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aserto-node

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Aserto authorization middleware for the node Express server, based on Auth0's express-jwt-authz package.

This package provides multiple capabilities:

  1. Middleware - Provides 2 implementations: Authz and Check middlewares that sits on a route, and validates a request to authorize access to that route.
  2. Authorizer - Authorizer Client that provides functions to facilitate communication with an Authorizer v2 service.
  3. DirectoryServiceV3 - Directory Client that provides functions to facilitate communication with an Directory v3 service.
  4. DirectoryServiceV2 - Directory Client that provides functions to facilitate communication with an Directory v2 service.
  5. jwtAuthz(deprecated): middleware that sits on a route, and validates a request to authorize access to that route.
  6. displayStateMap: middleware that adds an endpoint for returning the display state map for a service, based on its authorization policy.
  7. is: a function that can be called to make a decision about a user's access to a resource based on a policy.
  8. ds(deprecated): an object containing the object and relation functions, which can be called to retrieve an object or relation, respectively, from the directory.

Installation

Using npm:

npm install @aserto/aserto-node

Using yarn:

yarn add @aserto/aserto-node

express@^4.0.0 is a peer dependency. Make sure it is installed in your project.

Authorizer

Authorizer Client

interface Authorizer {
  config: AuthorizerConfig,
};

type AuthorizerConfig = {
  authorizerServiceUrl?: string;
  tenantId?: string;
  authorizerApiKey?: string;
  token?: string;
  caFile?: string;
  insecure?: boolean;
  customHeaders?: { [key: string]: unknown };

};
const authClient = new Authorizer({
  authorizerServiceUrl: "authorizer.prod.aserto.com:8443",
  authorizerApiKey: "my-authorizer-api-key",
  tenantId: "my-tenant-id",
});
  • authorizerServiceUrl: hostname:port of authorizer service (required)
  • authorizerApiKey: API key for authorizer service (required if using hosted authorizer)
  • tenantId: Aserto tenant ID (required if using hosted authorizer)
  • caFile: Path to the authorizer CA file. (optional)
  • insecure: Skip server certificate and domain verification. (NOT SECURE!). Defaults to false.

Topaz

const authClient = new Authorizer({
  authorizerServiceUrl: "localhost:8282",
  caFile: `${process.env.HOME}/.local/share/topaz/certs/grpc-ca.crt`
});

Example:

import {
  Authorizer,
  identityContext,
  policyContext,
  policyInstance,
} from "@aserto/aserto-node";

const authClient = new Authorizer(
  {
    authorizerServiceUrl: "localhost:8282",
    caFile: `${process.env.HOME}/.local/share/topaz/certs/grpc-ca.crt`
  },
);

authClient
  .Is({
    identityContext: identityContext(
      "[email protected]",
      "SUB"
    ),
    policyInstance: policyInstance("rebac", "rebac"),
    policyContext: policyContext("rebac.check", ["allowed"]),
    resourceContext: {
      object_type: "group",
      object_id: "evil_genius",
      relation: "member",
    },
  })

Methods

// Is
// (method) Authorizer.Is(params: IsRequest, options?: CallOptions): Promise<boolean>
await authClient
  .Is({
    identityContext: identityContext(
      "[email protected]",
      "SUB"
    ),
    policyInstance: policyInstance("todo", "todo"),
    policyContext: policyContext("todoApp.POST.todos", ["allowed"]),
    resourceContext: {
      ownerID: "fd1614d3-c39a-4781-b7bd-8b96f5a5100d",
    },
  })

// Query
// (method) Authorizer.Query(params: QueryRequest, options?: CallOptions): Promise<JsonObject>
await authClient
  .Query({
    identityContext: identityContext(
      "[email protected]",
      "SUB"
    ),
    policyInstance: policyInstance("todo", "todo"),
    policyContext: policyContext("todoApp.POST.todos", ["allowed"]),
    resourceContext: {
      ownerID: "fd1614d3-c39a-4781-b7bd-8b96f5a5100d",
    },
    query: "x = data",
  })


