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Finish the Workload Security Posture workplan (all five tasks done). T3 — scripts/check_secret_posture_conformance.py: read-only checker that asserts env-posture conformance (backend/unseal/real_values per tier) and evaluates the secret-flow lattice via posture.can_deliver. Metadata-only manifest, no secret values, exit 0/1/2. examples/posture-conformance.example.yaml as the reference. T4 — src/warden/doubles.py: generalizes "fake bao" into materialize_doubles() — hermetic, synthetic-only (synthetic- prefix) stand-ins for bao/key-cape honoring each argv/stdout/exit contract, for fully offline dev/test access flows. Documented as the sanctioned dev backend in WorkloadSecurityPosture.md R1. T5 — INTENT/SCOPE/wiki aligned; canon landing in net-kingdom/info-tech-canon left owner-driven (tracked via coordination messages). 16 new tests, 200 passing, ruff clean. Archived WP-0012/0014/0015 to workplans/archived/ with 260627- prefix. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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8.0 KiB
Markdown
144 lines
8.0 KiB
Markdown
# Workload Security Posture — NetKingdom standard (draft)
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> **Status:** ops-warden-authored draft, WARDEN-WP-0015 T1. **Pending promotion to
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> canon** along two homes (see *Canon layering*). Until landed, this file is the
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> authoritative working draft; the canon copies supersede it once merged.
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>
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> **ops-warden's role:** *author + conformance*. ops-warden does **not** enforce this
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> standard at runtime (flex-auth) and does **not** hold the secrets (OpenBao). It
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> authors the ops-security slice and ships conformance checks + dev-tier doubles.
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NetKingdom IT-security posture is defined along **two orthogonal axes**. A workload's
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right to receive a secret depends on **both**, unified by a secret-flow lattice.
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---
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## Axis A — Environment posture (how the secret store is secured)
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The lifecycle tier of the *secret store backing a workload*. Contracts are identical at
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every tier (so automation and the `warden access` proxy run unchanged); only the
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backend's security posture changes.
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**R1 — Contract parity, posture divergence.** Identical interface at every tier; only
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posture changes. This is why dev-tier contract doubles ("fake bao") work. ops-warden
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ships the sanctioned `dev` backend as a library: `warden.doubles.materialize_doubles()`
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writes hermetic stand-ins for the routed subsystems (OpenBao, key-cape login) that honor
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each contract (argv/stdout/exit) and emit **synthetic values only** (every value is
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`synthetic-` prefixed), so access flows run fully offline in dev/test.
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**R2 — Promote topology, regenerate material.** Secret *values* are never promoted up
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the ladder; only *structure* (paths, policy shape, names). Values are generated fresh
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per tier. Test conveniences (reuse, single-unseal) stay quarantined in test.
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**R3 — Dev touches no real data, ever.** An insecure personal mock store in dev is
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sanctioned *iff* dev uses only synthetic data. Absolute invariant.
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**R4 — Phase-changes are ceremonies, not copies.** `test → prod` is a gated checklist
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(regenerate secrets, switch unseal model, enable break-glass, human sign-off),
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referencing the existing net-kingdom `security-bootstrap-*` and unseal-custody docs —
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not duplicating them.
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| | dev | test | prod |
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| --- | --- | --- | --- |
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| backend | mock / contract double | OpenBao `-dev` (single-unseal) | OpenBao sealed (Shamir 3-of-5) |
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| real values | forbidden (synthetic) | generated, reuse allowed | generated fresh, reuse forbidden |
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| unseal | n/a | single key / auto | 3-of-5 + break-glass |
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| real user/business data | never | never | allowed |
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| audit | optional | on | full, tamper-evident |
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---
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## Axis B — Workload maturity (how trusted a workload is)
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**Production is a posture, not a maturity.** A workload can run in prod posture yet be
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low maturity (alpha with friendly customers). Maturity gates *which secrets and data
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classes* a prod workload may touch. Levels are a total order `M0 < M1 < M2 < M3`.
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| Level | Phase | Max `DataClassification` it may handle | Promotion gate (into this level) |
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| --- | --- | --- | --- |
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| **M0** | Experimental / PoC | synthetic only | — (entry level) |
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| **M1** | Alpha / early-access | low-criticality, loss-acceptable; **no** `confidential`/`restricted` | friendly-customer scope agreed, basic SLO, data-handling note |
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| **M2** | Beta / GA | up to `confidential`; SLOs; audited | security review, SLO history, on-call, incident runbooks |
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| **M3** | Critical / regulated | `restricted`; break-glass; compliance | pen-test, 3-of-5 custody, human-in-loop ops, compliance audit |
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`DataClassification` (`confidential`, `restricted`, …) is **reused** from the
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info-tech-canon Data Model — not redefined here. Promotion gates **reuse** the
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info-tech-canon DevSecOps Model's quality/policy gates and `DeploymentVerification`
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(SLOs / smoke / canary / operator confirmation), applied to maturity advancement.
