navidocs/server/AUTH_SYSTEM_SUMMARY.md

NaviDocs Multi-Tenancy Auth System - Executive Summary

Overview

This document provides a high-level summary of the comprehensive multi-tenancy authentication and authorization system designed for NaviDocs. For detailed technical specifications, refer to the companion documents.

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Problem Statement

NaviDocs currently lacks:

• User authentication (registration, login, password reset)
• Multi-tenancy support (agencies managing multiple entities)
• Granular access control (specific users accessing specific boats/entities)
• Role-based permissions (view, edit, admin, etc.)
• Cross-vertical compatibility (works for boats, aircraft, marinas, etc.)

Business Requirement: An agency with multiple boats needs to grant different users access to different boats with varying permission levels.

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Solution Overview

Recommended Approach: JWT-based authentication + RBAC with entity-level permissions

Core Components:

1. Authentication System

   • User registration with email verification
   • Login with email/password
   • JWT access tokens (15min expiry)
   • Refresh tokens (7 days expiry, revocable)
   • Password reset flow
   • Account management (suspend, delete)

2. Authorization System

   • 3-tier permission model: Organization → Entity → Resource
   • 4 permission levels: Viewer, Editor, Manager, Admin
   • Granular entity-level access control
   • Permission inheritance and hierarchy

3. Multi-Tenancy Model

   • Organizations contain multiple entities (boats, aircraft, etc.)
   • Users are members of organizations with roles
   • Users have explicit permissions on specific entities
   • Vertical-agnostic design (same logic for all entity types)

4. Security Features

   • bcrypt password hashing (cost factor 12)
   • JWT signature verification
   • Rate limiting on auth endpoints
   • Audit logging for all security events
   • Session management and revocation
   • CSRF and XSS protection

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Permission Model

Organization Roles (Broad Access):

• Admin: Full control over organization, all entities, and users
• Manager: Manage all entities, grant entity permissions
• Member: Access only explicitly granted entities
• Viewer: Read-only access to all entities

Entity Permissions (Granular Access):

• Admin: Full control (view, edit, create, delete, share, manage permissions)
• Manager: Management (view, edit, create, delete, share)
• Editor: Content editing (view, edit, create)
• Viewer: Read-only (view)

Resolution Order:

1. Org admin/manager → automatic access
2. Entity-level permission → overrides member/viewer status
3. Document shares → fallback for specific documents

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Example Use Case

Scenario: Coastal Marine Services (organization) has 3 boats

Users:

• Alice: Organization Admin
• Bob: Organization Manager
• Carol: Organization Member
• Dave: Organization Viewer

Access Control:

User	Org Role	Boat 1	Boat 2	Boat 3
Alice	Admin	Admin (org)	Admin (org)	Admin (org)
Bob	Manager	Manager (org)	Manager (org)	Manager (org)
Carol	Member	Editor (explicit)	No Access	Viewer (explicit)
Dave	Viewer	Viewer (org)	Viewer (org)	Viewer (org)

Result:

• Alice can fully manage all 3 boats
• Bob can manage all 3 boats but cannot modify org settings
• Carol can only edit Boat 1 and view Boat 3 (no access to Boat 2)
• Dave can view all boats but cannot make changes

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Database Changes

New Tables (4):

1. entity_permissions: Granular entity-level access control
2. refresh_tokens: Secure session management
3. password_reset_tokens: Password recovery
4. audit_log: Security event tracking

Modified Tables (1):

• users: Add email_verified, status, suspension fields

Total Impact:

• 4 new tables
• 5 new indexes
• 1 table modification (backward compatible)
• Migration script provided with rollback support

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API Endpoints

Authentication (8 endpoints):

POST   /api/auth/register           - Create account
POST   /api/auth/login              - Authenticate
POST   /api/auth/logout             - Revoke session
POST   /api/auth/refresh            - Renew access token
POST   /api/auth/forgot-password    - Request reset
POST   /api/auth/reset-password     - Complete reset
GET    /api/auth/verify-email/:token - Verify email
GET    /api/auth/me                 - Get current user

Organizations (8 endpoints):

GET    /api/organizations           - List user's orgs
POST   /api/organizations           - Create org
GET    /api/organizations/:id       - Get org details
PATCH  /api/organizations/:id       - Update org
DELETE /api/organizations/:id       - Delete org
GET    /api/organizations/:id/members - List members
POST   /api/organizations/:id/members - Add member
DELETE /api/organizations/:id/members/:userId - Remove member

Entity Permissions (4 endpoints):

GET    /api/entities/:id/permissions - List entity access
POST   /api/entities/:id/permissions - Grant access
PATCH  /api/entities/:id/permissions/:userId - Update level
DELETE /api/entities/:id/permissions/:userId - Revoke access

Total: 20+ new endpoints

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Implementation Roadmap

Phase 1: Foundation (Week 1)

• Database schema migration
• Authentication service (register, login, refresh)
• Authentication routes
• Enhanced auth middleware
• Audit logging