// DecisionTree
// (method) Authorizer.DecisionTree(params: DecisionTreeRequest, options?: CallOptions): Promise<{
//     path: Path;
//     pathRoot: string;
// }>
await authClient
  .DecisionTree({
    identityContext: identityContext(
      "[email protected]",
      "SUB"
    ),
    policyInstance: policyInstance("todo", "todo"),
    policyContext: policyContext("todoApp.POST.todos", ["allowed"]),
    resourceContext: {
      ownerID: "fd1614d3-c39a-4781-b7bd-8b96f5a5100d",
    },
  })


// ListPolicies
// (method) Authorizer.ListPolicies(params: PlainMessage<ListPoliciesRequest>, options?: CallOptions): Promise<Module[]>
await authClient
  .ListPolicies({ policyInstance: policyInstance("todo", "todo") })

Custom Headers

await authClient.ListPolicies(
  { policyInstance: policyInstance("todo", "todo") },
  { headers: { customKey: "customValue" } }
);

Middleware

When authorization middleware is configured and attached to a server, it examines incoming requests, extracts authorization parameters like the caller's identity, calls the Aserto authorizers, and rejects messages if their access is denied.

failWithError: When set to true, will forward errors to next instead of ending the response directly. callOptions: Options for a call.(see: https://github.com/connectrpc/connect-es/blob/v1.5.0/packages/connect/src/call-options.ts#L21-L54)

interface Middleware {
  client: Authorizer;
  policy: Policy;
  resourceMapper?: ResourceMapper;
  identityMapper?: IdentityMapper;
  policyMapper?: PolicyMapper;
  failWithError?: boolean;
  callOptions?: CallOptions;
}

type Policy = {
  root: string;
  name?: string;
  decision?: string;
  path?: string;
};

type CheckOptions = {
  object?: ObjectMapper;
  objectId?: string | StringMapper;
  objectType?: string | StringMapper;
  relation?: string | StringMapper;
  subjectType?: string;
};

type ResourceMapper =
  | ResourceContext
  | ((req?: Request) => Promise<ResourceContext>);

type IdentityMapper = (req?: Request) => Promise<IdentityContext>;
type PolicyMapper = (req?: Request) => Promise<PolicyContext>;

Methods

function Authz()
function Check(options: CheckOptions)

Examples

const app: express.Application = express();


// Standard REST
const restMw = new Middleware({
  client: client,
  policy: {
    name: 'todo',
    root: 'todoApp',
  },
  resourceMapper: async (req: express.Request) => {
    if (!req.params?.id) {
      return {};
    }

    const todo = await store.get(req.params.id);
    return { ownerID: todo.OwnerID };
  },
})

app.get("/todos", checkJwt, restMw.Authz(), server.list.bind(server));
app.post("/todos", checkJwt, restMw.Authz(), server.create.bind(server));
app.put("/todos/:id", checkJwt, restMw.Authz(), server.update.bind(server));


// Check
const rebacMw = new Middleware({
  client: authClient,
  policy: {
    name: 'policy-rebac',
    root: 'rebac',
  }
})

// Only users that are in the `evil_genius` group are allowed to delete todos.
app.delete("/todos/:id", checkJwt, rebacMw.Check({
  objectType: "group",
  objectId: "evil_genius"
  relation:  "member",
}))

Mappers

Identity

To determine the identity of the user, the middleware can be configured to use a JWT token or a claim using the IdentityMapper.

// use the identity type sub
import { SubIdentityMapper } from "@aserto/aserto-node";

const restMw = new Middleware({
  client: authClient,
  policy: policy,
  identityMapper: SubIdentityMapper,
})

// use the jwt type sub from a custom header
import { JWTIdentityMapper } from "@aserto/aserto-node";

const restMw = new Middleware({
  client: authClient,
  policy: policy,
  identityMapper: JWTIdentityMapper("my-header");,
})
// use the manual identity type
import { ManualIdentityMapper } from "@aserto/aserto-node";

const restMw = new Middleware({
  client: authClient,
  policy: policy,
  identityMapper: ManualIdentityMapper("my-identity");,
})

The whole identity resolution can be overwritten by providing a custom function.

// needs to return an IdentityContext
import { identityContext } from "@aserto/aserto-node";

const restMw = new Middleware({
  client: authClient,
  policy: policy,
  identityMapper: async () => {
    return identityContext('test', 'SUB')
  },
})

Policy

The authorization policy's ID and the decision to be evaluated are specified when creating authorization Middleware, but the policy path is often derived from the URL or method being called.

