Role-Based Digest Verification for Shared Configuration Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
In distributed systems, administrators with different roles can inadvertently or maliciously modify configuration data outside their jurisdiction, posing security and integrity risks.
Innovation Solution
Implement a method involving encryption and digest verification to control access to configuration data, where each administrative role is associated with a key pair, and configuration data is encrypted with a private key, allowing only authorized administrators to make changes by matching decrypted and calculated digest values.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If configuration data is stored in shared storage accessible by multiple administrators, then administrators can view and copy configurations outside their jurisdiction, but unauthorized administrators can modify configurations outside their domain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments configuration data by associating each configuration object with a specific administrative domain and implementing domain-based access control. The system divides configuration management into separate domains (e.g., network domain, security domain) where administrators can only modify configurations within their authorized domain, while still allowing read access across domains. This segmentation prevents unauthorized modifications while maintaining configuration accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary configuration management system that mediates between multiple administrators and shared configuration storage. This intermediary system enforces domain-based access control policies, verifying administrator credentials and configuration domain associations before allowing modifications. The intermediary layer protects configuration integrity by blocking unauthorized modification attempts while permitting legitimate administrators to access and modify their domain's configurations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If all administrators can modify any configuration in the system, then system flexibility is improved, but security risks increase due to potential unauthorized modifications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by assigning different access permissions to different administrators based on their specific administrative domains. Each administrator has modified access rights localized to their authorized domain (e.g., network administrators can modify network configurations but not security configurations), while maintaining read access to all configurations. This localized permission structure provides system flexibility for authorized modifications while reducing security risks by limiting the scope of each administrator's modification capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, non-transitory computer readable media, network traffic management apparatuses, central management devices, and network traffic management systems that control access to configuration data in a distributed system are illustrated. With this technology, a set of configuration data is stored in a first data structure and a corresponding set of configuration data is stored in a second data structure along with an encrypted digest value that was encrypted using a private key associated with a particular administrator role. The stored configuration data and/or newly received modifications to stored configuration data can be authenticated via a comparison of a digest value calculated using the configuration data compared to the stored encrypted digest value, which is decrypted with a stored public key corresponding to the administrator role. Accordingly, configuration data can be securely controlled by authenticating it as valid in accordance with authorized administrator roles prior to being updated or loaded.