--- title: "Access Control" description: "Configuring the Access Control or RBAC settings." lead: "Authelia supports a comprehensive access control system. This section describes configuring this." date: 2020-02-29T01:43:59+01:00 draft: false images: [] menu: configuration: parent: "security" weight: 104200 toc: true aliases: - /c/acl - /docs/configuration/access-control.html --- ## Configuration {{< config-alert-example >}} ```yaml access_control: default_policy: deny networks: - name: internal networks: - '10.0.0.0/8' - '172.16.0.0/12' - '192.168.0.0/18' rules: - domain: 'private.example.com' domain_regex: '^(\d+\-)?priv-img.example.com$' policy: one_factor networks: - 'internal' - '1.1.1.1' subject: - ['user:adam'] - ['user:fred'] - ['group:admins'] methods: - GET - HEAD resources: - '^/api.*' query: - - operator: 'present' key: 'secure' - operator: 'absent' key: 'insecure' - - operator: 'pattern' key: 'token' value: '^(abc123|zyx789)$' - operator: 'not pattern' key: 'random' value: '^(1|2)$' ``` ## Options This section describes the individual configuration options. ### default_policy {{< confkey type="string" default="deny" required="no" >}} The default [policy](#policies) defines the policy applied if no [rules](#rules) section apply to the information known about the request. It is recommended that this is configured to [deny] for security reasons. Sites which you do not wish to secure at all with Authelia should not be configured in your reverse proxy to perform authentication with Authelia at all for performance reasons. See the [policies] section for more information. ### networks (global) {{< confkey type="list" required="no" >}} The main/global networks section contains a list of networks with a name label that can be reused in the [rules](#networks) section instead of redefining the same networks over and over again. This additionally makes complicated network related configuration a lot cleaner and easier to read. This section has two options, `name` and `networks`. Where the `networks` section is a list of IP addresses in CIDR notation and where `name` is a friendly name to label the collection of networks for reuse in the [networks] section of the [rules] section below. This configuration option *does nothing* by itself, it's only useful if you use these aliases in the [rules](#networks) section below. ### rules {{< confkey type="list" required="no" >}} The rules have many configuration options. A rule matches when all criteria of the rule match the request excluding the [policy] which is the [policy](#policies) applied to the request. A rule defines two primary things: * the policy applied when all criteria match * the matching criteria of the request presented to the reverse proxy The criteria is broken into several parts: * [domain]: domain or list of domains targeted by the request. * [domain_regex]: regex form of [domain]. * [resources]: pattern or list of patterns that the path should match. * [subject]: the user or group of users to define the policy for. * [networks]: the network addresses, ranges (CIDR notation) or groups from where the request originates. * [methods]: the http methods used in the request. A rule is matched when all criteria of the rule match. Rules are evaluated in sequential order as per [Rule Matching Concept 1]. It's *__strongly recommended__* that individuals read the [Rule Matching](#rule-matching) section. [rules]: #rules #### domain {{< confkey type="list(string)" required="yes" >}} *__Required:__ This criteria and/or the [domain_regex] criteria are required.* This criteria matches the domain name and has two methods of configuration, either as a single string or as a list of strings. When it's a list of strings the rule matches when __any__ of the domains in the list match the request domain. When used in conjunction with [domain_regex] the rule will match when either the [domain] or the [domain_regex] criteria matches. Rules may start with a few different wildcards: * The standard wildcard is `*.`, which when in front of a domain means that any subdomain is effectively a match. For example `*.example.com` would match `abc.example.com` and `secure.example.com`. When using a wildcard like this the string __must__ be quoted like `"*.example.com"`. * The user wildcard is `{user}.`, which when in front of a domain dynamically matches the username of the user. For example `{user}.example.com` would match `fred.example.com` if the user logged in was named `fred`. *__Warning:__ this is officially deprecated as the [domain_regex] criteria completely replaces the functionality in a much more useful way. It is strongly recommended you do not use this as it will be removed in a future version, most likely v5.0.0.* * The group wildcard is `{group}.