Security and Access Control in File Transfer Pavan

Learn how File Transfer Pavan protects uploads with PINs, bcrypt password hashing, Supabase Row-Level Security, cryptographic tokens, and HTTPS-enforced storage.

File Transfer Pavan uses a multi-layered security model. Every upload is validated by the server first, protected by cryptographically secure tokens, and stored behind Supabase Row-Level Security policies. Passwords are never hashed on the client side. This guide covers the architecture, access controls, and protections you can rely on.

Security Features

Feature	Details
Server-side validation	validate_file_upload() RPC runs before every upload to enforce size and type rules
Cryptographic tokens	generate_share_token() produces URL-safe, secure random tokens. Base64 variants are handled for cross-platform compatibility
PIN protection	generate_share_pin() creates numeric PINs required to access the download page
Password hashing	Bcrypt is applied inside PostgreSQL via insert_file_with_password(). The client never hashes or stores the raw password
Row-Level Security	Supabase RLS policies restrict all SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE to authenticated owners or valid share tokens
Signed URLs	File access URLs expire after one hour, preventing long-lived unauthenticated access
HTTPS enforced	Supabase Storage automatically serves all content over HTTPS
Audit logs	Admin actions are tracked in the audit_logs table for accountability
Error boundaries	The ErrorBoundary component prevents stack traces or internal state from leaking to the client on crashes

Authentication

File Transfer Pavan authenticates users through Supabase Auth with email and password. Session state is managed globally by the AuthContext React context. Protected routes, including the Dashboard, Admin panel, and Profile pages, are wrapped with the AuthGuard component.

If a user is not authenticated when visiting a protected route, they are redirected to the sign-in page. Once authenticated, the route renders.

Admin Access Control

The admin panel (AdminDashboard.tsx, approximately 130 KB) is reserved for users with elevated privileges. Admins can perform the following actions:

• User management: view, edit, ban, or delete user accounts
• File moderation: review uploaded files, quarantine suspicious items, and delete violations
• Audit log review: inspect entries from the audit_logs table for forensic review
• Bulk notifications: send announcements or alerts to all users or filtered subsets

Only authenticated admin users can access these features. The underlying RLS policies enforce this at the database level as well.

Never expose VITE_SUPABASE_SERVICE_KEY on the client side. This key is for server-level or admin operations only. Use it only in secure server contexts, Supabase Edge Functions, or your CI environment. Exposing it in the browser compromises your entire database.

Database Schema

The following abbreviated schema defines the core tables that enforce access control and audit behavior:

uploaded_files

Column	Type	Notes
id	uuid	Primary key
user_id	uuid	Owner reference, protected by RLS
share_token	text	Unique, URL-safe token for sharing
share_pin	text	Optional numeric PIN
password_hash	text	Optional bcrypt hash
download_count	integer	Counter incremented per download
expires_at	timestamp	Optional expiration timestamp

file_collections

Column	Type	Notes
id	uuid	Primary key
user_id	uuid	Owner reference, protected by RLS
share_token	text	Unique token for the collection
share_pin	text	Optional numeric PIN for the collection

download_history

Column	Type	Notes
file_id	uuid	Foreign key to uploaded_files
ip_address	inet	Anonymous downloader IP
user_agent	text	Browser / client identifier
downloaded_at	timestamp	Exact time of download

audit_logs

Column	Type	Notes
admin_id	uuid	Acting administrator
action	text	Performed action name
target_user_id	uuid	Affected user, if any
target_file_id	uuid	Affected file, if any
details	jsonb	Structured context for the action

Next Steps

• Upload and Organize Files
• Share Files with Secure Links and QR Codes