Platform Security

AINative provides multiple layers of security: two-factor authentication for user accounts, encryption at rest for sensitive data, VPC-isolated inference for regulated industries, and automated security scanning for agent configurations.

Two-Factor Authentication

SMS-based 2FA with backup codes, rate limiting, and account lockout protection. Codes are delivered via Twilio and stored as bcrypt hashes -- never in plain text.

Security Properties

Property	Value
Code length	6 digits
Code expiry	5 minutes (configurable)
Max attempts per code	3
Max codes per hour	5
Lockout threshold	5 consecutive failed attempts
Lockout duration	30 minutes
Backup codes	10 alphanumeric codes (10 characters each)
Phone encryption	Fernet (AES-128-CBC)
Code storage	bcrypt hash

Weak patterns such as 123456, 111111, and sequential digits are rejected during code generation.

Enable 2FA

Validates the phone number via Twilio, encrypts it at rest, generates 10 backup codes, and activates 2FA on the account.

curl -X POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/auth/2fa/enable \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"phone_number": "+14155551234"}'

Response (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Two-factor authentication enabled successfully",
  "backup_codes": [
    "A3K9M2X7P1",
    "B8N4R6Y2Q5",
    "C1L7T3W9S4",
    "D5J2V8F6E3",
    "G9H1Z4U7K8",
    "H6P3X5M2R1",
    "J4Q8S1N7L6",
    "K2W5Y9D3T8",
    "L7E4F6A1V2",
    "M3U9G5B8C7"
  ]
}

Save the backup codes immediately. They are shown only once and stored as bcrypt hashes after this response.

Generate and Send Code

Generates a 6-digit code and sends it to the user's registered phone via SMS.

curl -X POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/auth/2fa/send \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"phone_number": "+14155551234"}'

Response (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Verification code sent successfully",
  "expires_at": "2026-06-01T12:05:00",
  "message_sid": "SM1234567890abcdef"
}

Rate limited to 5 codes per hour per user. Previous unverified codes are invalidated when a new code is generated.

Verify Code

Validates the 6-digit code against the stored bcrypt hash.

curl -X POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/auth/2fa/verify \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"code": "482917"}'

Response (200) -- success:

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Verification code is valid",
  "locked": false
}

Response (200) -- failure:

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Invalid verification code. 2 attempts remaining.",
  "locked": false
}

Response (200) -- locked:

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Account locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed attempts",
  "locked": true
}

Verify Backup Code

Use a backup code when SMS is unavailable. Each code can only be used once.

curl -X POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/auth/2fa/backup \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"code": "A3K9M2X7P1"}'

A successful verification consumes the backup code and resets the failed attempt counter.

Regenerate Backup Codes

Generates a fresh set of 10 backup codes, replacing any existing codes.

curl -X POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/auth/2fa/backup/regenerate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Get 2FA Status

Returns whether 2FA is enabled, a masked phone number, remaining backup codes, and lockout status.

curl https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/auth/2fa/status \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Response (200):

{
  "enabled": true,
  "phone_number": "****1234",
  "verified_at": "2026-05-15T10:30:00",
  "backup_codes_remaining": 8,
  "is_locked": false,
  "lockout_until": null
}

Disable 2FA

Disables 2FA, clears backup codes, and invalidates all pending verification codes. The caller must verify the user's current password before calling this endpoint.

curl -X POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/auth/2fa/disable \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Encryption Service

Sensitive data such as API tokens and credentials are encrypted at rest using Fernet symmetric encryption (AES-256) with PBKDF2 key derivation.

How It Works

The ENCRYPTION_SECRET environment variable provides the master secret (minimum 32 characters).
A deterministic encryption key is derived using PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 with 100,000 iterations.
Data is encrypted with Fernet, producing a base64-encoded ciphertext safe for database storage.
Decryption reverses the process using the same derived key.

Encrypted Data Types

Data Type	Detection Method
GitHub tokens	Checks for `ghp_`, `gho_`, `ghu_`, `ghs_`, `ghr_` prefixes to distinguish plain text from encrypted
API keys	Generic encryption via `encrypt_api_key()` / `decrypt_api_key()`

Usage

from app.services.encryption_service import encrypt_github_token, decrypt_github_token

## Encrypt before storing
encrypted = encrypt_github_token("ghp_abc123...")

## Decrypt when needed
plain = decrypt_github_token(encrypted)

The is_github_token_encrypted() helper detects whether a stored value is already encrypted, preventing double-encryption.

VPC Inference

For regulated industries (finance, healthcare, government), AINative supports deploying the inference stack inside a customer's own cloud account via Helm chart. The platform manages licensing and usage metering.

Base path: /api/v1/public/vpc

License Key Format

License keys follow the format vpc_<base62(32 chars)>. The raw key is shown once at issuance. Only a SHA-256 hash is stored in the database.

POST /vpc/license/issue (Admin Only)

Issue a new VPC license key for a customer organization.

curl -X POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/public/vpc/license/issue \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ADMIN_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "org_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "expires_at": "2027-06-01T00:00:00Z",
    "allowed_replicas": 5,
    "support_tier": "enterprise",
    "notes": "ACME Corp annual license"
  }'

Response (200):

{
  "license_key": "vpc_a1B2c3D4e5F6g7H8i9J0k1L2m3N4o5P6",
  "license_id": "uuid",
  "org_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "expires_at": "2027-06-01T00:00:00",
  "allowed_replicas": 5,
  "support_tier": "enterprise"
}

Field	Description
`allowed_replicas`	Maximum number of inference replicas (1--1000)
`support_tier`	One of `standard`, `enterprise`, `platinum`

POST /vpc/license/validate

Called by the customer-deployed Helm chart on startup and every 24 hours. No bearer token required -- the license key itself is the credential.

curl -X POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/public/vpc/license/validate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "license_key": "vpc_a1B2c3D4e5F6g7H8i9J0k1L2m3N4o5P6",
    "deployment_id": "prod-us-east-1",
    "hostname": "inference-0.acme.internal",
    "version": "1.2.0"
  }'

Response (200) -- valid:

{
  "valid": true,
  "org_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "expires_at": "2027-06-01T00:00:00",
  "allowed_replicas": 5,
  "support_tier": "enterprise",
  "message": "OK"
}

Response (200) -- invalid:

{
  "valid": false,
  "message": "License has expired"
}

Possible rejection reasons: License key not found, License has been revoked, License is suspended -- contact support, License has expired.