By default, the policy path is derived from the URL path.

To provide custom logic, use a PolicyMapper. For example:

// needs to return an IdentityContext
import { identityContext } from "@aserto/aserto-node";

const restMw = new Middleware({
  client: authClient,
  policy: policy,
  policyMapper: async () => {
    return policyContext('path', ['decision'])
  }
})

Resource

A resource can be any structured data that the authorization policy uses to evaluate decisions. By default, the request params are included in the ResourceContext.

This behavior can be overwritten by providing a custom function:

const restMw = new Middleware({
  client: authClient,
  policy: policy,
  resourceMapper: async () => {
    return { customKey: "customValue" };
  },
})

Mappers

Resource
// provides a custom resource context,
type ResourceMapper =
  | ResourceContext
  | ((req?: Request) => Promise<ResourceContext>);

// examples
async (req: Request) => { return { customKey: req.params.id } };
// or just a plain resource context
{ customKey: "customValue" }
Identity
type IdentityMapper = (req?: Request) => Promise<IdentityContext>;

// You can also use the built-in policyContext function to create a identity context and pass it as the mapper response
const identityContext = (value: string, type: keyof typeof IdentityType) => {

IdentityType {
    /**
     * Unknown, value not set, requests will fail with identity type not set error.
     *
     * @generated from enum value: IDENTITY_TYPE_UNKNOWN = 0;
     */
    UNKNOWN = 0,
    /**
     * None, no explicit identity context set, equals anonymous.
     *
     * @generated from enum value: IDENTITY_TYPE_NONE = 1;
     */
    NONE = 1,
    /**
     * Sub(ject), identity field contains an oAUTH subject.
     *
     * @generated from enum value: IDENTITY_TYPE_SUB = 2;
     */
    SUB = 2,
    /**
     * JWT, identity field contains a JWT access token.
     *
     * @generated from enum value: IDENTITY_TYPE_JWT = 3;
     */
    JWT = 3,
    /**
     * Manual, propagates thw identity field as-is, without validation, into the input object.
     *
     * @generated from enum value: IDENTITY_TYPE_MANUAL = 4;
     */
    MANUAL = 4
}

// example
identityContext("[email protected]", "SUB")
Policy
type PolicyMapper = (req?: Request) => Promise<PolicyContext>;


// You can also use the built-in policyContext function to create a policy context and pass it as the mapper response
policyContext = (policyPath: string, decisionsList: Array<string> = ["allowed"])

// Example
policyContext("todoApp.POST.todos", ["allowed"])

Directory

The Directory APIs can be used to get, set or delete object instances, relation instances and manifests. They can also be used to check whether a user has a permission or relation on an object instance.

Directory Client

type ServiceConfig = {
  url?: string;
  tenantId?: string;
  apiKey?: string;
  caFile?: string;
  rejectUnauthorized?: boolean;
  insecure?: boolean;
  customHeaders?: { [key: string]: unknown };

};

export type DirectoryV3Config = ServiceConfig & {
  reader?: ServiceConfig;
  writer?: ServiceConfig;
  importer?: ServiceConfig;
  exporter?: ServiceConfig;
  model?: ServiceConfig;
};

You can initialize a directory client as follows:

import { DirectoryServiceV3 } from "@aserto/aserto-node";

const directoryClient = DirectoryServiceV3({
  url: 'localhost:9292',
  caFile: `${process.env.HOME}/.local/share/topaz/certs/grpc-ca.crt`
});

- `url`: hostname:port of directory service (_required_)
- `apiKey`: API key for directory service (_required_ if using hosted directory)
- `tenantId`: Aserto tenant ID (_required_ if using hosted directory)
- `caFile`: Path to the directory CA file. (optional)
- `rejectUnauthorized`: reject clients with invalid certificates. Defaults to `true`.
- `insecure`: Skip server certificate and domain verification. (NOT SECURE!). Defaults to `false`.
- `reader`: ServiceConfig for the reader client(optional)
- `writer`: ServiceConfig for the writer client(option)
- `importer`: ServiceConfig for the importer client(option)
- `exporter`: ServiceConfig for the exporter client(option)
- `model`: ServiceConfig for the model client(option)

