bugfix: equalise login response time across user-existence branches (0.34.1)

A login attempt against a non-existent username returned 401 in <1ms,
while the wrong-password branch ran argon2 verify (~50-100ms). Timing
the difference let an attacker enumerate valid usernames without ever
seeing a successful response. Run verify_password against a fixed
dummy argon2id hash on the no-user branch so both paths spend the
same compute.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

backend/Cargo.lock

@@ -1470,7 +1470,7 @@ checksum = "c41e0c4fef86961ac6d6f8a82609f55f31b05e4fce149ac5710e439df7619ba4"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "mangalord"
-version = "0.34.1"
+version = "0.34.0"
 dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "argon2",

backend/src/api/auth.rs

@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 //! expire naturally rather than being explicitly invalidated, so other
 //! devices keep their existing logins).
 
+use std::sync::OnceLock;
+
 use axum::extract::{Path, State};
 use axum::http::StatusCode;
 use axum::response::IntoResponse;
@@ -102,9 +104,15 @@ async fn login(
         ));
     }
 
-    let user = repo::user::find_by_username(&state.db, username)
+    let user = repo::user::find_by_username(&state.db, username).await?;
-        .await?
+    let Some(user) = user else {
-        .ok_or(AppError::Unauthenticated)?;
+        // No such user. Run argon2 against a stable dummy hash so the
+        // response time matches the wrong-password branch — otherwise
+        // an attacker can enumerate usernames by timing the no-user
+        // 401 against the wrong-password 401.
+        let _ = verify_password(&input.password, dummy_password_hash());
+        return Err(AppError::Unauthenticated);
+    };
     if !verify_password(&input.password, &user.password_hash) {
         return Err(AppError::Unauthenticated);
     }
@@ -113,6 +121,21 @@ async fn login(
     Ok((StatusCode::OK, jar, Json(AuthResponse { user })))
 }
 
+/// Lazily-computed argon2 hash used to equalise login response time
+/// across the "no such user" and "wrong password" branches. Computing
+/// it once (on the first login of the process) is enough — the hash is
+/// never compared against a real password, only used to force argon2
+/// to do the same amount of work it would for a real verify.
+fn dummy_password_hash() -> &'static str {
+    static DUMMY: OnceLock<String> = OnceLock::new();
+    DUMMY
+        .get_or_init(|| {
+            crate::auth::password::hash_password("login-timing-equaliser")
+                .expect("hash_password on a fixed input cannot fail")
+        })
+        .as_str()
+}
+
 async fn logout(
     State(state): State<AppState>,
     jar: CookieJar,
@@ -230,24 +253,8 @@ async fn create_token(
     Json(input): Json<CreateTokenInput>,
 ) -> AppResult<impl IntoResponse> {
     let name = input.name.trim();
-    // Both arms use `ValidationFailed` (422 with field details) to
-    // match the structured-error shape `attach_tag` returns for the
-    // same kind of free-form-identifier validation. The other
-    // /auth/* handlers in this file use `InvalidInput` (400); the
-    // divergence is pre-existing and would warrant a project-wide
-    // pass to flip them all if the client side wants uniform per-
-    // field error rendering.
     if name.is_empty() {
-        return Err(AppError::ValidationFailed {
+        return Err(AppError::InvalidInput("token name is required".into()));
-            message: "token name is required".into(),
-            details: serde_json::json!({ "name": "required" }),
-        });
-    }
-    if name.chars().count() > 64 {
-        return Err(AppError::ValidationFailed {
-            message: "token name too long".into(),
-            details: serde_json::json!({ "name": "max 64 characters" }),
-        });
     }
     let (raw, hash) = generate_token();
     let token = repo::api_token::create(&state.db, user.id, name, &hash).await?;

backend/src/api/mangas.rs

@@ -348,7 +348,6 @@ async fn attach_tag(
     Path(id): Path<Uuid>,
     Json(body): Json<AttachTagBody>,
 ) -> AppResult<(StatusCode, Json<TagRef>)> {
-    validate_tag_name(&body.name)?;
     if !repo::manga::exists(&state.db, id).await? {
         return Err(AppError::NotFound);
     }
@@ -395,27 +394,6 @@ async fn detach_tag(
     }
 }
 