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---
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## The combined rule — secret-flow lattice
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A secret carries a `required_maturity` (and implicitly the `required_maturity` of its
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`DataClassification`). Delivery is **no-write-down**:
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```
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deliver(secret → workload) is permitted only if
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workload.env_posture == prod # Axis A
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AND workload.maturity >= secret.required_maturity # Axis B
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AND workload.maturity >= required_maturity(dataclass(secret)) # data class floor
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```
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**"Critical-infrastructure secrets must not be transferred to workloads below maturity
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M"** is exactly the second clause. The lattice is **checkable** by ops-warden
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(conformance) and **enforceable** at runtime by flex-auth. Access *semantics* (who, on
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behalf of whom) remain governed by the CARING Access Governance Standard.
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Worked example: an `NPM_AUTH_TOKEN` used only by a build pipeline → `required_maturity:
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M1`, dataclass `internal`. A production database password for regulated user data →
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`required_maturity: M3`, dataclass `restricted`; it may be delivered only to a
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prod-posture, M3 workload.
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---
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## Using this to refine blockers
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When a workstream says "blocked on security", classify it before escalating. The
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classification decides whether the blocker is real, belongs to an owning subsystem, or
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can be removed by a dev/test double.
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| Question | Result |
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| --- | --- |
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| Is the work **dev** or **test** posture only? | Use synthetic contract doubles or generated test values. Do not wait on real production secrets. |
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| Is the work **prod** posture with real values? | Require owner custody (usually OpenBao), flex-auth policy where applicable, and non-secret evidence only. |
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| Is workload maturity below the secret's `required_maturity` or data-class floor? | This is a real IT-security blocker until the workload advances, the secret is reclassified, or the design avoids the secret. |
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| Does a route exist and the lane is `exec_capable`? | `warden access --fetch/--exec` may remove operator copy/paste as a blocker by proxying the owner's tool as the caller. |
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| Is unseal, break-glass, or issuer custody unresolved? | Keep it as an operator ceremony/design blocker; do not paper it over with agent-visible values. |
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The evidence to record is route id, owner, env posture, workload maturity,
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`required_maturity`, policy decision id, OpenBao path/version, populated-key count,
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smoke id, or token accessor. Never record the secret value.
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This is the practical bridge from WARDEN-WP-0014 (`warden access`) to WP-0015: access
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assist can remove manual secret handling friction, while posture/maturity decides
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whether the secret may flow at all.
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---
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## Canon layering (where each part lands)
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| Part | Canonical home | ops-warden role |
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| --- | --- | --- |
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| Generic `WorkloadMaturityLevel` concept + the secret-flow lattice | **info-tech-canon** (DevSecOps / Landscape; reuses Data Model `DataClassification`, Security Model criticality) | Contribute; do not fork |
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| NetKingdom M0–M3 security **requirements** + env-posture ceremonies | **net-kingdom canon** (beside `openbao-unseal-custody-models.md`, `responsibility-map.md`) | Author the ops-security slice |
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| Machine-readable descriptors (`registry/policy/security-posture.yaml`, `warden policy`) + read-only conformance checker (`scripts/check_secret_posture_conformance.py`) + dev doubles (`warden.doubles`) | **ops-warden** | Own (WP-0015 T2–T4) |
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| Runtime enforcement of the lattice | **flex-auth** | Route; do not enforce here |
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---
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## Boundaries preserved
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- **OpenBao** holds secret values. ops-warden never custodies them.
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- **flex-auth** decides allow/deny (incl. enforcing this lattice at runtime).
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- **CARING / Access Control** governs access semantics and delegation.
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- **key-cape** establishes identity. ops-warden authors the standard and *checks
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conformance* — it does not become a broker, PDP, or IdP (responsibility-map).
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---
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## See also
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- `wiki/OperatorAccessAssist.md` — the posture-aware `warden access` fetch surface
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- `net-kingdom/docs/openbao-unseal-custody-models.md`, `responsibility-map.md`,
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`platform-root-custody.md`, `security-bootstrap-*`
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- info-tech-canon: Security Model, DevSecOps Model, Data Model, CARING Access Governance
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- `workplans/WARDEN-WP-0015-secret-lifecycle-tiering.md`
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