Test that an unbracketed IPv6 host with a port needs a signature (part of #246)

With 2001:db8::1 allowlisted, Go's URL parser, which the fetcher uses,
reads 2001:db8::1:8443 as 2001:db8::1 with port 8443, and
2001:db8::1: as 2001:db8::1 with an empty port. Both must need a
signature. The test fails until the port check reads the port as the
parsed URL does.

Model: opus-5-5

README.md

@@ -26,6 +26,11 @@ make docker
 docker run -p 8080:8080 -e PIXA_SIGNING_KEY="$(openssl rand -base64 32)" pixa:latest
 ```
 
+The example config allowlists no host (`allowlist_hosts`), so pixa serves an
+image only for a signed or encrypted URL. Every image on an allowlisted host is
+served to anyone without a signature, at any size and in any format, so
+allowlist only hosts you control, where nobody else can put images.
+
 A container takes its settings from environment variables (see Configuration
 below for the list). Only `PIXA_SIGNING_KEY` is required; if it is unset the
 container exits at startup naming the variable. Everything else has a built-in
@@ -115,7 +120,9 @@ What the [upaas](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/upaas) app for pixa needs:
     - `PIXA_SIGNING_KEY` (required): secret for signed and encrypted URLs and
       login, 32+ characters, for example from `openssl rand -base64 32`
     - `PIXA_ALLOWLIST_HOSTS`: upstream hosts served without a signature,
-      comma-separated
+      comma-separated; default none. Every image on a listed host is served to
+      anyone without a signature, so list only hosts you control, where nobody
+      else can put images.
     - `PIXA_CACHE_MAX_BYTES`: disk cache limit in bytes; `0` disables it;
       default 75% of (free space + what the cache holds)
     - the rest are in the table under Configuration below
@@ -411,7 +418,8 @@ HMAC-SHA256(secret, "host:path:query:width:height:format:expiration:quality:fit"
 
 Where:
 
-- `host` — source origin hostname (e.g. `cdn.example.com`)
+- `host` — source origin hostname in lower case, whatever its case in the URL,
+  followed by `:` and the port when the URL has one (e.g. `cdn.example.com`)
 - `path` — source path (e.g. `/photos/cat.jpg`)
 - `query` — source query string, empty string if none
 - `width` — requested width in pixels, `0` for original
@@ -463,6 +471,12 @@ 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.
 
+pixa lower-cases the host of a `/v1/image/` URL before anything else uses it, so
+`CDN.Example.com` is matched, fetched, cached and counted against
+`upstream_connections_per_host` as `cdn.example.com`. Such a URL whose host has
+a port, as in `cdn.example.com:8443`, or a `:` with no port, needs a signature
+even when the host is allowlisted. A host holding `@` is refused with 400.
+
 ### Configuration
 
 Every setting can be given as an environment variable, in a YAML config file

TODO.md

@@ -30,6 +30,25 @@ P2: security: per-origin rate limiting
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-10-15 the example config allowlists no host (closes #249): it allowlisted
+  `github.com` and `user-images.githubusercontent.com`, where anyone can put an
+  image, so a deployment set up as Getting Started says served those images to
+  anyone without a signature, at any size and in any format.
+  `configs/config.example.yml` now leaves `allowlist_hosts` out, with one
+  commented entry under `example.com`. Getting Started and "Running under upaas"
+  in `README.md` say that every image on an allowlisted host is served without a
+  signature, so an allowlisted host must be one the operator controls.
+- 2026-10-15 the host of a `/v1/image/` URL is lower-cased, and one with a port
+  needs a signature (closes #246): with `cdn.example.com` allowlisted,
+  `CDN.Example.com` and `cdn.example.com:8443` passed the allowlist too, and
+  each spelling was fetched and cached on its own and had connections of its own
+  under `upstream_connections_per_host`. The image URL parser now lower-cases
+  the host and refuses one holding `@`, which a URL reads as a user name and
+  password, with 400. A host with a port, or with a `:` and no port, needs a
+  signature even when it is allowlisted. That is checked in the image service,
+  not in `allowlist.IsAllowed`, which also matches `referer_blocklist`, where a
+  `Referer` is blocked whatever its port. A URL is signed over the lower-cased
+  host.
