DAPR Middleware Configuration Validator

This skill validates DAPR HTTP middleware components for security and correctness.

When to Use

Claude automatically uses this skill when:

• A middleware YAML file is created or modified
• User configures OAuth2, Bearer, OPA, or rate limiting
• Pipeline configuration is being set up
• Before deploying middleware-protected APIs

Middleware Types

Authentication Middleware

| Type | Component Type | Purpose | |------|---------------|---------| | OAuth2 | middleware.http.oauth2 | Authorization Code flow | | OAuth2 CC | middleware.http.oauth2clientcredentials | Service-to-service auth | | Bearer | middleware.http.bearer | JWT/OIDC token validation |

Authorization Middleware

| Type | Component Type | Purpose | |------|---------------|---------| | OPA | middleware.http.opa | Policy-based authorization |

Traffic Control Middleware

| Type | Component Type | Purpose | |------|---------------|---------| | Rate Limit | middleware.http.ratelimit | Request throttling | | Sentinel | middleware.http.sentinel | Circuit breaker/flow control |

Request Processing Middleware

| Type | Component Type | Purpose | |------|---------------|---------| | Router Alias | middleware.http.routeralias | Route rewriting | | Router Checker | middleware.http.routerchecker | Route validation | | WASM | middleware.http.wasm | Custom WebAssembly logic | | Uppercase | middleware.http.uppercase | Testing only |

Validation Rules

OAuth2 Middleware Validation

apiVersion: dapr.io/v1alpha1
kind: Component
metadata:
  name: oauth2
spec:
  type: middleware.http.oauth2
  version: v1
  metadata:
  - name: clientId
    secretKeyRef:           # REQUIRED: Use secretKeyRef
      name: oauth-secrets
      key: client-id
  - name: clientSecret
    secretKeyRef:           # REQUIRED: Use secretKeyRef
      name: oauth-secrets
      key: client-secret
  - name: scopes
    value: "openid profile" # REQUIRED
  - name: authURL
    value: "https://..."    # REQUIRED: Must be HTTPS
  - name: tokenURL
    value: "https://..."    # REQUIRED: Must be HTTPS
  - name: redirectURL
    value: "..."            # REQUIRED
  - name: forceHTTPS
    value: "true"           # RECOMMENDED for production

Checks performed:

• [ ] clientId uses secretKeyRef (not plain value)
• [ ] clientSecret uses secretKeyRef (not plain value)
• [ ] authURL uses HTTPS protocol
• [ ] tokenURL uses HTTPS protocol
• [ ] forceHTTPS is "true" for production

Bearer Token Validation

spec:
  type: middleware.http.bearer
  metadata:
  - name: audience
    value: "api://..."      # REQUIRED
  - name: issuer
    value: "https://..."    # REQUIRED: Must be HTTPS

Checks performed:

• [ ] audience is specified
• [ ] issuer uses HTTPS protocol
• [ ] Issuer matches known providers or is valid URL

OPA Middleware Validation

spec:
  type: middleware.http.opa
  metadata:
  - name: defaultStatus
    value: "403"            # RECOMMENDED: 403 for authz failures
  - name: rego
    value: |
      package http
      default allow = false  # REQUIRED: Default deny

Checks performed:

• [ ] Rego policy has default allow = false
• [ ] Policy uses package http
• [ ] includedHeaders contains Authorization if JWT checking
• [ ] No hardcoded secrets in policy

Rate Limit Validation

spec:
  type: middleware.http.ratelimit
  metadata:
  - name: maxRequestsPerSecond
    value: "100"            # REQUIRED: Reasonable limit

Checks performed:

• [ ] maxRequestsPerSecond is specified
• [ ] Value is reasonable (not 0, not extremely high)

Sentinel Validation

spec:
  type: middleware.http.sentinel
  metadata:
  - name: appName
    value: "my-service"     # REQUIRED
  - name: flowRules
    value: |                # At least one rule type required
      [...]

