The test set HERMES_YOLO_MODE=1 via monkeypatch.setenv, expecting
check_dangerous_command() to honor yolo and bypass cron_mode=deny. But
tools.approval._YOLO_MODE_FROZEN is intentionally frozen at module
import time (security: prevents prompt-injection runtime escalation).
When CI imports the module BEFORE the test sets the env, the frozen
value stays False and the yolo bypass never activates.
Local runs missed this because the conftest leaked a non-empty
HERMES_YOLO_MODE into the import-time env. CI's clean-env path exposed
the bug deterministically on test (3) / test (4) shards.
Fix: patch the module attribute directly via mock.patch.object so the
test simulates process-startup-with-yolo regardless of import order.
The behavior under test (yolo bypasses cron_mode=deny for non-hardline
commands) is unchanged; the security invariant (_YOLO_MODE_FROZEN can't
be set at runtime by skills) is preserved.
Reproduced locally with: env -i HOME=$HOME PATH=$PATH python3 -m pytest
tests/tools/test_cron_approval_mode.py -o 'addopts=' -v
Without the fix: 1 failed, 23 passed. With the fix: 24 passed.
The new _is_gateway_approval_context() widened the gateway classification
to any call with HERMES_SESSION_PLATFORM bound via contextvars. But
cron/scheduler.py binds that same contextvar for delivery routing on
cron jobs that originate from a gateway platform (telegram/discord/etc.),
so those jobs were getting routed through submit_pending with no
listener — blocking indefinitely instead of honoring approvals.cron_mode.
Short-circuit on HERMES_CRON_SESSION before any gateway check. Cron is
always governed by cron_mode config, regardless of where the job was
scheduled from.
Adds regression coverage in TestCronWithGatewayOrigin and records the
contributor email mapping for scripts/release.py.
Adds a floor below --yolo: a tiny set of commands so catastrophic they
should never run via the agent, regardless of --yolo, gateway /yolo,
approvals.mode=off, or cron approve mode. Opting into yolo is trusting
the agent with your files and services — not trusting it to wipe the
disk or power the box off.
The list is deliberately small (12 patterns), covering only
unrecoverable ops:
- rm -rf targeting /, /home, /etc, /usr, /var, /boot, /bin, /sbin,
/lib, ~, $HOME
- mkfs (any variant)
- dd + redirection to raw block devices (/dev/sd*, /dev/nvme*, etc.)
- fork bomb
- kill -1 / kill -9 -1
- shutdown, reboot, halt, poweroff, init 0/6, telinit 0/6,
systemctl poweroff/reboot/halt/kexec
Recoverable-but-costly commands (git reset --hard, rm -rf /tmp/x,
chmod -R 777, curl | sh) stay in DANGEROUS_PATTERNS where yolo can
still pass them through — that's what yolo is for.
Container backends (docker/singularity/modal/daytona) continue to
bypass both hardline and dangerous checks, since nothing they do can
touch the host.
Inspired by Mercury Agent's permission-hardened blocklist.
Add approvals.cron_mode config option that controls how cron jobs handle
dangerous commands. Previously, cron jobs silently auto-approved all
dangerous commands because there was no user present to approve them.
Now the behavior is configurable:
- deny (default): block dangerous commands and return a message telling
the agent to find an alternative approach. The agent loop continues —
it just can't use that specific command.
- approve: auto-approve all dangerous commands (previous behavior).
When a command is blocked, the agent receives the same response format as
a user denial in the CLI — exit_code=-1, status=blocked, with a message
explaining why and pointing to the config option. This keeps the agent
loop running and encourages it to adapt.
Implementation:
- config.py: add approvals.cron_mode to DEFAULT_CONFIG
- scheduler.py: set HERMES_CRON_SESSION=1 env var before agent runs
- approval.py: both check_command_approval() and check_all_command_guards()
now check for cron sessions and apply the configured mode
- 21 new tests covering config parsing, deny/approve behavior, and
interaction with other bypass mechanisms (yolo, containers)
