Reject invalid secret names before any command builds a path (closes #33)

`secret rm ..` resolved to the vault directory and deleted the whole
vault; `secret rm .` and `secret rm ""` deleted every secret. rm, mv and
import built paths from the name without checking it, and so did the
version commands, encrypt and decrypt.

vault.ValidateSecretName wraps the existing name rule and returns
ErrInvalidSecretName. Each of those commands calls it on the name as
given, both names for a move, before building any path. AddSecret and
GetSecretVersion use it too, so the rule has one implementation.

The regression test snapshots every file under the state directory of
two in-memory vaults and requires it unchanged after each rejected
command.

Model: opus-5-5

.dockerignore

@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+# .git is sent without its config. Without a VERSION build argument the
+# stage that compiles runs `git describe --tags --always` on .git, which
+# does not need .git/config; that file can hold a credential, such as a
+# password in a remote URL or the token the CI checkout step stores there.
+.git/config
+
 # Build artifacts
 secret
 coverage.out

Dockerfile

@@ -27,7 +27,20 @@ RUN go mod download
 COPY . .
 
 RUN make test
-RUN make build
+
+# The version stamped into the binary: the VERSION build argument when one
+# is given, otherwise `git describe --tags --always` of the .git the build
+# context carries: the tag on a tagged commit, tag-N-gHASH on a commit after
+# one, the short commit when no tag is reachable. A context that carries .git
+# and still yields no version fails the build.
+ARG VERSION
+RUN version="${VERSION:-$(git describe --tags --always)}"; \
+    if [ -e .git ] && { [ -z "$version" ] || [ "$version" = dev ] || \
+        [ "$version" = unknown ]; }; then \
+        echo "no version could be derived although the build context carries .git" >&2; \
+        exit 1; \
+    fi; \
+    make build VERSION="${version:-dev}"
 
 # Runtime stage
 # alpine 3.23 (2026-03-10)

Makefile

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ export CGO_ENABLED=1
 export DOCKER_HOST := ssh://root@ber1app1.local
 
 # Version information
-VERSION := 0.1.0
+VERSION := $(shell git describe --tags --always --dirty 2>/dev/null || echo "dev")
 GIT_COMMIT := $(shell git rev-parse HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
 LDFLAGS := -X 'git.eeqj.de/sneak/secret/internal/cli.Version=$(VERSION)' \
            -X 'git.eeqj.de/sneak/secret/internal/cli.GitCommit=$(GIT_COMMIT)'

TODO.md

@@ -25,6 +25,20 @@ Bring the repo into policy compliance in one commit:
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-10-03: Every command that builds a path from a secret name
+  checks the name first with `vault.ValidateSecretName` and touches
+  nothing when it is invalid: `rm`, `mv` (both names, within a vault
+  and between vaults), `import`, `version list`/`promote`/`rm`,
+  `encrypt` and `decrypt`. Before, `secret rm ..` deleted the whole
+  vault and `secret rm .` every secret in it.
+- 2026-10-02: A plain `docker build .` builds again: the size tests
+  skip a case that needs more locked memory than the process can
+  lock, and run every case under `script/cibuild`. The image stamps the
+  `VERSION` build argument, else `git describe --tags --always`, into
+  `Version`, and fails if `.git` is present but yields no version;
+  `make build` stamps `git describe` too, not a fixed `0.1.0`.
+  `.dockerignore` keeps `.git/config` out; `script/docker` is the
+  canonical copy.
 - 2026-08-07: Updated golangci-lint to v2.12.2 with the canonical
   `.golangci.yml` (all linters enabled minus the standard disable
   list, `lll` 88, tests linted); bumped the `Dockerfile` lint-stage
@@ -88,8 +102,7 @@ Bring the repo into policy compliance in one commit:
       buffer.Bytes() to GPGEncryptFunc and EncryptWithPassphrase.
     - Race conditions: no file locking in vault/secrets.go:142-176;
       non-atomic writes can leave the vault inconsistent.
-    - Input validation: dots in secret names risk path traversal
-      (vault/secrets.go:75-99); no maximum secret size (DoS).
+    - Input validation: no maximum secret size (DoS).
     - Timing attacks: bytes.Equal passphrase compare (cli/init.go:
       209-216); non-constant-time public key compare (vault.go:95-100).
 - High priority:

go.mod

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.4
 	github.com/tyler-smith/go-bip39 v1.1.0
 	golang.org/x/crypto v0.38.0
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.33.0
 	golang.org/x/term v0.32.0
 )
 
