Security Guide for Caxton Deployment and Operations

Overview

This guide provides essential security information for users installing Caxton binaries and operators deploying Caxton in production environments. It covers vulnerability reporting, security updates, secure deployment practices, and operational security monitoring.

Security Vulnerability Reporting

How to Report Security Issues

🚨 CRITICAL: Do not report security vulnerabilities through public GitHub issues.

For security vulnerabilities, use GitHub’s secure reporting system:

GitHub Security Advisory Reporting

Method: Use GitHub’s private vulnerability reporting feature in the Caxton repository
Location: Security tab → Report a vulnerability
Response Time: Within 24 hours
Benefits: Private, secure communication with maintainers

Automated Reporting

Our security.txt file follows RFC 9116 standards for automated security scanner integration.

What to Include in Your Report

When reporting a vulnerability, please provide:

Clear description of the security issue
Steps to reproduce (if applicable)
Potential impact assessment
Affected Caxton versions
Your contact information for follow-up

Response Timeline

Severity	Response Time	Fix Timeline
Critical	24 hours	24-48 hours
High	72 hours	1 week
Medium	1 week	1 month
Low	1 week	Next release

Security Updates and Notifications

Staying Informed About Security Issues

Security Advisories

Location: GitHub Security Advisories for the Caxton repository
Format: CVE-based notifications with impact assessment
Frequency: As needed when vulnerabilities are discovered

GitHub Repository Watching

Configure GitHub notifications to stay informed about security updates:

Watch Repository for Security Updates:

Go to the Caxton GitHub repository
Click “Watch” → “Custom” → Select:
- “Security advisories” (most important for security updates)
- “Releases” (for all new versions including security patches)
- “Issues” (optional, for security-related discussions)

GitHub Security Advisory Notifications:

Location: GitHub Security tab in the Caxton repository
Content: CVE-based security advisories with impact assessment
Format: Email notifications if repository watching is enabled
Frequency: Immediate notification when security advisories are published

Alternative Notification Methods

RSS Feed Monitoring:

# GitHub releases RSS feed
https://github.com/your-org/caxton/releases.atom

# GitHub security advisories RSS feed
https://github.com/your-org/caxton/security/advisories.atom

Manual Monitoring:

# Check your current Caxton version
caxton --version

# Check for latest releases
curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/your-org/caxton/releases/latest | jq '.tag_name'

# Visit GitHub directly for security advisories:
# https://github.com/your-org/caxton/security/advisories

Automated Monitoring Scripts:

#!/bin/bash
# Example script to check for security advisories
# Run this periodically via cron

REPO="your-org/caxton"
CURRENT_VERSION=$(caxton --version | cut -d' ' -f2)

echo "Current Caxton version: $CURRENT_VERSION"
echo "Checking for security advisories..."
echo "Visit: https://github.com/$REPO/security/advisories"
echo "Latest release: https://github.com/$REPO/releases/latest"

Supported Versions for Security Updates

Version	Security Support	End of Support
0.1.x	✅ Full support	TBD
< 0.1	❌ No support	Already ended

Secure Deployment Configuration

Production Security Settings

Essential Security Configuration

# Required environment variables for secure production deployment
export CAXTON_WASM_ISOLATION=strict
export CAXTON_FIPA_VALIDATION=enabled
export CAXTON_SECURITY_AUDIT=enabled
export CAXTON_LOG_LEVEL=info
export CAXTON_RESOURCE_LIMITS=production

WebAssembly Security Configuration

Caxton’s security relies on WebAssembly isolation. Ensure strict isolation is enabled:

# Example production configuration
wasm_config:
  isolation_mode: strict
  memory_limit_mb: 16
  cpu_time_limit_ms: 1000
  network_access: false
  filesystem_access: false

Security Benefits:

Each agent runs in isolated WebAssembly sandbox
Memory and CPU limits prevent resource exhaustion attacks
No direct system access prevents privilege escalation
Agent isolation prevents cross-contamination

Message Security Configuration

Caxton uses FIPA-compliant messaging with built-in security validation:

# Message security settings
fipa_config:
  message_validation: enabled
  max_message_size_kb: 1024
  conversation_timeout_minutes: 30
  content_sanitization: enabled

Security Features:

