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1. markuswondrak

   changed the title [-]Harden persisted workflow run artifact access against symlinks[/-] [+][Bug]: Harden persisted workflow run artifact access against symlinks[/+] on Oct 10, 2026
2. mnriem

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   triage-nice-to-haveVerdict: evidence-backed fix or greenlit feature — land after reviewVerdict: evidence-backed fix or greenlit feature — land after review

   on Oct 12, 2026
3. github-actions commented on Oct 12, 2026

   

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   Bug assessment — persisted-run-symlinks: Valid · severity medium

   ---

   Bug Assessment: Harden persisted workflow run artifact access against symlinks

   • Slug: persisted-run-symlinks
   • Created: 2026-10-12T12:18:06Z
   • Source: issue [Bug]: Harden persisted workflow run artifact access against symlinks #4914
   • Verdict: valid
   • Severity: medium

   Report (summarized)

   The report states that workflow-run storage guards validate shared ancestors through .specify/workflows/runs, but consumers still follow symlinked per-run directories or artifact files. It identifies RunState.load() and persisted workflow snapshots used by resume (and the reported workflow definition command on PR #4912) as affected, and requests one documented policy covering readers and writers. The report includes a reproduction involving a symlinked run directory or state.json/workflow.yml and expects consistent rejection across resume, status, and definition.

   Additional context: the report links to the Copilot review discussion on github/spec-kit#4912. No external content was required to assess the issue.

   Symptom

   The current workflow storage guard rejects symlinked shared directories such as .specify/workflows/runs, but it does not reject a symlink below that directory. As a result, persisted state and snapshot reads can follow a run-directory or artifact symlink to an external location, while writes can also target a redirected path; commands do not therefore enforce one consistent persisted-run boundary.

   Reproduction

   1. Initialize a Specify project and create a paused workflow run so .specify/workflows/runs/<run_id>/state.json and workflow.yml exist.
   2. Replace the per-run directory with a symlink to a directory outside the project, or replace state.json or workflow.yml with a symlink to an external file.
   3. Run specify workflow resume <run_id> or specify workflow status <run_id>.
   4. If using the workflow definition <run_id> --json command from PR feat: add specify workflow definition for run-scoped definitions #4912, invoke it as well.

   The exact command and option set for producing the paused run is not specified in the report: [NEEDS CLARIFICATION: confirm the minimal non-interactive workflow and the exact workflow definition command available in the target release].

   Suspected Code Paths

   • src/specify_cli/workflows/_commands.py:166-177 — _reject_unsafe_workflow_storage() checks .specify, .specify/workflows, and .specify/workflows/runs, but stops at the shared runs directory and does not inspect <run_id> or its files.
   • src/specify_cli/workflows/engine.py:734-778 — RunState.runs_dir, save(), and append_log() construct paths below runs/<run_id> and use mkdir, open, and os.replace without rejecting a symlinked run directory or artifact leaf.
   • src/specify_cli/workflows/engine.py:812-834 — RunState.load() opens runs/<run_id>/state.json directly. The validated run ID prevents lexical traversal, but the filesystem path can still resolve through a symlinked directory or file.
   • src/specify_cli/workflows/engine.py:923-925 — legacy input loading checks inputs.json and then opens it without a symlink-policy check.
   • src/specify_cli/workflows/engine.py:1185-1190 — WorkflowEngine.resume() checks run_copy.exists() and then loads runs/<run_id>/workflow.yml; both operations follow a symlinked run directory or snapshot file.
   • src/specify_cli/workflows/engine.py:1484-1500 — WorkflowEngine.list_runs() iterates run entries and opens each state.json without rejecting symlinked per-run directories or state files, affecting workflow status when listing runs.
   • src/specify_cli/workflows/command_resume.py:48-74 — the CLI preloads persisted state through RunState.load(), so the shared gap is reached before the later ownership checks.
   • src/specify_cli/workflows/command_status.py:31-48 — single-run status also delegates directly to RunState.load() and therefore inherits the same behavior.

   Root Cause Hypothesis

   Confidence: high. The existing protection is an ancestor-only guard: it verifies that the shared storage directories are not symlinks before workflow commands run, but it treats all descendants as trusted. The persistence layer subsequently uses ordinary path-based opens and atomic replacement, which follow descendant symlinks. Run ID validation closes path traversal through user input but does not establish an object-level boundary for the run directory or artifact files. The same pattern appears in both read paths (state.json, inputs.json, workflow.yml) and write paths (state.json, inputs.json, log.jsonl, and the initial snapshot).

