middleware

Middleware Package

HTTP middleware utilities for security and performance.

Table of Contents

1. Rate Limiting
2. Request Size Limits
3. Input Sanitization

---

Rate Limiting

Production-grade rate limiting using token bucket algorithm.

Quick Start

import "github.com/bitechdev/ResolveSpec/pkg/middleware"

// Create rate limiter: 100 requests per second, burst of 20
rateLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(100, 20)

// Apply to all routes
router.Use(rateLimiter.Middleware)

Basic Usage

package main

import (
    "log"
    "net/http"

    "github.com/bitechdev/ResolveSpec/pkg/middleware"
    "github.com/gorilla/mux"
)

func main() {
    router := mux.NewRouter()

    // Rate limit: 10 requests per second, burst of 5
    rateLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(10, 5)
    router.Use(rateLimiter.Middleware)

    router.HandleFunc("/api/data", dataHandler)

    log.Fatal(http.ListenAndServe(":8080", router))
}

Custom Key Extraction

By default, rate limiting is per IP address. Customize the key:

// Rate limit by User ID from header
keyFunc := func(r *http.Request) string {
    userID := r.Header.Get("X-User-ID")
    if userID == "" {
        return r.RemoteAddr // Fallback to IP
    }
    return "user:" + userID
}

router.Use(rateLimiter.MiddlewareWithKeyFunc(keyFunc))

Advanced Key Functions

By API Key:

keyFunc := func(r *http.Request) string {
    apiKey := r.Header.Get("X-API-Key")
    if apiKey == "" {
        return r.RemoteAddr
    }
    return "api:" + apiKey
}

By Authenticated User:

keyFunc := func(r *http.Request) string {
    // Extract from JWT or session
    user := getUserFromContext(r.Context())
    if user != nil {
        return "user:" + user.ID
    }
    return r.RemoteAddr
}

By Path + User:

keyFunc := func(r *http.Request) string {
    user := getUserFromContext(r.Context())
    if user != nil {
        return fmt.Sprintf("user:%s:path:%s", user.ID, r.URL.Path)
    }
    return r.URL.Path + ":" + r.RemoteAddr
}

Different Limits Per Route

func main() {
    router := mux.NewRouter()

    // Public endpoints: 10 rps
    publicLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(10, 5)

    // API endpoints: 100 rps
    apiLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(100, 20)

    // Admin endpoints: 1000 rps
    adminLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(1000, 50)

    // Apply different limiters to subrouters
    publicRouter := router.PathPrefix("/public").Subrouter()
    publicRouter.Use(publicLimiter.Middleware)

    apiRouter := router.PathPrefix("/api").Subrouter()
    apiRouter.Use(apiLimiter.Middleware)

    adminRouter := router.PathPrefix("/admin").Subrouter()
    adminRouter.Use(adminLimiter.Middleware)
}

Rate Limit Response

When rate limited, clients receive:

HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
Content-Type: text/plain

{"error":"rate_limit_exceeded","message":"Too many requests"}

Configuration Examples

Tight Rate Limit (Anti-abuse):

// 1 request per second, burst of 3
rateLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(1, 3)

Moderate Rate Limit (Standard API):

// 100 requests per second, burst of 20
rateLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(100, 20)

Generous Rate Limit (Internal Services):

// 1000 requests per second, burst of 100
rateLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(1000, 100)

Time-based Limits:

// 60 requests per minute = 1 request per second
rateLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(1, 10)

// 1000 requests per hour ≈ 0.28 requests per second
rateLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(0.28, 50)

Understanding Burst

The burst parameter allows short bursts above the rate:

// Rate: 10 rps, Burst: 5
// Allows up to 5 requests immediately, then 10/second
rateLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(10, 5)

Bucket fills at rate: 10 tokens/second Bucket capacity: 5 tokens Request consumes: 1 token

Example traffic pattern:

• T=0s: 5 requests → ✅ All allowed (burst)
• T=0.1s: 1 request → ❌ Denied (bucket empty)
• T=0.5s: 1 request → ✅ Allowed (bucket refilled 0.5 tokens)
• T=1s: 1 request → ✅ Allowed (bucket has ~1 token)

Cleanup Behavior

The rate limiter automatically cleans up inactive limiters every 5 minutes to prevent memory leaks.