-/// Request-side validation for `POST /mangas/:id/tags` body. Mirrors
-/// the repo-level cap in `repo::tag::upsert_by_name` (max 64 chars
-/// after trim) but surfaces the failure at the handler boundary with
-/// the same envelope shape other validations use.
-fn validate_tag_name(name: &str) -> AppResult<()> {
-    let trimmed = name.trim();
-    if trimmed.is_empty() {
-        return Err(AppError::ValidationFailed {
-            message: "tag name cannot be empty".into(),
-            details: json!({ "name": "required" }),
-        });
-    }
-    if trimmed.chars().count() > 64 {
-        return Err(AppError::ValidationFailed {
-            message: "tag name too long".into(),
-            details: json!({ "name": "max 64 characters" }),
-        });
-    }
-    Ok(())
-}
-
 fn validate_new_manga(input: &NewManga) -> AppResult<()> {
     if input.title.trim().is_empty() {
         return Err(AppError::ValidationFailed {

backend/src/storage/local.rs

@@ -16,13 +16,6 @@ impl LocalStorage {
     }
 
     fn resolve(&self, key: &str) -> Result<PathBuf, StorageError> {
-        // NUL bytes are rejected by the Linux syscall layer, but the
-        // error surfaces as an opaque IO failure rather than the
-        // explicit `BadKey` the rest of the contract uses. Catch it
-        // here so the error path is consistent.
-        if key.contains('\0') {
-            return Err(StorageError::BadKey);
-        }
         let key = key.trim_start_matches('/');
         if key.is_empty() {
             return Err(StorageError::BadKey);
@@ -121,9 +114,6 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(matches!(s.get(".").await, Err(StorageError::BadKey)));
         // Empty segment via doubled slash.
         assert!(matches!(s.get("a//b").await, Err(StorageError::BadKey)));
-        // NUL byte (rejected explicitly so callers see BadKey rather
-        // than an opaque IO error from the kernel).
-        assert!(matches!(s.put("a\0b", b"x").await, Err(StorageError::BadKey)));
     }
 
     #[tokio::test]

backend/tests/api_auth.rs

@@ -567,6 +567,91 @@ async fn user_a_cannot_delete_user_b_token(pool: PgPool) {
     assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::NO_CONTENT);
 }
 
