middleware: take the client address from the right of X-Forwarded-For (closes #181)

realIP took the first X-Forwarded-For entry, which the client itself
can write, so behind a proxy that appends to the header a client chose
the address dnswatcher logs and the /metrics rate limit counts. It now
walks the entries from the right past trusted proxies, using the
existing trusted-proxy check, and takes the first that is not one; the
leftmost when all are. All X-Forwarded-For header lines are read as one
list, since a proxy may add its own line instead of appending to the
client's. An empty entry where the client address belongs falls back
to the peer address, as an empty first entry did before. X-Real-IP is
unchanged.

Model: opus-5-5

README.md

@@ -347,9 +347,9 @@ minute, failed logins included; beyond that it answers `429 Too Many Requests`
 without checking the password. A Prometheus server scraping every 15 seconds
 sends 4 a minute. IPv6 addresses in one /64 count as one client. When the
 request comes from a private or loopback address, such as a reverse proxy's,
-the client address is taken from the `X-Real-IP` or `X-Forwarded-For` header
-the proxy sets; a proxy that sets neither makes all its clients share one
-allowance.
+the client address is taken from the `X-Real-IP` header the proxy sets, or else
+from `X-Forwarded-For`, as the last address in it that is not private or
+loopback. A proxy that sets neither makes all its clients share one allowance.
 
 **`DNSWATCHER_DNS_INTERVAL` and `DNSWATCHER_TLS_INTERVAL`** take a positive
 duration: a number followed by a unit such as `s`, `m` or `h`, for example

TODO.md

@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ nameserver IP address changes: https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/dnswatcher/issues/105
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-10-01: the client address from `X-Forwarded-For` is the last entry that
+  is not a trusted proxy, not the first, which the client sets (closes #181).
 - 2026-10-01: a nameserver that does not answer is saved as `error` with the
   reason, and NS failure and NS recovery are notified (closes #104).
 - 2026-10-01: a `DNSWATCHER_DNS_INTERVAL` or `DNSWATCHER_TLS_INTERVAL` that is

internal/middleware/export_test.go

@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 package middleware
 
-import "time"
+import (
+	"net/http"
+	"time"
+)
 
 // The /metrics rate limit, exported so the tests can count requests
 // against it.
@@ -8,3 +11,9 @@ const (
 	MetricsRequestLimit                = metricsRequestLimit
 	MetricsRequestWindow time.Duration = metricsRequestWindow
 )
+
+// RealIP is realIP, exported so the tests can check which address it
+// takes as the client's.
+func RealIP(r *http.Request) string {
+	return realIP(r)
+}

internal/middleware/middleware.go

@@ -209,6 +209,12 @@ func isTrustedProxy(ip net.IP) bool {
 
 // realIP extracts the client's real IP address from the request.
 // Proxy headers are only trusted from RFC1918/loopback addresses.
+//
+// Each proxy adds to the end of X-Forwarded-For the address it got the
+// request from, so the client can write every entry before the one the
+// first trusted proxy added. The client address is therefore the
+// rightmost entry that is not a trusted proxy, or the leftmost entry
+// when they all are.
 func realIP(r *http.Request) string {
 	addr := ipFromHostPort(r.RemoteAddr)
 	remoteIP := net.ParseIP(addr)
@@ -223,16 +229,26 @@ func realIP(r *http.Request) string {
 		return ip
 	}
 
-	if xff := r.Header.Get("X-Forwarded-For"); xff != "" {
-		if parts := strings.SplitN(
-			xff, ",", 2, //nolint:mnd
-		); len(parts) > 0 {
-			if ip := strings.TrimSpace(parts[0]); ip != "" {
-				return ip
-			}
+	// A proxy may add its entry as a header line of its own instead of
+	// appending to the line the client sent, so all lines form one list.
+	entries := strings.Split(
+		strings.Join(r.Header.Values("X-Forwarded-For"), ","), ",",
+	)
+	client := strings.TrimSpace(entries[0])
+
+	for i := len(entries) - 1; i > 0; i-- {
+		entry := strings.TrimSpace(entries[i])
+		if !isTrustedProxy(net.ParseIP(entry)) {
+			client = entry
+
+			break
 		}
 	}
 
+	if client != "" {
+		return client
+	}
+
 	return addr
 }
 

internal/middleware/middleware_test.go

@@ -342,9 +342,9 @@ func TestDashboardRendersWithSecurityHeaders(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-// Addresses for the rate limit tests: a client connecting directly, a
-// trusted proxy, and a client behind that proxy as its X-Real-IP
-// header names it.
+// Addresses for the rate limit and realIP tests: a client connecting
+// directly, a trusted proxy, and a client behind that proxy as the
+// proxy's X-Real-IP or X-Forwarded-For header names it.
 const (
 	directClient  = "198.51.100.1:4000"
 	trustedProxy  = "10.0.0.1:4000"
@@ -482,3 +482,84 @@ func TestMetricsRateLimitKeysOnClientAddress(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+// TestRealIP checks which address realIP takes as the client's. Each
+// element of forwardedFor is sent as an X-Forwarded-For header line of
+// its own, and 198.51.100.9 is always an entry the client wrote itself.
+func TestRealIP(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name         string
+		remoteAddr   string
+		xRealIP      string
+		forwardedFor []string
+		want         string
+	}{
+		{
+			"untrusted peer, both headers ignored",
+			directClient, proxiedClient, []string{"198.51.100.9"},
+			"198.51.100.1",
+		},
+		{
+			"X-Real-IP from a trusted proxy wins",
+			trustedProxy, proxiedClient, []string{"203.0.113.8"},
+			proxiedClient,
+		},
+		{
+			"client's own entry, then the one the proxy added",
+			trustedProxy, "", []string{"198.51.100.9, 203.0.113.1"},
+			proxiedClient,
+		},
+		{
+			"several trusted proxies",
+			trustedProxy, "",
+			[]string{"198.51.100.9, 203.0.113.1, 10.0.0.3, 10.0.0.2"},
+			proxiedClient,
+		},
+		{
+			"proxy adds a header line of its own",
+			trustedProxy, "", []string{"198.51.100.9", proxiedClient},
+			proxiedClient,
+		},
+		{
+			"every entry a trusted proxy",
+			trustedProxy, "", []string{"10.0.0.3, 10.0.0.2"},
+			"10.0.0.3",
+		},
+		{
+			"empty where the client address belongs",
+			trustedProxy, "", []string{"203.0.113.1, , 10.0.0.2"},
+			"10.0.0.1",
+		},
+		{
+			"no headers from a trusted proxy",
+			trustedProxy, "", nil,
+			"10.0.0.1",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			req := httptest.NewRequestWithContext(
+				t.Context(), http.MethodGet, "/", nil,
+			)
+			req.RemoteAddr = tt.remoteAddr
+
+			if tt.xRealIP != "" {
+				req.Header.Set("X-Real-IP", tt.xRealIP)
+			}
+
+			for _, line := range tt.forwardedFor {
+				req.Header.Add("X-Forwarded-For", line)
+			}
+
+			got := middleware.RealIP(req)
+			if got != tt.want {
+				t.Errorf("realIP = %q, want %q", got, tt.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}