Refuse image requests whose Referer is on referer_blocklist (closes #90)
check / check (push) Failing after 2s

A new setting, referer_blocklist (PIXA_REFERER_BLOCKLIST), lists hosts
whose pages may not show pixa's images. Entries are written and matched
as allowlist_hosts are, with the same matcher. Both image routes check
the Referer before the signature, the cache and the upstream fetch, and
answer 403 with the JSON error, so a blocked request costs nothing and
is refused whether or not the image is cached. No Referer, or one that
does not parse, is served; README.md says this makes the list easy to
get around. An entry of either host list that is not a host name
(letters, digits, hyphens, underscores, dots, at most one leading dot)
or an IP address now aborts startup naming the setting and the entry.

Model: opus-5-5
This commit was merged in pull request #197.
This commit is contained in:
2026-10-04 22:24:50 +02:00
parent 8568c17d1b
commit 8314099abd
11 changed files with 559 additions and 48 deletions
+27 -6
View File
@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ everything in this list without further settings. The reverse proxy must:
Routes);
- pass the `Host`, `Origin` and `Referer` headers on unchanged, as pixa refuses
a form from those pages unless `Origin` or `Referer` names the host in `Host`,
and builds encrypted URLs from `Host`;
builds encrypted URLs from `Host`, and checks `Referer` against
`referer_blocklist`;
- set `X-Forwarded-For` to the client's address, with `trusted_proxies` set to
the address pixa sees the proxy's requests come from, so the login limit
counts each client by its own address (see `trusted_proxies` under
@@ -175,11 +176,13 @@ path under `/v1/` answers 200, in maintenance mode too.
allowlisted (see Source Hosts). Answers: 200; 304 when `If-None-Match` matches
the image's `ETag`; 400 for a URL or parameter that is not valid; 401 for a
missing or wrong signature, a missing `exp` or an `exp` in the past; 403 when
the upstream host, or a host it redirects to, is `localhost`, ends in
`.localhost` or `.local`, or has an address in a blocked network (see
`blocked_networks`); 502 when the upstream answered with an error status, and
for 5 minutes after that for the same source URL; 503 when pixa is busy or in
maintenance mode; 500 for any other failure.
the request's `Referer` names a host in `referer_blocklist`, checked before
the signature, the cache and the upstream fetch; 403 when the upstream host,
or a host it redirects to, is `localhost`, ends in `.localhost` or `.local`,
or has an address in a blocked network (see `blocked_networks`); 502 when the
upstream answered with an error status, and for 5 minutes after that for the
same source URL; 503 when pixa is busy or in maintenance mode; 500 for any
other failure.
- `GET` or `HEAD` `/v1/e/<token>/<name>` — an image through an encrypted URL
(see Encrypted URLs). Needs: nothing but the URL. Answers: 200; 304 when
`If-None-Match` matches the image's `ETag`; 400 for a token that does not
@@ -392,6 +395,11 @@ and the URL is
- **Suffix match**: `.example.com` — matches `cdn.example.com`,
`images.example.com`, and `example.com`
An IP address is matched exactly; write an IPv6 address without brackets. An
entry that is neither a host name (letters, digits, hyphens, underscores and
dots, with at most one leading dot) nor an IP address, such as one with a port
or a `*.` wildcard, aborts startup.
### Configuration
Every setting can be given as an environment variable, in a YAML config
@@ -428,6 +436,7 @@ tell. With no file, pixa uses the environment and the defaults.
| `PIXA_DB_URL` | `db_url` | SQLite database URL; default `state.sqlite3` in the state directory |
| `PIXA_CACHE_MAX_BYTES` | `cache_max_bytes` | Disk cache limit in bytes; `0` disables it; default 75% of (free + cached) |
| `PIXA_ALLOWLIST_HOSTS` | `allowlist_hosts` | Upstream hosts served without a signature |
| `PIXA_REFERER_BLOCKLIST` | `referer_blocklist` | Hosts whose pages the image routes refuse with 403, by `Referer` |
| `PIXA_BLOCKED_NETWORKS` | `blocked_networks` | CIDR ranges never fetched from, on top of the built-in ones |
| `PIXA_TRUSTED_PROXIES` | `trusted_proxies` | CIDR ranges of proxies whose `X-Forwarded-For` is believed; default RFC 1918 |
| `PIXA_ALLOW_HTTP` | `allow_http` | Allow plain-HTTP upstreams, for testing only; default `false` |
@@ -456,6 +465,18 @@ Key settings in more detail:
that has no leading zero and is not the scheme's default. Any other value,
including another scheme such as a browser extension's, aborts startup
- `allowlist_hosts` — list of allowed upstream hosts
- `referer_blocklist` — list of hosts whose pages may not show pixa's images, to
stop other sites hotlinking them. Entries are written and matched as for
`allowlist_hosts` (see Allowlist patterns), and an entry that is neither a
host name nor an IP address aborts startup. A request to `/v1/image/` or
`/v1/e/` whose `Referer` header names a listed host is refused with 403 before
its signature or token is checked and before the cache or the upstream host is
used, so it fetches nothing, and it is refused even when the image is cached.
A request with no `Referer`, or one that does not parse as a URL
with a host, is served, as many clients send none. So this is easily got
around: a site whose pages send no `Referer` (for example with
`Referrer-Policy: no-referrer`) is not stopped. It does not apply to the login
and generator pages. Default: empty
- `blocked_networks` — list of CIDR ranges to refuse for SSRF protection,
added to the always-enforced built-in ranges (loopback, private,
link-local, CGNAT, benchmark, NAT64, and the like); an invalid CIDR