Performance Characteristics

• Memory: ~100 bytes per active limiter
• Throughput: >1M requests/second
• Latency: <1μs per request
• Concurrency: Lock-free for rate checks

Production Deployment

With Reverse Proxy:

// Use X-Forwarded-For or X-Real-IP
keyFunc := func(r *http.Request) string {
    // Check proxy headers first
    if ip := r.Header.Get("X-Forwarded-For"); ip != "" {
        return strings.Split(ip, ",")[0]
    }
    if ip := r.Header.Get("X-Real-IP"); ip != "" {
        return ip
    }
    return r.RemoteAddr
}

router.Use(rateLimiter.MiddlewareWithKeyFunc(keyFunc))

Environment-based Configuration:

import "os"

func getRateLimiter() *middleware.RateLimiter {
    rps := getEnvFloat("RATE_LIMIT_RPS", 100)
    burst := getEnvInt("RATE_LIMIT_BURST", 20)
    return middleware.NewRateLimiter(rps, burst)
}

Testing Rate Limits

# Send 10 requests rapidly
for i in {1..10}; do
  curl -w "Status: %{http_code}\n" http://localhost:8080/api/data
done

Expected output:

Status: 200  # Request 1-5 (within burst)
Status: 200
Status: 200
Status: 200
Status: 200
Status: 429  # Request 6-10 (rate limited)
Status: 429
Status: 429
Status: 429
Status: 429

Complete Example

package main

import (
    "encoding/json"
    "log"
    "net/http"
    "os"
    "strconv"

    "github.com/bitechdev/ResolveSpec/pkg/middleware"
    "github.com/gorilla/mux"
)

func main() {
    // Configuration from environment
    rps, _ := strconv.ParseFloat(os.Getenv("RATE_LIMIT_RPS"), 64)
    if rps == 0 {
        rps = 100 // Default
    }

    burst, _ := strconv.Atoi(os.Getenv("RATE_LIMIT_BURST"))
    if burst == 0 {
        burst = 20 // Default
    }

    // Create rate limiter
    rateLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(rps, burst)

    // Custom key extraction
    keyFunc := func(r *http.Request) string {
        // Try API key first
        if apiKey := r.Header.Get("X-API-Key"); apiKey != "" {
            return "api:" + apiKey
        }
        // Try authenticated user
        if userID := r.Header.Get("X-User-ID"); userID != "" {
            return "user:" + userID
        }
        // Fall back to IP
        if ip := r.Header.Get("X-Forwarded-For"); ip != "" {
            return ip
        }
        return r.RemoteAddr
    }

    // Create router
    router := mux.NewRouter()

    // Apply rate limiting
    router.Use(rateLimiter.MiddlewareWithKeyFunc(keyFunc))

    // Routes
    router.HandleFunc("/api/data", dataHandler)
    router.HandleFunc("/health", healthHandler)

    log.Printf("Starting server with rate limit: %.1f rps, burst: %d", rps, burst)
    log.Fatal(http.ListenAndServe(":8080", router))
}

func dataHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]string{
        "message": "Data endpoint",
    })
}

func healthHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
    w.Write([]byte("OK"))
}

Best Practices

1. Set Appropriate Limits: Consider your backend capacity

   • Database: Can it handle X queries/second?
   • External APIs: What are their rate limits?
   • Server resources: CPU, memory, connections

2. Use Burst Wisely: Allow legitimate traffic spikes

   • Too low: Reject valid bursts
   • Too high: Allow abuse

3. Monitor Rate Limits: Track how often limits are hit

   // Log rate limit events
   if rateLimited {
       log.Printf("Rate limited: %s", clientKey)
   }
   

4. Provide Feedback: Include rate limit headers (future enhancement)

   X-RateLimit-Limit: 100
   X-RateLimit-Remaining: 95
   X-RateLimit-Reset: 1640000000
   

5. Tiered Limits: Different limits for different user tiers

   func getRateLimiter(userTier string) *middleware.RateLimiter {
       switch userTier {
       case "premium":
           return middleware.NewRateLimiter(1000, 100)
       case "standard":
           return middleware.NewRateLimiter(100, 20)
       default:
           return middleware.NewRateLimiter(10, 5)
       }
   }
   

---

Request Size Limits

Protect against oversized request bodies with configurable size limits.

