Correct the security claims in docs and comments, and record the accepted risks (closes #171)
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Docs and comments only; no behaviour change. Corrects ten overclaims the
security review found: snapshot names are hashed but the hash uses no
secret, so a guessed hostname and name can be confirmed; a blob is named
by hex(SHA256(SHA256(uncompressed contents))), stated once in
docs/REPOSTRUCTURE.md and referenced elsewhere; double hashing does not
hide known content (blob packing does); age uses ChaCha20-Poly1305, not
XChaCha20; encryption is required, not optional; a snapshot is marked
complete before its metadata is uploaded; the export comment now matches
its only caller; deep verify detects corruption, not authorship; adding a
recipient does not reach existing data; restore examples target a
user-owned directory.

Adds an Accepted Risks subsection under Security Considerations with the
seven documented risks, cross-referenced from the README.

Model: opus-4-8
This commit is contained in:
2026-09-22 17:04:01 +00:00
parent c3bec7d3aa
commit ae06beb2c4
14 changed files with 108 additions and 67 deletions
+22 -14
View File
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ vaultik snapshot list
Features:
* modern encryption ([age](https://age-encryption.org/), X25519 + XChaCha20-Poly1305)
* modern encryption ([age](https://age-encryption.org/), X25519 + ChaCha20-Poly1305)
* content-defined chunking with deduplication (FastCDC)
* incremental backups (only changed files are re-chunked)
* multithreaded zstd compression at configurable levels
@@ -79,11 +79,13 @@ vaultik snapshot verify <snapshot-id>
# with one or more identities, is accepted
export VAULTIK_AGE_SECRET_KEY="$(cat vaultik_backup_private_key.txt)"
# deep verify (downloads and cryptographically verifies every blob)
# deep verify (downloads every blob, decrypts it, and re-hashes it to
# detect corruption — this checks integrity, not who wrote the blob)
vaultik snapshot verify --deep <snapshot-id>
# restore (requires the private key)
vaultik snapshot restore <snapshot-id> /tmp/restored
# restore (requires the private key). Restore into a new directory you own,
# writable only by you — not a shared location like /tmp
vaultik snapshot restore <snapshot-id> ~/vaultik-restore
# daily cron job: back up, keep a 4-week rolling window of snapshots
# 0 3 * * * vaultik snapshot create --cron --prune --keep-newer-than 4w
@@ -128,12 +130,13 @@ full `remote_key` from `snapshot list --json` — to restore and verify:
# keeps the key out of your shell history)
export VAULTIK_AGE_SECRET_KEY="$(cat vaultik_backup_private_key.txt)"
# restore everything to /tmp/restored, then check every restored file's
# chunk hashes
vaultik snapshot restore --verify <remote-key> /tmp/restored
# restore everything to a new directory you own (writable only by you, not a
# shared location like /tmp), then check every restored file's chunk hashes
vaultik snapshot restore --verify <remote-key> ~/vaultik-restore
# optionally, deep-verify the snapshot against the store (downloads and
# cryptographically checks every blob)
# optionally, deep-verify the snapshot against the store (downloads every
# blob, decrypts it, and re-hashes it to detect corruption — this checks
# integrity, not who wrote the blob)
vaultik snapshot verify --deep <remote-key>
```
@@ -449,14 +452,19 @@ Snapshot IDs follow the human-readable format
`<hostname>_<snapshot-name>_<RFC3339-timestamp>` (e.g.
`server1_home_2025-06-01T12:00:00Z`), but this ID is never written to the
destination store in plaintext. Each snapshot's metadata directory is named
with its `<remote-key>`, a one-way double SHA-256 hash of the ID, so a listing
of the store reveals no hostname or snapshot name. The backup time is not
hidden: manifest.json.zst carries a plaintext timestamp, and object
with its `<remote-key>`, a one-way double SHA-256 hash of the ID, so a plain
listing of the store shows no hostname or snapshot name. The hash uses no
secret, though, so an observer who guesses a candidate hostname and snapshot
name can hash it and confirm the snapshot is present; the remote key keeps
names out of a listing but does not hide them from a guess. The backup time is
not hidden either: manifest.json.zst carries a plaintext timestamp, and object
modification times are visible at the storage layer regardless. For example,
`server1_home_2025-06-01T12:00:00Z` is stored under
`metadata/17f97bcde958748af076b926af59823943db59e80ce7170b40f124dfa28f64aa/`.
See [docs/REPOSTRUCTURE.md](docs/REPOSTRUCTURE.md#remote-key-derivation) for the
derivation.
derivation, and [Security Considerations](docs/REPOSTRUCTURE.md#security-considerations)
(including [Accepted Risks](docs/REPOSTRUCTURE.md#accepted-risks)) for what the
format does and does not protect.
### data flow
@@ -497,7 +505,7 @@ derivation.
### encryption
* Asymmetric encryption using age (X25519 + XChaCha20-Poly1305)
* Asymmetric encryption using age (X25519 + ChaCha20-Poly1305)
* Only the public key is needed on the source host
* Each blob and each metadata database is encrypted independently
* Multiple recipients supported (encrypt to multiple keys)