Example

Define a writer client that uses the same credentials but connects to localhost:9393. All other services will have the default configuration

import { DirectoryServiceV3 } from "@aserto/aserto-node";

const directoryClient = DirectoryServiceV3({
  url: 'localhost:9292',
  tenantId: '1234',
  apiKey: 'my-api-key',
  writer: {
    url: 'localhost:9393'
  }
});

Getting objects and relations

'object' function

object({ objectType: "type-name", objectId: "object-id" }, options?: CallOptions):

Get an object instance with the type type-name and the id object-id. For example:

const user = await directoryClient.object({ objectType: 'user', objectId: '[email protected]' });

// Handle a specific Directory Error
import { NotFoundError } from  "@aserto/aserto-node"

try {
  directoryClient.object({
    objectType: "user",
    objectId: "[email protected]",
  });
} catch (error) {
  if (error instanceof NotFoundError) {
    // handle the case where the object was not found
  }
  throw error;
}

'relation' function

  relation({
    subjectType:  'subject-type',
    subjectId: 'subject-id',
    relation: 'relation-name',
    objectType: 'object-type',
    objectId: 'object-id',
  })

Get an relation of a certain type between as subject and an object. For example:

const identity = '[email protected]';
const relation = await directoryClient.relation({
  subjectType: 'user',
  subjectId: '[email protected]',
  relation: 'identifier',
  objectType: 'identity'
  objectId: identity
});

'relations' function

  relations({
    subjectType:  'subject-type',
    relation: 'relation-name',
    objectType: 'object-type',
    objectId: 'object-id',
  })

Setting objects and relations

'setObject' function

setObject({ object: $Object }, options?: CallOptions):

Create an object instance with the specified fields. For example:

const user = await directoryClient.setObject(
  {
    object: {
      type: "user",
      id: "test-object",
      properties: {
        displayName: "test object"
      }
    }
  }
);

'setRelation' function

setRelation({ relation: Relation }, options?: CallOptions):

Create a relation with a specified name between two objects. For example:

const relation = await directoryClient.setRelation({
  subjectId: 'subjectId',
  subjectType: 'subjectType',
  relation: 'relationName',
  objectType: 'objectType',
  objectId: 'objectId',
});

'deleteObject' function

deleteObject({ objectType: "type-name", objectId: "object-id", withRelations: false }, options?: CallOptions):

Deletes an object instance with the specified type and key. For example:

await directoryClient.deleteObject({ objectType: 'user', objectId: '[email protected]' });

'deleteRelation' function

deleteRelation({ objectType: string, objectId: string, relation: string, subjectType: string, subjectId: string, subjectRelation: string }):

Delete a relation:

await directoryClient.deleteRelation({
  subjectType: 'subjectType',
  subjectId: 'subjectId',
  relation: 'relationName',
  objectType: 'objectType',
  objectId: 'objectId',
});

Checking permissions and relations

You can evaluate graph queries over the directory, to determine whether a subject (e.g. user) has a permission or a relation to an object instance.

'checkPermission' function

checkPermission({ objectType: string, objectId: string, permission: string, subjectType: string, subjectId: string, trace: boolean }, options?: CallOptions):

Check that an user object with the key [email protected] has the read permission in the admin group:

const check = await directoryClient.checkPermission({
  subjectId: '[email protected]',
  subjectType: 'user',
  permission: 'read',
  objectType: 'group',
  objectId: 'admin',
});

'checkRelation' function

checkRelation({ objectType: string, objectId: string, relation: string, subjectType: string, subjectId: string, trace: boolean }, options?: CallOptions):

Check that [email protected] has an identifier relation to an object with key [email protected] and type identity:

const check = directoryClient.checkRelation({
  subjectId: '[email protected]',
  subjectType: 'user',
  name: 'identifier',
  objectType: 'identity',
  objectId: '[email protected]',
});

Example

const identity = '[email protected]';
const relation = await directoryClient.relation(
  {
    subjectType: 'user',
    objectType: 'identity',
    objectId: identity,
    relation: 'identifier',
    subjectId: '[email protected]'
  }
);

if (!relation) {
  throw new Error(`No relations found for identity ${identity}`)
};

const user = await directoryClient.object(
  { objectId: relation.subjectId, objectType: relation.subjectType }
);

Manifest

You can get, set, or delete the manifest

'getManifest' function

await directoryClient.getManifest();