Quick Start

import "github.com/bitechdev/ResolveSpec/pkg/middleware"

// Default: 10MB limit
sizeLimiter := middleware.NewRequestSizeLimiter(0)
router.Use(sizeLimiter.Middleware)

Custom Size Limit

// 5MB limit
sizeLimiter := middleware.NewRequestSizeLimiter(5 * 1024 * 1024)
router.Use(sizeLimiter.Middleware)

// Or use constants
sizeLimiter := middleware.NewRequestSizeLimiter(middleware.Size5MB)

Available Size Constants

middleware.Size1MB    // 1 MB
middleware.Size5MB    // 5 MB
middleware.Size10MB   // 10 MB (default)
middleware.Size50MB   // 50 MB
middleware.Size100MB  // 100 MB

Different Limits Per Route

func main() {
    router := mux.NewRouter()

    // File upload endpoint: 50MB
    uploadLimiter := middleware.NewRequestSizeLimiter(middleware.Size50MB)
    uploadRouter := router.PathPrefix("/upload").Subrouter()
    uploadRouter.Use(uploadLimiter.Middleware)

    // API endpoints: 1MB
    apiLimiter := middleware.NewRequestSizeLimiter(middleware.Size1MB)
    apiRouter := router.PathPrefix("/api").Subrouter()
    apiRouter.Use(apiLimiter.Middleware)
}

Dynamic Size Limits

// Custom size based on request
sizeFunc := func(r *http.Request) int64 {
    // Premium users get 50MB
    if isPremiumUser(r) {
        return middleware.Size50MB
    }
    // Free users get 5MB
    return middleware.Size5MB
}

router.Use(sizeLimiter.MiddlewareWithCustomSize(sizeFunc))

By Content-Type:

sizeFunc := func(r *http.Request) int64 {
    contentType := r.Header.Get("Content-Type")

    switch {
    case strings.Contains(contentType, "multipart/form-data"):
        return middleware.Size50MB // File uploads
    case strings.Contains(contentType, "application/json"):
        return middleware.Size1MB // JSON APIs
    default:
        return middleware.Size10MB // Default
    }
}

Error Response

When size limit exceeded:

HTTP/1.1 413 Request Entity Too Large
X-Max-Request-Size: 10485760

http: request body too large

Complete Example

package main

import (
    "log"
    "net/http"

    "github.com/bitechdev/ResolveSpec/pkg/middleware"
    "github.com/gorilla/mux"
)

func main() {
    router := mux.NewRouter()

    // API routes: 1MB limit
    api := router.PathPrefix("/api").Subrouter()
    apiLimiter := middleware.NewRequestSizeLimiter(middleware.Size1MB)
    api.Use(apiLimiter.Middleware)
    api.HandleFunc("/users", createUserHandler).Methods("POST")

    // Upload routes: 50MB limit
    upload := router.PathPrefix("/upload").Subrouter()
    uploadLimiter := middleware.NewRequestSizeLimiter(middleware.Size50MB)
    upload.Use(uploadLimiter.Middleware)
    upload.HandleFunc("/file", uploadFileHandler).Methods("POST")

    log.Fatal(http.ListenAndServe(":8080", router))
}

---

Input Sanitization

Protect against XSS, injection attacks, and malicious input.

Quick Start

import "github.com/bitechdev/ResolveSpec/pkg/middleware"

// Default sanitizer (safe defaults)
sanitizer := middleware.DefaultSanitizer()
router.Use(sanitizer.Middleware)

Sanitizer Types

Default Sanitizer (Recommended):

sanitizer := middleware.DefaultSanitizer()
// ✓ Escapes HTML entities
// ✓ Removes null bytes
// ✓ Removes control characters
// ✓ Blocks XSS patterns (script tags, event handlers)
// ✗ Does not strip HTML (allows legitimate content)

Strict Sanitizer:

sanitizer := middleware.StrictSanitizer()
// ✓ All default features
// ✓ Strips ALL HTML tags
// ✓ Max string length: 10,000 chars

Custom Configuration

sanitizer := &middleware.Sanitizer{
    StripHTML:          true,  // Remove HTML tags
    EscapeHTML:         false, // Don't escape (already stripped)
    RemoveNullBytes:    true,  // Remove \x00
    RemoveControlChars: true,  // Remove dangerous control chars
    MaxStringLength:    5000,  // Limit to 5000 chars

    // Block patterns (regex)
    BlockPatterns: []*regexp.Regexp{
        regexp.MustCompile(`(?i)<script`),
        regexp.MustCompile(`(?i)javascript:`),
    },

    // Custom sanitization function
    CustomSanitizer: func(s string) string {
        // Your custom logic
        return strings.ToLower(s)
    },
}

router.Use(sanitizer.Middleware)

What Gets Sanitized

Automatic (via middleware):

• Query parameters
• Headers (User-Agent, Referer, X-Forwarded-For, X-Real-IP)

Manual (in your handler):

• Request body (JSON, form data)
• Database queries
• File names

Manual Sanitization

String Values:

sanitizer := middleware.DefaultSanitizer()

// Sanitize user input
username := sanitizer.Sanitize(r.FormValue("username"))
email := sanitizer.Sanitize(r.FormValue("email"))

