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🔒 Security Policy — Ascender Framework

Last updated: 2025-10-21
Maintained by: Ascender Framework Core Team (Ascender Team)
Repository source: https://github.com/AscenderTeam/AscenderFramework

1. Overview

The Ascender Framework and its associated packages are maintained with a strict security posture. This document defines the mandatory protocols for vulnerability handling, responsible disclosure, dependency integrity, and internal security governance.

Security is treated as a first-class runtime concern, not an afterthought.

2. Reporting a Vulnerability

If you believe you’ve discovered a security vulnerability in any Ascender Framework repository or Ascender-based library, do not open a public issue.

📩 Confidential Report Channel

  • Email: security@ascender-framework.com
  • PGP Key: Available on request via email
  • Response SLA: Within 72 hours (business days)
  • Fix Target SLA: Within 14 days for critical issues, 30 days for moderate issues

Your Report Must Include:

  1. A clear and reproducible description of the issue.
  2. Proof of concept (if possible) - do not include harmful payloads.
  3. Affected version(s) and environment (Python, OS, runtime, use ascender version --raw and provide its output).
  4. Potential impact and suggested mitigation (if known).

3. Security Severity Levels

Level Description Expected Response
Critical Remote code execution, data leak, privilege escalation Fix within 14 days, immediate advisory
High Auth bypass, injection vectors, dependency exploit Fix within 21 days
Moderate Local DoS, misconfiguration vulnerability Fix within 30 days
Low Information disclosure, logging detail leakage Fix within 45 days

4. Disclosure Protocol

  1. Reports are triaged privately by the Ascender Security Maintainers.
  2. A confirmation will be sent to the reporter within 72 hours.
  3. A fix or mitigation plan will be created and tracked privately.
  4. Public disclosure happens only after the fix has been released and validated.
  5. Reporters will be credited unless they request anonymity.

5. Dependency Integrity

All dependencies are vetted for: - License compatibility (MIT / Apache 2.0 / BSD-3 preferred) - Supply chain safety (verified via hash pinning) - CVE scanning (automated via GitHub Actions security scanner)

If you maintain an Ascender extension or plugin, you must: - Avoid dynamic imports from untrusted sources. - Verify all third-party dependencies with pinned versions. - Use requirements.lock or Poetry lock files under version control.

6. Runtime Security Guidelines

Ascender Framework enforces runtime security across all layers:

Domain Enforcement
Dependency Injection (DI) All providers are sandboxed by scope and resolved through verified injectors.
Guards & Middleware Guard chains are executed with strict context isolation.
Logging Sensitive data (tokens, passwords, API keys) must never appear in logs.
Network IO HTTP clients and other custom endpoints must validate TLS and sanitize payloads.
Serialization Only use Ascender Core’s internal serializers. Do not eval() or unpickle unknown data.

7. Version Support Policy

Only the following releases receive security updates:

Branch Status End of Support
2.0.x ✅ Active (LTS) April 2026
1.3.x ⚠️ Security-only December 2025
<1.2 ❌ Unsupported N/A

8. Responsible Research

We welcome ethical security research under the following conditions: - Testing must never impact production systems or user data. - Do not publicly exploit vulnerabilities before coordinated disclosure. - Do not use exploits to gain access to non-public data or repositories.

Violations of these rules may result in a permanent ban from all Ascender projects.

9. Contact

For any security-related inquiries:

Ascender Framework Security Team
📧 security@ascender-framework.com
🌐 https://ascender-framework.com/meta/security

Ascender Framework is committed to maintaining enterprise-grade security practices and transparent communication with the open-source community.

“Reliability is not a feature — it’s the foundation.” — Ascender Team