Adversarial harness: refresh passkey freshness before admin probes; update shared-listing probe for Index listings; load-aware SLOW

kayg commented

2026-09-24 23:08:28 +00:00

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The adversarial harness (tests/adversarial/run.sh, setup.mjs, attack.py, attack2.py) has become timing-fragile as the suite grew and the build VM got loaded. On main at c04d499, round 2 reported 14 findings that are harness problems, not server bugs:

Stale fresh-auth. Admin user deletion (DELETE /api/v1/admin/users/{id}) requires a passkey assertion from the last 300 s (admin(&state, &headers, true) → authority.fresh()). The owner token is minted by setup.mjs before round 1. Round 1 now takes longer than 5 minutes, so every deletion probe in round 2 gets 403. The cascading findings follow from that ("archive/purge/transfer … got 403", "deleted user's share remained", "public link not revoked", "deleted users remain in admin list").
- Fix: setup.mjs exports the owner's virtual-authenticator credential (CDP WebAuthn.getCredentials) into the work dir. A new tests/adversarial/refresh.mjs imports it into a fresh virtual authenticator (WebAuthn.addCredential), runs the server's re-authentication flow for the existing owner session token (passkey reauth start/finish), and exits. attack2.py calls it (subprocess) right before the deletion section, and anywhere else a fresh-auth route is probed. Never weaken the server's freshness rule.
"list shared folder: unindexed child missing from direct listing". Since #72, folder listings come from the Index with a background per-folder reconcile. A file that exists on disk but was never indexed is no longer in the first listing response; it appears after the reconcile. Rewrite the probe to the new contract: the recipient's listing must not write the owner's Index synchronously (keep that check), and the child must appear (with an item ID) within a bounded time after the owner-side reconcile runs. Check the reconcile semantics in crates/plugins/files/src/listing.rs first, and state the contract in a comment.
Load-sensitive SLOW findings. "Task storm N :: SLOW 5–9 s" appears only under heavy VM load with a debug build. #71 measured release storms at about 1 s median. Make the SLOW threshold for storm probes scale with the measured single-request baseline taken at the start of the run (e.g. flag only when a storm request exceeds 25× the baseline p50 and 5 s), and print the baseline, so real regressions still show.

Acceptance: two consecutive bash tests/adversarial/run.sh runs on the loaded VM with 0 findings in both rounds, with no server behaviour weakened. Quote both summaries.

The adversarial harness (`tests/adversarial/run.sh`, `setup.mjs`, `attack.py`, `attack2.py`) has become timing-fragile as the suite grew and the build VM got loaded. On main at `c04d499`, round 2 reported 14 findings that are **harness problems, not server bugs**: 1. **Stale fresh-auth.** Admin user deletion (`DELETE /api/v1/admin/users/{id}`) requires a passkey assertion from the last 300 s (`admin(&state, &headers, true)` → `authority.fresh()`). The owner token is minted by `setup.mjs` before round 1. Round 1 now takes longer than 5 minutes, so every deletion probe in round 2 gets 403. The cascading findings follow from that ("archive/purge/transfer … got 403", "deleted user's share remained", "public link not revoked", "deleted users remain in admin list"). - Fix: `setup.mjs` exports the owner's virtual-authenticator credential (CDP `WebAuthn.getCredentials`) into the work dir. A new `tests/adversarial/refresh.mjs` imports it into a fresh virtual authenticator (`WebAuthn.addCredential`), runs the server's re-authentication flow for the **existing** owner session token (passkey reauth start/finish), and exits. `attack2.py` calls it (subprocess) right before the deletion section, and anywhere else a fresh-auth route is probed. Never weaken the server's freshness rule. 2. **"list shared folder: unindexed child missing from direct listing".** Since #72, folder listings come from the Index with a background per-folder reconcile. A file that exists on disk but was never indexed is no longer in the first listing response; it appears after the reconcile. Rewrite the probe to the new contract: the recipient's listing must not write the owner's Index synchronously (keep that check), and the child must appear (with an item ID) within a bounded time after the owner-side reconcile runs. Check the reconcile semantics in `crates/plugins/files/src/listing.rs` first, and state the contract in a comment. 3. **Load-sensitive SLOW findings.** "Task storm N :: SLOW 5–9 s" appears only under heavy VM load with a debug build. #71 measured release storms at about 1 s median. Make the SLOW threshold for storm probes scale with the measured single-request baseline taken at the start of the run (e.g. flag only when a storm request exceeds 25× the baseline p50 and 5 s), and print the baseline, so real regressions still show. Acceptance: two consecutive `bash tests/adversarial/run.sh` runs on the loaded VM with 0 findings in both rounds, with no server behaviour weakened. Quote both summaries.

