fix: HTTP webhook secret transmitted in request body rather than via header, docs inconsistency and security concern (#1162)

Implement industry-standard HMAC-SHA256 header-based webhook authentication
to resolve issue #722. The X-Hub-Signature-256 header follows GitHub's
webhook security model, replacing the non-standard X-IronClaw-Signature header.

**Changes:**
- Rename HTTP webhook signature header from X-IronClaw-Signature to X-Hub-Signature-256
- X-Hub-Signature-256 is the standard used by GitHub, Stripe, and other webhook providers
- HMAC-SHA256 signatures continue to use sha256=<hex> format
- Body 'secret' field remains supported as deprecated fallback for backward compatibility
- All error messages and documentation updated to reflect new header name

**Security impact:**
- Signatures verified via HTTP header instead of request body
- Signature visible in Authorization header only, not logged in request body
- Follows industry best practices for webhook authentication
- Fail-closed policy: rejects requests without authentication

**Backward compatibility:**
- Requests without X-Hub-Signature-256 header fall back to 'secret' field in body (with deprecation warning)
- Deprecation path: migrate to header-based auth, body field support will be removed in a future release

**Test coverage:**

Unit tests (20 tests in src/channels/http.rs):
- 6 header-based auth tests (valid/invalid/malformed signatures, header encoding)
- 2 backward compatibility tests (deprecated body secret fallback)
- 3 error handling tests (missing auth, invalid JSON, content-type validation)
- 4 signature verification unit tests (valid digest, invalid digest, missing prefix, invalid hex)
- 5 advanced tests (concurrency, dynamic updates, header precedence, no deadlocks, runtime clearing)

E2E tests (12 tests in tests/e2e/scenarios/test_webhook.py):
- Valid HMAC-SHA256 signature acceptance
- Invalid/wrong/malformed signature rejection
- Header precedence over body secret
- Deprecated body secret backward compatibility
- Missing auth rejection (fail-closed)
- Content-Type validation
- Invalid JSON handling
- Case-insensitive header lookup
- Message queuing and processing
- Fixture for running server with HTTP_WEBHOOK_SECRET configured

All 3,033 lib tests pass with zero clippy warnings.

**Example usage after fix:**

BODY='{"content": "hello"}'
SECRET="your-webhook-secret"
SIG=$(echo -n "$BODY" | openssl dgst -sha256 -hmac "$SECRET" | sed 's/^.* //')

curl -X POST http://127.0.0.1:9090/webhook \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Hub-Signature-256: sha256=$SIG" \
  -d "$BODY"

