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Emergency Procedures

This document outlines emergency procedures for the reDB Node project during Phase 1 (Single Maintainer) governance.

Overview

During Phase 1, the project operates under single maintainer governance with basic protection rules. Emergency procedures are designed to allow rapid response to critical issues while maintaining project integrity.

Emergency Scenarios

1. Critical Security Vulnerabilities

Definition: Zero-day vulnerabilities, critical CVEs, or security issues that could compromise user data or system integrity.

Procedure:

  1. Immediate Response:

    • Create emergency branch: hotfix/critical-security-fix
    • Implement fix with minimal scope
    • Test thoroughly in isolation

  2. Emergency PR:

    • Title: [EMERGENCY] Critical security fix: <description>
    • Use emergency bypass if needed
    • Merge immediately after maintainer review

  3. Post-Emergency:

    • Document the vulnerability and fix
    • Update security documentation
    • Consider if governance phase needs adjustment

2. Production System Failures

Definition: Issues causing service outages, data loss, or critical functionality failures.

Procedure:

  1. Immediate Response:

    • Assess impact and scope
    • Create emergency branch: hotfix/production-fix
    • Implement minimal fix to restore service

  2. Emergency PR:

    • Title: [EMERGENCY] Production fix: <description>
    • Include impact assessment
    • Merge with maintainer approval

  3. Post-Emergency:

    • Conduct post-mortem analysis
    • Update runbooks and procedures
    • Implement preventive measures

3. Dependency Security Issues

Definition: Critical vulnerabilities in dependencies that require immediate updates.

Procedure:

  1. Assessment:

    • Evaluate vulnerability severity
    • Check for available patches
    • Assess breaking change risk

  2. Emergency Update:

    • Create branch: hotfix/dependency-security-update
    • Update dependencies with minimal changes
    • Test thoroughly

  3. Emergency PR:

    • Title: [EMERGENCY] Dependency security update: <package>
    • Include vulnerability details
    • Merge after maintainer review

Emergency Bypass Procedures

Maintainer Bypass (Phase 1)

During Phase 1, the maintainer can bypass normal protection rules for emergencies:

  1. Direct Push (for critical fixes only):

    git checkout main
git pull origin main
# Make emergency fix
git commit -m "fix(security): emergency critical vulnerability patch"
git push origin main

  2. Emergency PR Bypass:

    • Create PR with [EMERGENCY] prefix
    • Maintainer can merge immediately
    • Document reason for bypass

Emergency Branch Pattern

For non-critical but urgent fixes:

# Create emergency fix branch
git checkout -b hotfix/urgent-fix

# Make the fix
git commit -m "fix: urgent issue resolution"

# Merge directly
git checkout main
git merge hotfix/urgent-fix --no-ff

# Clean up
git branch -d hotfix/urgent-fix

Communication During Emergencies

Internal Communication

  1. Immediate: Notify maintainer via GitHub Issues or Discussions
  2. Ongoing: Update issue with progress and decisions
  3. Resolution: Document final outcome and lessons learned

External Communication

  1. Security Issues: Follow responsible disclosure practices
  2. Service Issues: Update users through appropriate channels
  3. Documentation: Update relevant documentation with fixes

Post-Emergency Procedures

1. Documentation

  • Document the emergency and response
  • Update runbooks and procedures
  • Record lessons learned

2. Review and Assessment

  • Assess if governance procedures need adjustment
  • Review if Phase 1 rules are adequate
  • Consider if emergency procedures worked as intended

3. Prevention

  • Implement preventive measures
  • Update monitoring and alerting
  • Enhance testing procedures

Phase-Specific Considerations

Phase 1 (Current): Single Maintainer

  • Advantage: Rapid decision making
  • Risk: Single point of failure
  • Mitigation: Clear procedures and documentation

Future Phases

As the project grows, emergency procedures will evolve:

  • Phase 2: Multiple maintainers, shared emergency authority
  • Phase 3: Emergency response team
  • Phase 4: Formal incident response procedures

Emergency Contacts

Phase 1 Contacts

  • Maintainer: @tommihip
  • Primary Contact: GitHub Issues with [EMERGENCY] label
  • Backup Contact: GitHub Discussions

Escalation Path

  1. Create GitHub Issue with [EMERGENCY] label
  2. Tag maintainer (@tommihip)
  3. If no response within 4 hours, use direct communication channels
  4. Document all communications for post-emergency review

Emergency Checklist

Before Emergency PR

  • Issue is truly critical/urgent
  • Minimal scope fix implemented
  • Basic testing completed
  • Impact assessment documented
  • Emergency bypass justified

During Emergency PR

  • Use [EMERGENCY] prefix in title
  • Include clear description of issue
  • Document impact and urgency
  • Request maintainer review
  • Merge only after maintainer approval

After Emergency PR

  • Document the emergency
  • Update relevant documentation
  • Conduct post-mortem if needed
  • Implement preventive measures
  • Review governance procedures

Governance Evolution

Emergency procedures will evolve with the project:

Phase 1 → Phase 2

  • Add multiple maintainer approval for emergencies
  • Implement emergency response team
  • Add formal incident response procedures

Phase 2 → Phase 3

  • Establish dedicated security team
  • Add automated emergency detection
  • Implement formal incident management

Phase 3 → Phase 4

  • Enterprise-grade incident response
  • 24/7 emergency response capability
  • Formal governance committee oversight

Note: These procedures are designed for Phase 1 governance. As the project evolves, these procedures will be updated to reflect the current governance phase and community needs.