'setManifest' function

await directoryClient.setManifest(`
# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://www.topaz.sh/schema/manifest.json
---
### model ###
model:
  version: 3

### object type definitions ###
types:
  ### display_name: User ###
  user:
    relations:
      ### display_name: user#manager ###
      manager: user

  ### display_name: Identity ###
  identity:
    relations:
      ### display_name: identity#identifier ###
      identifier: user

  ### display_name: Group ###
  group:
    relations:
      ### display_name: group#member ###
      member: user
    permissions:
      read: member
`);

'deleteManifest' function

await directoryClient.deleteManifest();

Import

import { ImportMsgCase, ImportOpCode, objectPropertiesAsStruct } from "@aserto/aserto-node"
const importRequest = createAsyncIterable([
  {
    opCode: ImportOpCode.SET,
    msg: {
      case: ImportMsgCase.OBJECT,
      value: {
        id: "import-user",
        type: "user",
        properties: objectPropertiesAsStruct({ foo: "bar" }),
        displayName: "name1",
      },
    },
  },
  {
    opCode: ImportOpCode.SET,
    msg: {
      case: ImportMsgCase.OBJECT,
      value: {
        id: "import-group",
        type: "group",
        properties: {},
        displayName: "name2",
      },
    },
  },
  {
    opCode: ImportOpCode.SET,
    msg: {
      case: ImportMsgCase.RELATION,
      value: {
        subjectId: "import-user",
        subjectType: "user",
        objectId: "import-group",
        objectType: "group",
        relation: "member",
      },
    },
  },
]);

const resp = await directoryClient.import(importRequest);
await (readAsyncIterable(resp))

Export

const response = await readAsyncIterable(
  await directoryClient.export({ options: "DATA" })
)

Custom Headers

// passing custom headers to a request
const user = await directoryClient.object(
  {
    objectType: "user",
    objectId: "[email protected]",
  },
  {
    headers: {
      customKey: "customValue",
    },
  }
);

Deprecated Methods

Note: the authorizerServiceUrl option that is used throughout is no longer a URL, but the option name is retained for backward-compatibility. It is now expected to be a hostname that exposes a gRPC binding. Any "https://" prefix is stripped out of the value provided.

jwtAuthz middleware

jwtAuthz is an Express-compatible middleware that you can place in the dispatch pipeline of a route.

You can use the jwtAuthz function together with express-jwt to both validate a JWT and make sure it has the correct permissions to call an endpoint.

const jwt = require('express-jwt');
const { jwtAuthz } = require('@aserto/aserto-node');

const options = {
  authorizerServiceUrl: 'localhost:8282', // required - must pass a valid host:port
  policyRoot: 'mycars', // required - must be a string representing the policy root (the first component of the policy module name)
  instanceName: 'instance-name', // optional (required only for a hosted authorizer)
};

app.get('/users/:id',
  jwt({ secret: 'shared_secret' }),
  jwtAuthz(options),
  function(req, res) { ... });

By default, jwtAuthz derives the policy file name and resource key from the Express route path. To override this behavior, two optional parameters are available.

arguments

jwtAuthz(options[, packageName[, resourceMap]]):

  • options: a javascript map containing at least { authorizerServiceUrl, policyName, policyRoot } as well as authorizerApiKey and tenantId for the hosted authorizer
  • packageName: a string representing the policy package name (optional)
  • resourceMap: an optional resource context to send the authorizer. This can be either an object or a function that takes an HTTP request and returns an object.

options argument

  • authorizerServiceUrl: hostname:port of authorizer service (required)
  • policyRoot: Policy root (required)
  • instanceName: instance name (required if using hosted authorizer)
  • authorizerApiKey: API key for authorizer service (required if using hosted authorizer)
  • tenantId: Aserto tenant ID (required if using hosted authorizer)
  • caFile: location on the filesystem of the CA certificate that signed the Aserto authorizer self-signed certificate. See the "Certificates" section for more information.
  • disableTlsValidation: ignore TLS certificate validation when creating a TLS connection to the authorizer. Defaults to false.
  • failWithError: When set to true, will forward errors to next instead of ending the response directly.
  • useAuthorizationHeader: When set to true, will forward the Authorization header to the authorizer. The authorizer will crack open the JWT and use that as the identity context. Defaults to true.
  • identityHeader: the name of the header from which to extract the identity field to pass into the authorize call. This only happens if useAuthorizationHeader is false. Defaults to 'identity'.
  • customUserKey: The property name to check for the subject key. By default, permissions are checked against req.user, but you can change it to be req.myCustomUserKey with this option. Defaults to user.
  • customSubjectKey: The property name to check for the subject. By default, permissions are checked against user.sub, but you can change it to be user.myCustomSubjectKey with this option. Defaults to sub.