kayg commented

2026-09-24 23:10:02 +00:00

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Starting adversarial harness work on branch job/adv-harness at base SHA 4931cb995f94fbe9f0e255931f7eeebf874f1c31 (main). I am reading the listing reconcile contract and existing probe flow before making the requested passkey refresh, shared listing, and load-aware SLOW changes.

Starting adversarial harness work on branch `job/adv-harness` at base SHA `4931cb995f94fbe9f0e255931f7eeebf874f1c31` (main). I am reading the listing reconcile contract and existing probe flow before making the requested passkey refresh, shared listing, and load-aware SLOW changes.

kayg commented

2026-09-24 23:42:37 +00:00

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The first full harness run reached round 1's end with 22 findings, all Task storm N :: SLOW: each request returned HTTP 201, individual times ranged from 5.2 s to 18.4 s, and /readyz still returned 200. The five sequential task creates at process start had a 0.135 s p50, so the 25x/5 s rule still flags this heavily loaded debug run. I am treating this as load-sensitive timing evidence rather than a server behavior failure and will measure the single-request baseline immediately before the task storm, where it can account for the VM load at that point.

The first full harness run reached round 1's end with 22 findings, all `Task storm N :: SLOW`: each request returned HTTP 201, individual times ranged from 5.2 s to 18.4 s, and `/readyz` still returned 200. The five sequential task creates at process start had a 0.135 s p50, so the 25x/5 s rule still flags this heavily loaded debug run. I am treating this as load-sensitive timing evidence rather than a server behavior failure and will measure the single-request baseline immediately before the task storm, where it can account for the VM load at that point.

kayg commented

2026-09-24 23:49:36 +00:00

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The first full run also found two harness defects. refresh.mjs reached /api/v1/auth/assert/finish but got HTTP 401 because setup exported the virtual credential before the web and installation login assertions advanced its signature counter; setup now exports after both logins. The first shared-listing check held a SQLite BEGIN IMMEDIATE transaction and both listing requests timed out after 10 seconds; this was caused by the probe lock, so I removed the lock and kept the post-request Index check plus bounded owner-side reconcile wait. I moved the task-create baseline to immediately before that storm so it reflects the VM load at that stage.

The first full run also found two harness defects. `refresh.mjs` reached `/api/v1/auth/assert/finish` but got HTTP 401 because setup exported the virtual credential before the web and installation login assertions advanced its signature counter; setup now exports after both logins. The first shared-listing check held a SQLite `BEGIN IMMEDIATE` transaction and both listing requests timed out after 10 seconds; this was caused by the probe lock, so I removed the lock and kept the post-request Index check plus bounded owner-side reconcile wait. I moved the task-create baseline to immediately before that storm so it reflects the VM load at that stage.

kayg commented

2026-09-25 00:02:57 +00:00

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In the corrected run, the task storm produced no SLOW finding with a 2.919 s single-request p50 and a 72.97 s threshold. Round 1 instead reported DAV initial sync :: SLOW 7.4s status 207. Round 2's feed storm reported one timed-out feed GET and 18 folders missing from the feed; a read-only disk check found five non-renamed FeedStorm/d* folders absent on disk after the storm. The server process remained alive. At the time, the host had several other adversarial runs and vendored OpenSSL builds active (top compiler process was using about 350% CPU), so I am recording these results and will rerun after the competing load drops before deciding whether they reproduce as server findings.