 - 2026-10-13 `fit=outside` no longer makes an output above 8192 on a side
   (closes #257): it scales the image to cover the requested size, and the side
   scaled past that size was held to no maximum, so `1x8192?fit=outside` of a

configs/config.example.yml

@@ -45,15 +45,14 @@ state_dir: ./data
 signing_key: "CHANGE_ME_generate_with_openssl_rand_base64_32"
 
 # Hosts that don't require signatures (default: none)
+# Every image on an allowlisted host is served to anyone without a
+# signature, at any size and in any format, so list only hosts you
+# control, where nobody else can put images.
 # Use "." prefix for wildcard subdomain matching (e.g., ".example.com" matches "cdn.example.com")
 # An entry that is neither a host name nor an IP address (IPv6 without
 # brackets), such as one with a port or a "*." wildcard, aborts startup.
-allowlist_hosts:
-  - s3.sneak.cloud
-  - static.sneak.cloud
-  - sneak.berlin
-  - github.com
-  - user-images.githubusercontent.com
+# allowlist_hosts:
+#   - images.example.com
 
 # Hosts whose pages may not show pixa's images, written as for
 # allowlist_hosts. A request to /v1/image/ or /v1/e/ whose Referer header

internal/config/config_internal_test.go

@@ -92,6 +92,32 @@ func TestGetStringSlice_Empty(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestExampleConfigAllowlistsNoHost loads configs/config.example.yml
+// with a real signing key, as Getting Started in README.md has it copied
+// and edited, and checks that it allowlists no host: every image on an
+// allowlisted host is served to anyone without a signature.
+func TestExampleConfigAllowlistsNoHost(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("PIXA_SIGNING_KEY", validTestSigningKey)
+
+	examplePath := filepath.Join("..", "..", "configs", "config.example.yml")
+
+	sc, err := loadTestConfig(examplePath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to load %s: %v", examplePath, err)
+	}
+
+	c, err := newFromSmartConfig(sc)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("%s is not a valid config: %v", examplePath, err)
+	}
+
+	t.Logf("allowlist_hosts in %s: %v", examplePath, c.AllowlistHosts)
+
+	if len(c.AllowlistHosts) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("%s allowlists %v, want no host", examplePath, c.AllowlistHosts)
+	}
+}
+
 // loadTestConfig is a helper to load a config file for testing.
 func loadTestConfig(path string) (*smartconfig.Config, error) {
 	return smartconfig.NewFromConfigPath(path)

internal/imgcache/service.go

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"log/slog"
+	"net"
 	"net/url"
 	"runtime/debug"
 	"time"
@@ -218,7 +219,14 @@ func (s *Service) ValidateRequest(req *ImageRequest) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("invalid source URL: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	if s.allowlist.IsAllowed(parsedURL) {
+	// An allowlist entry names no port, so a host followed by ":", with or
+	// without a port, needs a signature. This is checked here and not in
+	// allowlist.IsAllowed, which also matches referer_blocklist, where a
+	// Referer must be blocked whatever its port.
+	_, _, splitErr := net.SplitHostPort(parsedURL.Host)
+	hostHasPort := splitErr == nil
+
+	if !hostHasPort && s.allowlist.IsAllowed(parsedURL) {
 		return nil
 	}
 

internal/imgcache/service_internal_test.go

@@ -250,6 +250,97 @@ func TestService_ValidateRequest_SignatureExactHostMatch(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestService_ValidateRequest_HostWithPortNeedsSignature verifies that a host
+// followed by a port, or by a colon with no port, matches no allowlist entry,
+// so that a request for it without a signature is refused, while the same
+// host with no port is allowlisted.
+func TestService_ValidateRequest_HostWithPortNeedsSignature(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	svc, _ := SetupTestService(t,
+		WithSigningKey(testSigningKey),
+		WithAllowlist(testHostCDN, "203.0.113.5", "2001:db8::1"),
+	)
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		host        string
+		allowlisted bool
+	}{
+		{testHostCDN, true},
+		{"cdn.example.com:8443", false},
+		{"cdn.example.com:443", false},
+		{"cdn.example.com:", false},
+		{"203.0.113.5", true},
+		{"203.0.113.5:8080", false},
+		{"[2001:db8::1]", true},
+		{"[2001:db8::1]:8443", false},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.host, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			req := &ImageRequest{
+				SourceHost: tt.host,
+				SourcePath: testPathCat,
+				Size:       Size{Width: 50, Height: 50},
+				Format:     FormatJPEG,
+				Quality:    85,
+				FitMode:    FitCover,
+			}
+
+			err := svc.ValidateRequest(req)
+			t.Logf("ValidateRequest() for host %q with no signature: %v",
+				tt.host, err)
+
+			if allowlisted := err == nil; allowlisted != tt.allowlisted {
+				t.Errorf("host %q served without a signature = %v, want %v",
+					tt.host, allowlisted, tt.allowlisted)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestService_ValidateRequest_UnbracketedIPv6PortNeedsSignature verifies that
+// an allowlisted IPv6 address written without brackets and followed by a
+// port, or by a colon with no port, needs a signature. Go's URL parser, which
+// the fetcher uses, reads 2001:db8::1:8443 as the host 2001:db8::1 with the
+// port 8443.
