server/README.md

FIC Forensic CTF Platform
=========================

This is a CTF server for distributing and validating challenges. It is design
to be robust, so it uses some uncommon technics like client certificate for
authentication, lots of state of the art cryptographic methods and aims to be
deployed in a DMZ network architecture.

This is a [monorepo](https://danluu.com/monorepo/), containing several
micro-services :

- `admin` is the web interface and API used to control the challenge
  and doing synchronization.
- `checker` is an inotify reacting service that handles submissions
  checking.
- `dashboard` is a public interface to explain and follow the
  conquest, aims to animate the challenge for visitors.
- `evdist` is an inotify reacting service that handles settings
  changes during the challenge (eg. a 30 minutes event where hints are
  free, ...).
- `generator` takes care of global and team's files generation.
- `qa` is an interface dedicated to challenge development, it stores
  reports to be treated by challenges creators.
- `receiver` is only responsible for receiving submissions. It is the
  only dynamic part accessibe to players, so it's codebase is reduce
  to the minimum. It does not parse or try to understand players
  submissions, it just write it down to a file in the file
  system. Parsing and treatment is made by the `checker`.
- `remote/challenge-sync-airbus` is an inotify reacting service that
  allows us to synchronize scores and exercice validations with the
  Airbus scoring platform.
- `remote/scores-sync-zqds` is an inotify reacting service that allows
  us to synchronize scores with the ZQDS scoring platform.
- `repochecker` is a side project to check offline for synchronization
  issues.

Here is how thoses services speak to each others:

![Overview of the micro-services](doc/micro-services.png)

In the production setup, each micro-service runs in a dedicated
container, isolated from each other. Moreover, two physical machines
should be used:

- `phobos` communicates with players: displaying the web interface,
  authenticate teams and players, storing contest files and handling
  submissions retrieval without understanding them. It can't access
  `deimos` so its job stops after writing requests on the filesystem.
- `deimos` is hidden from players, isolated from the network. It can
  only access `phobos` via a restricted ssh connection, to retrieve
  requests from `phobos` filesystem and pushing to it newly generated
  static files.

Concretely, the L2 looks like this:

![Layer 2 connections](doc/l2.png)

So, the general filesystem is organized this way:

- `DASHBOARD` contains files structuring the content of the dashboard
  screen(s).
- `FILES` stores the contest file to be downloaded by players. To be
  accessible without authentication and to avoid bruteforce, each file
  is placed into a directory with a hashed name (the original file
  name is preserved). It's rsynced as is to `deimos`.
- `GENERATOR` contains a socket to allow other services to communicate
  with the `generator`.
- `PKI` takes care of the PKI used for the client certiciate
  authorization process, and more generaly, all authentication related
  files (htpasswd, dexidp config, ...). Only the `shared` subdirectory
  is shared with `deimos`, private key and teams P12 don't go out.
- `SETTINGS` stores the challenge config as wanted by admins. It's not
  always the config in use: it uses can be delayed waiting for a
  trigger.
- `SETTINGSDIST` is the challenge configuration in use. It is the one
  shared with players.
- `startingblock` keep the `started` state of the challenge. This
  helps `nginx` to know when it can start distributing exercices
  related files.
- `TEAMS` stores the static files generated by the `generator`, there is
  one subdirectory by team (id of the team), plus some files at the
  root, which are common to all teams. There is also symlink pointing
  to team directory, each symlink represent an authentication
  association (certificate ID, OpenID username, htpasswd user, ...).
- `submissions` is the directory where the `receiver` writes
  requests. It creates subdirectories at the name of the
  authentication association, as seen in `TEAMS`, `checker` then
  resolve the association regarding `TEAMS` directory. There is also a
  special directory to handle team registration.

Here is a diagram showing how each micro-service uses directories it has access to (blue for read access, red for write access):

![Usage of directories by each micro-service](doc/directories.png)

Local developer setup
---------------------

### Using Docker

Use `docker-compose build`, then `docker-compose up` to launch the infrastructure.