packageName argument

By convention, Aserto policy package names are of the form policyRoot.METHOD.path. By default, the package name will be inferred from the policy name, HTTP method, and route path:

  • GET /api/users --> policyRoot.GET.api.users
  • POST /api/users/:id --> policyRoot.POST.api.users.__id

Passing in the packageName parameter into the jwtAuthz() function will override this behavior.

resourceMap argument

By default, the resource map will be req.params. For example, if the route path is /api/users/:id, the resource will be { 'id': 'value-of-id' }.

Passing in the resourceMap parameter into the jwtAuthz() function will override this behavior.

displayStateMap middleware

Use the displayStateMap middleware to set up an endpoint that returns the display state map to a caller. The endpoint is named __displaystatemap by default, but can be overridden in options.

const { displayStateMap } = require('@aserto/aserto-node');

const options = {
  authorizerServiceUrl: 'localhost:8282', // required - must pass a valid host:port
  policyRoot: 'policy' // required - must be a string representing the policy root (the first component of the policy module name)
};
app.use(displayStateMap(options));

arguments

displayStateMap(options)

options argument

  • authorizerServiceUrl: hostname:port of authorizer service (required)
  • policyRoot: Policy root (required)
  • instanceName: instance name (required if using hosted authorizer)
  • authorizerApiKey: API key for authorizer service (required if using hosted authorizer)
  • tenantId: Aserto tenant ID (required if using hosted authorizer)
  • caFile: location on the filesystem of the CA certificate that signed the Aserto authorizer self-signed certificate. See the "Certificates" section for more information.
  • disableTlsValidation: ignore TLS certificate validation when creating a TLS connection to the authorizer. Defaults to false.
  • endpointPath: display state map endpoint path, defaults to /__displaystatemap.
  • failWithError: When set to true, will forward errors to next instead of ending the response directly. Defaults to false.
  • useAuthorizationHeader: When set to true, will forward the Authorization header to the authorizer. The authorizer will crack open the JWT and use that as the identity context. Defaults to true.
  • identityHeader: the name of the header from which to extract the identity field to pass into the displayStateMap call. This only happens if useAuthorizationHeader is false. Defaults to 'identity'.
  • customUserKey: The property name to check for the subject key. By default, permissions are checked against req.user, but you can change it to be req.myCustomUserKey with this option. Defaults to user.
  • customSubjectKey: The property name to check for the subject. By default, permissions are checked against user.sub, but you can change it to be user.myCustomSubjectKey with this option. Defaults to sub.

'is' function

While jwtAuthz is meant to be used as dispatch middleware for a route, is provides an explicit mechanism for calling the Aserto authorizer.

Use the is function to call the authorizer with a decision, policy, and resource, and get a boolean true or false response. The decision is a named value in the policy: the string allowed is used by convention. Examples: is('allowed'), is('enabled'), is('visible'), etc.

const { is } = require('@aserto/aserto-node');

const options = {
  authorizerServiceUrl: 'localhost:8282', // required - must pass a valid host:port
  policyRoot: 'policy' // required - must be a string representing the policy root (the first component of the policy module name)
};

app.get('/users/:id', async function(req, res) {
  try {
    const allowed = await is('allowed', req, options);
    if (allowed) {
      ...
    } else {
      res.status(403).send("Unauthorized");
    }
  } catch (e) {
    res.status(500).send(e.message);
  }
});

arguments

is(decision, req, options[, packageName[, resourceMap]]):

  • decision: a string representing the name of the decision - typically allowed (required)
  • req: Express request object (required)
  • options: a javascript map containing at least { authorizerServiceUrl, policyRoot } as well as authorizerApiKey and tenantId for the hosted authorizer (required)
  • packageName: a string representing the package name for the the policy (optional)
  • resourceMap: a map of key/value pairs to use as the resource context for evaluation (optional)

decision argument

This is simply a string that is correlates to a decision referenced in the policy: for example, allowed, enabled, etc.

