aboutsummaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/docs/en/admins/09_AccessControl.md
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
authorGravatar ghostvirus <71750455+ghostvirus62@users.noreply.github.com> 2025-06-18 15:11:41 -0400
committerGravatar GitHub <noreply@github.com> 2025-06-18 21:11:41 +0200
commit78a425636228066513bf14c7f74f6255062b2327 (patch)
tree51155fec145039e6eed4e9f0811315a8a9971031 /docs/en/admins/09_AccessControl.md
parentb418b83bd4d064d2ecef3f072bffe8615f3e0ffa (diff)
Merge commit from fork
Diffstat (limited to 'docs/en/admins/09_AccessControl.md')
-rw-r--r--docs/en/admins/09_AccessControl.md26
1 files changed, 26 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/docs/en/admins/09_AccessControl.md b/docs/en/admins/09_AccessControl.md
index a837b4c6f..883a1a04b 100644
--- a/docs/en/admins/09_AccessControl.md
+++ b/docs/en/admins/09_AccessControl.md
@@ -2,6 +2,32 @@
FreshRSS offers three methods of Access control: Form Authentication using JavaScript, HTTP based Authentication, or an uncontrolled state with no authentication required.
+## Server-side feed fetching & security considerations
+
+FreshRSS fetches RSS feeds using server-side HTTP requests (via the cURL library). This design allows users to subscribe to feeds hosted not just on the public internet, but also on internal or private networks.
+For example, many users connect FreshRSS to tools like RSS-Bridge, cron jobs, or local automation services such as Node-RED — all of which may run on `localhost` or internal IPs.
+
+In self-hosted, single-user setups, this behavior is expected and usually safe. However, in **multi-user or public-facing instances**, this same functionality can introduce a potential security risk known as **Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)**.
+
+In an SSRF scenario, a malicious user could submit a feed URL that points to internal network services, such as:
+
+- `http://127.0.0.1` (loopback)
+- `http://169.254.169.254` (cloud metadata services)
+- Other services not meant to be exposed externally
+
+While FreshRSS does not treat these requests as unsafe by default — since many legitimate use cases depend on them — it’s important to understand the implications if your instance is shared, exposed on the internet, or co-hosted with other services.
+
+### Recommended mitigations for shared/public setups:
+
+- Run FreshRSS behind a firewall or reverse proxy that blocks access to internal IP ranges
+- Use container isolation or a virtual network to prevent access to sensitive endpoints
+- Avoid exposing your FreshRSS instance directly to the internet unless you fully trust all users
+
+These steps are not necessary for trusted, single-user deployments, but are strongly advised in shared environments.
+
+> _Note: For Docker-based deployments, `localhost` refers to the container’s internal network._
+
+
## Form Authentication
Form Authentication requires the use of JavaScript. It will work on any supported version of PHP,