From 124bdc147f0657cce8cb5c71072da41af652fcd0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Thushani Jayasekera <thushanij.18@cse.mrt.ac.lk>
Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2026 11:03:31 +0530
Subject: [PATCH] Enhance authentication configuration for production mode

- Introduced `validateAuthConfig` function to enforce authentication requirements when demo mode is disabled.
- Added checks for file-based authentication and JWT settings to ensure compliance with production standards.
- Updated `LoadConfig` to provide clearer error messages regarding JWT secret key generation in demo mode.
- Implemented self-signed certificate generation restrictions based on demo mode status.
---
 platform-api/src/config/config.go          | 20 ++++++++++++++-
 platform-api/src/internal/server/server.go | 30 ++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 49 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/platform-api/src/config/config.go b/platform-api/src/config/config.go
index 22d5955eb..37dc91bb2 100644
--- a/platform-api/src/config/config.go
+++ b/platform-api/src/config/config.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
+	"os"
 	"reflect"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
@@ -295,12 +296,19 @@ func LoadConfig(configPath string) (*Server, error) {
 	}
 
 	if cfg.Auth.JWT.Enabled && cfg.Auth.JWT.SecretKey == "" {
+		if !demoMode() {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf(
+				"AUTH_JWT_SECRET_KEY must be configured when APIP_DEMO_MODE=false and JWT authentication is enabled; " +
+					"generate a secret with: openssl rand -hex 32",
+			)
+		}
 		key, err := generateRandomSecret()
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to generate JWT secret key: %w", err)
 		}
 		cfg.Auth.JWT.SecretKey = key
-		slog.Warn("auth.jwt.secret_key is not set — generated an ephemeral random key; all sessions will be invalidated on restart")
+		slog.Warn("JWT_SIGNING_SECRET not set — generated an ephemeral demo key (restart will invalidate all sessions)",
+			slog.String("JWT_SIGNING_SECRET", key))
 	}
 
 	return cfg, nil
@@ -314,6 +322,16 @@ func generateRandomSecret() (string, error) {
 	return hex.EncodeToString(b), nil
 }
 
+// demoMode reports whether APIP_DEMO_MODE is enabled.
+// Defaults to true when the variable is unset.
+func demoMode() bool {
+	v := strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("APIP_DEMO_MODE")))
+	if v == "" {
+		return true
+	}
+	return v == "true" || v == "1"
+}
+
 
 // envToKoanfKey maps a lowercased environment variable name to its koanf dot-notation key.
 // Returns "" for unknown variables, which causes koanf to skip them.
diff --git a/platform-api/src/internal/server/server.go b/platform-api/src/internal/server/server.go
index 700d6e96c..4886f94e6 100644
--- a/platform-api/src/internal/server/server.go
+++ b/platform-api/src/internal/server/server.go
@@ -67,8 +67,30 @@ type Server struct {
 	logger         *slog.Logger
 }
 
+// validateAuthConfig enforces production auth requirements when demo mode is off.
+func validateAuthConfig(cfg *config.Server) error {
+	if demoMode() {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if cfg.Auth.FileBased.Enabled {
+		return fmt.Errorf("file-based authentication (AUTH_FILE_BASED_ENABLED=true) is not allowed when APIP_DEMO_MODE=false; configure an IDP (AUTH_IDP_ENABLED=true) or JWT (AUTH_JWT_ENABLED=true) instead")
+	}
+	if !cfg.Auth.IDP.Enabled && !cfg.Auth.JWT.Enabled {
+		return fmt.Errorf("APIP_DEMO_MODE=false requires a real auth mode; set AUTH_IDP_ENABLED=true or AUTH_JWT_ENABLED=true")
+	}
+	if cfg.Auth.JWT.Enabled && cfg.Auth.JWT.SkipValidation {
+		return fmt.Errorf("JWT signature validation cannot be skipped (AUTH_JWT_SKIP_VALIDATION=true) when APIP_DEMO_MODE=false; set AUTH_JWT_SKIP_VALIDATION=false for production")
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 // StartPlatformAPIServer creates a new server instance with all dependencies initialized
 func StartPlatformAPIServer(cfg *config.Server, slogger *slog.Logger) (*Server, error) {
+	if err := validateAuthConfig(cfg); err != nil {
+		slogger.Error("Invalid auth configuration for production mode", "error", err)
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
 	// Initialize database using configuration
 	db, err := database.NewConnection(&cfg.Database, slogger)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -631,6 +653,14 @@ func (s *Server) Start(port string, certDir string) error {
 
 	// Generate new certificate if not loaded
 	if cert.Certificate == nil {
+		if !demoMode() {
+			return fmt.Errorf(
+				"no TLS certificates found at %q (cert.pem / key.pem) and APIP_DEMO_MODE=false: "+
+					"mount real certificates or set TLS_CERT_DIR to a directory containing cert.pem and key.pem; "+
+					"self-signed certificate generation is only permitted in demo mode",
+				certDir,
+			)
+		}
 		s.logger.Info("Generating self-signed certificate for development...")
 		// Ensure cert directory exists
 		if err := os.MkdirAll(certDir, 0755); err != nil {