Security · Specification
Security at Foreman.
How Foreman handles your Autodesk Forma data: sign-in, encryption, hosting, and what we don't keep.
Autodesk-native identity.
Users sign in with their existing Autodesk account. We never see or store your users' passwords. Permissions inherit from Forma — Foreman can't show a user anything they couldn't already see in Forma.
Encrypted everywhere.
TLS 1.2+ in transit, AES-256 at rest. Hosted in Germany. EU and UK data-residency options available on request.
Your data, your control.
Full export at any time. 30-day deletion on cancellation. We do not use your data to train any model. No third-party analytics on customer content.
Authentication options
- Autodesk SSO (primary)
- Passkey (WebAuthn / FIDO2)
- Two-factor authentication (TOTP) for admin accounts
Compliance
Not currently SOC 2 certified.
Detailed security documentation available on request under NDA — see Security Contact.
Subprocessors
We publish a list of third-party services that may touch customer data.
View subprocessor listIncident response
We commit to notifying affected customers within 24 hours of confirming any security incident that affects customer data.
See Security Contact.
Authentication & Identity
Users sign in with their existing Autodesk account. There's no separate Foreman password to create or remember, and we never see one. Your profile (name, email, avatar, job title, company) is pulled from Autodesk on each sign-in.
- Autodesk SSO — Primary login. Passwords never reach our servers
- OAuth 2.1 with PKCE — All API and MCP integrations authenticate via OAuth 2.1 with mandatory Proof Key for Code Exchange
- Two-factor authentication — Enforced for all system administrators using password-based login, via authenticator app (TOTP)
- Passkey support — WebAuthn/FIDO2 for phishing-resistant, passwordless sign-in (fingerprint, Face ID, security key)
- Account lockout — Automatic lockout after 5 failed login attempts with a 15-minute cooldown period
Data Encryption
Connections use TLS 1.2 or higher. APS credentials and OAuth tokens get an extra layer of encryption before they hit the database, so a database dump alone won't yield usable secrets.
- TLS encryption — All connections are encrypted via TLS, terminated at the reverse proxy
- Encryption at rest — APS credentials and OAuth tokens are encrypted using the .NET Data Protection API before database storage
- Secure cookies — Session cookies are HTTPS-only, HttpOnly (invisible to JavaScript), and use the SameSite=Lax attribute
- Opaque reference tokens — OAuth access tokens are stored as opaque references in the database, enabling immediate revocation
Access Control & Authorization
Three checks gate every request: your role, your tenant, and whether your plan unlocks that feature.
- Role-based policies — User, Admin, and Organization Admin roles with distinct permission boundaries
- Per-project MCP access — Each user explicitly enables which projects are accessible to AI assistants. Only opted-in project data can be returned to the AI provider.
- Per-tool opt-out — Users can disable individual MCP tools to limit what data can be retrieved by AI assistants
- Tenant isolation — Each organization's data is isolated via tenant-scoped access policies
- Subscription gating — Feature access enforced by subscription tier, preventing unauthorized use
Infrastructure & Hosting
Foreman runs on self-managed servers in EU data centres. Databases, file storage, and backups all stay in the EU. The company behind Foreman is IssueLab, registered in England.
- EU-based servers — All infrastructure is hosted in EU data centres, ensuring your data never leaves the European Union
- Self-hosted containers — Application, database, MCP server, and reverse proxy run as isolated Docker containers on dedicated hardware
- PostgreSQL 16 — All queries use parameterized statements, preventing SQL injection
- Reverse proxy — Caddy terminates TLS and enforces trusted forwarded headers from internal networks only
- No third-party cloud storage — No application data is stored in AWS, Azure, GCP, or any other third-party cloud platform
- Rate limiting — Authentication endpoints are rate-limited to 10 requests per minute per IP address
Application Security
Standard web-app hardening, on top of the framework defaults:
Security Headers
Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options DENY, X-Content-Type-Options nosniff, strict Referrer-Policy
CSRF Protection
Antiforgery tokens validated on all state-changing requests, with explicit bypass only for OAuth endpoints
Input Sanitization
HTML sanitization on user-generated content, model validation on all inputs, path traversal protection
Redirect Protection
All redirects validated as local URLs, preventing open redirect attacks
Data Privacy & Retention
We collect what's needed to run the service and not much else. You can export or delete your personal data from Account Settings at any time.