   Proposed Remediation

   Preferred: introduce a shared persisted-run storage boundary helper in the workflow persistence layer. It should validate the lexical run ID, reject any symlink component below .specify/workflows/runs, require the per-run directory to be a real directory, and reject symlinked artifact leaves before every read or write. Route RunState.load(), save(), append_log(), WorkflowEngine.execute() snapshot creation, and list_runs() through that helper so resume, status, and future persisted-artifact consumers receive the same failure behavior. Document the policy in the workflow architecture/README: the simplest defensible rule is to reject all symlinks below runs/, rather than permitting links whose targets happen to remain inside the project.

   For race resistance, use descriptor-relative operations with O_NOFOLLOW/dir_fd where supported, or otherwise verify the relevant directory and leaf immediately before opening/replacing and fail closed on replacement races. Preserve the existing user-facing error convention by translating unsafe storage into a clear CLI error rather than silently skipping or following the path.

   Alternatives:

   • Resolve each candidate path and require it to remain under the canonical runs root. This is simpler but permits symlinks within the root and is vulnerable to replacement races unless paired with no-follow file-descriptor operations.
   • Copy/read snapshots through a trusted staging mechanism and treat the run directory as immutable after creation. This improves integrity but is a larger behavioral change and does not by itself protect legacy state.json/inputs.json reads.

   Files likely to change:

   • src/specify_cli/workflows/engine.py
   • src/specify_cli/workflows/_commands.py (shared command-level error integration, if needed)
   • src/specify_cli/workflows/command_resume.py
   • src/specify_cli/workflows/command_status.py (only if command-specific handling is required)
   • workflows/ARCHITECTURE.md and/or workflows/README.md for the persisted-run symlink policy
   • tests/specify_cli/workflows/test_command_resume.py
   • tests/specify_cli/workflows/test_command_status.py
   • a focused engine/run-state test module if one is added for the shared helper

   Tests to add or update:

   • Reject a symlinked <run_id> directory during RunState.load().
   • Reject a symlinked state.json, inputs.json, workflow.yml, and log.jsonl for both reads and writes.
   • Verify workflow resume, single-run workflow status, and run listing fail consistently and do not read the external target.
   • Verify normal non-symlinked runs retain existing resume/status behavior.
   • If the adopted threat model includes concurrent filesystem mutation, add a targeted no-follow/race-safe test for the chosen descriptor-based implementation, with platform guards where required.

   Risks & Considerations

   • Rejecting existing symlinked run artifacts may affect users who intentionally relocate workflow storage; this is an intentional compatibility trade-off and should be documented.
   • os.replace and append mode have different symlink behavior, so the implementation must cover each write path rather than only reads.
   • Cross-platform behavior differs for O_NOFOLLOW and directory descriptors; retain a safe fallback that rejects symlinks even where race-resistant primitives are unavailable.
   • A local actor generally needs write access to the project workspace to plant these symlinks, so this is not equivalent to a remote unauthenticated file-read vulnerability. It can still cause unintended reads, writes, or workflow-state corruption when the CLI is run against a manipulated workspace.
   • Existing broad exception handling in resume should preserve the repository's current user-facing error shape while ensuring unsafe-path failures are not converted into success-shaped results.

   Open Questions

   • [NEEDS CLARIFICATION: Should the policy reject every symlink below runs/, including links whose targets remain within the project, or allow a constrained in-root form?]
   • [NEEDS CLARIFICATION: Is workflow definition <run_id> --json part of the target branch/release, or only the PR context referenced by the report?]
   • [NEEDS CLARIFICATION: Is resistance to concurrent symlink replacement within the supported threat model, or is a static symlink check sufficient for this release?]

   Generated by 🐛 Assess Bug from Labeled Issue for #4914 · copilot · gpt52codex · 2.82 AIC · ⌖ 0.667 AIC · ⊞ 22.1K · ◷
4. github-actions

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5. mnriem

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   bug-fixTrigger the bug-fix agentic workflowTrigger the bug-fix agentic workflow

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6. github-actions

   added a commit that references this issue on Oct 12, 2026

   Fix persisted-run-symlinks: reject symlinked workflow artifacts

   ...

   1650af6
7. github-actions commented on Oct 12, 2026

   

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   Pull request created: #4930

   Generated by Fix Bug from Labeled Issue · copilot · gpt52codex · 6.54 AIC · ⌖ 0.836 AIC · ⊞ 24.4K
8. github-actions commented on Oct 12, 2026

   

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   Draft PR created for persisted-run-symlinks: review the proposed changes. The fix adds a shared persisted-run storage boundary that rejects symlinked run directories and state, input, snapshot, and log artifacts. Please review the draft and validate it in the configured stage-3 bug-test workflow.

   Generated by 🛠️ Fix Bug from Labeled Issue for #4914 · copilot · gpt52codex · 6.54 AIC · ⌖ 0.836 AIC · ⊞ 24.4K · ◷
9. github-actions

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