Files
rootnode-academy/platform/api
ced4568 7ce435ad32 feat(security): add CSRF double-submit protection and login rate limiting
Non-HttpOnly rn_csrf_s/rn_csrf_i cookies, set on login, echoed back as X-CSRF-Token on every
state-changing request — defense in depth on top of (not instead of) SameSite=Lax. In-memory
sliding-window rate limiting on instructor login (8 attempts / 5 min per ip:email, no new
dependency).

Real bug found while wiring this up: the Gateway's own progress-relay call (triggered when a
student solves a scenario) is a server-to-server POST to /api/progress/record relaying the
browser's session — it needs to forward the CSRF token too, and needs to forward BOTH the
rn_csrf_s cookie and a matching X-CSRF-Token header (forwarding only the header still 403'd,
since the double-submit check needs both on the request Platform API actually receives).

Also tightens the Gateway's session-resolution cache from 5000ms to 2000ms, so a
revoked/expired session stops working at the Gateway within a tighter, tested bound.

Frontend (admin + student API clients) now reads the relevant rn_csrf_* cookie via
document.cookie and attaches it on every POST/PATCH/DELETE.
2026-08-18 13:36:20 -05:00
..

RootNode Academy — Platform API (Phase 2B)

Lightweight service: no k3s, no --privileged, no Lab terminal runtime. See docs/PHASE2B_ADMIN_AND_PLATFORM_DATA.md for the design; this is the operational reference.

Configuration reference

Variable Required Meaning
PLATFORM_DB_URL no (defaults to local dev Postgres) Postgres connection string
PROVISIONER_URL no Provisioner base URL
PROVISIONER_SHARED_SECRET yes Internal Provisioner auth — process refuses to start without it
ADMIN_PASSWORD yes Instructor login credential — process refuses to start without it. Verified via scrypt+timing-safe compare, never stored or logged in plaintext
PLATFORM_API_PORT no Listen port, default 4300
FRONTEND_DIST_DIR no Where the built frontend lives — set by the Dockerfile, override for local non-Docker dev
SCENARIOS_DIR / BUNDLES_DIR / CURRICULUM_PATH_FILE no Override the default scenarios/ locations, mainly for local dev outside Docker

Local dev

cd platform
echo "PROVISIONER_SHARED_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32)" > .env
echo "ADMIN_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -hex 12)" >> .env
docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml build
docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d

Everything is reachable through the Gateway at http://localhost:4200 — students at /, instructors at /admin. Platform API itself isn't meant to be hit directly by a browser (same boundary as the Provisioner relative to Platform API), though nothing stops you from curling it directly at :4300 for local debugging.

SQLite migration

One-time cutover, run against the real data volume:

docker run --rm -v <identity-data-volume>:/data \
  -e SQLITE_PATH=/data/progress.db -e PLATFORM_DB_URL=postgres://postgres:postgres@<host>:5433/rootnode_platform \
  <platform-api-image> node migrate-sqlite.js

Always backs up the SQLite file first, is safe to re-run, and writes a JSON report — see docs/PHASE2B_ADMIN_AND_PLATFORM_DATA.md §2/§3 for the full guarantees and rollback procedure.

Tests

platform/test/e2e-phase2a.js (student-flow regression, cookie-based) and platform/test/e2e-phase2b.js (the classroom acceptance workflow: cohort → students → curriculum → Prepare Labs → complete scenarios → reset → destroy-labs → progress survives). Both need the full stack up and ADMIN_PASSWORD set — see platform/README.md.

Known limitations

See docs/PHASE2B_ADMIN_AND_PLATFORM_DATA.md §13 — in-memory sessions (a restart logs everyone out), exam mode's live bookkeeping stays Lab-local, single shared admin credential rather than per-instructor accounts.