🛡️ CertValid — Certificate Verification & Management System

A modern, enterprise-ready Flask-based Certificate Verification & Management System. Supports cryptographic SHA-256 file tamper detection, Certificate ID lookup, scannable QR code generation, dynamic PNG certificate downloading, salted PBKDF2 password security, and a full Admin Management Dashboard with audit trail logging.

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🔗 Live Application & Links

• 🌐 Live Public Portal: ranjithbrs.pythonanywhere.com
• 🔑 Admin Dashboard: ranjithbrs.pythonanywhere.com/admin
• 🐙 GitHub Repository: github.com/ranjithbrs/CertValid

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✨ Features

• 🔐 Cryptographic SHA-256 Tamper Detection — Uploaded certificate files (JPG/PNG/PDF) have their SHA-256 hash computed and compared against the indexed registry. Any byte-level alteration instantly triggers a TAMPERED / INVALID alert.
• 🛡️ Salted PBKDF2 Password Security — Admin credentials are encrypted using PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 (260,000 iterations + 16-byte random salt) with constant-time verification (hmac.compare_digest). Includes automatic transparent migration from legacy hashes.
• 🔍 Dual Verification Modes — Verify certificates by Drag-and-Drop File Upload or Certificate ID Search.
• 📱 Embedded Live-Domain QR Codes — Every issued certificate includes a QR code generated with the live production domain (BASE_URL). Scanning it opens a live verification page in the browser.
• 🎓 Dynamic Certificate Image Generator — Certificates are generated on-the-fly with custom typography, issue details, and embedded QR codes. High-resolution PNGs are created dynamically if not present on disk.
• ⚡ Database Optimizations — Indexed file_hash lookup ($O(1)$ complexity), SQLite WAL (Write-Ahead Logging) mode enabled, and single-connection aggregate SQL dashboard statistics.
• 🚫 Revoke & Reactivate Control — Administrators can instantly revoke fraudulent or compromised certificates or reactivate them.
• 📜 Full Audit Logging — Every verification request is logged with timestamp, computed hash, IP address, and verification status.
• 🎨 Modern Dark Glassmorphism UI & Error Pages — Built with clean HTML5 & CSS3 featuring glassmorphic cards, micro-animations, responsive tables, custom status badges, and styled 404/500 error handlers.

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🧪 Sample Certificates for Live Testing

Try these test certificates on the Live Site:

Certificate ID	Recipient Name	Course	Status	Direct Verification Link
CERT-2024-001	Aisha Sharma	B.Tech Computer Science	✅ Authentic	Verify CERT-2024-001
CERT-2024-002	Rahul Verma	MBA Finance	✅ Authentic	Verify CERT-2024-002
CERT-2023-099	Priya Patel	M.Sc Data Science	🚫 Revoked	Verify CERT-2023-099

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🔑 Default Admin Credentials

Access the Admin Panel at ranjithbrs.pythonanywhere.com/admin:

Username	Password
admin	admin123

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🚀 Quick Start (Local Setup)

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/ranjithbrs/CertValid.git
cd CertValid

2. Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Initialize Database & Run

python app.py

Open your browser to:

• Public Portal: http://127.0.0.1:5000
• Admin Dashboard: http://127.0.0.1:5000/admin

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⚙️ Environment Variables (Optional)

Variable	Description	Default
BASE_URL	Base URL used in generated QR code verification links	https://ranjithbrs.pythonanywhere.com
SECRET_KEY	Flask session secret key	Auto-generated random 32-byte hex token
FLASK_DEBUG	Enable debug mode (true / false)	false

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🌐 Deploying to PythonAnywhere

1. Clone repository on PythonAnywhere:

   git clone https://github.com/ranjithbrs/CertValid.git
   cd CertValid
   pip install --user -r requirements.txt

2. Initialize Database:

   python -c "import db; db.init_db()"

3. Configure Web App in PythonAnywhere Web Tab:

   • Select Python 3.10
   • Point WSGI file to:

     import sys, os
     project_home = '/home/<your-username>/CertValid'
     if project_home not in sys.path:
         sys.path.insert(0, project_home)
     from app import app as application

   • Set Static Files mapping: /static/ → /home/<your-username>/CertValid/static/
   • Click Reload!

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📁 Project Structure

CertValid/
├── app.py              # Flask app, routes, image generator & error handlers
├── db.py               # SQLite database layer, indexing, PBKDF2 auth & CRUD
├── database.db         # SQLite database file (auto-initialized)
├── wsgi.py             # WSGI entry point for production deployment
├── requirements.txt    # Python package dependencies
├── README.md           # Comprehensive project documentation
├── .gitignore          # Git exclusion rules
├── static/
│   ├── style.css       # Custom Glassmorphism CSS design system
│   ├── uploads/        # Temporary uploaded certificate files
│   └── certs/          # Generated certificate PNG images
└── templates/
    ├── upload.html     # Public verification portal (upload & ID search)
    ├── result.html     # Verification report & cryptographic audit view
    ├── admin.html      # Admin dashboard, certificate issuer & audit logs
    └── error.html      # Styled 404 / 500 error pages

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🔒 Verification Workflow Architecture

graph TD
    A[User Uploads File / Enters ID] --> B{Verification Mode}
    B -- File Upload --> C[Compute SHA-256 Hash]
    C --> D[Lookup Hash in Registry Index]
    B -- Certificate ID --> E[Lookup ID in Registry]
    D -- Hash Match --> F{Check Status}
    D -- No Hash Match --> G[Status: INVALID / TAMPERED]
    E -- Found --> F
    E -- Not Found --> G
    F -- Active --> H[Status: AUTHENTIC ✅]
    F -- Revoked --> I[Status: REVOKED 🚫]
    H --> J[Log Attempt & Display Detailed Report]
    G --> J
    I --> J

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🛠️ Technology Stack

• Backend: Python 3, Flask
• Database: SQLite3 (WAL mode, indexed)
• Image Processing & QR: Pillow (PIL), qrcode, NumPy
• Frontend: HTML5, Modern Vanilla CSS (Glassmorphism design system)
• Security: SHA-256 file hashing, PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 password security, constant-time comparison, 1-hr session timeout
• Hosting: PythonAnywhere

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📄 License

This project is open-source and available under the MIT License.