@@ -31,7 +32,6 @@ require (
 	github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.20 // indirect
 	github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.6 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/sys v0.33.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/text v0.25.0 // indirect
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 // indirect
 )

internal/cli/crypto.go

@@ -122,6 +122,11 @@ func (cli *Instance) resolveEncryptionKey(
 
 // Encrypt encrypts data using an age secret key stored in a secret
 func (cli *Instance) Encrypt(secretName, inputFile, outputFile string) error {
+	err := vault.ValidateSecretName(secretName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Get current vault
 	vlt, err := vault.GetCurrentVault(cli.fs, cli.stateDir)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -191,6 +196,11 @@ func (cli *Instance) Encrypt(secretName, inputFile, outputFile string) error {
 
 // Decrypt decrypts data using an age secret key stored in a secret
 func (cli *Instance) Decrypt(secretName, inputFile, outputFile string) error {
+	err := vault.ValidateSecretName(secretName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Get current vault
 	vlt, err := vault.GetCurrentVault(cli.fs, cli.stateDir)
 	if err != nil {

internal/cli/path_traversal_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+package cli_test
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.eeqj.de/sneak/secret/internal/cli"
+	"git.eeqj.de/sneak/secret/internal/secret"
+	"git.eeqj.de/sneak/secret/internal/vault"
+	"github.com/awnumar/memguard"
+	"github.com/spf13/afero"
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+const (
+	// testStateDir is the in-memory state directory of the test vaults.
+	testStateDir = "/test/state"
+
+	// testPassphrase protects the passphrase unlocker of each test vault.
+	testPassphrase = "test-passphrase"
+
+	// testVersion is a version name in the format the vault uses.
+	testVersion = "20260101.001"
+
+	// missingFile is an import source that does not exist, so an import
+	// that opened it before checking the name would fail with another error.
+	missingFile = "/no/such/file"
+)
+
+// newTwoVaultFs returns an in-memory filesystem holding the vaults "work"
+// and "default", the current one. Each holds the secret "x" and a
+// passphrase unlocker, so both secrets.d and unlockers.d have contents.
+//
+//nolint:ireturn // afero.Fs is the filesystem abstraction used throughout
+func newTwoVaultFs(t *testing.T) afero.Fs {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	t.Setenv(secret.EnvMnemonic, testMnemonic)
+
+	fs := afero.NewMemMapFs()
+
+	for _, name := range []string{"work", "default"} {
+		vlt, err := vault.CreateVault(fs, testStateDir, name)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+
+		err = vlt.AddSecret("x", memguard.NewBufferFromBytes([]byte("value")), false)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+
+		_, err = vlt.CreatePassphraseUnlocker(
+			memguard.NewBufferFromBytes([]byte(testPassphrase)))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+	}
+
+	return fs
+}
+
+// snapshotStateDir maps every file under the state directory to its
+// contents, and every directory, written with a trailing "/", to "". Two
+// snapshots are equal only if nothing in it was added, removed or changed.
+func snapshotStateDir(t *testing.T, fs afero.Fs) map[string]string {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	tree := map[string]string{}
+
+	err := afero.Walk(fs, testStateDir, func(
+		path string, info os.FileInfo, err error,
+	) error {
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		if info.IsDir() {
+			tree[path+"/"] = ""
+
+			return nil
+		}
+
+		content, err := afero.ReadFile(fs, path)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		tree[path] = string(content)
+
+		return nil
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	return tree
+}
+
+// requireRejectedAndUnchanged runs a command against the two test vaults
+// and requires that it fails with vault.ErrInvalidSecretName and leaves
+// everything under the state directory as it was. The error alone proves
+// nothing: it could be returned after the vault had already been deleted.
+func requireRejectedAndUnchanged(t *testing.T, run func(c *cli.Instance) error) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	fs := newTwoVaultFs(t)
+	before := snapshotStateDir(t, fs)
+
+	vaultDir := testStateDir + "/vaults.d/default"
+	require.Contains(t, before, vaultDir+"/secrets.d/x/")
+	require.Contains(t, before, vaultDir+"/unlockers.d/passphrase/")
+
