This document describes the security measures implemented to address the critical vulnerabilities identified in the security audit.

• ✅ Spring Security implemented with form-based authentication
• ✅ BCrypt for password hashing
• ✅ Authorization based on group membership
• ✅ Endpoint protection with access validation

• ✅ External file application-secrets.properties for credentials
• ✅ Gitignore updated to exclude sensitive files
• ✅ Environment variables prepared for production

• ✅ Content Security Policy (CSP)
• ✅ X-Frame-Options: DENY
• ✅ X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
• ✅ X-XSS-Protection
• ✅ HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)
• ✅ Referrer Policy
• ✅ Permissions Policy

• ✅ Authorization service to verify group access
• ✅ Membership validation before operations
• ✅ Error pages for access denied

# 1. Create credentials file (already created)
cp application-secrets.properties.example application-secrets.properties

# 2. Edit credentials
nano application-secrets.properties

# 3. Start application
./mvnw spring-boot:run

1. Go to http://localhost:8080/register
2. Complete registration form
3. Password is automatically hashed with BCrypt

1. Go to http://localhost:8080/login
2. Login with email and password
3. Automatic redirect to dashboard

1. From dashboard, click "Create Group"
2. Current user automatically becomes ADMIN
3. Authorization validation in all operations

• src/main/java/com/amb/EqualPay/config/SecurityConfig.java - Security configuration
• src/main/java/com/amb/EqualPay/service/AuthService.java - Authentication service
• src/main/java/com/amb/EqualPay/service/AuthorizationService.java - Authorization service
• src/main/java/com/amb/EqualPay/web/AuthController.java - Authentication controller

• src/main/resources/templates/auth/login.html - Login page
• src/main/resources/templates/auth/register.html - Registration page
• src/main/resources/templates/dashboard.html - Protected dashboard
• src/main/resources/templates/error/access-denied.html - Access denied error

• application-secrets.properties - Credentials (DO NOT commit to Git)
• .gitignore - Excludes sensitive files

# Database
export DB_URL=jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/equalpay_prod
export DB_USERNAME=equalpay_user
export DB_PASSWORD=secure_password_here

# JWT (for future implementations)
export JWT_SECRET=your-super-secret-jwt-key-change-this-in-production

# Admin
export ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@yourdomain.com
export ADMIN_PASSWORD=secure_admin_password

Security headers are automatically configured:

• CSP: Prevents XSS and injection attacks
• HSTS: Forces HTTPS in production
• Frame Options: Prevents clickjacking
• Content Type Options: Prevents MIME sniffing

• ✅ Secure login form
• ✅ Password hashing with BCrypt
• ✅ Secure HTTP sessions
• ✅ Secure logout with session cleanup

• ✅ Group membership verification
• ✅ Role validation (ADMIN/USER)
• ✅ Sensitive endpoint protection
• ✅ Custom error pages

• ✅ Credentials in external file
• ✅ Sensitive files excluded from version control
• ✅ Input validation in forms
• ✅ Output data sanitization

• ✅ Content Security Policy
• ✅ HTTP Strict Transport Security
• ✅ X-Frame-Options
• ✅ X-Content-Type-Options
• ✅ X-XSS-Protection
• ✅ Referrer Policy
• ✅ Permissions Policy

1. CSRF Protection - Enable CSRF tokens
2. Rate Limiting - Prevent brute force attacks
3. Audit Logging - Log access and operations
4. Session Management - Advanced session configuration

1. OAuth2 Integration - External authentication
2. JWT Tokens - Stateless authentication
3. API Security - REST endpoint protection
4. Encryption - Additional sensitive data encryption

1. Credentials File: application-secrets.properties MUST NOT be committed to Git
2. Passwords: Use strong passwords in production
3. HTTPS: Configure SSL/TLS in production
4. Monitoring: Implement security logging
5. Updates: Keep dependencies updated

• Verify user belongs to the group
• Check authentication session
• Review authorization logs

• Verify credentials in database
• Check BCrypt configuration
• Review Spring Security configuration

• Verify configuration in SecurityConfig.java
• Check that headers are sent correctly
• Review CSP policies if there are resource issues

Security Status: ✅ CRITICAL → ✅ SAFE FOR DEVELOPMENT

The application now has a solid security foundation that addresses all critical vulnerabilities identified in the initial audit.