`, which when in front of a domain dynamically matches if the logged in user has the group in that location. For example `{group}.example.com` would match `admins.example.com` if the user logged in was in the following groups `admins,users,people` because `admins` is in the list. Domains in this section must be the domain configured in the [session](../session/introduction.md#domain) configuration or subdomains of that domain. This is because a website can only write cookies for a domain it is part of. It is theoretically possible for us to do this with multiple domains however we would have to be security conscious in our implementation, and it is not currently a priority. [domain]: #domain ##### Examples *Single domain of `*.example.com` matched. All rules in this list are effectively the same rule just expressed in different ways.* ```yaml access_control: rules: - domain: '*.example.com' policy: bypass - domain: - '*.example.com' policy: bypass ``` *Multiple domains matched. These rules will match either `apple.example.com` or `orange.example.com`. All rules in this list are effectively the same rule just expressed in different ways.* ```yaml access_control: rules: - domain: ['apple.example.com', 'banana.example.com'] policy: bypass - domain: - apple.example.com - banana.example.com policy: bypass ``` *Multiple domains matched either via a static domain or via a [domain_regex]. This rule will match either `apple.example.com`, `pub-data.example.com`, or `img-data.example.com`.* ```yaml access_control: rules: - domain: 'apple.example.com' domain_regex: '^(pub|img)-data\.example\.com$' policy: bypass ``` #### domain_regex {{< confkey type="list(string)" required="yes" >}} *__Required:__ This criteria and/or the [domain] criteria are required.* *__Important Note:__ If you intend to use this criteria with a bypass rule please read [Rule Matching Concept 2].* *__Important Note:__ to utilize regex you must escape it properly. See [regular expressions](../prologue/common.md#regular-expressions) for more information.* This criteria matches the domain name and has two methods of configuration, either as a single string or as a list of strings. When it's a list of strings the rule matches when __any__ of the domains in the list match the request domain. When used in conjunction with [domain] the rule will match when either the [domain] or the [domain_regex] criteria matches. In addition to standard regex patterns this criteria can match some [Named Regex Groups]. [domain_regex]: #domain_regex ##### Examples *An advanced multiple domain regex example with user/group matching. This will match the user `john` in the groups `example` and `example1`, when the request is made to `user-john.example.com`, `group-example.example.com`, or `group-example1.example.com`, it would not match when the request is made to `user-fred.example.com` or `group-admin.example.com`.* ```yaml access_control: rules: - domain_regex: - '^user-(?P\w+)\.example\.com$' - '^group-(?P\w+)\.example\.com$' policy: one_factor ``` *Multiple domains example, one with a static domain and one with a regex domain. This will match requests to `protected.example.com`, `img-private.example.com`, or `data-private.example.com`.* ```yaml access_control: rules: - domain: 'protected.example.com' - domain_regex: '^(img|data)-private\.example\.com' policy: one_factor ``` #### policy {{< confkey type="string" required="yes" >}} The specific [policy](#policies) to apply to the selected rule. This is not criteria for a match, this is the action to take when a match is made. [policy]: #policy #### subject {{< confkey type="list(list(string))" required="no" >}} *__Note:__ this rule criteria __may not__ be used for the [bypass] policy the minimum required authentication level to identify the subject is [one_factor]. See [Rule Matching Concept 2] for more information.* This criteria matches identifying characteristics about the subject. Currently this is either user or groups the user belongs to. This allows you to effectively control exactly what each user is authorized to access or to specifically require two-factor authentication to specific users. Subjects are prefixed with either `user:` or `group:` to identify which part of the identity to check. The format of this rule is unique in as much as it is a list of lists. The logic behind this format is to allow for both `OR` and `AND` logic. The first level of the list defines the `OR` logic, and the second level defines the `AND` logic. Additionally each level of these lists does not have to be explicitly defined. [subject]: #subject ##### Examples *Matches when the user has the username `john`, __or__ the user is in the groups `admin` __and__ `app-name`, __or__ the user is in the group `super-admin`. All rules in this list are effectively the same rule just expressed in different ways.