After booting, you'll be able to reach the main interface at:
<http://localhost:8042/> and the admin one at: <http://localhost:8081/> (or at <http://localhost:8042/admin/>).
The dashboard is available at <http://localhost:8042/dashboard/> and the QA service at <http://localhost:8042/qa/>.

In this setup, there is no authentication. You are identfied [as a team](./configs/nginx/get-team/team-1.conf). On first use you'll need to register.

#### Import folder

##### Local import folder
The following changes is only required if your are trying to change the local import folder `~/fic` location.

Make the following changes inside this file `docker-compose.yml`:

    23    volumes:
    24 -     - ~/fic:/mnt/fic:ro
    24 +     - <custom-path-to-import-folder>/fic:/mnt/fic:ro

##### Git import
A git repository can be used:

    29 -    command: --baseurl /admin/ -localimport /mnt/fic -localimportsymlink
    29 +    command: --baseurl /admin/ -localimport /mnt/fic -localimportsymlink -git-import-remote git@gitlab.cri.epita.fr:ing/majeures/srs/fic/2042/challenges.git

##### Owncloud import folder
If your are trying to use the folder available with the Owncloud service, make the following changes inside this file `docker-compose.yml`:

    29 -    command: --baseurl /admin/ -localimport /mnt/fic -localimportsymlink
    29 +    command: --baseurl /admin/ -clouddav=https://owncloud.srs.epita.fr/remote.php/webdav/FIC%202019/ -clouduser <login_x> -cloudpass '<passwd>'

### Manual builds

Running this project requires a web server (configuration is given for nginx),
a database (currently supporting only MySQL/MariaDB), a Go compiler for the
revision 1.18 at least and a `inotify`-aware system. You'll also need NodeJS to
compile some user interfaces.

1. Above all, you need to build Node projects:

        cd frontend/fic; npm install && npm run build
        cd qa/ui; npm install && npm run build

2. First, you'll need to retrieve the dependencies:

		go mod vendor

2. Then, build the three Go projects:

		go build -o fic-admin ./admin
		go build -o fic-checker ./checker
		go build -o fic-dashboard ./dashboard
		go build -o fic-generator ./generator
		go build -o fic-qa ./qa
		go build -o fic-receiver ./receiver
		go build -o fic-repochecker ./repochecker
        ...

3. Before launching anything, you need to create a database:

		mysql -u root -p <<EOF
		CREATE DATABASE fic;
		CREATE USER fic@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'fic';
		GRANT ALL ON fic.* TO fic@localhost;
		EOF

	By default, expected credentials for development purpose is `fic`,
	for both username, password and database name. If you want to use
	other credentials, define the corresponding environment variable:
	`MYSQL_HOST`, `MYSQL_USER`, `MYSQL_PASSWORD` and
	`MYSQL_DATABASE`. Those variables are the one used by the `mysql`
	docker image, so just link them together if you use containers.

4. Launch it!

        ./fic-admin &

    After initializing the database, the server will listen on
    <http://localhost:8081/>: this is the administration part.

        ./fic-generator &

    This daemon generates static and team related files and then waits
    another process to tell it to regenerate some files.

        ./fic-receiver &

	This one exposes an API that gives time synchronization to clients and
	handle submission reception (but without treating them).

		./fic-checker &

    This service waits for new submissions (expected in `submissions`
	directory). It only watchs modifications on the file system, it has no web
	interface.

		./fic-dashboard &

	This last server runs the public dashboard. It serves all file, without the
    need of a webserver. It listens on port 8082 by default.

		./fic-qa &

	If you need it, this will launch a web interface on the port 8083 by
    default, to perform quality control.

For the moment, a web server is mandatory to serve static files, look
at the samples given in the `configs/nginx` directory. You need to
pick one base configation flavor in the `configs/nginx/base`
directory, and associated with an authentication mechanism in
`configs/nginx/auth` (named the file `fic-auth.conf` in `/etc/nginx`),
and also pick the corresponding `configs/nginx/get-team` file, you
named `fic-get-team.conf`.