Deliverables: 5 PRs

Phase 2: Authorization (Week 2)

• Authorization service (permission resolution)
• Permission middleware
• Apply auth to existing routes
• Entity permission management

Deliverables: 4 PRs

Phase 3: User & Org Management (Week 3)

• User management endpoints
• Organization CRUD
• Member management
• Email verification & password reset

Deliverables: 3 PRs

Phase 4: Security Hardening (Week 4)

• Rate limiting enhancements
• Brute force protection
• Password strength validation
• Cross-vertical testing

Deliverables: 2 PRs

Phase 5: Documentation & Deployment (Week 5)

• API documentation (OpenAPI/Swagger)
• Migration scripts
• Deployment guide
• Rollback procedures

Deliverables: 2 PRs

Total Timeline: 5 weeks, 16 PRs

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Module Boundaries

Service Layer (Business Logic):

services/
├── auth.js              - AuthService (registration, login, tokens)
├── authorization.js     - AuthorizationService (permission checks)
├── audit.js             - AuditService (security event logging)
├── users.js             - UserService (profile management)
└── organizations.js     - OrganizationService (multi-tenancy)

Route Layer (API Endpoints):

routes/
├── auth.js              - Authentication endpoints
├── users.js             - User management endpoints
├── organizations.js     - Organization management endpoints
├── entities.js          - Entity CRUD (updated with auth)
└── documents.js         - Document CRUD (updated with auth)

Middleware Layer (Cross-Cutting Concerns):

middleware/
├── auth.js              - JWT validation, user loading
└── permissions.js       - Permission enforcement

Clear Separation: Routes call Services, Services call Database, Middleware intercepts requests

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Performance Optimizations

1. LRU Cache: In-memory cache for permission checks

   • 10,000 entry capacity
   • 5 minute TTL
   • 80-90% cache hit rate expected
   • Reduces permission check from 50ms to <5ms

2. Database Indexes: Strategic indexes on:

   • entity_permissions(user_id, entity_id)
   • refresh_tokens(user_id, expires_at)
   • audit_log(user_id, event_type, created_at)

3. Prepared Statements: All queries use prepared statements (SQLite default)

4. Stateless JWT: No database lookup on every request (only on permission checks)

Expected Performance:

• Login: <100ms
• Permission check (cached): <5ms
• Permission check (uncached): <50ms
• Token refresh: <50ms

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Security Considerations

Implemented:

• Password hashing (bcrypt, cost=12)
• JWT signature verification
• Token expiry enforcement
• Refresh token rotation
• Rate limiting (5 req/15min for auth endpoints)
• Audit logging (all auth events)
• Account suspension capability
• HTTPS required (production)
• CORS policy enforcement

Future Enhancements:

• Two-factor authentication (TOTP)
• Email service integration (SendGrid/SES)
• Social login (Google, Microsoft)
• Passwordless auth (WebAuthn)
• Anomaly detection (ML-based)

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Testing Strategy

Unit Tests:

• Target: >90% code coverage
• All service methods tested
• All middleware tested
• Edge cases and error conditions

Integration Tests:

• End-to-end auth flows
• Multi-user scenarios
• Cross-vertical compatibility
• Permission resolution accuracy

Security Tests:

• SQL injection attempts
• JWT tampering
• Brute force simulation
• CSRF attacks
• Rate limit enforcement

Performance Tests:

• 1000 concurrent logins
• 10,000 permission checks/sec
• Database query benchmarks
• Cache hit rate measurement

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Migration Strategy

Step 1: Backup

cp db/navidocs.db db/navidocs.db.backup

Step 2: Run Migration

npm run migrate:up -- 003_auth_tables

Step 3: Seed Default Data

// Create default admin user
// Create personal organizations for existing users
// Grant entity permissions to existing owners

Step 4: Verify

npm run migrate:verify

Rollback (if needed):

npm run migrate:down -- 003_auth_tables

Zero Downtime: Migration can run on live system (new tables don't affect existing routes)

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Deployment Checklist

Pre-Deployment:

• All tests passing (unit, integration, security)
• Code review completed for all PRs
• Database backup created
• Migration script tested on staging
• Environment variables configured (.env)
• JWT_SECRET rotated (production)
• Rate limits configured
• Audit log retention policy set

Deployment:

• Deploy database migration
• Deploy backend code
• Deploy frontend updates
• Smoke test critical flows
• Monitor error logs
• Monitor performance metrics

Post-Deployment:

• Verify auth endpoints working
• Verify permission checks enforced
• Verify audit logs recording
• Send user communication (new login required)
• Monitor for issues (24h)

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Comparison of Approaches

Approach 1: JWT + RBAC (RECOMMENDED) ✅

Pros:

• Stateless (horizontal scaling)
• Industry standard
• Minimal database changes
• Clear permission model
• Easy to understand and maintain

Cons:

• Cannot revoke JWTs before expiry (mitigated by refresh tokens)
• Permission cache can be stale (5min max)

Approach 2: Session + ABAC

Pros:

• Instant revocation
• Very flexible policies
• Can add complex rules (time, location, etc.)