How your data is handled
- Forma files are never stored — When running QA checks or browsing files from your Autodesk projects, data is streamed from the Autodesk API, processed in memory, and discarded. Your project files are never written to our servers.
- Credentials encrypted at rest — APS client secrets and OAuth refresh tokens are encrypted using the .NET Data Protection API before database storage. Plain-text credentials are never persisted.
- Automatic token cleanup — Expired and revoked OAuth tokens are automatically pruned by a scheduled job
- No third-party data sharing — We do not sell, share, or transfer your data. Outside of AI features (described below), the only external API Foreman communicates with is Autodesk Platform Services, on your behalf and using your own credentials.
AI features & third-party AI providers
Foreman's AI features (the built-in Chat assistant and the MCP server) rely on third-party AI providers. When you use them, your prompts and the related tool responses go to the provider. Worth understanding how that affects your data:
- Data sent to AI providers — When MCP tools are invoked by an AI assistant (e.g. Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor), your prompts and the tool responses — which may include project names, file names, member names, and folder structures — are processed by the AI provider. This data is subject to the AI provider's own data handling and privacy policies, not Foreman's.
- You choose which AI provider to use — Foreman's MCP server is an open standard (OAuth 2.1 authenticated) and does not mandate a specific AI provider. You connect the AI client of your choice and are responsible for reviewing that provider's terms.
- Foreman Assistant — The built-in chat assistant uses Anthropic's Claude API. Conversations are sent to Anthropic for processing. Anthropic's data policies apply to this data in transit and during processing. Conversation history is stored on Foreman's EU servers, not with Anthropic.
- Per-project and per-tool controls — Users explicitly choose which projects and which MCP tools are accessible. No project data is exposed to AI providers unless you opt in.
- Organization-level AI disable — Organization administrators can completely disable AI Chat for all users from Settings > Data & Privacy, ensuring no data is sent to AI providers.
Important: Foreman does not control how third-party AI providers handle data once it leaves our servers. If your organization has strict data residency or confidentiality requirements, we recommend reviewing your AI provider's data processing agreements, or disabling AI features entirely using the organization-level toggle.
Automatic retention policies
Temporary data is purged automatically. Caps depend on your plan:
| Data Type | Free | Business | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exports (CSV, XLSX) & QA check files | 7 days | 90 days | 365 days |
| Audit snapshots | 30 days | 365 days | Unlimited |
Organization administrators can customise retention periods from Settings > Data & Privacy.
Organization admin controls
Organization admins can change the defaults below under Organization > Settings > Data & Privacy.
Disable Local File Uploads
Prevent users from uploading files directly to Foreman for QA checks. When enabled, only files from your Autodesk projects can be checked — nothing is stored on our servers.
Disable AI Chat
Turn off the Foreman Assistant for all users in your organization. No conversation data will be created or stored while this is active.
Export Retention Period
Set a custom retention period for exported files (CSV, XLSX) and QA check results. Files are automatically purged after this period.
Audit Snapshot Retention
Control how long member audit snapshots are retained. Older snapshots are automatically purged to comply with data minimisation requirements.
Your rights
- Personal data export — Download all your personal data at any time from Account Settings, in compliance with GDPR Article 20 (right to data portability)
- Account deletion — Submit a deletion request from your Account Settings (GDPR Article 17, right to erasure). Requests are reviewed to ensure shared data and active projects are handled properly. You'll receive email notification of approval or rejection.
- UK GDPR & EU GDPR compliance — As a UK-based company operating EU infrastructure, Foreman complies with both the UK GDPR and the EU General Data Protection Regulation
For full details, see our Privacy Policy.
Audit & Monitoring
What gets logged, and what admins can see:
- System logging — Warning-level and above events are captured to a database-backed audit log with user and tenant context
- MCP tool usage tracking — Every AI tool invocation is recorded with tool name, duration, success/failure, and timestamp
- Access request audit trail — Every submission, approval, rejection, and revocation is logged with timestamps
Security Contact
Found a vulnerability or have a concern about your data? Email us. Acknowledgement and response times are listed below.
IssueLab — Security
Email: tech@issuelab.co
Please include a detailed description of the issue, steps to reproduce if applicable, and any relevant screenshots or logs. We will acknowledge receipt within 48 hours and aim to provide an initial assessment within 5 business days.
Foreman is an independent software application and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Autodesk, Inc. Autodesk and Autodesk Forma are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc.