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fix(presets): re-validate catalog URL after redirects (HTTPS parity/security)#3523

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jawwad-ali:fix/presets-catalog-redirect-revalidate
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fix(presets): re-validate catalog URL after redirects (HTTPS parity/security)#3523
jawwad-ali wants to merge 1 commit into
github:mainfrom
jawwad-ali:fix/presets-catalog-redirect-revalidate

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What

PresetCatalog._fetch_single_catalog fetched the catalog JSON and trusted it without re-validating the post-redirect URL:

with self._open_url(entry.url, timeout=10) as response:
    catalog_data = json.loads(response.read())   # no response.geturl() check

_open_url follows redirects (stripping auth only on an HTTPS→HTTP downgrade), so an https:// catalog entry.url that 30x-redirects to http://attacker/catalog.json is still fetched and trusted. Because the catalog payload supplies each preset's download_url and sha256, an attacker-controlled redirected payload defeats verify_archive_sha256 and can drive installation of an arbitrary archive.

Fix

Re-validate response.geturl() after the redirect via the existing _validate_catalog_url, exactly mirroring the other catalog systems:

  • integrations/catalog.py (final_url = resp.geturl(); if final_url != entry.url: self._validate_catalog_url(final_url))
  • workflows/catalog.py, bundler/services/adapters.py
  • and presets/_commands.py itself, which already does redirect re-validation on its --from download path.

This was the one preset catalog-fetch site missing the guard — clearly an oversight, not a deliberate omission.

Test

test_fetch_single_catalog_revalidates_redirected_url: an HTTPS URL whose response.geturl() reports http:// is rejected with PresetValidationError (fails before: no revalidation). Four pre-existing fetch-test mocks were completed to report geturl() like a real urllib response.

uv run pytest tests/test_presets.py   # 339 passed
uvx ruff check  # clean

🤖 Written with the assistance of Claude Code (AI). Bug self-found; fix/tests verified locally (fail-before / pass-after).

PresetCatalog._fetch_single_catalog opened the catalog URL and trusted the
payload without re-validating response.geturl() after redirects. _open_url
follows redirects (stripping auth only on an HTTPS->HTTP downgrade), so an
https:// catalog entry that 30x-redirects to http://attacker/... was still
fetched and trusted. The catalog payload supplies each preset's download_url +
sha256, so a redirected payload can drive install of an arbitrary archive that
passes verify_archive_sha256.

Add the post-redirect geturl() re-validation via _validate_catalog_url,
mirroring integrations/catalog.py, workflows/catalog.py, and bundler adapters —
and presets/_commands.py, which already does this on its --from download path.
This is the lone preset catalog-fetch site missing the guard.

Test: an HTTPS URL whose response.geturl() reports http:// is rejected
(PresetValidationError). Completed four existing fetch-test mocks that predated
this behavior to report geturl() like a real urllib response.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

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Pull request overview

Adds post-redirect URL validation for preset catalog fetching.

Changes:

  • Validates the final catalog URL before reading its payload.
  • Adds redirect regression coverage and updates response mocks.
Show a summary per file
File Description
src/specify_cli/presets/__init__.py Adds final URL validation.
tests/test_presets.py Tests insecure redirects and updates mocks.

Review details

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  • Files reviewed: 2/2 changed files
  • Comments generated: 2
  • Review effort level: Medium

Comment on lines +2197 to +2199
final_url = response.geturl()
if final_url != entry.url:
self._validate_catalog_url(final_url)
Comment on lines +2198 to +2199
if final_url != entry.url:
self._validate_catalog_url(final_url)

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3 participants