Phase 3: Secret Sharing & Access Control (RBAC Integration)

[kevalyq]

📌 Parent Epic

#173 (Secret Management System)

🎯 Goal

Implement secure secret sharing between users with fine-grained access control using RBAC integration. Enable users to grant read/write/admin permissions on secrets to other users or roles.

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✅ PHASE 3 COMPLETED (19.11.2025)

Status: 🎉 100% COMPLETE - All implementation, tests, and documentation finalized

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📊 Implementation Summary

✅ PRs Merged (4 total)

1. PR feat: add SecretShare model and migration (Phase 3 foundation) #183 - Foundation Layer (Merged 16.11.2025)

   • Migration: secret_shares table with XOR constraint
   • Model: SecretShare with relationships and scopes
   • Model Extension: Secret.userHasPermission() method
   • Tests: 13 new tests
   • LOC: ~513

2. PR feat: implement SecretController with shared secrets filter (#187) #191 - SecretController + SecretPolicy (Merged 18.11.2025)

   • SecretController: 5 CRUD endpoints with shared secrets filter
   • SecretPolicy: 9 authorization methods
   • Form Requests: StoreSecretRequest + UpdateSecretRequest
   • Tests: 22 new tests (101 assertions)
   • LOC: ~650
   • Closed: Sub-Issue Sub-Issue 182.1: SecretController + SecretPolicy (CRUD API) #187

3. PR feat: Integration Tests & Documentation for Secret Sharing (#189) #199 - SecretShareController + Integration (Merged 19.11.2025)

   • SecretShareController: 3 sharing endpoints
   • SecretSharePolicy: 3 methods with granter logic
   • ShareSecretRequest: XOR validation
   • SecretAttachmentPolicy: Updated for shares
   • Integration Tests: 20 tests + 18 controller tests
   • Documentation: docs/guides/secret-sharing.md (400+ lines)
   • Tests: 38 new tests
   • LOC: ~830
   • Closed: Sub-Issue Sub-Issue 182.2: SecretShareController + SecretSharePolicy (Sharing API) #188 + Sub-Issue 182.3: Integration Tests + SecretAttachmentPolicy Update #189

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📈 Final Test Coverage

Total Secret Management Tests: 73 tests (13 + 22 + 18 + 20)

• ✅ Migration Tests: 3 tests
• ✅ Model Tests: 10 tests
• ✅ SecretController Tests: 22 tests
• ✅ SecretShareController Tests: 18 tests
• ✅ Integration Tests: 20 tests

Total Project Tests: 439 tests passing (1381 assertions)

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✅ All Acceptance Criteria MET

• ✅ secret_shares migration created and tested
• ✅ SecretShare model with relationships
• ✅ SecretController with CRUD endpoints (5 routes)
• ✅ SecretShareController with share/revoke (3 routes)
• ✅ SecretPolicy + SecretSharePolicy implemented
• ✅ SecretAttachmentPolicy updated for sharing
• ✅ All validation rules enforced
• ✅ All tests passing (73 tests, ≥80% coverage)
• ✅ PHPStan level max passing
• ✅ Laravel Pint passing
• ✅ REUSE 3.3 compliant
• ✅ CHANGELOG.md updated
• ✅ API documented in developer guide

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🚀 What This Enables

Backend API Complete:

• ✅ Full CRUD for secrets with encryption
• ✅ Share secrets with users or roles
• ✅ Fine-grained permissions (read/write/admin)
• ✅ Optional expiration for temporary shares
• ✅ Permission hierarchy enforced (admin > write > read)
• ✅ File attachments respect share permissions

Frontend UNBLOCKED:

• ✅ enhancement: Add file upload to backend API for Secret attachments frontend#141 - File Upload UI
• ✅ enhancement: Implement IndexedDB storage for offline file queue frontend#142 - IndexedDB Queue
• ✅ Phase 4 (Frontend Secret Vault UI)

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🔗 Dependencies

• Depends on:
  • ✅ Phase 1: Secret Model + CRUD API (Backend Foundation) #174 (Secret Model + CRUD) - Merged
  • ✅ Phase 2: File Attachments API (Upload/Download/Encryption) #175 (File Attachments) - Merged
  • ✅ 🔐 Implement RBAC System (Role-Based Access Control) #5 (RBAC System) - Implemented
• Blocks:
  • ✅ enhancement: Add file upload to backend API for Secret attachments frontend#141 (File Upload UI) - UNBLOCKED
  • ✅ enhancement: Implement IndexedDB storage for offline file queue frontend#142 (IndexedDB Queue) - UNBLOCKED
  • Phase 4 (Frontend Secret Vault UI)
• Part of: Epic [EPIC] Secret Management System (Password Vault) #173

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📝 Technical Notes

Permission Hierarchy

admin   → Can do everything (view, update, delete, share)
write   → Can view + update (+ upload attachments)
read    → Can only view (+ download attachments)

XOR Constraint (User XOR Role)

A share MUST target either:

• User (user_id set, role_id NULL)
• Role (role_id set, user_id NULL)

Never both or neither.

Owner Special Case

Owner always has implicit admin permission without needing a SecretShare record.

Expiration

• expires_at NULL = permanent share
• expires_at past = share automatically invalid
• Expired shares still visible in DB for audit trail

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🔗 Related Sub-Issues (All Closed)

• ✅ Sub-Issue 182.1: SecretController + SecretPolicy (CRUD API) #187 - SecretController + SecretPolicy (Closed by PR feat: implement SecretController with shared secrets filter (#187) #191)
• ✅ Sub-Issue 182.2: SecretShareController + SecretSharePolicy (Sharing API) #188 - SecretShareController + SecretSharePolicy (Closed by PR feat: Integration Tests & Documentation for Secret Sharing (#189) #199)
• ✅ Sub-Issue 182.3: Integration Tests + SecretAttachmentPolicy Update #189 - Integration Tests + Documentation (Closed by PR feat: Integration Tests & Documentation for Secret Sharing (#189) #199)

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Type: Sub-Issue (Backend)
Priority: High
Status: ✅ COMPLETED 19.11.2025
Total Implementation Time: 3 days
Total LOC: ~1993 additions
Total Tests: 73 new tests

[github-actions]

✅ This issue has been added to the SecPal Feature Roadmap with status: 💡 Ideas

New idea - needs discussion and evaluation

Status Flow:
💡 Ideas → 💬 Discussion → 📥 Backlog → 📋 Planned → 🚧 In Progress → 👀 In Review → ✅ Done

Note: Ideas that won't be implemented should be moved to 🚫 Won't Do with a reason.

[kevalyq]

🚀 Foundation PR created: #183

The first building blocks for Phase 3 are complete:

• ✅ Migration: secret_shares table with XOR constraint
• ✅ Model: SecretShare with relationships and scopes
• ✅ Model Extension: Secret.userHasPermission() method
• ✅ Tests: 13 new tests (all passing)

Next Steps (separate PRs will follow):

1. SecretController (CRUD with permission checks)
2. SecretShareController (Grant/Revoke endpoints)
3. Policies (Authorization logic)
4. Form Requests (Validation)
5. Integration Tests

Following the "1 Topic = 1 PR" principle - each PR stays focused and reviewable! 🎯