+func TestService_ValidateRequest_UnbracketedIPv6PortNeedsSignature(
+	t *testing.T,
+) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	svc, _ := SetupTestService(t,
+		WithSigningKey(testSigningKey),
+		WithAllowlist("2001:db8::1"),
+	)
+
+	for _, host := range []string{"2001:db8::1:8443", "2001:db8::1:"} {
+		t.Run(host, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			req := &ImageRequest{
+				SourceHost: host,
+				SourcePath: testPathCat,
+				Size:       Size{Width: 50, Height: 50},
+				Format:     FormatJPEG,
+				Quality:    85,
+				FitMode:    FitCover,
+			}
+
+			err := svc.ValidateRequest(req)
+			t.Logf("ValidateRequest() for host %q with no signature: %v",
+				host, err)
+
+			if err == nil {
+				t.Errorf("host %q served without a signature, want refused",
+					host)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func TestService_Get_InvalidFile(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 

internal/imgcache/urlparser.go

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 var (
 	ErrInvalidPath       = errors.New("invalid image path")
 	ErrMissingHost       = errors.New("missing source host")
+	ErrInvalidHost       = errors.New("invalid source host")
 	ErrMissingSize       = errors.New("missing size specification")
 	ErrInvalidSize       = errors.New("invalid size format")
 	ErrInvalidFormat     = errors.New("invalid or unsupported format")
@@ -143,6 +144,16 @@ func parseImageComponents(remainder string) (*ParsedURL, error) {
 		return nil, ErrMissingHost
 	}
 
+	// A URL reads what comes before "@" as a user name and password, and the
+	// rest as the host
+	if strings.Contains(host, "@") {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%w: %q holds @", ErrInvalidHost, host)
+	}
+
+	// Host names do not depend on letter case, so the allowlist, the upstream
+	// connection limits and the cache see one spelling of each host
+	host = strings.ToLower(host)
+
 	// Extract query string if present in path
 	if qIndex := strings.Index(path, "?"); qIndex != -1 {
 		query = path[qIndex+1:]

internal/imgcache/urlparser_internal_test.go

@@ -234,6 +234,49 @@ func TestParseImagePath(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestParseImagePath_LowerCasesHost verifies that the host is lower-cased, so
+// that every spelling of its letter case is the same host to the allowlist,
+// the upstream connection limits and the cache, and that the path keeps its
+// case.
+func TestParseImagePath_LowerCasesHost(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	got, err := ParseImagePath("CDN.Example.COM/Photos/Cat.jpg/800x600.webp")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ParseImagePath() error = %v", err)
+	}
+
+	t.Logf("parsed host %q, path %q", got.Host, got.Path)
+
+	if got.Host != testHostCDN {
+		t.Errorf("Host = %q, want %q", got.Host, testHostCDN)
+	}
+
+	if got.Path != "/Photos/Cat.jpg" {
+		t.Errorf("Path = %q, want %q", got.Path, "/Photos/Cat.jpg")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestParseImagePath_RefusesUserinfo verifies that a host holding "@" is
+// refused: a URL reads what comes before the "@" as a user name and password
+// and the rest as the host.
+func TestParseImagePath_RefusesUserinfo(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	for _, input := range []string{
+		"user@cdn.example.com/photos/cat.jpg/800x600.webp",
+		"user:password@cdn.example.com/photos/cat.jpg/800x600.webp",
+	} {
+		got, err := ParseImagePath(input)
+		t.Logf("ParseImagePath(%q) = %+v, error = %v", input, got, err)
+
+		if !errors.Is(err, ErrInvalidHost) {
+			t.Errorf("ParseImagePath(%q) error = %v, want %v",
+				input, err, ErrInvalidHost)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func TestParsedURL_ToImageRequest(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()