fix(security): only trust forwarded-ip headers from known proxies

The remote_ip plug previously trusted Cf-Connecting-Ip and X-Forwarded-For
on every request, so any client reaching a pod directly (cluster-internal,
kubectl port-forward, misconfigured Service) could spoof conn.remote_ip,
which flows into session storage and logs.

Now only honour those headers when the immediate TCP peer sits inside a
configured CIDR list. Default list covers loopback, RFC1918, CGNAT,
link-local, and IPv6 ULA — matches the k8s pod/service network.
Override via config :microwaveprop, :trusted_proxies, or per-environment
via the TRUSTED_PROXY_CIDRS env var in runtime.exs.

Also refresh the stale "nginx/dokku proxy" moduledoc — deployment has
been k8s + Cloudflare for a while.
This commit is contained in:
Graham McIntire 2026-04-21 13:17:43 -05:00
parent 8e73583926
commit ef54125aa6
No known key found for this signature in database
GPG key ID: F4ABF488E6029E59
3 changed files with 293 additions and 42 deletions

View file

@ -25,6 +25,21 @@ end
config :microwaveprop, MicrowavepropWeb.Endpoint, http: [port: String.to_integer(System.get_env("PORT", "4000"))]
# MicrowavepropWeb.Plugs.RemoteIp will only honour `Cf-Connecting-Ip` /
# `X-Forwarded-For` when the immediate TCP peer (conn.remote_ip) sits inside
# one of these CIDRs. Set TRUSTED_PROXY_CIDRS to a comma-separated list to
# override; leave unset to keep the module default (loopback + RFC1918 +
# ULA + link-local), which matches the k8s cluster pod/service network.
if trusted_proxy_cidrs = System.get_env("TRUSTED_PROXY_CIDRS") do
cidrs =
trusted_proxy_cidrs
|> String.split(",", trim: true)
|> Enum.map(&String.trim/1)
|> Enum.reject(&(&1 == ""))
config :microwaveprop, :trusted_proxies, cidrs
end
if prometheus_token = System.get_env("PROMETHEUS_AUTH_TOKEN") do
config :microwaveprop, :prometheus_auth_token, prometheus_token
end

