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.. _security_chapter:
Security
========
:mod:`repoze.bfg` provides an optional declarative security system
that prevents views that are protected by a :term:`permission` from
being rendered when the user represented by the request does not have
the appropriate level of access in a context.
Security is enabled by adding configuration to your ``configure.zcml``
which specifies a :term:`security policy`.
Enabling a Security Policy
--------------------------
By default, :mod:`repoze.bfg` enables no security policy. All views
are accessible by completely anonymous users.
However, if you add the following bit of code to your application's
``configure.zcml``, you will enable a security policy:
.. code-block:: xml
:linenos:
<utility
provides="repoze.bfg.interfaces.ISecurityPolicy"
factory="repoze.bfg.security.RemoteUserACLSecurityPolicy"
/>
The above insrcutable stanza enables the
``RemoteUserACLSecurityPolicy`` to be in effect for every request to
your application. The ``RemoteUserACLSecurityPolicy`` is a policy
which compares the ``REMOTE_USER`` variable passed in the reqest's
environment (as the sole :term:`principal`) against any *ACL* found in
model data when attempting to call some :term:`view`. The policy
either allows the view that the permission was declared for to be
called, or returns a ``401 Unathorized`` response code to the upstream
WSGI server.
Protecting Views with Permissions
---------------------------------
You declaratively protected a particular view with a
:term:`permission` via the ``configure.zcml`` application registry.
For example, the following declaration protects the view named
``add_entry.html`` when invoked against an ``IBlog`` context with the
``add`` permission:
.. code-block:: xml
:linenos:
<bfg:view
for=".models.IBlog"
view=".views.blog_entry_add_view"
name="add_entry.html"
permission="add"
/>
If a security policy is in place when this view is found during normal
application operations, the user will need to possess the ``add``
permission against the context to be able to invoke the
``blog_entry_add_view`` view.
Permission names are just strings. They hold no special significance
to the system. You can name permissions whatever you like.
Assigning ACLs to your Model Objects
------------------------------------
When :mod:`repoze.bfg` determines whether a user possesses a particular
permission in a :term:`context`, it examines the :term:`ACL`
associated with the context. An ACL is associated with a context by
virtue of the ``__acl__`` attribute of the model object representing
the context. This attribute can be defined on the model *instance*
(if you need instance-level security), or it can be defined on the
model *class* (if you just need type-level security).
For example, an ACL might be attached to model for a blog via its
class:
.. code-block:: python
:linenos:
from repoze.bfg.security import Everyone
from repoze.bfg.security import Allow
class IBlog(Interface):
pass
class Blog(dict):
__acl__ = [
(Allow, Everyone, 'view'),
(Allow, 'group:editors', 'add'),
(Allow, 'group:editors', 'edit'),
]
implements(IBlog)
The above ACL indicates that the ``Everyone`` principal (a special
system-defined principal indicating, literally, everyone) is allowed
to view the blog, the ``group:editors`` principal is allowed to add to
and edit the blog.
.. note:: Each tuple within the above ``__acl__`` structure is known
as a :term:`ACE`, which stands for "access control entry".
A principal is usually a user id, however it also may be a group id if
your authentication system provides group information and the security
policy is written to respect them. The
``RemoteUserACLSecurityPolicy`` does not respect group information.
ACL Inheritance
---------------
While the security policy is in place, if a model object does not have
an ACL when it is the context, its *parent* is consulted for an ACL.
If that object does not have an ACL, *its* parent is consulted for an
ACL, ad infinitum, until we've reached the root and there are no more
parents left.
The *first* ACL found by the security policy will be used as the
effective ACL. No combination of ACLs found during traversal or
backtracking is done.
Location-Awareness
------------------
In order to allow the security machinery to perform ACL inheritance,
model objects must provide *location-awareness*. Providing
location-awareness means two things: the root object in the graph must
have a ``_name__`` and a ``__parent__`` attribute and the root object
must be declared to implement the ``repoze.bfg.interfaces.ILocation``
interface. For example:
.. code-block::
:linenos:
from repoze.bfg.interfaces import ILocation
from zope.interface import implements
class Blog(object):
implements(ILocation)
__name__ = ''
__parent__ = None
An object with a ``__parent__`` attribute and a ``__name__`` attribute
is said to be *location-aware*. Location-aware objects define an
``__parent__`` attribute which points at their parent object. The
root object's ``__parent__`` is ``None``.
If the root object in a :mod:`repoze.bfg` application declares that it
implements the ``repoze.bfg.interfaces.ILocation`` interface, it is
assumed that the objects in the rest of the model are location-aware.
If those objects are not explictly location-aware, if the root object
is marked as ``ILocation``, the bfg framework will wrap each object
during traversal in a *location proxy* that has both the ``__name__``
and ``__parent__`` attributes, but otherwise acts the same as your
model object.
You can of course supply ``__name__`` and ``__parent__`` attributes
explicitly on all of your model objects, and no location proxying will
be performed.
See :ref:`location_module` for documentations of functions which use
location-awareness.
Debugging Security Failures
---------------------------
If your application is allowing or denying access inappropriately (in
your judgment), start your application under a shell using the
``BFG_SECURITY_DEBUG`` environment variable. For example::
$ BFG_SECURITY_DEBUG=1 bin/paster serve myproject.ini
When any authorization takes place, a message will be logged to the
console about what ACE in which ACL permitted or denied the
authorization based on authentication information.
|