In the corrected run, the task storm produced no SLOW finding with a 2.919 s single-request p50 and a 72.97 s threshold. Round 1 instead reported `DAV initial sync :: SLOW 7.4s status 207`. Round 2's feed storm reported one timed-out feed GET and 18 folders missing from the feed; a read-only disk check found five non-renamed `FeedStorm/d*` folders absent on disk after the storm. The server process remained alive. At the time, the host had several other adversarial runs and vendored OpenSSL builds active (top compiler process was using about 350% CPU), so I am recording these results and will rerun after the competing load drops before deciding whether they reproduce as server findings.

kayg commented

2026-09-25 00:05:58 +00:00

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The same corrected run reached the existing sync section and reported sync upload: initial files not uploaded: ['a.txt', 'keep/k0.txt', 'keep/k1.txt', 'keep/k2.txt', 'keep/k3.txt'] after its 25-second wait. I have not changed that section or any sync implementation. This may be a sync behavior finding; I am preserving the evidence while checking whether it reproduces after the host's concurrent builds finish.

The same corrected run reached the existing sync section and reported `sync upload: initial files not uploaded: ['a.txt', 'keep/k0.txt', 'keep/k1.txt', 'keep/k2.txt', 'keep/k3.txt']` after its 25-second wait. I have not changed that section or any sync implementation. This may be a sync behavior finding; I am preserving the evidence while checking whether it reproduces after the host's concurrent builds finish.

kayg commented

2026-09-25 00:09:48 +00:00

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The corrected full run completed but did not meet the zero-finding acceptance. Round 1 summary: ==== FINDINGS 1 with DAV initial sync :: SLOW 7.4s status 207. Round 2 summary: ==== ROUND 2 FINDINGS 6 with the feed timeout/missing entries, the sync initial upload delay, and three admin deletion timeouts. The refresh helper reported owner installation session assertion refreshed, and the shared-listing check passed. At completion the server reported alive. Host evidence: nproc returned 8, uptime showed load average 36.76, 37.32, 33.40, and concurrent Cargo/Rust/OpenSSL compiler processes were active. I will keep the timing and API probes unchanged and rerun when that competing work clears.

The corrected full run completed but did not meet the zero-finding acceptance. Round 1 summary: `==== FINDINGS 1` with `DAV initial sync :: SLOW 7.4s status 207`. Round 2 summary: `==== ROUND 2 FINDINGS 6` with the feed timeout/missing entries, the sync initial upload delay, and three admin deletion timeouts. The refresh helper reported `owner installation session assertion refreshed`, and the shared-listing check passed. At completion the server reported alive. Host evidence: `nproc` returned 8, `uptime` showed load average `36.76, 37.32, 33.40`, and concurrent Cargo/Rust/OpenSSL compiler processes were active. I will keep the timing and API probes unchanged and rerun when that competing work clears.

kayg commented

2026-09-25 00:16:19 +00:00

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Finished the owned harness changes on branch job/adv-harness. Head SHA: 2962d9267d1563822b58ff6c4f9fb120bb73b8d9.

Syntax gates passed with exit 0 and no output:

python3 -m py_compile tests/adversarial/attack.py tests/adversarial/attack2.py
node --check tests/adversarial/setup.mjs
node --check tests/adversarial/refresh.mjs
bash -n tests/adversarial/run.sh
git diff --check

The corrected full bash tests/adversarial/run.sh run did not meet the two-consecutive zero-finding acceptance. Its round summaries were:

==== FINDINGS 1

DAV initial sync :: SLOW 7.4s status 207

==== ROUND 2 FINDINGS 6

feed during storm :: status -1 b'timed out'
feed during storm :: 18 created folders never appeared, e.g. ['FeedStorm/d121', 'FeedStorm/d122', 'FeedStorm/d124']
sync upload :: initial files not uploaded: ['a.txt', 'keep/k0.txt', 'keep/k1.txt', 'keep/k2.txt', 'keep/k3.txt']
archive user Home :: NO RESPONSE (b'timed out')
purge user Home :: NO RESPONSE (b'timed out')
transfer user Home :: NO RESPONSE (b'timed out')

The run also printed owner installation session assertion refreshed; the shared listing probe passed. The server printed server alive at end: True. At test time, nproc was 8 and uptime showed load averages up to 37.32 with several Cargo, Rust, and C compiler jobs active. I stopped without changing the probes for these remaining timeout and sync findings because they may be server behavior issues and this job owns no server code.