* ```yaml access_control: rules: - domain: example.com policy: two_factor subject: - 'user:john' - ['group:admin', 'group:app-name'] - 'group:super-admin' - domain: example.com policy: two_factor subject: - ['user:john'] - ['group:admin', 'group:app-name'] - ['group:super-admin'] ``` *Matches when the user is in the `super-admin` group. All rules in this list are effectively the same rule just expressed in different ways.* ```yaml access_control: rules: - domain: example.com policy: one_factor subject: 'group:super-admin' - domain: example.com policy: one_factor subject: - 'group:super-admin' - domain: example.com policy: one_factor subject: - ['group:super-admin'] ``` #### methods {{< confkey type="list(string)" required="no" >}} This criteria matches the HTTP request method. This is primarily useful when trying to bypass authentication for specific request types when those requests would prevent essential or public operation of the website. An example is when you need to do CORS preflight requests you could apply the `bypass` policy to `OPTIONS` requests. It's important to note that Authelia cannot preserve request data when redirecting the user. For example if the user had permission to do GET requests, their authentication level was `one_factor`, and POST requests required them to do `two_factor` authentication, they would lose the form data. Additionally it is sometimes not possible to redirect users who have done requests other than HEAD or GET which means the user experience may suffer. These are the reasons it's only recommended to use this to increase security where essential and for CORS preflight. The accepted and valid methods for this configuration option are those specified in well known RFC's. The RFC's and the relevant methods are listed in this table: | RFC | Methods | Additional Documentation | |:---------:|:-----------------------------------------------------:|:----------------------------------------------------------------:| | [RFC7231] | GET, HEAD, POST, PUT, DELETE, CONNECT, OPTIONS, TRACE | [MDN](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Methods) | | [RFC5789] | PATCH | [MDN](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Methods) | | [RFC4918] | PROPFIND, PROPPATCH, MKCOL, COPY, MOVE, LOCK, UNLOCK | | [methods]: #methods ##### Examples *Bypass `OPTIONS` requests to the `example.com` domain.* ```yaml access_control: rules: - domain: example.com policy: bypass methods: - OPTIONS ``` #### networks {{< confkey type="list(string)" required="no" >}} This criteria is a list of values which can be an IP Address, network address range in CIDR notation, or an alias from the [global](#networks-global) section. It matches against the first address in the `X-Forwarded-For` header, or if there are none it will fall back to the IP address of the packet TCP source IP address. For this reason it's important for you to configure the proxy server correctly in order to accurately match requests with this criteria. *__Note:__ you may combine CIDR networks with the alias rules as you please.* The main use case for this criteria is adjust the security requirements of a resource based on the location of a user. You can theoretically consider a specific network to be one of the factors involved in authentiation, you can deny specific networks, etc. For example if you have an application exposed on both the local networks and the external networks, you are able to distinguish between those requests and apply differing policies to each. Either denying access when the user is on the external networks and allowing specific external clients to access it as well as internal clients, or by requiring less privileges when a user is on the local networks. There are a large number of scenarios regarding networks and the order of the rules. This provides a lot of flexibility for administrators to tune the security to their specific needs if desired. [networks]: #networks ##### Examples *Require [two_factor](#two_factor) for all clients other than internal clients and `112.134.145.167`. The first two rules in this list are effectively the same rule just expressed in different ways.* ```yaml access_control: default_policy: two_factor networks: - name: internal networks: - '10.0.0.0/8' - '172.16.0.0/12' - '192.168.0.0/18' rules: - domain: secure.example.com policy: one_factor networks: - '10.0.0.0/8' - '172.16.0.0/12' - '192.168.0.0/18' - '112.134.145.167/32' - domain: secure.example.com policy: one_factor networks: - 'internal' - '112.134.145.167/32' - domain: secure.example.com policy: two_factor ``` #### resources {{< confkey type="list(string)" required="no" >}} *__Important Note:__ to utilize regex you must escape it properly. See [regular expressions](../prologue/common.md#regular-expressions) for more information.