ensure the implementation fits seamlessly into the existing Rust codebase, following idiomatic Rust practices and project architecture.
5. Provide comprehensive **unit/integration tests** verifying both positive and negative auth scenarios.
6. Update documentation to clearly describe authentication flows, required credentials, and error handling behaviors.
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## 🔧 Detailed Implementation Steps
1. **Initial Audit & Gap Analysis**
- Review all RPC endpoint handler functions in the repository.
- Identify where authentication checks are missing or incomplete.
- Document endpoints by their current auth status and risk level.
2. **Select Authentication Strategy**
- Propose an authentication mechanism compatible with Solana MCP usage:
- **Option A:** API keys with scoped permissions.
- **Option B:** JWT tokens issued by a trusted authority.
- **Option C:** Wallet signature verification leveraging Solana's cryptography (preferred for blockchain-native security).
- Discuss with the team to choose the most secure and user-friendly option.
3. **Implement Authentication Middleware/Interceptor**
- Develop a middleware layer in Rust that intercepts incoming RPC requests before they reach endpoint logic.
- Validate provided credentials (API key, JWT, or signature).
- Reject unauthorized or unauthenticated requests with clear error messages and proper HTTP/RPC error codes.
4. **Implement Authorization Logic**
- Define roles/scopes/permissions for users or clients (e.g., read-only, admin, transaction submitter).
- Enforce authorization checks per endpoint based on defined roles.
- Ensure sensitive endpoints have stricter authorization.
5. **Enhance Input Validation**
- Complement auth with thorough input validation on all RPC parameters.
- Use Rust crates like `serde` for deserialization with strict schema enforcement.
- Prevent injection attacks by sanitizing inputs where applicable.
6. **Testing**
- Write **unit tests** for the auth middleware covering:
- Valid credentials allow access.
- Invalid/missing credentials are rejected.
- Edge cases like expired tokens or malformed signatures.
- Develop **integration tests** simulating RPC calls with varying auth scenarios.
- Run regression tests to confirm no existing functionality is broken.
7. **Documentation**
- Update README and `/docs` with:
- Authentication mechanisms and setup instructions.
- How to generate and use credentials.
- Error codes and troubleshooting tips.
- Add examples for clients using authentication.
8. **Deployment Considerations**
- Ensure environment variables or config files securely store secret keys or token issuers.
- Document environment setup for secure deployment.
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## 📜 Technical Specifications
- **Language:** Rust (use idiomatic patterns and async if applicable)
- **Middleware Pattern:** Implement a request interceptor or wrapper around RPC handlers
- **Authentication Types Supported:** Initially one method (e.g., wallet signature verification) with provisions to extend
- **Authorization Model:** Role-based access control (RBAC) or scope-based
- **Error Handling:** Use structured error codes conforming to Solana RPC error standards
- **Input Validation:** Use `serde` with strict deserialization and custom validators where necessary
- **Logging:** Log authentication successes/failures with minimal sensitive info for audit trails
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## ✅ Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Comprehensive audit report of all RPC endpoints and their existing auth status is documented
- [ ] Authentication middleware intercepts all RPC calls and enforces credential validation
- [ ] Authorization logic restricts endpoint access based on defined roles/scopes
- [ ] All RPC inputs undergo strict validation to prevent malformed or malicious data
- [ ] Unit and integration tests cover all authentication and authorization scenarios with 100% pass rate
- [ ] No regressions detected in existing RPC functionalities
- [ ] Updated documentation clearly explains authentication/authorization process and usage
- [ ] Deployment instructions include secure management of credentials/secrets
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## 🧪 Testing Requirements
- **Unit Tests:**
- Validate authentication middleware behavior with mock credentials
- Test error responses for invalid tokens/keys/signatures
- **Integration Tests:**
- Full RPC call flows with authenticated and unauthorized clients
- Edge cases such as expired tokens or revoked permissions
- **Security Testing:**
- Attempt unauthorized access to sensitive endpoints to confirm denial
- Input fuzzing for injection or malformed request vulnerabilities
- **Regression Testing:**
- Confirm all pre-existing RPC methods respond correctly under authenticated scenarios
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## 📝 Documentation Needs
- Update `README.md` and `/docs/authentication.md` to include:
- Overview of the new authentication and authorization system
- Step-by-step instructions for acquiring and using credentials
- Examples of authenticated RPC calls
- Error codes and troubleshooting guidance
- Add a changelog entry detailing the security fix and new auth requirements
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## ⚠️ Potential Challenges & Risks
- **Choosing the right authentication mechanism:** Balancing security with usability can be tough. Wallet signature verification is secure but potentially complex for users. API keys or JWTs may be simpler but carry their own risks.
- **Performance impact:** Adding middleware checks may impact RPC response times; optimize for low latency.
- **Backward compatibility:** If existing clients do not support authentication, this fix might break integrations—plan for a transition period or versioning.
- **Secrets management:** Securely managing keys/tokens in different deployment environments requires careful consideration.
- **Comprehensive coverage:** Missing even a single endpoint could leave a security hole; thorough auditing is essential.
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## 🔗 Resources & References
- [Solana RPC API Docs](https://docs.solana.com/developing/clients/jsonrpc-api)
- [Rust Async Middleware Patterns](https://rust-lang.github.io/async-book/08_networking/09_middleware.html)
- [`serde` crate for data validation](https://serde.rs/)
- [JWT Crate for Rust](https://docs.rs/jsonwebtoken/latest/jsonwebtoken/)
- [Solana Wallet Signature Verification](https://docs.solana.com/developing/programming-model/calling-between-programs#verifying-signatures)
- [OWASP API Security Top 10](https://owasp.org/www-project-api-security/)
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Let's lock down these RPC gates and make our server an impenetrable fortress! 🚀🔐
If you have questions or want to collaborate on the auth design, ping me in the thread. Let's crush this! 💥
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