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Security Audit Report

Date: December 1, 2025
Scope: All API endpoints and database operations

Executive Summary​

This audit reviewed all API controllers for proper authorization, data access controls, and protection against unauthorized modifications. The audit identified 3 critical issues and 2 recommendations that need to be addressed.

Authorization Framework​

✅ Properly Implemented​

  • Admin Controllers: All admin controllers use [AdminOnly] attribute at class level
  • Owner-Only Operations: System settings and employee management use [OwnerOnly]
  • Permission-Based Access: Granular permissions system implemented
  • User Data Protection: User-facing controllers properly check ownership before modifications

Authorization Attributes​

  • [AdminOnly] - Requires Admin or Owner role
  • [OwnerOnly] - Requires Owner role only
  • [RequirePermission("key")] - Requires specific permission
  • [Authorize] - Requires authenticated user

Critical Issues Found​

✅ FIXED: Hard Deletes in Admin Controllers​

Location: AdminModerationRulesController.DeleteRule, AdminAnnouncementController.DeleteAnnouncement

Issue: These endpoints used hard deletes (Remove()) instead of soft deletes, which violated the design principle of preserving data.

Fix Applied:

  • AdminModerationRulesController.DeleteRule: Added [OwnerOnly] attribute and audit logging (hard delete is intentional for rules, but restricted to Owner)
  • AdminAnnouncementController.DeleteAnnouncement: Changed to soft delete (set IsActive = false) instead of hard delete

Files:

  • FishingLog.API/Controllers/Admin/AdminModerationRulesController.cs:170 ✅ Fixed
  • FishingLog.API/Controllers/Admin/AdminAnnouncementController.cs:159 ✅ Fixed

✅ VERIFIED: System Settings Are Owner-Only​

Location: AdminSystemSettingsController

Status: Already properly protected with [OwnerOnly] at class level.

Files:

  • FishingLog.API/Controllers/Admin/AdminSystemSettingsController.cs:21 ✅ Already Owner-only

✅ FIXED: Missing Authorization Check on Moderation Rules Deletion​

Location: AdminModerationRulesController.DeleteRule

Issue: Deletion of moderation rules didn't verify if the user has permission to delete rules.

Fix Applied: Added [OwnerOnly] attribute to restrict deletion to Owner role only, and added audit logging.

Files:

  • FishingLog.API/Controllers/Admin/AdminModerationRulesController.cs:170 ✅ Fixed

Recommendations​

⚠️ RECOMMENDATION 1: Add Audit Logging to All Destructive Operations​

Status: Partially implemented

Issue: Some destructive operations don't log audit trails. While AdminSystemSettingsController has audit logging, other controllers like AdminModerationRulesController and AdminAnnouncementController don't.

Recommendation: Add audit logging to all DELETE operations in admin controllers.

⚠️ RECOMMENDATION 2: Review Tournament Creation Authorization​

Location: TournamentController.CreateTournament

Issue: Tournament creation allows Admin role to bypass verification check. This is likely intentional but should be documented.

Status: ✅ Acceptable - Admin override is intentional for support purposes.

Security Strengths​

✅ Properly Protected Operations​

  1. User Data Modifications

    • SocialController.UpdatePost - Checks ownership or Admin
    • SocialController.DeletePost - Checks ownership or Admin
    • FishingLogController.UpdateEntry - Checks ownership or Admin
    • FishingLogController.DeleteEntry - Checks ownership or Admin
    • UserProfileController.UpdateMyProfile - Only allows own profile

  2. Admin Operations

    • All admin controllers require [AdminOnly] at class level
    • User role changes prevent removing last admin
    • Owner role cannot be changed
    • System settings have audit logging

  3. Financial Operations

    • Payment refunds require admin authorization
    • Tournament registrations properly validated

  4. Content Moderation

    • AI moderation properly integrated
    • Content status properly managed
    • Admin review workflow implemented

Controller-by-Controller Review​

Admin Controllers​

ControllerAuthorizationIssuesStatus
AdminLookupController[AdminOnly]None✅
AdminBrandController[AdminOnly]None✅
AdminFishSpeciesController[AdminOnly]None✅
AdminUserController[AdminOnly]None✅
AdminDashboardController[AdminOnly]None✅
AdminModerationController[AdminOnly]None✅
AdminModerationSettingsController[AdminOnly]None✅
AdminModerationRulesController[RequirePermission]Delete requires Owner✅
AdminUserBanController[AdminOnly]None✅
AdminTournamentController[AdminOnly]None✅
AdminTournamentOrganizerController[AdminOnly]None✅
AdminEventController[AdminOnly]None✅
AdminReportController[AdminOnly]None✅
AdminPaymentController[AdminOnly]None✅
AdminSystemSettingsController[OwnerOnly]None✅
AdminAnnouncementController[RequirePermission]Soft delete implemented✅
AdminEmployeeController[OwnerOnly]None✅
AdminAuditLogController[AdminOnly]None✅

User-Facing Controllers​

ControllerAuthorizationOwnership ChecksStatus
SocialController[Authorize]✅ All modifications✅
FishingLogController[Authorize]✅ All modifications✅
UserProfileController[Authorize]✅ Own profile only✅
TournamentController[Authorize]✅ Organizer or Admin✅
AdvertiserController[Authorize]✅ Owner or Admin✅
GearController[Authorize]✅ Own gear only✅
PersonalBestController[Authorize]✅ Own PBs only✅

Data Access Patterns​

✅ Properly Implemented​

  • Privacy controls respected (Public, Friends, Circle, Private)
  • DNR access properly logged
  • User can only modify their own data
  • Admin can override when necessary
  • Soft deletes used where appropriate

⚠️ Areas for Improvement​

  • Some admin operations use hard deletes
  • Not all destructive operations have audit logs

Action Items​

✅ Completed (Critical)​

  1. ✅ Fix Hard Deletes - Converted to soft deletes or added Owner-only protection
  2. ✅ Restrict System Settings - Verified Owner-only protection
  3. ✅ Protect Moderation Rules Deletion - Added Owner-only protection and audit logging

Short Term (Recommendations)​

  1. Add audit logging to all DELETE operations
  2. Document intentional Admin overrides (like tournament creation)
  3. Consider adding [RequirePermission] to more granular operations

Testing Recommendations​

  1. Authorization Tests: Test that non-admin users cannot access admin endpoints
  2. Ownership Tests: Test that users cannot modify other users' data
  3. Role Tests: Test that Admins cannot perform Owner-only operations
  4. Permission Tests: Test that permission checks work correctly
  5. Audit Tests: Verify audit logs are created for all destructive operations

Conclusion​

Overall, the authorization framework is well-implemented with proper role-based and permission-based access controls. All critical security issues have been addressed:

  1. ✅ Hard deletes converted to soft deletes or restricted to Owner-only
  2. ✅ System settings verified as Owner-only
  3. ✅ Moderation rules deletion restricted to Owner-only with audit logging

The security posture is now significantly improved with proper authorization checks, soft deletes where appropriate, and audit logging on critical operations.