Fix rate limiter bypass via client-controlled X-Forwarded-For (#280)
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clientIP() keyed rate-limit buckets on the rightmost X-Forwarded-For
entry, assuming traefik appends the real client IP. The deployed ingress
does not rewrite XFF, so rotating the header gave a fresh bucket per
request (pentest H1: 8 creates with rotating XFF -> 6x201).

Now the bucket keys on the actual peer address (RemoteAddr) by default;
every client-supplied IP header is ignored. Deployments whose ingress
overwrites a client-IP header can opt in via PALETTE_TRUSTED_IP_HEADER
(e.g. CF-Connecting-IP behind Cloudflare) to restore per-client limits.

Adds tests: rotating XFF no longer resets the bucket; the trusted header
is honored only when explicitly configured.
This commit is contained in:
fen
2026-09-17 20:29:40 -05:00
parent 70b06db192
commit f63efc6d88
5 changed files with 101 additions and 96 deletions
+5
View File
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ type Config struct {
DBPath string
MaxTextBytes int64
MaxItemBytes int64
// TrustedIPHeader optionally names a proxy-controlled client-IP header
// (e.g. CF-Connecting-IP behind Cloudflare) to key rate limits on. Empty
// (default) keys on the peer address only. See clientip.go (#280).
TrustedIPHeader string
}
type apiServer struct {
@@ -39,6 +43,7 @@ type apiServer struct {
}
func NewServer(st *store.Store, cfg Config, ui *web.UI, ss *settingsStore, adminKey string) *apiServer {
SetTrustedIPHeader(cfg.TrustedIPHeader) // #280
return &apiServer{store: st, cfg: cfg, ui: ui, settings: ss, adminKey: adminKey}
}