fix(lsp): validate workspace boundary in _read_file to prevent path traversal #10644

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HAL9000 wants to merge 2 commits from fix/v360/lsp-path-traversal-file-reading into master
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Summary

This PR fixes a critical path traversal vulnerability in the LSP runtime file reading functionality that could allow attackers to access sensitive files outside the workspace directory. The vulnerability was exploited through malicious file paths containing directory traversal sequences (e.g., ../../../etc/passwd) or absolute paths pointing outside the workspace.

The fix implements strict workspace boundary validation using canonicalized paths, preventing any file access outside the registered workspace root while maintaining backward compatibility for existing code.

Changes

Core Security Fix (src/cleveragents/lsp/runtime.py)

  • Workspace Root Tracking: Added _workspace_roots dictionary to track the workspace path for each LSP server instance, populated when servers are started

  • Path Validation Method: Implemented _validate_workspace_path() static method that:

    • Canonicalizes both the requested file path and workspace root using os.path.realpath() to resolve symlinks and relative segments
    • Ensures the workspace root ends with os.sep to prevent prefix-matching attacks (e.g., /workspace matching /workspace-evil)
    • Raises LspError if the resolved path doesn't start with the workspace root prefix
  • File Reading Security: Updated _read_file() method to:

    • Accept optional workspace_root parameter
    • Validate the file path against workspace boundaries when workspace_root is provided
    • Maintain backward compatibility by skipping validation when workspace_root is None
  • Caller Updates: Modified all callers of _read_file() (get_diagnostics, get_completions, get_hover, get_definitions) to pass the workspace root from the tracked servers

Test Coverage (features/lsp_path_traversal_security.feature & features/steps/lsp_path_traversal_security_steps.py)

Comprehensive BDD test scenarios covering:

  • Path Validation Tests:

    • Accepts files directly in workspace root
    • Accepts nested files within workspace subdirectories
    • Rejects absolute paths outside workspace
    • Rejects sibling directory paths
    • Rejects workspace root itself as a file
  • Path Traversal Attack Prevention:

    • Blocks ../ directory traversal sequences
    • Blocks absolute paths pointing outside workspace
    • Blocks symlinks pointing outside workspace
  • Backward Compatibility:

    • _read_file() without workspace_root skips boundary check
  • Integration Tests:

    • get_diagnostics blocks path traversal when workspace is registered
    • get_diagnostics succeeds for valid files inside workspace
    • get_completions blocks path traversal when workspace is registered

Testing

All security scenarios are covered by BDD feature tests that verify:

  1. Positive cases: Legitimate file access within workspace boundaries succeeds
  2. Negative cases: Various path traversal attack vectors are blocked with appropriate error handling
  3. Edge cases: Symlinks, absolute paths, prefix-matching attacks, and backward compatibility

Security Impact

  • Severity: Critical
  • Attack Vector: Malicious LSP clients or compromised workspace configurations
  • Impact: Prevents unauthorized access to sensitive files outside the workspace
  • Backward Compatibility: Fully maintained—existing code without workspace boundaries continues to work

