The RabbitMQ docs state ([1]):
RabbitMQ nodes and CLI tools (e.g. rabbitmqctl) use a cookie to
determine whether they are allowed to communicate with each
other. [...] The cookie is just a string of alphanumeric
characters up to 255 characters in size. It is usually stored in a
local file.
...and goes on to state (emphasis ours):
If the file does not exist, Erlang VM will try to create one with
a randomly generated value when the RabbitMQ server starts
up. Using such generated cookie files are **appropriate in
development environments only.**
The auto-generated cookie does not use cryptographic sources of
randomness, and generates 20 characters of `[A-Z]`. Because of a
semi-predictable seed, the entropy of this password is thus less than
the idealized 26^20 = 94 bits of entropy; in actuality, it is 36 bits
of entropy, or potentially as low as 20 if the performance of the
server is known.
These sizes are well within the scope of remote brute-force attacks.
On provision, install, and upgrade, replace the default insecure
20-character Erlang cookie with a cryptographically secure
255-character string (the max length allowed).
[1] https://www.rabbitmq.com/clustering.html#erlang-cookie
Zulip writes a `rabbitmq.config` configuration file which locks down
RabbitMQ to listen only on localhost:5672, as well as the RabbitMQ
distribution port, on localhost:25672.
The "distribution port" is part of Erlang's clustering configuration;
while it is documented that the protocol is fundamentally
insecure ([1], [2]) and can result in remote arbitrary execution of
code, by default the RabbitMQ configuration on Debian and Ubuntu
leaves it publicly accessible, with weak credentials.
The configuration file that Zulip writes, while effective, is only
written _after_ the package has been installed and the service
started, which leaves the port exposed until RabbitMQ or system
restart.
Ensure that rabbitmq's `/etc/rabbitmq/rabbitmq.config` is written
before rabbitmq is installed or starts, and that changes to that file
trigger a restart of the service, such that the ports are only ever
bound to localhost. This does not mitigate existing installs, since
it does not force a rabbitmq restart.
[1] https://www.erlang.org/doc/apps/erts/erl_dist_protocol.html
[2] https://www.erlang.org/doc/reference_manual/distributed.html#distributed-erlang-system
This is required in order to lock down the RabbitMQ port to only
listen on localhost. If the nodename is `rabbit@hostname`, in most
circumstances the hostname will resolve to an external IP, which the
rabbitmq port will not be bound to.
Installs which used `rabbit@hostname`, due to RabbitMQ having been
installed before Zulip, would not have functioned if the host or
RabbitMQ service was restarted, as the localhost restrictions in the
RabbitMQ configuration would have made rabbitmqctl (and Zulip cron
jobs that call it) unable to find the rabbitmq server.
The previous commit ensures that configure-rabbitmq is re-run after
the nodename has changed. However, rabbitmq needs to be stopped
before `rabbitmq-env.conf` is changed; we use an `onlyif` on an `exec`
to print the warning about the node change, and let the subsequent
config change and notify of the service and configure-rabbitmq to
complete the re-configuration.
This is an additional security hardening step, to make Zulip default
to preventing SSRF attacks. The overhead of running Smokescreen is
minimal, and there is no reason to force deployments to take
additional steps in order to secure themselves against SSRF attacks.
Deployments which already have a different external proxy configured
will not gain a local Smokescreen installation, and running without
Smokescreen is supported by explicitly unsetting the `host` or `port`
values in `/etc/zulip/zulip.conf`.
(cherry picked from commit c33562f0a8)
Thumbor and tc-aws have been dragging their feet on Python 3 support
for years, and even the alphas and unofficial forks we’ve been running
don’t seem to be maintained anymore. Depending on these projects is
no longer viable for us.
Signed-off-by: Anders Kaseorg <anders@zulip.com>
This new pages accomplishes several interrelated things:
* Documents that Zulip Cloud runs master and how that works.
* Documents policies on how long client apps are expected to support
old releases in our compatibility matrix.
* Removes the 3-years-stale roadmap article.
* Provides a central place to talk about different versions in Zulip.
* Provides a better place to link to from our "you need to upgrade" nag.
This content is not intended to be final, but should be finalized in
the next week or so.
Fixes#18322.
This likely still needs work on updating the list of highlights, as
well as an editing pass, but we shouldn't need to read the whole
`git log --stat` again.
There is only one PostgreSQL database; the "appdb" is irrelevant.
Also use "postgresql," as it is the name of the software, whereas
"postgres" the name of the binary and colloquial name. This is minor
cleanup, but enabled by the other renames in the previous commit.
