Subprocesses spawned outside the terminal/execute_code path (agent-browser,
copilot ACP, dep-ensure, lazy_deps uv install, TUI Node host, cli.exec)
inherited the operator's full credential environment via os.environ.copy().
The terminal path was already scrubbed by _HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST
(#1002/#1264/#32314); these spawn sites bypassed it.
Adds hermes_subprocess_env(inherit_credentials=) in tools/environments/local.py
reusing the existing dynamic blocklist as the single source of truth:
- Tier 1 (_ALWAYS_STRIP_KEYS): gateway bot tokens, GitHub auth, infra
secrets -- stripped even for credential-inheriting children.
- Tier 2 (_HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST): provider/tool keys -- stripped
unless inherit_credentials=True. The opt-in is grep-able for audit.
Browser worker keeps a _BROWSER_PASSTHROUGH_KEYS allowlist (BROWSERBASE/
FIRECRAWL) re-added after the strip. Model-driving children (ACP, TUI Node
host, cli.exec) use inherit_credentials=True so they still get provider keys
while losing Tier-1 secrets. Installers (dep-ensure, lazy_deps) inherit
nothing sensitive. cua_backend already routed through _sanitize_subprocess_env
on main -- left as-is. Gateway adapter utility spawns (gh pr comment, ffmpeg)
are left inheriting env: gh needs GH_TOKEN by design, ffmpeg is a trusted
system binary -- no untrusted-dependency exposure.
This is defense-in-depth (personal-assistant trust model: same-user spawns),
making the existing scrub policy uniform across the spawn surface; the main
real payoff is shrinking the blast radius if a transitive npm dep in
agent-browser is compromised.
Reconstructed on current main from the design in #31959 (Tranquil-Flow);
also credits #39003 (rodboev), #37843 (coygeek), #35769 (egilewski).
Co-authored-by: Tranquil-Flow <tranquil_flow@protonmail.com>
Co-authored-by: rodboev <rod.boev@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: egilewski <egilewski@egilewski.com>