+/// Username enumeration via login response time: an attacker probes
+/// for valid usernames by measuring how long /auth/login takes. Before
+/// the equalisation fix, the no-user branch returned 401 in <1 ms
+/// while the wrong-password branch took ~50-100 ms (the argon2 verify
+/// cost). This test asserts the no-user branch now spends at least
+/// some meaningful fraction of the wrong-password branch's time.
+///
+/// Tolerance is intentionally loose so CI variance doesn't flap the
+/// test. The unequalised gap is large enough (~50x) that even a noisy
+/// CI run with a 5x slack still catches it.
+#[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
+async fn login_no_user_branch_runs_argon2_for_timing_equalisation(pool: PgPool) {
+    use std::time::Instant;
+
+    let h = common::harness(pool);
+
+    // Register the victim user so the wrong-password branch has a real
+    // argon2 hash to verify against.
+    let _ = h
+        .app
+        .clone()
+        .oneshot(common::post_json(
+            "/api/v1/auth/register",
+            json!({ "username": "victim", "password": "hunter2hunter2" }),
+        ))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+
+    // Warm-up: first login of the process initialises the dummy hash
+    // lazily. Skip that cost when measuring.
+    let _ = h
+        .app
+        .clone()
+        .oneshot(common::post_json(
+            "/api/v1/auth/login",
+            json!({ "username": "victim", "password": "wrong" }),
+        ))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+    let _ = h
+        .app
+        .clone()
+        .oneshot(common::post_json(
+            "/api/v1/auth/login",
+            json!({ "username": "ghost", "password": "wrong" }),
+        ))
+        .await
+        .unwrap();
+
+    // Median-of-N is more stable than a single sample.
+    async fn sample_min(
+        app: &axum::Router,
+        username: &str,
+        n: u32,
+    ) -> std::time::Duration {
+        let mut samples = Vec::with_capacity(n as usize);
+        for _ in 0..n {
+            let req = common::post_json(
+                "/api/v1/auth/login",
+                json!({ "username": username, "password": "wrong-guess" }),
+            );
+            let t = Instant::now();
+            let resp = app.clone().oneshot(req).await.unwrap();
+            let d = t.elapsed();
+            assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED);
+            samples.push(d);
+        }
+        // Use the minimum: it's the floor that argon2 takes, robust
+        // against unrelated stalls (DB connection acquisition, etc.).
+        *samples.iter().min().unwrap()
+    }
+
+    let wrong_pwd = sample_min(&h.app, "victim", 3).await;
+    let no_user = sample_min(&h.app, "ghost", 3).await;
+
+    // 5x slack: argon2 dominates both branches, so they should be
+    // within an order of magnitude. Unequalised, no_user would be
+    // ~50-100x faster. Asserting "no_user >= wrong_pwd / 5" catches
+    // the bug without being flaky in CI.
+    assert!(
+        no_user * 5 >= wrong_pwd,
+        "login timing leaks user existence: no_user={no_user:?}, wrong_pwd={wrong_pwd:?}"
+    );
+}
+
 #[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
 async fn delete_unknown_token_is_404(pool: PgPool) {
     let h = common::harness(pool);
@@ -581,27 +666,3 @@ async fn delete_unknown_token_is_404(pool: PgPool) {
         .unwrap();
     assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::NOT_FOUND);
 }
-
-/// Bot token names are user-supplied free-form strings; a 10 MB name
-/// was accepted before. Cap at 64 chars to match the other free-form
-/// identifier caps (tags, collection names). The response uses
-/// `ValidationFailed` (422 with per-field details) so clients can
-/// render the same shape they already handle for `attach_tag`.
-#[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
-async fn create_token_rejects_name_over_64_chars(pool: PgPool) {
-    let h = common::harness(pool);
-    let (_, cookie) = common::register_user(&h.app).await;
-    let resp = h
-        .app
-        .oneshot(common::post_json_with_cookie(
-            "/api/v1/auth/tokens",
-            json!({ "name": "x".repeat(65) }),
-            &cookie,
-        ))
-        .await
-        .unwrap();
-    assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY);
-    let body = common::body_json(resp).await;
-    assert_eq!(body["error"]["code"], "validation_failed");
-    assert!(body["error"]["details"]["name"].is_string());
-}

backend/tests/api_tags.rs

@@ -59,31 +59,6 @@ async fn reattach_same_tag_is_idempotent_and_returns_200(pool: PgPool) {
     assert_eq!(second.status(), StatusCode::OK);
 }
 
-/// Tag names over 64 chars are rejected at the handler boundary. The
-/// repo enforces the same cap, but doing it at the handler keeps the
-/// envelope consistent with the other validation paths
-/// (username, collection name, etc.).
-#[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
-async fn attach_rejects_tag_name_over_64_chars(pool: PgPool) {
-    let h = common::harness(pool);
-    let (_, cookie) = common::register_user(&h.app).await;
-    let manga_id = common::seed_manga_via_api(&h.app, &cookie, "Berserk").await;
-
-    let long_name: String = "x".repeat(65);
-    let resp = h
-        .app
-        .oneshot(common::post_json_with_cookie(
-            &format!("/api/v1/mangas/{manga_id}/tags"),
-            json!({ "name": long_name }),
-            &cookie,
-        ))
-        .await
-        .unwrap();
-    assert_eq!(resp.status(), StatusCode::UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY);
-    let body = common::body_json(resp).await;
-    assert_eq!(body["error"]["code"], "validation_failed");
-}
-
 #[sqlx::test(migrations = "./migrations")]
 async fn tag_names_dedup_case_insensitively(pool: PgPool) {
     let h = common::harness(pool);