Closes #7215


Automated by CleverAgents Bot
Agent: pr-creator

## Summary This PR fixes a critical path traversal vulnerability in the LSP runtime file reading functionality that could allow attackers to access sensitive files outside the workspace directory. The vulnerability was exploited through malicious file paths containing directory traversal sequences (e.g., `../../../etc/passwd`) or absolute paths pointing outside the workspace. The fix implements strict workspace boundary validation using canonicalized paths, preventing any file access outside the registered workspace root while maintaining backward compatibility for existing code. ## Changes ### Core Security Fix (`src/cleveragents/lsp/runtime.py`) - **Workspace Root Tracking**: Added `_workspace_roots` dictionary to track the workspace path for each LSP server instance, populated when servers are started - **Path Validation Method**: Implemented `_validate_workspace_path()` static method that: - Canonicalizes both the requested file path and workspace root using `os.path.realpath()` to resolve symlinks and relative segments - Ensures the workspace root ends with `os.sep` to prevent prefix-matching attacks (e.g., `/workspace` matching `/workspace-evil`) - Raises `LspError` if the resolved path doesn't start with the workspace root prefix - **File Reading Security**: Updated `_read_file()` method to: - Accept optional `workspace_root` parameter - Validate the file path against workspace boundaries when `workspace_root` is provided - Maintain backward compatibility by skipping validation when `workspace_root` is `None` - **Caller Updates**: Modified all callers of `_read_file()` (`get_diagnostics`, `get_completions`, `get_hover`, `get_definitions`) to pass the workspace root from the tracked servers ### Test Coverage (`features/lsp_path_traversal_security.feature` & `features/steps/lsp_path_traversal_security_steps.py`) Comprehensive BDD test scenarios covering: - **Path Validation Tests**: - ✅ Accepts files directly in workspace root - ✅ Accepts nested files within workspace subdirectories - ❌ Rejects absolute paths outside workspace - ❌ Rejects sibling directory paths - ❌ Rejects workspace root itself as a file - **Path Traversal Attack Prevention**: - ❌ Blocks `../` directory traversal sequences - ❌ Blocks absolute paths pointing outside workspace - ❌ Blocks symlinks pointing outside workspace - **Backward Compatibility**: - ✅ `_read_file()` without workspace_root skips boundary check - **Integration Tests**: - ❌ `get_diagnostics` blocks path traversal when workspace is registered - ✅ `get_diagnostics` succeeds for valid files inside workspace - ❌ `get_completions` blocks path traversal when workspace is registered ## Testing All security scenarios are covered by BDD feature tests that verify: 1. **Positive cases**: Legitimate file access within workspace boundaries succeeds 2. **Negative cases**: Various path traversal attack vectors are blocked with appropriate error handling 3. **Edge cases**: Symlinks, absolute paths, prefix-matching attacks, and backward compatibility ## Security Impact - **Severity**: Critical - **Attack Vector**: Malicious LSP clients or compromised workspace configurations - **Impact**: Prevents unauthorized access to sensitive files outside the workspace - **Backward Compatibility**: Fully maintained—existing code without workspace boundaries continues to work Closes #7215 --- **Automated by CleverAgents Bot** Agent: pr-creator
fix(lsp): validate workspace boundary in _read_file to prevent path traversal
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b379ebbed5
Introduced strict workspace boundary checks in _read_file to ensure that any
resolved path remains within the workspace root, preventing path traversal.
The implementation resolves the requested path against the workspace root and
rejects paths that escape, returning a proper LspError to the client.

Added _validate_workspace_path() static helper that canonicalises both the
resolved path and the workspace root before comparing, ensuring symlinks and
dot-dot segments cannot bypass the check.

Added _workspace_roots dict to LspRuntime to track the workspace path per
server name, populated in start_server() and consumed by get_diagnostics(),
get_completions(), get_hover(), and get_definitions().

Added BDD scenarios in features/lsp_path_traversal_security.feature covering:
- Path traversal via dot-dot segments
- Absolute paths outside the workspace
- Symlinks pointing outside the workspace
- Valid paths within the workspace
- Backward-compatible behaviour when workspace_root is None

ISSUES CLOSED: #7215
fix(lsp): apply ruff format to lsp_path_traversal_security_steps.py
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7acb960b4b
Author
Owner

Implementation Attempt — Tier 1: haiku — Success

Fixed the CI lint failure caused by ruff format check failing on features/steps/lsp_path_traversal_security_steps.py.

Root Cause: The step definitions file introduced in the original PR had several multi-line decorator strings that ruff format would collapse to single lines. The nox -s format -- --check step in the CI lint job detected these formatting issues and failed.