View file

@ -1,38 +1,71 @@
defmodule MicrowavepropWeb.Plugs.RemoteIp do
@moduledoc """
Extracts the client IP from X-Forwarded-For (set by nginx/dokku proxy)
and assigns it to conn.remote_ip and Logger metadata.
Extracts the client IP from `Cf-Connecting-Ip` / `X-Forwarded-For` headers,
but only when the immediate peer (`conn.remote_ip`) is a trusted proxy.
Deployment: the app runs as pods in the k8s `prop` namespace behind the
cluster ingress, which itself sits behind Cloudflare. The only hosts that
should ever terminate TCP to a pod are ingress replicas on the cluster
pod network, so we only honour forwarded-IP headers when the raw socket
peer falls inside a configured CIDR list.
Trusted proxies are configured via `config :microwaveprop, :trusted_proxies`
(a list of CIDR strings). The default list covers loopback and the RFC1918
/ ULA ranges used by k8s cluster pod networks. `config/runtime.exs` reads
`TRUSTED_PROXY_CIDRS` (comma-separated) in production for tuning without
a rebuild.
Rationale: without this guard any client that reaches a pod directly
(cluster-internal, `kubectl port-forward`, a misconfigured Service) could
spoof `Cf-Connecting-Ip` to set `conn.remote_ip`, which flows into session
storage and logs.
"""
@behaviour Plug
@impl true
def init(opts), do: opts
import Bitwise
require Logger
@impl true
# Cloudflare sets Cf-Connecting-Ip with the real client IP.
# Fall back to X-Forwarded-For for non-tunneled requests (dev, direct).
@ip_headers ["cf-connecting-ip", "x-forwarded-for"]
def call(conn, _opts) do
ip =
Enum.find_value(@ip_headers, fn header ->
case Plug.Conn.get_req_header(conn, header) do
[value | _] ->
value
|> String.split(",")
|> hd()
|> String.trim()
|> parse_ip()
# RFC1918 + CGNAT + loopback + link-local + IPv6 loopback + ULA.
# Matches typical k8s pod/service CIDRs and the ingress mesh.
@default_trusted_proxies [
"127.0.0.0/8",
"10.0.0.0/8",
"172.16.0.0/12",
"192.168.0.0/16",
"100.64.0.0/10",
"169.254.0.0/16",
"::1/128",
"fc00::/7",
"fe80::/10"
]
_ ->
nil
end
@impl true
def init(opts) do
cidrs =
Keyword.get_lazy(opts, :trusted_proxies, fn ->
Application.get_env(:microwaveprop, :trusted_proxies, @default_trusted_proxies)
end)
parsed =
cidrs
|> Enum.map(&parse_cidr/1)
|> Enum.reject(&is_nil/1)
%{trusted_proxies: parsed}
end
@impl true
def call(conn, %{trusted_proxies: trusted_proxies}) do
conn =
if ip do
%{conn | remote_ip: ip}
if peer_trusted?(conn.remote_ip, trusted_proxies) do
case extract_forwarded_ip(conn) do
nil -> conn
ip -> %{conn | remote_ip: ip}
end
else
conn
end
@ -46,6 +79,22 @@ defmodule MicrowavepropWeb.Plugs.RemoteIp do
conn
end
defp extract_forwarded_ip(conn) do
Enum.find_value(@ip_headers, fn header ->
case Plug.Conn.get_req_header(conn, header) do
[value | _] ->
value
|> String.split(",")
|> hd()
|> String.trim()
|> parse_ip()
_ ->
nil
end
end)
end
defp parse_ip(str) do
case :inet.parse_address(String.to_charlist(str)) do
{:ok, ip} -> ip
@ -53,6 +102,63 @@ defmodule MicrowavepropWeb.Plugs.RemoteIp do
end
end
# Parses "10.0.0.0/8" or "fc00::/7" into {ip_integer, mask_integer, bit_width}.
# Invalid entries are logged and dropped at init-time.
defp parse_cidr(cidr) when is_binary(cidr) do
case String.split(cidr, "/", parts: 2) do
[ip_str, prefix_str] ->
with {prefix, ""} <- Integer.parse(prefix_str),
{:ok, ip} <- :inet.parse_address(String.to_charlist(ip_str)),
bit_width = bit_width_for(ip),
true <- prefix >= 0 and prefix <= bit_width do
mask = cidr_mask(prefix, bit_width)
{ip_to_integer(ip), mask, bit_width}
else
_ ->
Logger.warning("RemoteIp: could not parse CIDR #{inspect(cidr)}")
nil
end
_ ->
Logger.warning("RemoteIp: CIDR missing /prefix: #{inspect(cidr)}")
nil
end
end
defp parse_cidr(_), do: nil
defp bit_width_for(ip) when tuple_size(ip) == 4, do: 32
defp bit_width_for(ip) when tuple_size(ip) == 8, do: 128
# Build a prefix-bit mask: e.g. prefix=24, bit_width=32 -> 0xFFFFFF00.
defp cidr_mask(0, _bit_width), do: 0
defp cidr_mask(prefix, bit_width) do
host_bits = bit_width - prefix
all_ones = (1 <<< bit_width) - 1
all_ones - ((1 <<< host_bits) - 1)
end
defp peer_trusted?(peer_ip, trusted) when tuple_size(peer_ip) in [4, 8] do
peer_width = bit_width_for(peer_ip)
peer_int = ip_to_integer(peer_ip)
Enum.any?(trusted, fn {cidr_int, mask, bit_width} ->
bit_width == peer_width and band(peer_int, mask) == band(cidr_int, mask)
end)
end
defp peer_trusted?(_, _), do: false
defp ip_to_integer({a, b, c, d}) do
(a <<< 24) + (b <<< 16) + (c <<< 8) + d
end
defp ip_to_integer({a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h}) do
(a <<< 112) + (b <<< 96) + (c <<< 80) + (d <<< 64) +
(e <<< 48) + (f <<< 32) + (g <<< 16) + h
end
defp format_ip({a, b, c, d}), do: "#{a}.#{b}.#{c}.#{d}"
defp format_ip({a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h}), do: "#{a}:#{b}:#{c}:#{d}:#{e}:#{f}:#{g}:#{h}"
defp format_ip(_), do: "unknown"

