Security Audit Checklist

Comprehensive security audit checklist for the ActivityPub MCP Server. Ensure your deployment follows security best practices, compliance requirements, and industry standards.

🔒 Security Overview

Core Security Principles

  • Least Privilege: Minimal necessary permissions
  • Defense in Depth: Multiple security layers
  • Fail Secure: Secure defaults and error handling
  • Zero Trust: Verify all requests and data

Threat Model

  • Data Exposure: Unauthorized access to cached data
  • Service Abuse: Resource exhaustion attacks
  • Injection Attacks: Malicious input processing
  • Privacy Violations: Unauthorized data collection

Compliance Considerations

  • GDPR: Data protection and privacy rights
  • CCPA: California consumer privacy
  • SOC 2: Security and availability controls
  • ISO 27001: Information security management

🔍 Input Validation & Sanitization

Actor Identifier Validation

  • □ Validate @username@domain format
  • □ Sanitize special characters in usernames
  • □ Check domain name validity (DNS resolution)
  • □ Prevent directory traversal in URLs
  • □ Validate URL schemes (https only for production)
  • □ Limit identifier length to prevent buffer overflows
  • □ Block known malicious domains

HTTP Request Security

  • □ Validate Content-Type headers
  • □ Limit request body size
  • □ Sanitize HTTP headers
  • □ Implement request timeout limits
  • □ Validate SSL/TLS certificates
  • □ Use secure HTTP client configuration
  • □ Implement proper error handling

Data Processing Security

  • □ Validate JSON structure and content
  • □ Sanitize text content for XSS prevention
  • □ Limit data structure depth (prevent DoS)
  • □ Validate ActivityPub object types
  • □ Check for malicious embedded content
  • □ Implement content size limits
  • □ Validate date/time formats

🛡️ Access Control & Authentication

MCP Client Authentication

  • □ Verify MCP client identity
  • □ Implement secure communication channels
  • □ Validate client permissions
  • □ Log authentication attempts
  • □ Implement session management
  • □ Use secure token handling

Resource Access Control

  • □ Implement resource-level permissions
  • □ Validate access to cached data
  • □ Control server information exposure
  • □ Implement rate limiting per client
  • □ Log resource access attempts
  • □ Prevent unauthorized data enumeration

Network Security

  • □ Use HTTPS for all external requests
  • □ Implement certificate pinning where appropriate
  • □ Configure secure TLS settings
  • □ Validate SSL certificate chains
  • □ Implement connection timeouts
  • □ Use secure DNS resolution

💾 Data Protection & Privacy

Data Collection & Storage

  • □ Minimize data collection (only necessary data)
  • □ Implement data retention policies
  • □ Secure cache storage mechanisms
  • □ Encrypt sensitive data at rest
  • □ Implement secure data deletion
  • □ Prevent data leakage in logs
  • □ Document data flows and storage

Privacy Compliance

  • □ Implement data subject rights (GDPR)
  • □ Provide data portability mechanisms
  • □ Implement right to erasure
  • □ Maintain consent records
  • □ Implement privacy by design
  • □ Conduct privacy impact assessments
  • □ Document legal basis for processing

Data Transmission Security

  • □ Encrypt data in transit
  • □ Implement secure communication protocols
  • □ Validate data integrity
  • □ Prevent man-in-the-middle attacks
  • □ Use secure serialization formats
  • □ Implement message authentication

⚡ Rate Limiting & DoS Protection

Rate Limiting Implementation

  • □ Implement per-client rate limits
  • □ Configure per-endpoint rate limits
  • □ Implement sliding window rate limiting
  • □ Configure burst protection
  • □ Implement graceful degradation
  • □ Log rate limit violations
  • □ Implement automatic blocking for abuse

Resource Protection

  • □ Limit concurrent connections
  • □ Implement memory usage limits
  • □ Configure CPU usage thresholds
  • □ Limit cache size and growth
  • □ Implement request timeout limits
  • □ Monitor resource consumption
  • □ Implement circuit breakers

📝 Logging & Monitoring

Security Event Logging

  • □ Log authentication attempts
  • □ Log authorization failures
  • □ Log rate limit violations
  • □ Log suspicious request patterns
  • □ Log data access events
  • □ Log configuration changes
  • □ Log error conditions

Log Security

  • □ Sanitize sensitive data in logs
  • □ Implement log integrity protection
  • □ Secure log storage and transmission
  • □ Implement log retention policies
  • □ Control access to log files
  • □ Implement log monitoring and alerting
  • □ Regular log review procedures

Monitoring & Alerting

  • □ Monitor for security anomalies
  • □ Implement real-time threat detection
  • □ Configure security alerts
  • □ Monitor system resource usage
  • □ Track performance degradation
  • □ Implement incident response procedures
  • □ Regular security metric reviews

🔧 Configuration Security

Environment Configuration

  • □ Use secure default configurations
  • □ Disable unnecessary features
  • □ Configure secure environment variables
  • □ Implement configuration validation
  • □ Use secure random number generation
  • □ Configure proper file permissions
  • □ Implement configuration change tracking

Deployment Security

  • □ Use minimal container images
  • □ Implement container security scanning
  • □ Configure secure runtime environments
  • □ Implement network segmentation
  • □ Use secure orchestration platforms
  • □ Implement secrets management
  • □ Regular security updates

🧪 Security Testing

Automated Security Testing

# Dependency vulnerability scanning
npm audit

# Static code analysis
npm run lint:security

# Container security scanning
docker scan activitypub-mcp:latest

# Network security testing
nmap -sS -O target-host

Manual Security Testing

  • □ Input validation testing
  • □ Authentication bypass testing
  • □ Authorization testing
  • □ Rate limiting testing
  • □ Data exposure testing
  • □ Error handling testing
  • □ Configuration security review

Penetration Testing

  • □ External penetration testing
  • □ Internal security assessment
  • □ Social engineering testing
  • □ Physical security assessment
  • □ Wireless security testing
  • □ Application security testing
  • □ Regular security audits

📋 Compliance Checklist

GDPR Compliance

  • □ Data protection impact assessment
  • □ Lawful basis for processing
  • □ Data subject rights implementation
  • □ Consent management
  • □ Data breach notification procedures
  • □ Privacy by design implementation

SOC 2 Type II

  • □ Security controls documentation
  • □ Availability monitoring
  • □ Processing integrity controls
  • □ Confidentiality measures
  • □ Privacy protection controls
  • □ Regular control testing

ISO 27001

  • □ Information security policy
  • □ Risk assessment procedures
  • □ Security control implementation
  • □ Incident management procedures
  • □ Business continuity planning
  • □ Regular management reviews

🚨 Incident Response

Preparation

  • □ Incident response plan documented
  • □ Response team roles defined
  • □ Communication procedures established
  • □ Forensic tools prepared
  • □ Backup and recovery procedures tested

Detection & Analysis

  • □ Security monitoring systems active
  • □ Incident classification procedures
  • □ Evidence collection procedures
  • □ Impact assessment methods
  • □ Threat intelligence integration

Containment & Recovery

  • □ Containment strategies defined
  • □ System isolation procedures
  • □ Recovery procedures documented
  • □ Validation testing procedures
  • □ Lessons learned documentation

🔗 Security Resources

Dependency Security

Secure dependency management practices

Performance Monitoring

Monitor for security-related performance issues

Security Troubleshooting

Common security issues and solutions