98 E2EE v1 (Basic ECDH)

[DenizAltunkapan]

This PR introduces the first step toward secure E2EE and intentionally splits the work across multiple PRs for clarity. It replaces the server-side EncryptionUtil with client-side ECDH + AES-GCM encryption, adds device registration/discovery, and stores only ciphertext on the backend.

For a step-by-step explanation of the current v1 flow, see the docs in https://github.com/Vault-Web/server-docs/tree/main/vault-web/e2ee/01-basic-ecdh (these docs contain more details). This PR does not close the E2EE issue #98 because the implementation is still incomplete and not yet fully secure; it is the initial foundation only.

Closes #165

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR introduces the foundational implementation of End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) using ECDH (Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman) key exchange with AES-GCM encryption. It represents the first step in a multi-phase E2EE rollout, transitioning from server-side encryption to client-side cryptography where only encrypted payloads are stored on the backend.

• Replaces server-side AES-GCM encryption (EncryptionUtil) with client-side ECDH + AES-GCM encryption
• Introduces device registration and discovery mechanisms to support multi-device E2EE
• Implements encryption/decryption in the frontend's E2eeService with identity and key pair management

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 23 out of 25 changed files in this pull request and generated 20 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
frontend/src/app/services/e2ee.service.ts	New service implementing ECDH key exchange, AES-GCM encryption/decryption, device registration, and multi-identity management
frontend/src/app/services/web-socket.service.ts	Adds group message sending and subscription support for encrypted group chats
frontend/src/app/services/private-chat.service.ts	Adds endpoint to fetch devices for a private chat
frontend/src/app/pages/private-chat-dialog/private-chat-dialog.component.ts	Integrates E2EE service for message encryption/decryption and device management in private chats
frontend/src/app/models/dtos/DeviceDto.ts	New DTO representing a registered device with its public key
frontend/src/app/models/dtos/ChatMessageDto.ts	Updated to include optional e2eePayload and senderDeviceId fields for encrypted messages
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/services/DeviceService.java	New service handling device registration and public key management
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/services/ChatService.java	Removes server-side decryption, now validates and stores E2EE payloads
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/services/DashboardService.java	Updates message preview logic to return placeholder text instead of decrypted content
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/controllers/DeviceController.java	New controller providing device registration endpoint
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/controllers/ChatController.java	Updates message handlers to work with encrypted payloads instead of decrypted content
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/controllers/PrivateChatController.java	Adds device endpoint for private chats, updates message retrieval to return encrypted payloads
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/controllers/GroupController.java	Adds device endpoint for group chats to support group encryption
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/repositories/DeviceRepository.java	New repository for device persistence and queries
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/models/Device.java	New entity representing a user device with deviceId and public key
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/models/ChatMessage.java	Replaces cipherText/iv fields with e2eePayload and senderDeviceId
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/dtos/DeviceDto.java	DTO for device data transfer with mapping from entity
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/dtos/DeviceRegistrationRequest.java	Request DTO for device registration with validation
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/dtos/ChatMessageDto.java	Updates to support E2EE fields, removes validation constraints for backward compatibility
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/exceptions/EncryptionFailedException.java	Adds constructor accepting message-only for E2EE validation failures
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/security/EncryptionUtil.java	Deleted - server-side encryption utility no longer needed
backend/src/main/java/vaultWeb/config/EncryptionConfig.java	Deleted - configuration for server-side encryption removed
backend/src/main/resources/application.properties	Removes master encryption key property
backend/src/main/resources/application-dev.yml	Adds SSL configuration for secure WebSocket connections in development
.gitignore	Removes application-dev.yml from ignore list to track SSL configuration

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[Copilot]

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[Copilot]

@DenizAltunkapan I've opened a new pull request, #176, to work on those changes. Once the pull request is ready, I'll request review from you.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 26 out of 26 changed files in this pull request and generated 7 comments.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

frontend/src/app/pages/private-chat-dialog/private-chat-dialog.component.ts:258

• Public component methods in this codebase typically declare an explicit : void return type. toggleSearch() is missing the return type annotation; please align it with the surrounding methods (ngOnInit(): void, applySearch(): void, etc.).

  toggleSearch() {
    this.isSearchOpen = !this.isSearchOpen;

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Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 55 out of 55 changed files in this pull request and generated 7 comments.

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Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 55 out of 55 changed files in this pull request and generated 6 comments.

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