+	err := run(cli.NewCLIInstanceWithStateDir(fs, testStateDir))
+
+	require.Equal(t, before, snapshotStateDir(t, fs))
+	require.ErrorIs(t, err, vault.ErrInvalidSecretName)
+}
+
+// TestInvalidSecretNameLeavesVaultsUnchanged is a regression test for
+// https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/secret/issues/33, where `secret rm ..` deleted
+// the whole vault, and `secret rm .` or `secret rm ""` every secret in it.
+// Moves and imports use --force, so that only the name check stands in
+// the way.
+//
+//nolint:paralleltest // subtests use t.Setenv via newTwoVaultFs
+func TestInvalidSecretNameLeavesVaultsUnchanged(t *testing.T) {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		command string
+		run     func(c *cli.Instance) error
+	}{
+		{"rm ..", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.RemoveSecret(cmd, "..", false)
+		}},
+		{"rm .", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.RemoveSecret(cmd, ".", false)
+		}},
+		{`rm ""`, func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.RemoveSecret(cmd, "", false)
+		}},
+		{"rm ../../etc", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.RemoveSecret(cmd, "../../etc", false)
+		}},
+		{"mv --force .. x", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.MoveSecret(cmd, "..", "x", true)
+		}},
+		{"mv --force x ..", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.MoveSecret(cmd, "x", "..", true)
+		}},
+		{"mv --force default:.. work", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.MoveSecret(cmd, "default:..", "work", true)
+		}},
+		{"mv --force default:x work:..", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.MoveSecret(cmd, "default:x", "work:..", true)
+		}},
+		{"import --force ..", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.ImportSecret(cmd, "..", missingFile, true)
+		}},
+		{"import --force .", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.ImportSecret(cmd, ".", missingFile, true)
+		}},
+		{"import --force ../../etc", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.ImportSecret(cmd, "../../etc", missingFile, true)
+		}},
+		{"version list ..", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.ListVersions(cmd, "..")
+		}},
+		{"version promote ..", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.PromoteVersion(cmd, "..", testVersion)
+		}},
+		{"version rm ..", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.RemoveVersion(cmd, "..", testVersion)
+		}},
+		{"encrypt ..", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.Encrypt("..", "", "")
+		}},
+		{"decrypt ..", func(c *cli.Instance) error {
+			return c.Decrypt("..", "", "")
+		}},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.command, func(t *testing.T) {
+			requireRejectedAndUnchanged(t, tt.run)
+		})
+	}
+}

internal/cli/secrets.go

@@ -603,6 +603,11 @@ func printSecretsTable(
 func (cli *Instance) ImportSecret(
 	cmd *cobra.Command, secretName, sourceFile string, force bool,
 ) error {
+	err := vault.ValidateSecretName(secretName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Get current vault
 	vlt, err := vault.GetCurrentVault(cli.fs, cli.stateDir)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -649,6 +654,11 @@ func (cli *Instance) ImportSecret(
 
 // RemoveSecret removes a secret from the vault
 func (cli *Instance) RemoveSecret(cmd *cobra.Command, secretName string, _ bool) error {
+	err := vault.ValidateSecretName(secretName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Get current vault
 	currentVlt, err := vault.GetCurrentVault(cli.fs, cli.stateDir)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -757,6 +767,16 @@ func (cli *Instance) MoveSecret(
 func (cli *Instance) moveSecretWithinVault(
 	cmd *cobra.Command, source, dest string, force bool,
 ) error {
+	err := vault.ValidateSecretName(source)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	err = vault.ValidateSecretName(dest)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	currentVlt, err := vault.GetCurrentVault(cli.fs, cli.stateDir)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -815,6 +835,16 @@ func (cli *Instance) moveSecretCrossVault(
 	destVaultName, destSecretName string,
 	force bool,
 ) error {
+	err := vault.ValidateSecretName(srcSecretName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	err = vault.ValidateSecretName(destSecretName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Get source vault
 	srcVault := vault.NewVault(cli.fs, cli.stateDir, srcVaultName)
 

internal/cli/secrets_size_test.go

@@ -17,11 +17,51 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
 )
 