Cons:

• Requires Redis
• More complex to implement
• Harder to debug
• Overkill for current needs
• Not stateless (harder to scale)

Approach 3: OAuth2 + External IDP

Pros:

• Offload auth complexity
• Enterprise features (SSO, MFA)
• Compliance built-in

Cons:

• Vendor lock-in
• Monthly cost
• External dependency
• Still need to build authorization layer

Decision: Approach 1 provides best balance of simplicity, scalability, and security for NaviDocs' requirements.

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Success Criteria

The system is considered complete when:

1. ✅ User can register and login with email/password
2. ✅ User receives JWT access token + refresh token
3. ✅ Access token expires and can be refreshed
4. ✅ User can reset forgotten password
5. ✅ User can verify email address
6. ✅ Organization admin can invite users
7. ✅ Organization admin can grant entity access
8. ✅ Permission levels work correctly (viewer, editor, manager, admin)
9. ✅ Unauthorized access returns 403
10. ✅ All security events logged
11. ✅ System works identically across all verticals
12. ✅ Migration completes without data loss
13. ✅ All tests pass (>90% coverage)
14. ✅ API documentation complete
15. ✅ Performance benchmarks met (<50ms permission checks)

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Risk Assessment

Risk	Probability	Impact	Mitigation
Password data breach	Low	Critical	bcrypt hashing, never log passwords
JWT token theft	Medium	High	Short expiry, refresh rotation, HTTPS
Permission bypass	Low	Critical	Comprehensive testing, code review
Database migration failure	Low	High	Rollback script, backup, staging test
Performance degradation	Medium	Medium	LRU cache, indexes, load testing
User lockout	Medium	Medium	Admin override, backup codes (future)
Audit log growth	High	Low	Retention policy, archival strategy

Overall Risk Level: LOW (with mitigations in place)

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Cost Analysis

Development Cost:

• 5 weeks × 1 developer = 5 developer-weeks
• Assumes mid-level backend engineer

Infrastructure Cost:

• SQLite (free, no additional cost)
• JWT (free, no external service)
• Email service (future): ~$10-50/month (SendGrid)
• No additional cloud costs (runs on existing server)

Maintenance Cost:

• Minimal (well-architected, well-tested)
• Estimated 1-2 hours/month for security updates

Total First Year Cost: Development time only (no recurring costs until email service added)

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Future Roadmap

Short Term (3-6 months):

• Email service integration
• Two-factor authentication
• Social login (Google, Microsoft)
• Mobile app support (OAuth2 PKCE)

Medium Term (6-12 months):

• SSO integration (SAML, OIDC)
• API key management
• Webhook security
• Advanced audit analytics

Long Term (12+ months):

• ML-based anomaly detection
• Passwordless authentication (WebAuthn)
• Zero-trust architecture
• Multi-region token replication
• Blockchain-based audit trail (if needed for compliance)

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Key Takeaways

1. Vertical Agnostic: One system handles boats, aircraft, marinas, condos - any entity type
2. Scalable: Stateless JWT design supports horizontal scaling to 10,000+ users
3. Secure: Industry-standard practices (bcrypt, JWT, audit logging)
4. Granular: 3-tier permission model provides flexibility without complexity
5. Testable: Modular design with clear boundaries enables comprehensive testing
6. Maintainable: Well-documented, follows established patterns
7. Migration-Friendly: Designed for eventual PostgreSQL migration
8. Compliance-Ready: Audit logging supports GDPR, SOC2 requirements

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Documentation Index

1. DESIGN_AUTH_MULTITENANCY.md - Full technical design (50 pages)

   • 3 architectural approaches analyzed
   • Detailed database schema
   • Authentication & authorization flows
   • Security considerations
   • Performance optimizations

2. IMPLEMENTATION_TASKS.md - Task breakdown (40 pages)

   • 16 PRs with acceptance criteria
   • Code interfaces and contracts
   • Testing requirements
   • File structure

3. ARCHITECTURE_DIAGRAM.md - Visual diagrams (this document)

   • System architecture
   • Authentication flow
   • Authorization resolution
   • Permission hierarchy
   • Multi-tenancy model

4. AUTH_SYSTEM_SUMMARY.md - Executive summary (this document)

   • Problem statement
   • Solution overview
   • Implementation roadmap
   • Success criteria

Start Here: This summary document For Developers: IMPLEMENTATION_TASKS.md For Architects: DESIGN_AUTH_MULTITENANCY.md For Visual Learners: ARCHITECTURE_DIAGRAM.md

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Approval Sign-Off

Role	Name	Date	Signature
Product Owner
Tech Lead
Security Lead
Database Admin

Status: ⏳ Awaiting Review

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Document Version: 1.0 Last Updated: 2025-10-21 Next Review: After Phase 1 completion Contact: Tech Lead