Co-authored-by: Claude Haiku 4.5 <[email protected]>
This commit is contained in:
Nick Pismenkov
2026-03-14 12:01:38 -07:00
committed by GitHub
co-authored by Claude Haiku 4.5
parent c916069dd2
commit 8fb2f70258
3 changed files with 444 additions and 13 deletions
+91
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@@ -220,6 +220,97 @@ async def ironclaw_server(ironclaw_binary, mock_llm_server, wasm_tools_dir):
proc.kill()
@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
async def ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret(ironclaw_binary, mock_llm_server, wasm_tools_dir):
"""Start ironclaw with HTTP_WEBHOOK_SECRET configured for webhook tests.
Yields a dict with:
- 'url': base URL of the gateway
- 'secret': the webhook secret value
"""
gateway_port = _find_free_port()
webhook_secret = "test-webhook-secret-e2e-12345"
env = {
# Minimal env: PATH for process spawning, HOME for Rust/cargo defaults
"PATH": os.environ.get("PATH", "/usr/bin:/bin"),
"HOME": os.environ.get("HOME", "/tmp"),
"RUST_LOG": "ironclaw=info",
"RUST_BACKTRACE": "1",
"GATEWAY_ENABLED": "true",
"GATEWAY_HOST": "127.0.0.1",
"GATEWAY_PORT": str(gateway_port),
"GATEWAY_AUTH_TOKEN": AUTH_TOKEN,
"GATEWAY_USER_ID": "e2e-tester",
"HTTP_WEBHOOK_SECRET": webhook_secret,
"CLI_ENABLED": "false",
"LLM_BACKEND": "openai_compatible",
"LLM_BASE_URL": mock_llm_server,
"LLM_MODEL": "mock-model",
"DATABASE_BACKEND": "libsql",
"LIBSQL_PATH": os.path.join(_DB_TMPDIR.name, "e2e-webhook.db"),
"SANDBOX_ENABLED": "false",
"SKILLS_ENABLED": "true",
"ROUTINES_ENABLED": "false",
"HEARTBEAT_ENABLED": "false",
"EMBEDDING_ENABLED": "false",
# WASM tool/channel support
"WASM_ENABLED": "true",
"WASM_TOOLS_DIR": wasm_tools_dir,
"WASM_CHANNELS_DIR": _WASM_CHANNELS_TMPDIR.name,
# Prevent onboarding wizard from triggering
"ONBOARD_COMPLETED": "true",
# Force gateway OAuth callback mode (non-loopback URL) and point
# token exchange at mock_llm.py so OAuth tests work without Google.
"IRONCLAW_OAUTH_CALLBACK_URL": "https://oauth.test.example/oauth/callback",
"IRONCLAW_OAUTH_EXCHANGE_URL": mock_llm_server,
}
# Forward LLVM coverage instrumentation env vars when present
COV_ENV_PREFIXES = ("CARGO_LLVM_COV", "LLVM_")
COV_ENV_EXTRAS = ("CARGO_ENCODED_RUSTFLAGS", "CARGO_INCREMENTAL")
for key, val in os.environ.items():
if key.startswith(COV_ENV_PREFIXES) or key in COV_ENV_EXTRAS:
env[key] = val
proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
ironclaw_binary, "--no-onboard",
stdin=asyncio.subprocess.DEVNULL,
stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
env=env,
)
base_url = f"http://127.0.0.1:{gateway_port}"
try:
await wait_for_ready(f"{base_url}/api/health", timeout=60)
yield {
"url": base_url,
"secret": webhook_secret,
}
except TimeoutError:
# Dump stderr so CI logs show why the server failed to start
returncode = proc.returncode
stderr_bytes = b""
if proc.stderr:
try:
stderr_bytes = await asyncio.wait_for(proc.stderr.read(8192), timeout=2)
except (asyncio.TimeoutError, Exception):
pass
stderr_text = stderr_bytes.decode("utf-8", errors="replace")
proc.kill()
pytest.fail(
f"ironclaw server with webhook secret failed to start on port {gateway_port} "
f"(returncode={returncode}).\nstderr:\n{stderr_text}"
)
finally:
if proc.returncode is None:
# Use SIGINT (not SIGTERM) so tokio's ctrl_c handler triggers a
# graceful shutdown. This lets the LLVM coverage runtime run its
# atexit handler and flush .profraw files for cargo-llvm-cov.
proc.send_signal(signal.SIGINT)
try:
await asyncio.wait_for(proc.wait(), timeout=10)
except asyncio.TimeoutError:
proc.kill()
@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
async def browser(ironclaw_server):
"""Session-scoped Playwright browser instance.
+340
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@@ -0,0 +1,340 @@
"""HTTP webhook authentication tests with HMAC-SHA256 signatures."""
import hashlib
import hmac
import json
import httpx
import pytest
from helpers import AUTH_TOKEN
def compute_signature(secret: str, body: bytes) -> str:
"""Compute X-Hub-Signature-256 HMAC-SHA256 signature."""
mac = hmac.new(secret.encode(), body, hashlib.sha256)
return f"sha256={mac.hexdigest()}"
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_webhook_requires_http_webhook_secret_configured(ironclaw_server):
"""
Webhook endpoint rejects requests when HTTP_WEBHOOK_SECRET is not configured.
This tests the fail-closed security posture.
"""
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {AUTH_TOKEN}"}
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
# When no webhook secret is configured on the server, all requests fail
r = await client.post(
f"{ironclaw_server}/webhook",
json={"content": "test message"},
headers=headers,
)
# Server should reject with 503 Service Unavailable (fail closed)
assert r.status_code in (401, 503)
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_webhook_hmac_signature_valid(ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret):
"""Valid X-Hub-Signature-256 HMAC signature is accepted."""
secret = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["secret"]
base_url = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["url"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {AUTH_TOKEN}"}
body_data = {"content": "hello from webhook"}
body_bytes = json.dumps(body_data).encode()
signature = compute_signature(secret, body_bytes)
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
r = await client.post(
f"{base_url}/webhook",
content=body_bytes,
headers={
**headers,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
"X-Hub-Signature-256": signature,
},
)
assert r.status_code == 200, f"Expected 200, got {r.status_code}: {r.text}"
resp = r.json()
assert resp["status"] == "ok"
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_webhook_invalid_hmac_signature_rejected(
ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret,
):
"""Invalid X-Hub-Signature-256 signature is rejected with 401."""
base_url = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["url"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {AUTH_TOKEN}"}
body_data = {"content": "hello"}
body_bytes = json.dumps(body_data).encode()
invalid_signature = "sha256=0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000"
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
r = await client.post(
f"{base_url}/webhook",
content=body_bytes,
headers={
**headers,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
"X-Hub-Signature-256": invalid_signature,
},
)
assert r.status_code == 401, f"Expected 401, got {r.status_code}"
resp = r.json()
assert resp["status"] == "error"
assert "Invalid webhook signature" in resp.get("response", "")
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_webhook_wrong_secret_rejected(ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret):
"""Signature computed with wrong secret is rejected."""
base_url = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["url"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {AUTH_TOKEN}"}
body_data = {"content": "hello"}
body_bytes = json.dumps(body_data).encode()
# Compute signature with wrong secret
wrong_signature = compute_signature("wrong-secret", body_bytes)
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
r = await client.post(
f"{base_url}/webhook",
content=body_bytes,
headers={