 // testVaultName is the vault name used by the size tests.
 const testVaultName = "test-vault"
 
+// lockedBytesPerSecretByte bounds the locked memory that storing a secret
+// holds at once: the buffers it is read into reach up to 1.5 times its
+// size, and they are then copied into one more buffer of its size.
+const lockedBytesPerSecretByte = 3
+
+// skipIfLockedMemoryTooLow skips the test when this process cannot lock
+// the memory a secret of size bytes needs, found by locking a buffer of
+// that size and releasing it. memguard panics, ending the whole test run,
+// when it cannot lock a buffer, and a plain `docker build .` runs the
+// tests under an 8 MiB locked-memory limit (RLIMIT_MEMLOCK). A process
+// allowed to lock past that limit runs every case.
+func skipIfLockedMemoryTooLow(t *testing.T, size int) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	need := lockedBytesPerSecretByte * size
+
+	buf, err := unix.Mmap(-1, 0, need,
+		unix.PROT_READ|unix.PROT_WRITE, unix.MAP_PRIVATE|unix.MAP_ANON)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	lockErr := unix.Mlock(buf)
+
+	// Unmapping the buffer also unlocks it.
+	err = unix.Munmap(buf)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	if lockErr != nil {
+		var limit unix.Rlimit
+
+		err = unix.Getrlimit(unix.RLIMIT_MEMLOCK, &limit)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+
+		t.Skipf("a %d-byte secret needs up to %d bytes of locked memory, "+
+			"which could not be locked under the locked-memory limit "+
+			"(RLIMIT_MEMLOCK) of %d bytes: %v",
+			size, need, limit.Cur, lockErr)
+	}
+}
+
 // newSizeTestVault creates an in-memory vault unlocked with the test
 // mnemonic and returns the filesystem and vault.
 //
@@ -59,6 +99,7 @@ func newSizeTestVault(t *testing.T) (afero.Fs, *vault.Vault) {
 // verifies the outcome.
 func runAddSecretSizeCase(t *testing.T, size int, wantErr bool, errMsg string) {
 	t.Helper()
+	skipIfLockedMemoryTooLow(t, size)
 
 	fs, vlt := newSizeTestVault(t)
 
@@ -110,6 +151,7 @@ func runAddSecretSizeCase(t *testing.T, size int, wantErr bool, errMsg string) {
 // verifies the outcome.
 func runImportSecretSizeCase(t *testing.T, size int, wantErr bool, errMsg string) {
 	t.Helper()
+	skipIfLockedMemoryTooLow(t, size)
 
 	fs, vlt := newSizeTestVault(t)
 
@@ -300,6 +342,8 @@ func TestAddSecretBufferGrowth(t *testing.T) {
 
 	for _, size := range sizes {
 		t.Run(fmt.Sprintf("size_%d", size), func(t *testing.T) {
+			skipIfLockedMemoryTooLow(t, size)
+
 			fs, vlt := newSizeTestVault(t)
 
 			// Create test data of exactly the specified size

internal/cli/version.go

@@ -112,6 +112,11 @@ func VersionCommands(cli *Instance) *cobra.Command {
 func (cli *Instance) ListVersions(cmd *cobra.Command, secretName string) error {
 	secret.Debug("ListVersions called", "secret_name", secretName)
 