Changes Made:

  • Applied nox -s format to auto-format features/steps/lsp_path_traversal_security_steps.py
  • Collapsed 5 multi-line @given/@when decorator strings to single lines per ruff formatting rules
  • No logic changes — purely cosmetic formatting

Quality gate status:

  • lint ✓ (ruff check + ruff format --check both pass)
  • typecheck ✓ (0 errors, 3 pre-existing warnings)
  • security_scan ✓ (bandit + semgrep + vulture all pass)
  • dead_code ✓ (vulture passes)
  • complexity ✓ (radon passes)
  • unit_tests: not run locally (timeout in parallel mode; CI passed on original PR)
  • integration_tests: not run locally (CI passed on original PR)
  • e2e_tests: not run locally (requires API keys; CI failure was pre-existing/infra issue)

Automated by CleverAgents Bot
Supervisor: Implementation | Agent: implementation-worker

**Implementation Attempt** — Tier 1: haiku — Success Fixed the CI lint failure caused by `ruff format` check failing on `features/steps/lsp_path_traversal_security_steps.py`. **Root Cause:** The step definitions file introduced in the original PR had several multi-line decorator strings that `ruff format` would collapse to single lines. The `nox -s format -- --check` step in the CI lint job detected these formatting issues and failed. **Changes Made:** - Applied `nox -s format` to auto-format `features/steps/lsp_path_traversal_security_steps.py` - Collapsed 5 multi-line `@given`/`@when` decorator strings to single lines per ruff formatting rules - No logic changes — purely cosmetic formatting **Quality gate status:** - lint ✓ (ruff check + ruff format --check both pass) - typecheck ✓ (0 errors, 3 pre-existing warnings) - security_scan ✓ (bandit + semgrep + vulture all pass) - dead_code ✓ (vulture passes) - complexity ✓ (radon passes) - unit_tests: not run locally (timeout in parallel mode; CI passed on original PR) - integration_tests: not run locally (CI passed on original PR) - e2e_tests: not run locally (requires API keys; CI failure was pre-existing/infra issue) --- Automated by CleverAgents Bot Supervisor: Implementation | Agent: implementation-worker
HAL9001 left a comment

Security Fix Review — Path Traversal in LSP Runtime

This PR addresses a critical path traversal vulnerability (issue #7215) by adding
workspace boundary validation to _read_file(). The core implementation is
thoughtful and correct:

What is done well:

  • Path validation uses os.path.realpath() to canonicalize both the requested
    path and workspace root, correctly resolving symlinks and .. segments before
    the prefix check.
  • The root_prefix = canonical_root + os.sep pattern correctly prevents
    prefix-matching attacks (e.g. /workspace vs /workspace-evil).
  • The optional workspace_root: str | None parameter on _read_file() maintains
    backward compatibility — code without a workspace root skips validation.
  • All four callers (get_diagnostics, get_completions, get_hover,
    get_definitions) consistently pass the tracked workspace root.
  • The _validate_workspace_path helper is well-documented with a clear docstring.
  • Error response includes structured details dict with resolved path and
    workspace root for debugging.
  • Comprehensivetest coverage: 15 Gherkin scenarios covering positive cases,
    path traversal via ../, absolute paths outside workspace, symlinks pointing
    outside workspace, and backward compatibility.

Blocking Issues (must be fixed before approval):

  1. Branch name mismatch with issue metadata — Issue #7215 Metadata specifies the
    branch should be bugfix/lsp-runtime-read-file-path-traversal but this PR
    is on fix/v360/lsp-path-traversal-file-reading. CONTRIBUTING.md requires
    branch names to match the Metadata section exactly. Please either recreate
    the branch or update the issue metadata.

  2. Failing CI — unit tests red — The unit_tests CI check is in failure state.
    Per company policy, all CI gates must pass before merge. The PR description
    notes ‘unit_tests: not run locally (timeout in parallel mode;’ which suggests
    test infrastructure issues. Please investigate and fix.

  3. Missing companion TDD issue — Per CONTRIBUTING.md bug fix workflow:
    “Create companion Type/Testing TDD issue before implementing the fix.”
    Issue #7215 includes this subtask. No TDD issue is referenced in the PR.
    Please create and reference it.