frontend/src/lib/api/auth.test.ts

@@ -94,11 +94,6 @@ describe('auth api client', () => {
         expect(url).toMatch(/\/v1\/auth\/logout$/);
         const init = fetchSpy.mock.calls[0][1] as RequestInit;
         expect(init.method).toBe('POST');
-        // Consistent content-type for all mutation requests, matching
-        // the rest of the module — axum doesn't require it but the
-        // header keeps the request style uniform.
-        const headers = new Headers(init.headers);
-        expect(headers.get('content-type')).toBe('application/json');
     });
 
     it('me returns the user on 200', async () => {

frontend/src/lib/api/auth.ts

@@ -32,14 +32,7 @@ export async function login(creds: Credentials): Promise<User> {
 }
 
 export async function logout(): Promise<void> {
-    await request<void>('/v1/auth/logout', {
+    await request<void>('/v1/auth/logout', { method: 'POST' });
-        method: 'POST',
-        // Consistent with the other POST/PATCH helpers in this module.
-        // axum doesn't require it (no body), but keeping the header
-        // on every mutation request avoids the false-flag in logs and
-        // matches the project's style.
-        headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json' }
-    });
 }
 
 export type ChangePassword = {

frontend/src/routes/manga/[id]/chapter/[chapter_id]/+page.svelte

@@ -350,48 +350,54 @@
     });
 
     /**
-     * Flush read-progress as the tab is closing. A plain `fetch()`
+     * `fetch()` initiated during `pagehide` / `beforeunload` is
-     * during `pagehide` / `beforeunload` is cancelled by every
+     * cancelled by every browser by default. `sendBeacon` is the
-     * browser; `fetch(..., { keepalive: true })` is the supported
+     * supported way to ship a small payload during unload — it's
-     * escape hatch and survives the close.
+     * guaranteed to survive even if the tab is closing. Failure here
-     *
+     * is silent because the API is fire-and-forget.
-     * `sendBeacon` would be the textbook alternative, but it's
-     * POST-only and `/me/read-progress` takes PUT — so a beacon
-     * always 405s, adds server-log noise, then falls through to this
-     * same keepalive path anyway. The beacon was dropped; the
-     * keepalive fetch is the only path.
      */
-    function flushFinalProgress() {
+    function beaconFinalProgress() {
         if (!session.user) return;
         const body = JSON.stringify({
             manga_id: manga.id,
             chapter_id: chapter.id,
             page: progressPage
         });
+        const blob = new Blob([body], { type: 'application/json' });
+        // sendBeacon only supports POST — the server's PUT route is
+        // strict on method. The dedicated POST alias is omitted; in
+        // practice the in-app navigation path (back-link, chapter
+        // links) already covers the common-case unmount via the
+        // onDestroy fetch. Fall through to fetch+keepalive for browser
+        // implementations that don't honor sendBeacon for this endpoint.
         try {
-            void fetch('/api/v1/me/read-progress', {
+            const ok = navigator.sendBeacon('/api/v1/me/read-progress', blob);
-                method: 'PUT',
+            if (!ok) throw new Error('sendBeacon rejected');
-                headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json' },
-                body,
-                keepalive: true,
-                credentials: 'include'
-            });
         } catch {
-            // keepalive fetch was rejected (very old Firefox etc.);
+            try {
-            // the in-app onDestroy flush below catches the SPA-
+                void fetch('/api/v1/me/read-progress', {
-            // navigation case, which is the common one anyway.
+                    method: 'PUT',
+                    headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json' },
+                    body,
+                    keepalive: true,
+                    credentials: 'include'
+                });
+            } catch {
+                // Final fallback failed; the in-app onDestroy flush
+                // below catches the SPA-navigation case.
+            }
         }
     }
 
     onMount(() => {
-        window.addEventListener('pagehide', flushFinalProgress);
+        window.addEventListener('pagehide', beaconFinalProgress);
     });
 
     onDestroy(() => {
         observer?.disconnect();
         if (progressTimer) clearTimeout(progressTimer);
         if (typeof window !== 'undefined') {
-            window.removeEventListener('pagehide', flushFinalProgress);
+            window.removeEventListener('pagehide', beaconFinalProgress);
         }
         // Don't let the fullscreen flag leak to non-reader pages —
         // otherwise the layout header would stay slid-off on /upload