hermes-agent/agent/file_safety.py
Teknium d3c167b644
fix(profiles): cross-profile soft guard on file-write tools + system-prompt hint (#31290)
* fix(profiles): cross-profile soft guard on file-write tools + system-prompt hint

Adds a soft guard so an agent running under one Hermes profile cannot
silently edit a different profile's skills/plugins/cron/memories.
Three layers:

A. agent/file_safety.classify_cross_profile_target
   Classifies a write target against the active HERMES_HOME. Returns
   a {active_profile, target_profile, area, target_path} dict when the
   path lands in another profile's scoped area. PROFILE_SCOPED_AREAS =
   (skills, plugins, cron, memories). get_cross_profile_warning()
   wraps it into a model-facing error string that names both profiles,
   names the area, and points at the cross_profile=True bypass.

   Defense-in-depth, NOT a security boundary — the terminal tool runs
   as the same OS user and can write any of these paths directly. The
   guard exists to prevent confused-agent corruption, not to stop a
   determined attacker. SECURITY.md §3.2 (terminal-bypass posture)
   still applies.

   Wired into tools/file_tools.write_file_tool and patch_tool with a
   cross_profile=False kwarg. WRITE_FILE_SCHEMA and PATCH_SCHEMA both
   advertise cross_profile so the model can pass it after explicit
   user direction. patch_tool extracts target paths from V4A patch
   bodies before checking (same shape as the existing sensitive-path
   check).

   skill_manage is already scoped to the active profile's SKILLS_DIR
   by construction, so no extra guard wiring is needed there. The
   D-side error message (below) still names other profiles when the
   skill exists elsewhere.

B. agent/system_prompt
   One deterministic line near the environment-hints block names the
   active profile and tells the model not to modify another profile's
   skills/plugins/cron/memories without explicit direction. Profile
   name is stable for the lifetime of the AIAgent, so the line is
   prompt-cache-safe.

D. tools/skill_manager_tool._skill_not_found_error
   Replaces the bare "Skill 'X' not found." with a message that:
     - names the active profile,
     - searches OTHER profiles' skills dirs for the same name,
     - names the profile(s) where the skill exists and the path,
     - suggests `hermes -p <name>` to switch profiles, or
       cross_profile=True for an explicit edit.

   All 5 "not found" sites in skill_manager_tool (edit, patch, delete,
   write_file, remove_file) now go through the helper.

Reference incident (May 2026): a hermes-security profile session
edited skills under both ~/.hermes/profiles/hermes-security/skills/
AND ~/.hermes/skills/ (the default profile's skills) without
realizing the second path belonged to a different profile. Three of
the four skill files needed manual restoration afterward.

What this PR does NOT do:

  * No hard block. The terminal tool can still touch any of these
    paths with no guard — same posture as the dangerous-command
    approval flow. SECURITY.md §3.2 applies.
  * No regex sweep on terminal commands for cross-profile paths.
    That direction is a Skills-Guard-style arms race (cd + relative
    paths, base64, etc.) and would false-positive on legitimate
    cross-profile reads. Filed as a follow-up.
  * No on-disk path migration. ~/.hermes/skills/ remains the
    default profile's skills dir; this PR is about telling the
    agent about that boundary, not changing the layout.

Tests:
  tests/agent/test_file_safety_cross_profile.py (16 tests)
    - _resolve_active_profile_name covers default/named/failure paths
    - classify_cross_profile_target covers all four scoped areas,
      both directions (default → named, named → default, named → named),
      non-Hermes paths, and root-level config files
    - get_cross_profile_warning covers in-profile no-op, cross-profile
      message shape, and the defense-in-depth self-documentation

  tests/tools/test_cross_profile_guard.py (12 tests)
    - write_file: in-profile allow, cross-profile block, cross_profile=True
      bypass, non-Hermes pass-through
    - patch: replace-mode block, cross_profile=True bypass, V4A patch
      path extraction
    - skill_manage: error names the other profile (single + multiple),
      missing-everywhere falls back to skills_list hint
    - system prompt: contract-level checks (both branches present,
      cross_profile=True mentioned, ~/.hermes/profiles/ referenced)

All 207 existing tests in file_safety/file_operations/skill_manager
still pass. 10 system-prompt tests still pass.

E2E verified: the exact incident scenario (security profile editing
default's hermes-agent-dev skill) is now blocked with the warning
message; cross_profile=True unblocks.

* fix(code_execution): add cross_profile to write_file/patch stubs

The cross_profile kwarg added to write_file_tool/patch_tool needs to
flow through the execute_code sandbox stubs in _TOOL_STUBS so the
test_stubs_cover_all_schema_params drift test passes. Without this,
scripts running inside execute_code couldn't pass cross_profile=True
through hermes_tools.write_file().