POST /vpc/telemetry

Phone-home telemetry from customer VPC deployments, called hourly. Used for metered billing. No bearer token -- license key is the credential.

curl -X POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/public/vpc/telemetry \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "license_key": "vpc_a1B2c3D4e5F6g7H8i9J0k1L2m3N4o5P6",
    "deployment_id": "prod-us-east-1",
    "period_start": "2026-06-01T11:00:00Z",
    "period_end": "2026-06-01T12:00:00Z",
    "input_tokens": 150000,
    "output_tokens": 45000,
    "request_count": 1200,
    "model": "llama-3.1-70b",
    "hostname": "inference-0.acme.internal"
  }'

Response (200):

{
  "received": true,
  "event_id": "uuid"
}

Returns 403 if the license key is invalid or expired.

GET /vpc/license/{license_id} (Admin Only)

Fetch license details and aggregated telemetry event count.

curl https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/public/vpc/license/LICENSE_UUID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ADMIN_TOKEN"

Response (200):

{
  "license_id": "uuid",
  "org_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "status": "active",
  "expires_at": "2027-06-01T00:00:00",
  "allowed_replicas": 5,
  "support_tier": "enterprise",
  "issued_at": "2026-06-01T00:00:00",
  "notes": "ACME Corp annual license",
  "last_validated_at": "2026-06-01T12:00:00",
  "total_events": 8472
}

Security Scanning

Automated scanning of Claude Code settings, MCP server configurations, and skill files for security vulnerabilities. Inspired by the AgentShield pattern.

Base path: /api/v1/public/security/scan

POST /scan

Submit a file for security analysis. Returns structured findings with severity levels and a 0--100 security score.

curl -X POST https://api.ainative.studio/api/v1/public/security/scan \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "type": "settings",
    "content": "{\"permissions\": {\"deny\": []}}"
  }'

Scan Types:

Type	What It Checks
`settings`	Claude Code `settings.json` -- deny rules, hook commands
`mcp_config`	MCP server config -- unknown servers, hardcoded credentials
`skill`	Skill/prompt files -- injection patterns, competitor references

Response (200):

{
  "ok": true,
  "scan_id": "uuid",
  "type": "settings",
  "threats": [
    {
      "severity": "critical",
      "category": "missing_deny_rule",
      "description": "SSH key access not blocked in deny rules",
      "recommendation": "Add Read(~/.ssh/**) to deny rules",
      "line": null
    },
    {
      "severity": "critical",
      "category": "missing_deny_rule",
      "description": "AWS credential access not blocked",
      "recommendation": "Add Read(~/.aws/**) to deny rules",
      "line": null
    }
  ],
  "score": 35,
  "passed": false,
  "summary": {
    "critical": 2,
    "high": 1,
    "medium": 0,
    "low": 0
  },
  "scanned_at": "2026-06-01T12:00:00Z"
}

Scoring

The security score starts at 100 and is reduced by severity-weighted penalties:

Severity	Penalty
Critical	-25 points
High	-15 points
Medium	-5 points
Low	-2 points

A score of 70 or above is considered passed. Below 70 is failed.

Settings Scan Checks

The settings scanner validates:

Deny rules -- checks that ~/.ssh/**, ~/.aws/**, and curl * | bash patterns are blocked
Hook commands -- flags hooks that make outbound network calls via curl, wget, nc, or netcat

Deny rules are normalized (whitespace-collapsed) and support both string and object formats.

MCP Config Scan Checks

The MCP config scanner validates:

Unknown servers -- flags any MCP server not in the vetted allowlist (ainative-zerodb-memory, sequential-thinking, context7, filesystem, google-analytics, google-ads, railway, zerodb-memory, ainative-gtm)
Credential exposure -- detects hardcoded values in env keys containing secret, key, token, or password (values starting with $ are treated as safe env var references)

Skill Scan Checks

The skill scanner detects:

Injection patterns -- instruction overrides, unicode homoglyph attacks, XML role injection, Llama-style injection markers
Competitor references -- mentions of Supabase, NeonDB, PlanetScale, or DevFleet

Not currently enforced

This endpoint is not rate limited today. Kong (previously referenced here) has been fully retired in favor of APISIX, and no rate-limiting plugin for this route exists in the current APISIX config or in application code. Treat any rate-limiting behavior as unconfirmed until it is actually configured.

Environment Variables

Variable	Service	Purpose
`TWO_FA_ENCRYPTION_KEY`	2FA	Fernet key for phone number encryption
`TWO_FA_CODE_EXPIRY_MINUTES`	2FA	Code lifetime (default: 5)
`TWO_FA_MAX_ATTEMPTS`	2FA	Max verification attempts per code (default: 3)
`TWO_FA_LOCKOUT_MINUTES`	2FA	Lockout duration after failed attempts (default: 30)
`ENCRYPTION_SECRET`	Encryption	Master secret for PBKDF2 key derivation (32+ chars)
`STRIPE_SECRET_KEY`	Payments	Stripe API secret key
`STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET`	Payments	Webhook signature verification