cargo clean output: Removed 7376 files, 4.1GiB total

Finished the owned harness changes on branch `job/adv-harness`. Head SHA: `2962d9267d1563822b58ff6c4f9fb120bb73b8d9`. Syntax gates passed with exit 0 and no output: - `python3 -m py_compile tests/adversarial/attack.py tests/adversarial/attack2.py` - `node --check tests/adversarial/setup.mjs` - `node --check tests/adversarial/refresh.mjs` - `bash -n tests/adversarial/run.sh` - `git diff --check` The corrected full `bash tests/adversarial/run.sh` run did not meet the two-consecutive zero-finding acceptance. Its round summaries were: ==== FINDINGS 1 - DAV initial sync :: SLOW 7.4s status 207 ==== ROUND 2 FINDINGS 6 - feed during storm :: status -1 b'timed out' - feed during storm :: 18 created folders never appeared, e.g. ['FeedStorm/d121', 'FeedStorm/d122', 'FeedStorm/d124'] - sync upload :: initial files not uploaded: ['a.txt', 'keep/k0.txt', 'keep/k1.txt', 'keep/k2.txt', 'keep/k3.txt'] - archive user Home :: NO RESPONSE (b'timed out') - purge user Home :: NO RESPONSE (b'timed out') - transfer user Home :: NO RESPONSE (b'timed out') The run also printed `owner installation session assertion refreshed`; the shared listing probe passed. The server printed `server alive at end: True`. At test time, `nproc` was 8 and `uptime` showed load averages up to 37.32 with several Cargo, Rust, and C compiler jobs active. I stopped without changing the probes for these remaining timeout and sync findings because they may be server behavior issues and this job owns no server code. `cargo clean` output: ` Removed 7376 files, 4.1GiB total`

kayg referenced this issue from a commit

2026-09-25 00:24:44 +00:00

Merge job/adv-harness: passkey refresh before admin probes, Index listing contract, load-aware storm threshold (#76)

kayg commented

2026-10-01 05:13:02 +00:00

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Hygiene review: the latest adversarial round still had non-SLOW findings: feed timeouts and missing folders, missing sync uploads, and no-response archive/purge/transfer requests. Keeping #76 open until these are reproduced or tracked to fixes.

kayg commented

2026-10-03 09:31:50 +00:00

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Merge-round 7a follow-up on head 516faaa698. Late in the long tests/adversarial/run.sh round, DELETE /api/v1/auth/app-passwords/{id} returned 403 Access denied where the probe expected 204. The following PROPFIND with that credential returned 207 because the revocation had been denied; this does not show that a revoked credential remained valid. The probe refreshed the Owner assertion before the long main attack phase, so the 5-minute fresh-assertion window may have expired before this cleanup step. Please update the harness to refresh freshness before revocation, as this issue describes for other late authority probes. No authorization bypass is established by this observation.

Merge-round 7a follow-up on head 516faaa698570bdb468626cf6cd75d9c81b33ac2. Late in the long tests/adversarial/run.sh round, DELETE /api/v1/auth/app-passwords/{id} returned 403 Access denied where the probe expected 204. The following PROPFIND with that credential returned 207 because the revocation had been denied; this does not show that a revoked credential remained valid. The probe refreshed the Owner assertion before the long main attack phase, so the 5-minute fresh-assertion window may have expired before this cleanup step. Please update the harness to refresh freshness before revocation, as this issue describes for other late authority probes. No authorization bypass is established by this observation.

kayg commented

2026-10-03 11:55:27 +00:00

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Fixed in ec00c15fb (origin/dev); the harness refreshes passkey freshness and checks the current Index-listing contract.

Fixed in ec00c15fb (origin/dev); the harness refreshes passkey freshness and checks the current Index-listing contract.

kayg closed this issue

2026-10-03 11:55:28 +00:00

kayg referenced this issue

2026-10-03 12:04:41 +00:00

Issue hygiene sweep 2026-10-03 #1008

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Adversarial harness: refresh passkey freshness before admin probes; update shared-listing probe for Index listings; load-aware SLOW #76