Checks performed:

• [ ] appName is specified
• [ ] At least one rule type is defined (flowRules, circuitBreakerRules, etc.)
• [ ] Resource paths in rules are valid format
• [ ] Threshold values are reasonable

WASM Validation

spec:
  type: middleware.http.wasm
  metadata:
  - name: url
    value: "file://..."     # REQUIRED

Checks performed:

• [ ] url is specified with valid scheme (file://, http://, https://)
• [ ] HTTPS used for remote WASM binaries
• [ ] Path exists for file:// URLs (if verifiable)

Router Alias Validation

spec:
  type: middleware.http.routeralias
  metadata:
  - name: routes
    value: |                # REQUIRED
      {"/api": "/v1.0/invoke/..."}

Checks performed:

• [ ] routes is valid JSON or YAML
• [ ] Target paths are valid Dapr API paths

Router Checker Validation

spec:
  type: middleware.http.routerchecker
  metadata:
  - name: rule
    value: "^[A-Za-z0-9/._-]+$"  # REQUIRED: Valid regex

Checks performed:

• [ ] rule is valid regex pattern
• [ ] Pattern is security-appropriate (blocks common attacks)

Pipeline Order Validation

Correct middleware ordering:

spec:
  httpPipeline:
    handlers:
    - name: routerchecker     # 1. Block invalid requests first
      type: middleware.http.routerchecker
    - name: ratelimit         # 2. Rate limit before auth
      type: middleware.http.ratelimit
    - name: bearer-auth       # 3. Authenticate
      type: middleware.http.bearer
    - name: opa-authz         # 4. Authorize (after auth)
      type: middleware.http.opa
    - name: routeralias       # 5. Transform routes last
      type: middleware.http.routeralias

Order checks:

• [ ] Rate limiting comes before authentication
• [ ] Authorization comes after authentication
• [ ] Route validation comes before other middleware
• [ ] Route aliasing comes after security middleware

Security Checks

Critical Security Issues

1. Plain-text credentials - clientId/clientSecret not in secretKeyRef
2. HTTP URLs - Auth/token URLs using HTTP instead of HTTPS
3. Default allow - OPA policy without explicit default deny
4. No rate limiting - APIs without request throttling

Warnings

1. Missing forceHTTPS - OAuth2 without HTTPS enforcement
2. High rate limits - Very permissive request limits
3. Overly permissive OPA - Policies with broad allow rules
4. Missing headers - OPA not checking Authorization header

Output Format

DAPR Middleware Validation Report
==================================

✓ components/oauth2-auth.yaml - Valid
  - Type: middleware.http.oauth2
  - Credentials use secretKeyRef: Yes
  - HTTPS enforced: Yes

⚠ components/ratelimit.yaml - Warning
  - Type: middleware.http.ratelimit
  - Warning: Rate limit of 10000 RPS is very high
  - Recommendation: Consider lower limit for public APIs

✗ components/bearer-auth.yaml - Invalid
  - Type: middleware.http.bearer
  - Error: Missing required field 'audience'
  - Error: 'issuer' uses HTTP instead of HTTPS

Pipeline Analysis:
✗ Rate limiting should come BEFORE authentication middleware
  Current order: [bearer-auth, ratelimit]
  Recommended:   [ratelimit, bearer-auth]

Security Summary:
- Critical: 1 (plain-text credentials)
- Warnings: 2
- Valid: 3

Common Issues and Fixes

Plain-Text Credentials

# BAD (security risk)
- name: clientSecret
  value: "my-secret-key"

# GOOD (use secret reference)
- name: clientSecret
  secretKeyRef:
    name: oauth-secrets
    key: client-secret

HTTP Instead of HTTPS

# BAD (insecure)
- name: tokenURL
  value: "http://auth.example.com/token"

# GOOD
- name: tokenURL
  value: "https://auth.example.com/token"

Default Allow in OPA

# BAD (insecure - allows everything by default)
package http
default allow = true

# GOOD (secure - denies by default)
package http
default allow = false
allow { ... specific conditions ... }

Wrong Pipeline Order

# BAD (auth before rate limit allows DoS via auth endpoints)
handlers:
- name: oauth2
  type: middleware.http.oauth2
- name: ratelimit
  type: middleware.http.ratelimit

# GOOD (rate limit protects auth endpoints)
handlers:
- name: ratelimit
  type: middleware.http.ratelimit
- name: oauth2
  type: middleware.http.oauth2

Integration Points

This skill integrates with:

• middleware-expert agent for detailed configuration help
• security-scanner skill for broader security analysis
• /dapr:middleware command to generate valid configs
• /dapr:security command for pre-deployment checks