All messages validated against FIPA protocol standards
Size limits prevent denial-of-service attacks
Conversation tracking prevents replay attacks
Content sanitization blocks malicious payloads

Container and Kubernetes Security

Container Security Configuration

Secure Container Deployment

When deploying Caxton containers, ensure these security configurations:

# Docker container security
version: '3.8'
services:
  caxton:
    image: caxton:latest
    user: "65534:65534"  # Non-root user
    read_only: true      # Read-only root filesystem
    cap_drop:
      - ALL              # Drop all capabilities
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    tmpfs:
      - /tmp:noexec,nosuid,size=100m

Container Security Features:

Runs as non-privileged user (nobody)
Read-only root filesystem prevents tampering
No container capabilities granted
Temporary filesystem with security restrictions

Kubernetes Security

# Kubernetes deployment security
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: caxton
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      securityContext:
        runAsNonRoot: true
        runAsUser: 65534
        runAsGroup: 65534
        fsGroup: 65534
      containers:
      - name: caxton
        securityContext:
          readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
          allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
          seccompProfile:
            type: RuntimeDefault
          capabilities:
            drop: ["ALL"]
        resources:
          requests:
            memory: "512Mi"
            cpu: "200m"
          limits:
            memory: "2Gi"
            cpu: "1000m"

Network Security

Network Policies

Implement network segmentation using Kubernetes Network Policies:

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: caxton-network-policy
spec:
  podSelector:
    matchLabels:
      app: caxton
  policyTypes:
  - Ingress
  - Egress
  ingress:
  - from:
    - namespaceSelector:
        matchLabels:
          name: authorized-clients
    ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 8080
  egress:
  - to: []  # Restrict egress as needed
    ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 443  # HTTPS only

TLS Configuration

Ensure all communications use TLS encryption:

# Generate TLS certificates for production
openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:4096 \
  -keyout caxton.key -out caxton.crt \
  -subj "/CN=caxton.yourdomain.com"

# Configure Caxton with TLS
export CAXTON_TLS_CERT_PATH=/etc/ssl/certs/caxton.crt
export CAXTON_TLS_KEY_PATH=/etc/ssl/private/caxton.key
export CAXTON_TLS_ENABLED=true

Security Monitoring and Operations

Production Security Monitoring

Set up monitoring for these critical security indicators:

Essential Security Metrics

Monitor these key security health indicators:

Agent Isolation Status: Verify WASM sandboxes are functioning
Message Validation Rate: Track FIPA message validation success
Resource Usage: Monitor CPU and memory consumption per agent
Authentication Events: Log successful and failed authentication attempts
Network Activity: Monitor inbound and outbound connections

Log Analysis

Configure log aggregation to detect security events:

# Example log queries for security monitoring
# Failed authentication attempts
grep "auth_failed" /var/log/caxton/security.log

# Resource limit violations
grep "resource_limit_exceeded" /var/log/caxton/security.log

# WASM isolation violations (critical)
grep "isolation_violation" /var/log/caxton/security.log

Alerting Configuration

Set up alerts for security incidents:

# Example Prometheus alerting rules
groups:
- name: caxton_security
  rules:
  - alert: CaxtonIsolationViolation
    expr: caxton_isolation_violations_total > 0
    for: 0m
    labels:
      severity: critical
    annotations:
      summary: "WASM isolation violation detected"

  - alert: CaxtonAuthFailures
    expr: rate(caxton_auth_failures_total[5m]) > 10
    for: 2m
    labels:
      severity: warning
    annotations:
      summary: "High rate of authentication failures"

Security Incident Response

Incident Classification

When security incidents occur, classify them quickly:

P0 - Critical: System compromise, data breach, isolation failure
P1 - High: Authentication bypass, privilege escalation
P2 - Medium: DoS attacks, information disclosure
P3 - Low: Security policy violations, configuration issues

Response Procedures

Immediate: Isolate affected components
Assessment: Determine scope and impact
Containment: Prevent further damage
Recovery: Restore secure operations
Analysis: Document lessons learned

Operational Security Best Practices

Deployment Security Checklist

Before deploying Caxton to production, verify:

