onionwire/docs/THREAT_MODEL.md
Sirius DevOps 1a465581c2
Some checks failed
ci / test (pull_request) Failing after 35s
[verified] fix(wallet): conjunctive receipt verify
Require non-empty txid AND amount AND address against one
get_transfers row. Signed rcp alone never sets verified=1.
2026-09-10 19:29:39 -04:00

45 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
Raw Blame History

This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters

This file contains Unicode characters that might be confused with other characters. If you think that this is intentional, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to reveal them.

# OnionWire threat model (v1)
OnionWire is a two-party chat over Tor onion services. There is no chat server.
## Tor relays are not a chat server
Each install hosts its own v3 onion and dials friends onions through in-process Arti. Relays move cells; they never see plaintext, never store messages, and never hold a roster. Compromising a relay is not compromising OnionWires message store. The store is the sqlite file on the endpoint.
## Location updates are not a missing-person finder
A signed `loc` frame (`onion`, `ts`, `sig`) rewrites a friends locator **only if** that friend is already in the roster, the signature verifies against the pinned pubkey, and `ts` is newer. There is no directory, DHT, or introduction server. If you rotated while they were offline, they cannot find you until they F3-paste your new invite. OnionWire will not hunt for a missing person.
## Rotating the onion does not revoke a friend
`F4` changes the locator only. The identity key is unchanged. Anyone who already has your pubkey can still prove they are talking to you, and a later invite paste with the same `k` updates their row. To become a new person, `/wipe-all` (new identity key). There is no in-band unfriend/revoke in v1.
## Message bodies are encrypted at rest; keys are not
Chat bodies in sqlite are ChaCha20-Poly1305 (`nonce || ciphertext` in the `messages.plaintext` column). A random 32-byte data key is wrapped with Argon2id (same params as identity backup) from a non-empty passphrase. Salt + wrapped key live in `store_meta`. Unlock is fail-closed: wrong or empty passphrase does not open chat.
Identity secret key, friend public keys, and locators remain plaintext in the same db. The message key is not wrapped with `identity_sk` (that key is already on disk). A seized laptop still yields who you talk to and your identity unless you add OS/FDE. sqlcipher is out of v1. `/wipe` overwrites message bodies and vacuums; `/wipe-all` deletes the data dir.
## Fail closed
Peer onion down → send fails. Fingerprint mismatch vs the pinned key → hard fail, no send. Arti HS experimental: if it cannot publish, OnionWire stops; it does not fall back to C-tor.
## Profile is friend-visible, not a directory
A signed `prf` frame is shown to people who already have a session with you. Apply only for existing friends. There is still no name lookup, DHT, or public profile server. Anyone who already has a Noise session can see the profile you send them; that is not confidentiality against that friend.
## Monero sidecar is not a wallet
OnionWire never holds spend keys. Optional `ONIONWIRE_WALLET_RPC` talks HTTP to a user-hosted `monero-wallet-rpc`. A Noise friend can sign any `rcp`; the signature proves who sent the claim, not that a payment happened. `verified=1` only after a conjunctive RPC match: one `get_transfers` row with the same non-empty `txid`, `amount`, and `address`. Incoming `rcp` stays `verified=0` if RPC is down, errors, or no exact row. Subaddress reuse is the users wallet policy.
## Backup file is the identity
`/backup` writes the identity and Noise static secrets. Treat the file like `onionwire.db`. Restore overwrites self keys and does **not** rewrite the friends table.
## Rate limit is availability, not anonymity
Incoming rendezvous accepts are token-bucket limited (30/60s, burst 10). Excess is dropped without handshake. That is a DoS/availability control. It does not hide that you run an onion, and it is not a traffic-analysis defense.
## Out of v1
Prosody, XMPP, s2s, MAM, carbons, outbox, multi-device, DHT / name server, sqlcipher.