+	err := vault.ValidateSecretName(secretName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Get current vault
 	vlt, err := vault.GetCurrentVault(cli.fs, cli.stateDir)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -239,6 +244,11 @@ func formatVersionTime(t *time.Time) string {
 func (cli *Instance) PromoteVersion(
 	cmd *cobra.Command, secretName string, version string,
 ) error {
+	err := vault.ValidateSecretName(secretName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Get current vault
 	vlt, err := vault.GetCurrentVault(cli.fs, cli.stateDir)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -282,6 +292,11 @@ func (cli *Instance) PromoteVersion(
 func (cli *Instance) RemoveVersion(
 	cmd *cobra.Command, secretName string, version string,
 ) error {
+	err := vault.ValidateSecretName(secretName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
 	// Get current vault
 	vlt, err := vault.GetCurrentVault(cli.fs, cli.stateDir)
 	if err != nil {

internal/vault/secrets.go

@@ -110,6 +110,20 @@ func isValidSecretName(name string) bool {
 	return matched
 }
 
+// ValidateSecretName returns an error wrapping ErrInvalidSecretName when
+// name is not a valid secret name. Call it on the name exactly as the user
+// gave it, before building any path from it.
+func ValidateSecretName(name string) error {
+	if !isValidSecretName(name) {
+		return fmt.Errorf(
+			"%w '%s': must match pattern [a-z0-9.\\-_/]+",
+			ErrInvalidSecretName, name,
+		)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // AddSecret adds a secret to this vault
 func (v *Vault) AddSecret(name string, value *memguard.LockedBuffer, force bool) error {
 	if value == nil {
@@ -124,13 +138,11 @@ func (v *Vault) AddSecret(name string, value *memguard.LockedBuffer, force bool)
 	)
 
 	// Validate secret name
-	if !isValidSecretName(name) {
+	err := ValidateSecretName(name)
+	if err != nil {
 		secret.Debug("Invalid secret name provided", "secret_name", name)
 
-		return fmt.Errorf(
-			"%w '%s': must match pattern [a-z0-9.\\-_/]+",
-			ErrInvalidSecretName, name,
-		)
+		return err
 	}
 
 	secret.Debug("Secret name validation passed", "secret_name", name)
@@ -628,13 +640,11 @@ func (v *Vault) updatePreviousVersion(
 // version exist, and resolves an empty version to the current one.
 func (v *Vault) resolveSecretVersion(name, version string) (string, error) {
 	// Validate secret name to prevent path traversal
-	if !isValidSecretName(name) {
+	err := ValidateSecretName(name)
+	if err != nil {
 		secret.Debug("Invalid secret name provided", "secret_name", name)
 
-		return "", fmt.Errorf(
-			"%w '%s': must match pattern [a-z0-9.\\-_/]+",
-			ErrInvalidSecretName, name,
-		)
+		return "", err
 	}
 
 	// Get vault directory

script/cibuild

@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 # script/cibuild: run the CI build. The Dockerfile runs script/check
 # (via make check), so a successful build implies all checks pass.
-# The Gitea workflow runs this on push. The memlock ulimit is required
-# because the test suite uses memguard, which mlocks memory.
+# The Gitea workflow runs this on push. The memlock ulimit lets the tests
+# that lock large secrets in memory (memguard mlocks them) run; under the
+# lower limit of a plain `docker build .` they are skipped.
 set -eu
 
 ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd -P)"

script/docker

@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 # script/docker: build the Docker image tagged with the project name.
 # Identical in all repos; the tag comes from script/projectname.
-# Generic: needs no adaptation.
+# --no-cache because the gate phases the final stage depends on are RUN
+# steps, and a cached one is a check that did not run.
 set -eu
 
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd -P)"
@@ -9,7 +10,15 @@ ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd -P)"
 
 main() {
     cd "$ROOT"
-    docker build -t "$("$SCRIPT_DIR/projectname")" .
+    # Own line: a failing command substitution inside an argument does
+    # not trip `set -e`, so the inline form degrades silently to an
+    # empty constant. The VERSION build argument takes precedence over
+    # the version a build stage derives from the .git in the context.
+    version="$(git describe --tags --always --dirty 2>/dev/null || true)"
+    [ -n "$version" ] || version="unknown"
+    docker build --no-cache \
+        --build-arg VERSION="$version" \
+        -t "$("$SCRIPT_DIR/projectname")" .
 }
 
 main "$@"