# Theta Agent Theta Agent is a unified endpoint management daemon for the theta42 stack. It replaces legacy bash installation scripts and one-way metric scripts with a powerful, 2-way Command & Control (C2) Go daemon. The agent dials out to the central SSO Manager via a persistent WebSocket connection, enabling real-time telemetry, dynamic discovery, and secure remote operations. ## What you get Install the agent on a node and it becomes a managed member of the directory — over a **single outbound connection**, with no inbound ports, no LDAP hostname/firewall/TLS setup, and no manual secret copying. - **Directory logins (LDAP byte pump).** SSSD/PAM on the node authenticates through the agent's local socket, which forwards raw LDAP bytes to the SSO's OpenLDAP. OS logins work across any network — laptops, CGNAT, cloud VMs — and fall back to the local SSSD cache when offline. - **Secrets delivered on-demand.** Services, scripts, and Docker containers fetch secrets dynamically via `theta-agent get-secret DB_PASSWORD` or `theta-agent get-secrets --env`. Zero plaintext secrets on disk! Multi-level secret inheritance (Global Site -> Host -> Service) is resolved automatically. - **IAM managed centrally.** Sudo rules, SSH keys, and login access are pushed from the SSO to the node. Add a user to a group and their access appears on the right hosts; revoke them and their sessions are dropped. - **Telemetry & remote operations.** Host discovery, live metrics, and signed remote commands (reboot, service control, config, self-update) — the original C2 capabilities. Everything is gated by a strict, local-first capability matrix and high-risk operations are Ed25519-signed (see below). ## Core Functionality ### 1. Telemetry & Observability - **Host Discovery**: Pushes a comprehensive profile (IPs, OS, Kernel, CPU, RAM/Disk) upon connection and automatically updates when network interface IPs change. - **Continuous Monitoring**: Streams metrics every 30 seconds: - CPU, RAM, and Root Disk usage. - **ZFS Health**: Monitors pool status via `zpool list`. - **GPU Utilization**: Tracks NVIDIA GPU usage via `nvidia-smi`. - **Health Checks**: Sends a periodic heartbeat to the SSO Manager to signal agent viability. ### 2. Remote Operations (C2) The agent provides a powerful set of administrative tools, categorized by risk: #### Standard Operations - **Config Reload**: Triggers a reload of `/etc/theta42/agent.yml` from disk without restarting the process. - **Log Streaming**: Fetch the last 100 lines of the agent's system logs via the C2 channel. #### High-Risk Operations (Require Cryptographic Signatures) To prevent unauthorized execution, these commands must be signed with a private key corresponding to the `public_key` in `agent.yml`: - **Service Control**: Restart approved systemd services. - **System Control**: Trigger a full system reboot. - **Config Management**: Update `/etc/sssd/sssd.conf` and restart `sssd`. - **Remote Execution**: Execute raw bash scripts. - **Self-Update**: Securely download, verify (SHA256), and apply a new binary version. ## The Security Model (Blast Radius & Zero-Trust) Because Theta Agent runs as `root`, it is a high-value target. To prevent lateral movement and contain the blast radius, it operates on a **strict, local-first capability matrix**. ### Local Configuration Wins The agent will **only** execute commands that are explicitly enabled in its local configuration file (`/etc/theta42/agent.yml`). The central SSO Manager cannot override these settings. ### Cryptographic Hardening All high-risk commands require an Ed25519 signature. The agent verifies the signature against the `public_key` provided in the local config. If the signature is missing or invalid, the command is rejected regardless of the capability matrix. Verification is **fail-closed**: an agent with no `public_key` configured rejects every high-risk command. (Before protocol v1.2.0 it logged "skipping signature verification" and executed them, so an agent installed without a key would run `reboot`, `configure_ldap` and `arbitrary_bash` unverified.) ### Enrollment The agent's token must be **issued by the SSO**. The server stores only its SHA-256 and rejects anything else at the WebSocket handshake, so a token cannot be minted client-side, and an enrollment can be revoked or rotated centrally — either drops the agent's live connection immediately. See `PROTOCOL.md` §1.1. ### Capability Matrix | Capability | Risk Level | Description | Impact | |------------|------------|-------------|---------| | `telemetry` | Safe | Read-only metrics. | Pushes system health to SSO Manager. | | `configure_ldap` | Moderate | Configures SSSD. | Updates `/etc/sssd/sssd.conf` and restarts `sssd`. | | `ldap_tunnel` | Moderate | Local LDAP byte-pump socket. | Forwards raw LDAP bytes to the SSO for SSSD/PAM (DESIGN.md §4). | | `secrets` | Moderate | Renders OpenBao secrets. | Renders `/etc/theta/templates/*.tpl` to targets, atomic + reload (DESIGN.md §5). | | `iam` | High | Applies node IAM. | Writes sudo rules, SSH keys, access control; revokes sessions (DESIGN.md §6). | | `reboot` | High | System reboot. | Triggers an immediate host reboot. | | `service_control` | High | Service management. | Restarts services listed in the allowed list. | | `arbitrary_bash` | CRITICAL | Raw bash execution. | Executes any script sent by the manager as root. | ## Configuration Configuration is stored in YAML format at `/etc/theta42/agent.yml`. ### Example `agent.yml` ```yaml server_url: "wss://sso.theta42.local" auth_token: "issued-by-the-sso-at-enrollment" public_key: "base64-encoded-ed25519-public-key" location: "dc-01-rack-12" capabilities: telemetry: true configure_ldap: true reboot: true service_control: ["nginx", "gitea", "sssd"] arbitrary_bash: false ``` ## Installation 1. **Build**: Compile for your target architecture (see CI/CD artifacts). 2. **Deploy**: Place the binary in `/usr/local/bin/theta-agent`. 3. **Enroll**: In the SSO, open **Directory → Install Agent**, name the host, bind it to a host resource, and press **Enroll & issue token**. The SSO mints the token (shown once) and gives you its public key. Tokens the server did not issue are rejected. 4. **Configure**: Create `/etc/theta42/agent.yml` with the issued `auth_token`, the SSO's `public_key`, and your capabilities. 4. **Service**: Set up as a systemd unit (example: `/etc/systemd/system/theta-agent.service`). For the fastest deployment, use the installation script: ```bash curl -fsSL https://sso.example.com/resources/theta-agent/install.sh | sh -s -- "BASE64_ENCODED_CONFIG" ``` The **Install Agent** modal generates that command for you after enrollment, with the token and public key already embedded. The equivalent flag form is: ```bash curl -fsSL https://sso.example.com/resources/theta-agent/install.sh | sh -s -- \ --url "https://sso.example.com" --token "" --public-key "" ``` ## Development & Testing The agent uses a decoupled execution engine for safety and testability. - Run unit tests: `go test -v ./...` - The test suite uses a `MockExecutor` to verify that system commands are only triggered when the corresponding capability is enabled in the configuration.