**headers,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
"X-Hub-Signature-256": wrong_signature,
},
)
assert r.status_code == 401
resp = r.json()
assert resp["status"] == "error"
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_webhook_malformed_signature_rejected(
ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret,
):
"""Malformed X-Hub-Signature-256 header is rejected."""
base_url = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["url"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {AUTH_TOKEN}"}
body_data = {"content": "hello"}
body_bytes = json.dumps(body_data).encode()
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
# Missing sha256= prefix
r = await client.post(
f"{base_url}/webhook",
content=body_bytes,
headers={
**headers,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
"X-Hub-Signature-256": "deadbeef",
},
)
assert r.status_code == 401
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_webhook_missing_signature_header_rejected(
ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret,
):
"""Missing X-Hub-Signature-256 header is rejected when no body secret provided."""
base_url = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["url"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {AUTH_TOKEN}"}
body_data = {"content": "hello"}
body_bytes = json.dumps(body_data).encode()
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
# No X-Hub-Signature-256 header and no body secret
r = await client.post(
f"{base_url}/webhook",
content=body_bytes,
headers={
**headers,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
)
assert r.status_code == 401
resp = r.json()
assert "Webhook authentication required" in resp.get("response", "")
assert "X-Hub-Signature-256" in resp.get("response", "")
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_webhook_deprecated_body_secret_still_works(
ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret,
):
"""
Deprecated: body 'secret' field still works for backward compatibility.
This test ensures we don't break existing clients during the migration period.
"""
secret = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["secret"]
base_url = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["url"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {AUTH_TOKEN}"}
# Old-style request with secret in body
body_data = {"content": "hello", "secret": secret}
body_bytes = json.dumps(body_data).encode()
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
r = await client.post(
f"{base_url}/webhook",
content=body_bytes,
headers={
**headers,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
)
# Should succeed (backward compatibility)
assert r.status_code == 200, f"Expected 200, got {r.status_code}: {r.text}"
resp = r.json()
assert resp["status"] == "ok"
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_webhook_header_takes_precedence_over_body_secret(
ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret,
):
"""
When both X-Hub-Signature-256 header and body secret are provided,
header takes precedence.
"""
secret = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["secret"]
base_url = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["url"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {AUTH_TOKEN}"}
body_data = {"content": "hello", "secret": "wrong-secret-in-body"}
body_bytes = json.dumps(body_data).encode()
# Compute signature with correct secret
signature = compute_signature(secret, body_bytes)
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
r = await client.post(
f"{base_url}/webhook",
content=body_bytes,
headers={
**headers,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
"X-Hub-Signature-256": signature,
},
)
# Should succeed because header signature is valid (takes precedence)
assert r.status_code == 200
resp = r.json()
assert resp["status"] == "ok"
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_webhook_case_insensitive_header_lookup(
ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret,
):
"""HTTP headers are case-insensitive. Test with different cases."""
secret = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["secret"]
base_url = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["url"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {AUTH_TOKEN}"}
body_data = {"content": "hello"}
body_bytes = json.dumps(body_data).encode()
signature = compute_signature(secret, body_bytes)
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
# Try with lowercase
r = await client.post(
f"{base_url}/webhook",
content=body_bytes,
headers={
**headers,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
"x-hub-signature-256": signature,
},
)
assert r.status_code == 200
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_webhook_wrong_content_type_rejected(
ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret,
):
"""Webhook only accepts application/json Content-Type."""
secret = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["secret"]
base_url = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["url"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {AUTH_TOKEN}"}
body_data = {"content": "hello"}
body_bytes = json.dumps(body_data).encode()
signature = compute_signature(secret, body_bytes)
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
r = await client.post(
f"{base_url}/webhook",
content=body_bytes,
headers={
**headers,
"Content-Type": "text/plain",
"X-Hub-Signature-256": signature,
},
)
assert r.status_code == 415 # Unsupported Media Type
resp = r.json()
assert "application/json" in resp.get("response", "")
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_webhook_invalid_json_rejected(ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret):
"""Invalid JSON in body is rejected."""
secret = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["secret"]
base_url = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["url"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {AUTH_TOKEN}"}
body_bytes = b"not valid json"
signature = compute_signature(secret, body_bytes)
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
r = await client.post(
f"{base_url}/webhook",
content=body_bytes,
headers={
**headers,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
"X-Hub-Signature-256": signature,
},
)
assert r.status_code == 401 or r.status_code == 400
@pytest.mark.asyncio
async def test_webhook_message_queued_for_processing(
ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret,
):
"""Message via webhook is queued and can be retrieved."""
secret = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["secret"]
base_url = ironclaw_server_with_webhook_secret["url"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {AUTH_TOKEN}"}
test_message = "webhook test message 12345"
body_data = {"content": test_message}
body_bytes = json.dumps(body_data).encode()
signature = compute_signature(secret, body_bytes)
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
r = await client.post(
f"{base_url}/webhook",
content=body_bytes,
headers={
**headers,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
"X-Hub-Signature-256": signature,
},
)
assert r.status_code == 200
resp = r.json()
assert resp["status"] == "ok"
# Message ID should be present
assert "message_id" in resp
assert resp["message_id"] != "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"