* This criteria matches the path and query of the request using regular expressions. The rule is expressed as a list of strings. If any one of the regular expressions in the list matches the request it's considered a match. A useful tool for debugging these regular expressions is called [Regex 101](https://regex101.com/) (ensure you pick the `Golang` option). In addition to standard regex patterns this criteria can match some [Named Regex Groups](#named-regex-groups). *__Note:__ Prior to 4.27.0 the regular expressions only matched the path excluding the query parameters. After 4.27.0 they match the entire path including the query parameters. When upgrading you may be required to alter some of your resource rules to get them to operate as they previously did.* It's important when configuring resource rules that you enclose them in quotes otherwise you may run into some issues with escaping the expressions. Failure to do so may prevent Authelia from starting. It's technically optional but will likely save you a lot of time if you do it for all resource rules. [resources]: #resources ##### Examples *Applies the [bypass](#bypass) policy when the domain is `app.example.com` and the url is `/api`, or starts with either `/api/` or `/api?`.* ```yaml access_control: rules: - domain: app.example.com policy: bypass resources: - '^/api([/?].*)?$' ``` #### query {{< confkey type="list(list(object))" required="no" >}} The query criteria is an advanced criteria which can allow configuration of rules that match specific query argument keys against various rules. It's recommended to use [resources](#resources) rules instead for basic needs. The format of this rule is unique in as much as it is a list of lists. The logic behind this format is to allow for both `OR` and `AND` logic. The first level of the list defines the `OR` logic, and the second level defines the `AND` logic. Additionally each level of these lists does not have to be explicitly defined. ##### key {{< confkey type="string" required="yes" >}} The query argument key to check. ##### value {{< confkey type="string" required="situational" >}} The value to match against. This is required unless the operator is `absent` or `present`. It's recommended this value is always quoted as per the examples. ##### operator {{< confkey type="string" required="situational" >}} The rule operator for this rule. Valid operators can be found in the [Rule Operators](../../reference/guides/rule-operators.md#operators) reference guide. If [key](#key) and [value](#value) are specified this defaults to `equal`, otherwise if [key](#key) is specified it defaults to `present`. ##### Examples ```yaml access_control: rules: - domain: app.example.com policy: bypass query: - - operator: 'present' key: 'secure' - operator: 'absent' key: 'insecure' - - operator: 'pattern' key: 'token' value: '^(abc123|zyx789)$' - operator: 'not pattern' key: 'random' value: '^(1|2)$' ``` ## Policies The policy of the first matching rule in the configured list decides the policy applied to the request, if no rule matches the request the [default_policy](#default_policy) is applied. [policies]: #policies ### deny This is the policy applied by default, and is what we recommend as the default policy for all installs. Its effect is literally to deny the user access to the resource. Additionally you can use this policy to conditionally deny access in desired situations. Examples include denying access to an API that has no authentication mechanism built in. [deny]: #deny ### bypass This policy skips all authentication and allows anyone to use the resource. This policy is not available with a rule that includes a [subject] restriction because the minimum authentication level required to obtain information about the subject is [one_factor]. See [Rule Matching Concept 2] for more information. [bypass]: #bypass ### one_factor This policy requires the user at minimum complete 1FA successfully (username and password). This means if they have performed 2FA then they will be allowed to access the resource. [one_factor]: #one_factor ### two_factor This policy requires the user to complete 2FA successfully. This is currently the highest level of authentication policy available. [two_factor]: #two_factor ## Rule Matching There are two important concepts to understand when it comes to rule matching. This section covers these concepts. You can easily evaluate if your access control rules section matches a given request, and why it doesn't match using the [authelia access-control check-policy](../../reference/cli/authelia/authelia_access-control_check-policy.md) command. ### Rule