View file

@ -6,35 +6,47 @@ defmodule MicrowavepropWeb.Plugs.RemoteIpTest do
alias MicrowavepropWeb.Plugs.RemoteIp
defp call_plug(conn) do
RemoteIp.call(conn, RemoteIp.init([]))
# A trusted peer that looks like a k8s cluster pod or ingress.
@trusted_peer {10, 42, 0, 1}
# An external peer: must NOT be able to spoof headers.
@untrusted_peer {8, 8, 8, 8}
defp call_plug(conn, opts \\ []) do
RemoteIp.call(conn, RemoteIp.init(opts))
end
describe "call/2" do
test "extracts IP from cf-connecting-ip header" do
defp with_peer(conn, ip) do
Map.put(conn, :remote_ip, ip)
end
describe "call/2 with trusted peer" do
test "uses cf-connecting-ip when immediate peer is trusted" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer(@trusted_peer)
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "1.2.3.4")
|> call_plug()
assert conn.remote_ip == {1, 2, 3, 4}
end
test "falls back to x-forwarded-for when no cf-connecting-ip" do
test "falls back to x-forwarded-for when no cf-connecting-ip (trusted peer)" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer(@trusted_peer)
|> put_req_header("x-forwarded-for", "5.6.7.8")
|> call_plug()
assert conn.remote_ip == {5, 6, 7, 8}
end
test "prefers cf-connecting-ip over x-forwarded-for" do
test "prefers cf-connecting-ip over x-forwarded-for (trusted peer)" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer(@trusted_peer)
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "1.2.3.4")
|> put_req_header("x-forwarded-for", "5.6.7.8")
|> call_plug()
@ -42,49 +54,167 @@ defmodule MicrowavepropWeb.Plugs.RemoteIpTest do
assert conn.remote_ip == {1, 2, 3, 4}
end
test "takes first IP from comma-separated x-forwarded-for" do
test "takes first IP from comma-separated x-forwarded-for (trusted peer)" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer(@trusted_peer)
|> put_req_header("x-forwarded-for", "10.0.0.1, 10.0.0.2, 10.0.0.3")
|> call_plug()
assert conn.remote_ip == {10, 0, 0, 1}
end
test "preserves original remote_ip when no headers present" do
original_ip = {127, 0, 0, 1}
test "preserves original remote_ip when no headers present (trusted peer)" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> Map.put(:remote_ip, original_ip)
|> with_peer(@trusted_peer)
|> call_plug()
assert conn.remote_ip == original_ip
assert conn.remote_ip == @trusted_peer
end
test "handles IPv6 addresses" do
test "handles IPv6 header value (trusted peer)" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "::1")
|> with_peer(@trusted_peer)
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "2001:db8::1")
|> call_plug()
assert conn.remote_ip == {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1}
assert conn.remote_ip == {8193, 3512, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1}
end
test "ignores malformed IP addresses" do
original_ip = {127, 0, 0, 1}
test "handles loopback peer (IPv4)" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> Map.put(:remote_ip, original_ip)
|> with_peer({127, 0, 0, 1})
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "1.2.3.4")
|> call_plug()
assert conn.remote_ip == {1, 2, 3, 4}
end
test "handles loopback peer (IPv6 ::1)" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer({0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1})
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "1.2.3.4")
|> call_plug()
assert conn.remote_ip == {1, 2, 3, 4}
end
test "ignores malformed IP in header (trusted peer)" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer(@trusted_peer)
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "not-an-ip")
|> call_plug()
assert conn.remote_ip == original_ip
assert conn.remote_ip == @trusted_peer
end
end
describe "call/2 with untrusted peer" do
test "ignores cf-connecting-ip from untrusted peer (spoof attempt)" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer(@untrusted_peer)
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "1.2.3.4")
|> call_plug()
assert conn.remote_ip == @untrusted_peer
end
test "ignores x-forwarded-for from untrusted peer (spoof attempt)" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer(@untrusted_peer)
|> put_req_header("x-forwarded-for", "1.2.3.4, 5.6.7.8")
|> call_plug()
assert conn.remote_ip == @untrusted_peer
end
test "ignores both spoofed headers from untrusted peer" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer(@untrusted_peer)
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "1.2.3.4")
|> put_req_header("x-forwarded-for", "9.9.9.9")
|> call_plug()
assert conn.remote_ip == @untrusted_peer
end
end
describe "call/2 with IPv6 peers" do
test "trusts IPv6 ULA peer when configured" do
# fc00::/7 ULA range — included in default trusted list.
peer = {0xFC00, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1}
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer(peer)
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "1.2.3.4")
|> call_plug(trusted_proxies: ["fc00::/7"])
assert conn.remote_ip == {1, 2, 3, 4}
end
test "does not trust a public IPv6 peer when only ULA is trusted" do
peer = {0x2001, 0xDB8, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1}
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer(peer)
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "1.2.3.4")
|> call_plug(trusted_proxies: ["fc00::/7"])
assert conn.remote_ip == peer
end
end
describe "call/2 with custom trusted_proxies option" do
test "explicit empty list trusts nothing — even loopback is ignored" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer({127, 0, 0, 1})
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "1.2.3.4")
|> call_plug(trusted_proxies: [])
assert conn.remote_ip == {127, 0, 0, 1}
end
test "single-host CIDR (/32) trusts only that exact IP" do
conn =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer({203, 0, 113, 5})
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "1.2.3.4")
|> call_plug(trusted_proxies: ["203.0.113.5/32"])
assert conn.remote_ip == {1, 2, 3, 4}
conn2 =
:get
|> conn("/")
|> with_peer({203, 0, 113, 6})
|> put_req_header("cf-connecting-ip", "1.2.3.4")
|> call_plug(trusted_proxies: ["203.0.113.5/32"])
assert conn2.remote_ip == {203, 0, 113, 6}
end
end
end