Environment Variables: All security-required environment variables set
Container Security: Non-root user, read-only filesystem, dropped capabilities
Network Policies: Proper network segmentation configured
TLS Configuration: Encrypted communications enabled
Resource Limits: Memory and CPU limits configured
Logging: Security event logging enabled and configured
Monitoring: Security metrics collection active
Backup Strategy: Secure backup and recovery procedures in place

Regular Security Maintenance

Monthly Security Tasks

Update Check: Review security advisories and updates
Configuration Review: Validate security configurations
Log Analysis: Review security logs for anomalies
Access Review: Audit user access and permissions
Backup Testing: Verify backup integrity and restoration procedures

Quarterly Security Tasks

Security Assessment: Conduct security posture review
Incident Response Testing: Test incident response procedures
Documentation Review: Update security documentation
Training Update: Security training for operations team

Secure Configuration Management

Configuration Validation

Regularly validate your Caxton security configuration:

# Verify security settings
caxton config validate --security-check

# Check isolation configuration
caxton wasm isolation-status

# Validate message security
caxton fipa validation-status

# Review resource limits
caxton resources status

Backup and Recovery

Implement secure backup procedures:

# Backup Caxton configuration
tar -czf caxton-config-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz \
  /etc/caxton/ /var/lib/caxton/

# Encrypt backups
gpg --symmetric --cipher-algo AES256 \
  caxton-config-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz

# Store in secure location
aws s3 cp caxton-config-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz.gpg \
  s3://your-secure-backup-bucket/

Security Compliance and Standards

Industry Standards Support

Caxton deployments can help you achieve compliance with common security frameworks:

NIST Cybersecurity Framework: Risk-based security controls
OWASP Top 10: Protection against common application vulnerabilities
ISO 27001: Information security management practices
SOC 2: Security and availability controls

Compliance Documentation

For compliance audits, document these Caxton security features:

Data Isolation: WebAssembly sandboxing prevents data leakage
Access Controls: Agent authentication and authorization
Audit Logging: Complete audit trail of all operations
Encryption: TLS encryption for all communications
Monitoring: Continuous security monitoring and alerting
Incident Response: Documented security incident procedures

Audit Trail

Caxton maintains comprehensive audit logs for:

Agent lifecycle events (start, stop, reload)
Message routing and delivery
Authentication and authorization events
Resource allocation and usage
Security boundary violations
Configuration changes

Security Resources

Essential Security Documentation

For Operators and DevOps Teams

Security Policy (SECURITY.md): Complete security overview and vulnerability reporting
Security.txt: Machine-readable security contact information
This deployment security guide: Production security configuration

Security Architecture References

WebAssembly Isolation ADR: Understanding agent isolation
FIPA Messaging Security ADR: Message security design
Observability ADR: Security monitoring approach

External Security Resources

RFC 9116 Security.txt Standard: Vulnerability disclosure standard
OWASP Container Security: Container security best practices
Kubernetes Security Best Practices: Platform security guidance

Getting Security Help

Security Questions and Support

General Security Questions: Create an issue in the GitHub repository (for non-sensitive questions)
Security Vulnerabilities: Use GitHub’s security advisory reporting (see vulnerability reporting)
Deployment Security: Review this guide and the main Security Policy

Security Community

Security Updates: Watch the GitHub repository for security advisories
Best Practices: Join community discussions about Caxton security

Conclusion

This guide provides the essential security information for deploying and operating Caxton safely in production environments. The key security priorities for operators are:

Stay Informed: Configure GitHub repository watching for security advisories and releases, or use RSS feeds for automated monitoring
Report Issues: Use GitHub’s security advisory reporting to report any security concerns
Secure Configuration: Follow the deployment security guidelines in this document
Monitor Operations: Implement security monitoring and incident response procedures
Regular Maintenance: Perform regular security maintenance tasks and reviews

Caxton’s security architecture provides strong isolation and validation, but proper deployment and operational practices are essential for maintaining security in production environments.

To stay informed about security updates:

Watch the GitHub repository for security advisories and releases
Subscribe to RSS feeds for automated monitoring
Check the security advisories page regularly: GitHub Security Advisories
Monitor the releases page for updates: GitHub Releases

Document Version: 2.0 Last Updated: 2025-08-16 Target Audience: End-users, Operators, DevOps Teams Next Review: 2025-09-16