Matching Concept 1: Sequential Order Rules are matched in sequential order. The first entry in the list where all criteria match is the rule which is applied. Some rule criteria additionally allow for a list of criteria, when one of these criteria in the list match a request that criteria is considered a match for that specific rule. This is particularly __important__ for bypass rules. Bypass rules should generally appear near the top of the rules list. However you need to carefully evaluate your rule list __in order__ to see which rule matches a particular scenario. A comprehensive understanding of how rules apply is also recommended. For example the following rule will consider requests for either `example.com` or any subdomain of `example.com` a match if they have a path of exactly `/api` or if they start with `/api/`. This means that the second rule for `app.example.com` will not be considered if the request is to `https://app.example.com/api` because the first rule is a match for that request. ```yaml - domain: - 'example.com' - '*.example.com' policy: bypass resources: - '^/api$' - '^/api/' - domain: - 'app.example.com' policy: two_factor ``` [Rule Matching Concept 1]: #rule-matching-concept-1-sequential-order ### Rule Matching Concept 2: Subject Criteria Requires Authentication Rules that have subject reliant elements require authentication to determine if they match. Due to this these rules must not be used with the [bypass] policy. The criteria which have subject reliant elements are: * The [subject] criteria itself * The [domain_regex] criteria when it contains the [Named Regex Groups]. In addition if the rule has a subject criteria but all other criteria match then the user will be immediately forwarded for authentication if no prior rules match the request per [Rule Matching Concept 1]. This means if you have two identical rules, and one of them has a subject based reliant criteria, and the other one is a [bypass] rule then the [bypass] rule should generally come first. [Rule Matching Concept 2]: #rule-matching-concept-2-subject-criteria-requires-authentication ## Named Regex Groups Some criteria allow matching named regex groups. These are the groups we accept: | Group Name | Match Value | Match Type | |:----------:|:-----------:|:-----------:| | User | username | Equals | | Group | groups | Has (Equal) | Named regex groups are represented with the syntax `(?P\w+)` where `User` is the group name from the table above, and `\w+` is the pattern for the area of the pattern that should be compared to the match value. The match type `Equals` matches if the value extracted from the pattern is equal to the match value. The match type `Has (Equal)` matches if the value extracted from the pattern is equal to one of the values in the match value (the match value is a list/slice). The regex groups are case-insensitive due to the fact that the regex groups are used in domain criteria and domain names should not be compared in a case-sensitive way as per the [RFC4343](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc4343) abstract and [RFC3986 Section 3.2.2](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3986#section-3.2.2). We do not currently apply any other normalization to usernames or groups when matching these groups. As such it's generally *__not recommended__* to use these patterns with usernames or groups which contain characters that are not alphanumeric (including spaces). [Named Regex Groups]: #named-regex-groups ## Detailed example Here is a detailed example of an example access control section: ```yaml access_control: default_policy: deny networks: - name: internal networks: - '10.10.0.0/16' - '192.168.2.0/24' - name: VPN networks: 10.9.0.0/16 rules: - domain: 'public.example.com' policy: bypass - domain: '*.example.com' policy: bypass methods: - OPTIONS - domain: 'secure.example.com' policy: one_factor networks: - 'internal' - 'VPN' - '192.168.1.0/24' - '10.0.0.1' - domain: - 'secure.example.com' - 'private.example.com' policy: two_factor - domain: 'singlefactor.example.com' policy: one_factor - domain: 'mx2.mail.example.com' subject: 'group:admins' policy: deny - domain: '*.example.com' subject: - 'group:admins' - 'group:moderators' policy: two_factor - domain: dev.example.com resources: - '^/groups/dev/.*$' subject: 'group:dev' policy: two_factor - domain: dev.example.com resources: - '^/users/john/.*$' subject: - ['group:dev', 'user:john'] - 'group:admins' policy: two_factor - domain: '{user}.example.com' policy: bypass ``` [RFC7231]: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7231 [RFC5789]: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5789 [RFC4918]: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc4918