Role-based access control (RBAC) in Apache Airflow - Step-by-Step Execution

Process Flow - Role-based access control (RBAC)

User logs in

↓

System checks user role

↓

Match role to permissions

↓

Grant access to allowed features

↓

Deny access to restricted features

↓

User performs actions based on permissions

User logs in, system checks their role, matches permissions, then grants or denies access accordingly.

Execution Sample

Apache Airflow

from airflow.www.fab_security.manager import AUTH_ROLE_ADMIN

# Assign role to user
user.roles.append(AUTH_ROLE_ADMIN)

# Check permission
if 'can_read' in user.get_permissions():
    print('Access granted')

Assigns an admin role to a user and checks if the user has read permission to grant access.

Process Table

Step	Action	User Roles	Permissions Checked	Result
1	User logs in	[]	None	No access yet
2	Assign role AUTH_ROLE_ADMIN	['Admin']	None	Role assigned
3	Check if 'can_read' permission exists	['Admin']	'can_read'	Permission found
4	Grant access	['Admin']	'can_read'	Access granted
5	User performs action	['Admin']	Allowed actions	Action executed

💡 User has 'Admin' role with 'can_read' permission, so access is granted and action executed.

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 2	After Step 3	Final
user.roles	[]	['Admin']	['Admin']	['Admin']
permissions_checked	None	None	['can_read']	['can_read']
access_granted	False	False	True	True

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why does the user get access only after role assignment?

Because permissions depend on roles. Before assigning 'Admin' role, user.roles is empty (see step 1 and 2 in execution_table), so no permissions are found.

What happens if the permission checked is not in the user's role?

Access is denied. The system checks permissions linked to roles (step 3). If permission is missing, result would be 'Permission not found' and no access granted.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the user's roles after step 2?

A ['Admin']

B []

C ['User']

D ['ReadOnly']

💡 Hint

Check the 'User Roles' column at step 2 in the execution_table.

At which step does the system confirm the user has 'can_read' permission?

A Step 1

B Step 3

C Step 4

D Step 5

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Permissions Checked' and 'Result' columns in the execution_table.

If the user had no roles assigned, what would be the result at step 3?

A Permission found

B Access granted

C Permission not found

D Action executed

💡 Hint

Refer to the 'Result' column at step 3 and consider what happens if user.roles is empty.

Concept Snapshot

Role-based access control (RBAC) in Airflow:
- Users have roles.
- Roles have permissions.
- System checks user roles on login.
- Permissions determine access to features.
- Assign roles to grant permissions.

Full Transcript

Role-based access control (RBAC) in Airflow works by assigning roles to users. When a user logs in, the system checks their roles and the permissions linked to those roles. If the user has the required permission, such as 'can_read', access is granted to perform actions. Without roles, users have no permissions and cannot access protected features. This flow ensures users only access what their roles allow.