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docs: add ADR for glob support for role assignments#234

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BryanttV wants to merge 6 commits intoopenedx:mainfrom
eduNEXT:bav/adr-0012
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docs: add ADR for glob support for role assignments#234
BryanttV wants to merge 6 commits intoopenedx:mainfrom
eduNEXT:bav/adr-0012

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@BryanttV BryanttV commented Mar 19, 2026 •
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Related issue: #172

Description

This PR adds ADR 0012 - Glob Support For Role Assignments, proposing an extension to the authorization model (Casbin) so that role assignments (g policies) can use glob-like matching in the scope field.

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  • Version bumped
  • Changelog record added
  • Documentation updated (not only docstrings)
  • Fixup commits are squashed away
  • Unit tests added/updated
  • Manual testing instructions provided
  • Noted any: Concerns, dependencies, migration issues, deadlines, tickets

@openedx-webhooks openedx-webhooks added open-source-contribution PR author is not from Axim or 2U core contributor PR author is a Core Contributor (who may or may not have write access to this repo). labels Mar 19, 2026
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openedx-webhooks commented Mar 19, 2026 •
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Thanks for the pull request, @BryanttV!

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@github-project-automation github-project-automation bot moved this to Needs Triage in Contributions Mar 19, 2026
@BryanttV BryanttV marked this pull request as ready for review March 19, 2026 14:55
bmtcril
bmtcril reviewed Mar 19, 2026
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docs/decisions/0012-glob-support-for-role-assignments.rst Outdated
We will configure the ``AuthzEnforcer`` to use a domain/scope matching function for ``g`` policies that supports glob-like suffixes. Concretely:

- The enforcer will register a domain matching function for the ``g`` (grouping) function (for example, using ``key_match_func``).
- This matching function will treat ``*`` as a wildcard at the **end** of the string. That is, patterns such as ``course-v1:OpenedX+*`` will match ``course-v1:OpenedX+SOME+COURSE``, but the model will not rely on complex patterns or regular expressions.
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@bmtcril bmtcril Mar 19, 2026

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Can you add a little more about the scope boundaries and how they are determined? Also exactly where a suffix can begin? Specifically I'd like to document which of these scopes would be considered valid:

  • *
  • c*
  • course-*
  • course-v1*
  • course-v1:*
  • course-v1:O*
  • course-v1:OpenedX+* (already listed, and I assume the only one that would be valid?)

Similarly I'd like to be explicit about whether these comparisons are case-sensitive or not.

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I assume these would be different per scope type matcher, but would just like to be explicit about the best practices and how we're choosing to reject globs in scopes that don't have custom matchers.

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@BryanttV BryanttV Mar 24, 2026

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Thanks for the comments @bmtcril! I updated the ADR according with your suggestions: 1e6b4e4

bmtcril
bmtcril reviewed Mar 19, 2026
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Just a couple of comments

@mphilbrick211 mphilbrick211 moved this from Needs Triage to In Eng Review in Contributions Mar 23, 2026
@BryanttV BryanttV requested a review from bmtcril March 24, 2026 17:27
bmtcril
bmtcril approved these changes Mar 25, 2026
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Thanks for the updates!

rodmgwgu
rodmgwgu approved these changes Mar 25, 2026
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Great explanation, thanks!

mariajgrimaldi
mariajgrimaldi reviewed Mar 26, 2026
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I had 4 comments pending! I'm so sorry 😢

docs/decisions/0012-glob-support-for-role-assignments.rst Outdated

The current authorization system is based on Casbin and models:

- **Permissions per role** (``p`` policies), where the ``scope`` field may already use patterns (for example, ``lib^*``) through matcher functions in the model.
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@mariajgrimaldi mariajgrimaldi Mar 19, 2026

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Can we differentiate what this pattern means in this case?

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@BryanttV BryanttV Mar 26, 2026

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I updated that item with a short explanation.

docs/decisions/0012-glob-support-for-role-assignments.rst Outdated
The following rules apply initially:

- The glob character (``*``) is only supported as a **suffix wildcard**. It cannot appear in the middle of a scope identifier.
- A glob pattern represents a **bounded prefix match** for the external key portion of a scope within its namespace. The API validation ensures the prefix is meaningful (i.e., it corresponds to a valid identifier boundary for that namespace), so the glob cannot be used to accidentally broaden access.
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Not sure what "bounded prefix match" means but it might be just me

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@BryanttV BryanttV Mar 26, 2026

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Yeah, it might be a little confusing. I've clarified the explanation a bit here: 2a46039

@BryanttV BryanttV requested a review from mariajgrimaldi March 26, 2026 16:33
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@bmtcril bmtcril bmtcril approved these changes

@rodmgwgu rodmgwgu rodmgwgu approved these changes

@wgu-taylor-payne wgu-taylor-payne Awaiting requested review from wgu-taylor-payne

@mariajgrimaldi mariajgrimaldi Awaiting requested review from mariajgrimaldi

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