Map/JSON Data:

var data map[string]interface{}
json.Unmarshal(body, &data)

// Sanitize all string values recursively
sanitizedData := sanitizer.SanitizeMap(data)

Nested Structures:

type User struct {
    Name    string
    Email   string
    Bio     string
    Profile map[string]interface{}
}

// After unmarshaling
user.Name = sanitizer.Sanitize(user.Name)
user.Email = sanitizer.Sanitize(user.Email)
user.Bio = sanitizer.Sanitize(user.Bio)
user.Profile = sanitizer.SanitizeMap(user.Profile)

Specialized Sanitizers

Filenames:

import "github.com/bitechdev/ResolveSpec/pkg/middleware"

filename := middleware.SanitizeFilename(uploadedFilename)
// Removes: .., /, \, null bytes
// Limits: 255 characters

Emails:

email := middleware.SanitizeEmail(" USER@EXAMPLE.COM ")
// Result: "user@example.com"
// Trims, lowercases, removes null bytes

URLs:

url := middleware.SanitizeURL(userInput)
// Blocks: javascript:, data: protocols
// Removes: null bytes

Blocked Patterns (Default)

The default sanitizer blocks:

1. Script tags: <script>...</script>
2. JavaScript protocol: javascript:alert(1)
3. Event handlers: onclick="...", onerror="..."
4. Iframes: <iframe src="...">
5. Objects: <object data="...">
6. Embeds: <embed src="...">

Security Best Practices

1. Layer Defense:

// Layer 1: Middleware (query params, headers)
router.Use(sanitizer.Middleware)

// Layer 2: Input validation (in handler)
func createUserHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    var user User
    json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&user)

    // Sanitize
    user.Name = sanitizer.Sanitize(user.Name)
    user.Email = middleware.SanitizeEmail(user.Email)

    // Validate
    if !isValidEmail(user.Email) {
        http.Error(w, "Invalid email", 400)
        return
    }

    // Use parameterized queries (prevents SQL injection)
    db.Exec("INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES (?, ?)",
        user.Name, user.Email)
}

2. Context-Aware Sanitization:

// HTML content (user posts, comments)
sanitizer := middleware.StrictSanitizer()
post.Content = sanitizer.Sanitize(post.Content)

// Structured data (JSON API)
sanitizer := middleware.DefaultSanitizer()
data = sanitizer.SanitizeMap(jsonData)

// Search queries (preserve special chars)
query = middleware.SanitizeFilename(searchTerm) // Light sanitization

3. Output Encoding:

// When rendering HTML
import "html/template"

tmpl := template.Must(template.New("page").Parse(`
    <h1>{{.Title}}</h1>
    <p>{{.Content}}</p>
`))

// template.HTML automatically escapes
tmpl.Execute(w, data)

Complete Example

package main

import (
    "encoding/json"
    "log"
    "net/http"

    "github.com/bitechdev/ResolveSpec/pkg/middleware"
    "github.com/gorilla/mux"
)

func main() {
    router := mux.NewRouter()

    // Apply sanitization middleware
    sanitizer := middleware.DefaultSanitizer()
    router.Use(sanitizer.Middleware)

    router.HandleFunc("/api/users", createUserHandler).Methods("POST")

    log.Fatal(http.ListenAndServe(":8080", router))
}

func createUserHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
    sanitizer := middleware.DefaultSanitizer()

    var user struct {
        Name  string `json:"name"`
        Email string `json:"email"`
        Bio   string `json:"bio"`
    }

    if err := json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&user); err != nil {
        http.Error(w, "Invalid JSON", 400)
        return
    }

    // Sanitize inputs
    user.Name = sanitizer.Sanitize(user.Name)
    user.Email = middleware.SanitizeEmail(user.Email)
    user.Bio = sanitizer.Sanitize(user.Bio)

    // Validate
    if len(user.Name) == 0 || len(user.Email) == 0 {
        http.Error(w, "Name and email required", 400)
        return
    }

    // Save to database (use parameterized queries!)
    // db.Exec("INSERT INTO users (name, email, bio) VALUES (?, ?, ?)",
    //     user.Name, user.Email, user.Bio)

    w.WriteHeader(http.StatusCreated)
    json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]string{
        "status": "created",
    })
}

Testing Sanitization

# Test XSS prevention
curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/api/users \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "<script>alert(1)</script>John",
    "email": "test@example.com",
    "bio": "My bio with <iframe src=\"evil.com\"></iframe>"
  }'

# Script tags and iframes should be removed

Performance

• Overhead: <1ms per request for typical payloads
• Regex compilation: Done once at initialization
• Safe for production: Minimal performance impact