req argument

The Express request object.

options argument

  • authorizerServiceUrl: hostname:port of authorizer service (required)
  • policyRoot: Policy root (required)
  • instanceName: instance name (required if using hosted authorizer)
  • authorizerApiKey: API key for authorizer service (required if using hosted authorizer)
  • tenantId: Aserto tenant ID (required if using hosted authorizer)
  • caFile: location on the filesystem of the CA certificate that signed the Aserto authorizer self-signed certificate. See the "Certificates" section for more information.
  • disableTlsValidation: ignore TLS certificate validation when creating a TLS connection to the authorizer. Defaults to false.
  • useAuthorizationHeader: When set to true, will forward the Authorization header to the authorizer. The authorizer will crack open the JWT and use that as the identity context. Defaults to true.
  • identityHeader: the name of the header from which to extract the identity field to pass into the authorize call. This only happens if useAuthorizationHeader is false. Defaults to 'identity'.
  • customUserKey: The property name to check for the subject key. By default, permissions are checked against req.user, but you can change it to be req.myCustomUserKey with this option. Defaults to user.
  • customSubjectKey: The property name to check for the subject. By default, permissions are checked against user.sub, but you can change it to be user.myCustomSubjectKey with this option. Defaults to sub.

packageName argument

By default, is will follow the same heuristic behavior as jwtAuthz - it will infer the package name from the policy name, HTTP method, and route path. If provided, the packageName argument will override this and specify a policy package to use.

By convention, Aserto Rego policies are named in the form policyRoot.METHOD.path. Following the node.js idiom, you can also pass it in as policyRoot/METHOD/path, and the path can contain the Express parameter syntax.

For example, passing in policyRoot/GET/api/users/:id will resolve to a policy called policyRoot.GET.api.users.__id.

resourceMap argument

By default, is follows the same behavior as jwtAuthz in that resource map will be req.params. For example, if the route path is /api/users/:id, the resource will be { 'id': 'value-of-id' }.

Passing in the resourceMap parameter into the Authz() function will override this behavior.

The provided value can be either an object or a function that takes an http request and returns an object.

Certificates

The Topaz / Aserto authorizers exposes SSL-only endpoints. In order for a node.js policy to properly communicate with the authorizer, TLS certificates must be verified.

For a hosted authorizer that has a TLS certificate that is signed by a trusted Certificate Authority, this section isn't relevant because that TLS certificate will be successfully validated.

In a development environment, topaz automatically creates a set of self-signed certificates and certificates of the CA (certificate authority) that signed them. It places them in a well-known location on the filesystem, defaulting to $HOME/.local/share/topaz/certs/ (or $HOMEPATH\AppData\Local\topaz\certs\ on Windows).

In order for the aserto-node package to perform the TLS handshake, it needs to verify the TLS certificate of Topaz using the certificate of the CA that signed it - which was placed in $HOME/.local/share/topaz/certs/grpc-ca.crt. Therefore, in order for this middleware to work successfully, either the caFile must be set to the correct path for the CA cert file, or the disableTlsValidation flag must be set to true. The same is true for the caFile argument of the DirectoryClient.

Furthermore, when packaging a policy for deployment (e.g. in a Docker container) which uses aserto-node to communicate with an authorizer that has a self-signed TLS certificate, you must copy this CA certificate into the container as part of the Docker build (typically performed in the Dockerfile). When you do that, you'll need to override the caFile option that is passed into any of the API calls defined above with the location of this cert file.

Alternately, to ignore TLS certificate validation when creating a TLS connection to the authorizer, you can set the disableTlsValidation option to true and avoid TLS certificate validation. This option is not recommended for production.

Debugging

aserto-node provides a couple of environment variables that can be used to print debug information:

NODE_TRACE=true - enables trace logging for the requests.

NODE_TRACE_MESSAGE=true - logs the request payload for gRPC requests.

Issue Reporting

If you have found a bug or if you have a feature request, please report them at this repository issues section. Please do not report security vulnerabilities on the public GitHub issue tracker.

Author

Aserto based on the original work by Auth0.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more info.

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Aserto Node.JS SDK (Authorizer v2)

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