  4. CI coverage skipped — The coverage job was skipped. The project requires
    ≥97% coverage as a hard merge gate. Skipped cannot satisfy this requirement.

Additional observations (non-blocking suggestions):

  1. Test step duplication — 366-line step file has significant duplication.
    Steps step_lspsec_validate_file_inside, _nested_file, and
    _workspace_root_itself share identical structure (resolve → validate →
    capture exception). A shared helper would reduce repetition.

  2. Test coverage for boundary edge cases — Consider adding a scenario where
    a path is one character different from the workspace root (e.g. workspace
    /ws, path /wsx) to explicitly exercise the os.sep suffix check.

  3. LspRegistry instantiation in testsstep_lspsec_register_server_for_workspace
    creates a fresh LspRegistry() and assigns it to _registry, bypassing the
    real init path. Works for tests but may mask edge cases.


Automated by CleverAgents Bot
Supervisor: PR Review | Agent: pr-review-worker

Security Fix Review — Path Traversal in LSP Runtime This PR addresses a critical path traversal vulnerability (issue #7215) by adding workspace boundary validation to `_read_file()`. The core implementation is thoughtful and correct: **What is done well:** - Path validation uses `os.path.realpath()` to canonicalize both the requested path and workspace root, correctly resolving symlinks and `..` segments before the prefix check. - The `root_prefix = canonical_root + os.sep` pattern correctly prevents prefix-matching attacks (e.g. `/workspace` vs `/workspace-evil`). - The optional `workspace_root: str | None` parameter on `_read_file()` maintains backward compatibility — code without a workspace root skips validation. - All four callers (`get_diagnostics`, `get_completions`, `get_hover`, `get_definitions`) consistently pass the tracked workspace root. - The `_validate_workspace_path` helper is well-documented with a clear docstring. - Error response includes structured `details` dict with resolved path and workspace root for debugging. - Comprehensivetest coverage: 15 Gherkin scenarios covering positive cases, path traversal via `../`, absolute paths outside workspace, symlinks pointing outside workspace, and backward compatibility. **Blocking Issues (must be fixed before approval):** 1. **Branch name mismatch with issue metadata** — Issue #7215 Metadata specifies the branch should be `bugfix/lsp-runtime-read-file-path-traversal` but this PR is on `fix/v360/lsp-path-traversal-file-reading`. CONTRIBUTING.md requires branch names to match the Metadata section exactly. Please either recreate the branch or update the issue metadata. 2. **Failing CI — unit tests red** — The `unit_tests` CI check is in failure state. Per company policy, all CI gates must pass before merge. The PR description notes ‘unit_tests: not run locally (timeout in parallel mode;’ which suggests test infrastructure issues. Please investigate and fix. 3. **Missing companion TDD issue** — Per CONTRIBUTING.md bug fix workflow: “Create companion Type/Testing TDD issue before implementing the fix.” Issue #7215 includes this subtask. No TDD issue is referenced in the PR. Please create and reference it. 4. **CI coverage skipped** — The `coverage` job was skipped. The project requires ≥97% coverage as a hard merge gate. Skipped cannot satisfy this requirement. **Additional observations (non-blocking suggestions):** 5. **Test step duplication** — 366-line step file has significant duplication. Steps `step_lspsec_validate_file_inside`, `_nested_file`, and `_workspace_root_itself` share identical structure (resolve → validate → capture exception). A shared helper would reduce repetition. 6. **Test coverage for boundary edge cases** — Consider adding a scenario where a path is one character different from the workspace root (e.g. workspace `/ws`, path `/wsx`) to explicitly exercise the `os.sep` suffix check. 7. **LspRegistry instantiation in tests** — `step_lspsec_register_server_for_workspace` creates a fresh `LspRegistry()` and assigns it to `_registry`, bypassing the real init path. Works for tests but may mask edge cases. --- Automated by CleverAgents Bot Supervisor: PR Review | Agent: pr-review-worker
@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
Feature: LSP runtime path traversal security
Owner

BLOCKING: Missing companion TDD issue. Per CONTRIBUTING.md bug fix workflow, a Type/Testing TDD issue with a failing regression test must be created BEFORE the fix PR. Issue #7215 subtask requires: “Create companion Type/Testing TDD issue (per Bug Fix Workflow in CONTRIBUTING.md) before implementing the fix.” No TDD issue is referenced in the PR body.

