admin-interface-security

---
name: admin-interface-security
description: Secure the administrative interface of model registries. Use when building, deploying, or reviewing model registry access controls and admin interfaces.
category: "secure_development"
subcategory: "model-registry"
---

# Model Registry Administrative Interface Security

## Security Requirement

If the model registry has an administrative interface, only identified, authenticated, and authorized users MUST be able to connect to it.

## Required Controls

| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| **Identification** | Every admin user must have a unique identity (no shared accounts) |
| **Authentication** | Standard authentication mechanism (OIDC/OAuth 2.1 recommended) |
| **Authorization** | RBAC or ABAC to control which admin operations each user can perform |
| **Multi-factor authentication** | MFA recommended for administrative access |
| **Session management** | Short-lived sessions with automatic timeout |

## Admin Operations to Protect

| Operation | Risk |
|---|---|
| Model upload/publish | Introducing malicious or backdoored models |
| Model deletion | Removing approved models, causing service disruption |
| Access control changes | Granting unauthorized users access to models |
| Configuration changes | Weakening security settings |
| Registry metadata modification | Altering model provenance information |

## Implementation Checklist

- [ ] Require authentication for all administrative access (no anonymous admin)
- [ ] Integrate with OIDC Identity Provider for admin authentication
- [ ] Implement RBAC with least-privilege roles for admin operations
- [ ] Enforce MFA for admin accounts
- [ ] Use short-lived sessions with automatic timeout
- [ ] Log all administrative actions with the authenticated user's identity
- [ ] Restrict admin interface to internal networks or VPN unless external access is a documented requirement
- [ ] Disable default/shared admin accounts