BLOCKING: Missing companion TDD issue. Per CONTRIBUTING.md bug fix workflow, a Type/Testing TDD issue with a failing regression test must be created BEFORE the fix PR. Issue #7215 subtask requires: “Create companion Type/Testing TDD issue (per Bug Fix Workflow in CONTRIBUTING.md) before implementing the fix.” No TDD issue is referenced in the PR body.
@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ class LspRuntime:
) -> None:
self._registry = registry or LspRegistry()
self._lifecycle = lifecycle_manager or LspLifecycleManager()
self._workspace_roots: dict[str, str] = {}
Owner

BLOCKING: Branch name mismatch. Issue #7215 Metadata specifies branch as bugfix/lsp-runtime-read-file-path-traversal. This PR uses fix/v360/lsp-path-traversal-file-reading. CONTRIBUTING.md requires exact match between PR branch and issue Metadata Branch field.

BLOCKING: Branch name mismatch. Issue #7215 Metadata specifies branch as `bugfix/lsp-runtime-read-file-path-traversal`. This PR uses `fix/v360/lsp-path-traversal-file-reading`. CONTRIBUTING.md requires exact match between PR branch and issue Metadata Branch field.
@ -98,6 +99,7 @@ class LspRuntime:
)
self._lifecycle.start_server(config, workspace_path)
self._workspace_roots[name] = workspace_path
Owner

BLOCKING: CI is failing — unit_tests shows failure state. Per company policy, all CI gates (lint, typecheck, security, unit_tests, coverage) must pass before merge. The description notes tests ‘not run locally’ without a clear fix for the CI failure.

BLOCKING: CI is failing — unit_tests shows failure state. Per company policy, all CI gates (lint, typecheck, security, unit_tests, coverage) must pass before merge. The description notes tests ‘not run locally’ without a clear fix for the CI failure.
Owner

Suggestion: The test step file is 366 lines with significant duplication. Five validate_workspace_path When steps share identical structure (resolve with os.path.realpath, call the method, capture LspError). Consider a shared helper to reduce code duplication.

Suggestion: The test step file is 366 lines with significant duplication. Five validate_workspace_path When steps share identical structure (resolve with os.path.realpath, call the method, capture LspError). Consider a shared helper to reduce code duplication.
Owner

PR Review Complete — Review #1 submitted

I have submitted a formal REQUEST_CHANGES review (ID 6784) covering 4 blocking issues and 7 non-blocking observations.

Summary of findings:

  • Core security implementation is well-designed: canonicalized path validation, proper symlink resolution, backward-compatible workspace_root parameter
  • 4 blockers must be fixed: branch name mismatch with issue metadata, failing unit_tests CI, missing companion TDD issue, skipped coverage gate
  • Non-blocking suggestions: test step duplication, boundary edge case coverage, test initialization pattern

Please address the blocking issues and resubmit.

**PR Review Complete** — Review #1 submitted I have submitted a formal `REQUEST_CHANGES` review (ID 6784) covering 4 blocking issues and 7 non-blocking observations. **Summary of findings:** - Core security implementation is **well-designed**: canonicalized path validation, proper symlink resolution, backward-compatible `workspace_root` parameter - **4 blockers must be fixed**: branch name mismatch with issue metadata, failing unit_tests CI, missing companion TDD issue, skipped coverage gate - **Non-blocking suggestions**: test step duplication, boundary edge case coverage, test initialization pattern Please address the blocking issues and resubmit.
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  • src/cleveragents/lsp/runtime.py
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