Caught by CI on PR #31290.
2026-05-24 00:38:17 -07:00

401 lines
15 KiB
Python

"""Shared file safety rules used by both tools and ACP shims."""
from __future__ import annotations
import os
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Optional
def _hermes_home_path() -> Path:
"""Resolve the active HERMES_HOME (profile-aware) without circular imports."""
try:
from hermes_constants import get_hermes_home # local import to avoid cycles
return get_hermes_home()
except Exception:
return Path(os.path.expanduser("~/.hermes"))
def _hermes_root_path() -> Path:
"""Resolve the Hermes root dir (always the parent of any profile, never per-profile)."""
try:
from hermes_constants import get_default_hermes_root # local import to avoid cycles
return get_default_hermes_root()
except Exception:
return Path(os.path.expanduser("~/.hermes"))
def build_write_denied_paths(home: str) -> set[str]:
"""Return exact sensitive paths that must never be written."""
hermes_home = _hermes_home_path()
hermes_root = _hermes_root_path()
return {
os.path.realpath(p)
for p in [
os.path.join(home, ".ssh", "authorized_keys"),
os.path.join(home, ".ssh", "id_rsa"),
os.path.join(home, ".ssh", "id_ed25519"),
os.path.join(home, ".ssh", "config"),
# Active profile .env (or top-level .env when not in profile mode).
str(hermes_home / ".env"),
# Top-level .env, even when running under a profile — overwriting it
# leaks credentials across every profile that inherits from root (#15981).
str(hermes_root / ".env"),
os.path.join(home, ".bashrc"),
os.path.join(home, ".zshrc"),
os.path.join(home, ".profile"),
os.path.join(home, ".bash_profile"),
os.path.join(home, ".zprofile"),
os.path.join(home, ".netrc"),
os.path.join(home, ".pgpass"),
os.path.join(home, ".npmrc"),
os.path.join(home, ".pypirc"),
"/etc/sudoers",
"/etc/passwd",
"/etc/shadow",
]
}
def build_write_denied_prefixes(home: str) -> list[str]:
"""Return sensitive directory prefixes that must never be written."""
return [
os.path.realpath(p) + os.sep
for p in [
os.path.join(home, ".ssh"),
os.path.join(home, ".aws"),
os.path.join(home, ".gnupg"),
os.path.join(home, ".kube"),
"/etc/sudoers.d",
"/etc/systemd",
os.path.join(home, ".docker"),
os.path.join(home, ".azure"),
os.path.join(home, ".config", "gh"),
]
]
def get_safe_write_root() -> Optional[str]:
"""Return the resolved HERMES_WRITE_SAFE_ROOT path, or None if unset."""
root = os.getenv("HERMES_WRITE_SAFE_ROOT", "")
if not root:
return None
try:
return os.path.realpath(os.path.expanduser(root))
except Exception:
return None
def is_write_denied(path: str) -> bool:
"""Return True if path is blocked by the write denylist or safe root."""
home = os.path.realpath(os.path.expanduser("~"))
resolved = os.path.realpath(os.path.expanduser(str(path)))
if resolved in build_write_denied_paths(home):
return True
for prefix in build_write_denied_prefixes(home):
if resolved.startswith(prefix):
return True
# Hermes control-plane files: block both the ACTIVE profile's view
# (hermes_home) AND the global root view. Without the root pass, a
# profile-mode session leaves <root>/auth.json + <root>/config.yaml
# writable — letting a prompt-injected write_file overwrite the global
# files that every profile inherits from (same shape as #15981).
control_file_names = ("auth.json", "config.yaml", "webhook_subscriptions.json")
mcp_tokens_dir_name = "mcp-tokens"
hermes_dirs = []
for base in (_hermes_home_path(), _hermes_root_path()):
try:
real = os.path.realpath(base)
if real not in hermes_dirs:
hermes_dirs.append(real)
except Exception:
continue
for base_real in hermes_dirs:
for name in control_file_names:
try:
if resolved == os.path.realpath(os.path.join(base_real, name)):
return True
except Exception:
continue
try:
mcp_real = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(base_real, mcp_tokens_dir_name))
if resolved == mcp_real or resolved.startswith(mcp_real + os.sep):
return True
except Exception:
pass
safe_root = get_safe_write_root()
if safe_root and not (resolved == safe_root or resolved.startswith(safe_root + os.sep)):
return True
return False
def get_read_block_error(path: str) -> Optional[str]:
"""Return an error message when a read targets a denied Hermes path.
Two categories are blocked:
* Internal Hermes cache files under ``HERMES_HOME/skills/.hub`` —
readable metadata that an attacker could use as a prompt-injection
carrier.
* Credential / secret stores under HERMES_HOME and the global Hermes
root: ``auth.json``, ``auth.lock``, ``.anthropic_oauth.json``,
``.env``, ``webhook_subscriptions.json``, and anything under
``mcp-tokens/``. These hold plaintext provider keys, OAuth tokens,
and HMAC secrets that the agent never needs to read directly —
provider tools / gateway adapters consume them through internal
channels.
**This is NOT a security boundary.** The terminal tool runs as the
same OS user with shell access; the agent can still ``cat auth.json``
or ``cat ~/.hermes/.env`` and exfiltrate the file. The read-deny exists
as defense-in-depth that:
* Returns a clear error to models that respect tool denials, which
empirically prompts most modern models to stop rather than reach
for the shell.
* Surfaces a visible audit trail when something tries to read
credentials — easier to spot in logs than a generic ``cat``.
Treat any user-visible framing around this as "may help" rather than
"stops attackers." A determined model or malicious instruction can
always shell out.
Callers that resolve relative paths against a non-process cwd
(e.g. ``TERMINAL_CWD`` in ``tools/file_tools.py``) MUST pre-resolve
and pass the absolute path string. This function's own ``resolve()``
is anchored at the Python process cwd, so a relative input like
``"auth.json"`` would otherwise miss the denylist when the task's
terminal cwd differs from the process cwd.
"""
resolved = Path(path).expanduser().resolve()
# Resolve BOTH the active HERMES_HOME (profile-aware) AND the global
# Hermes root so credential stores at <root>/auth.json etc. are also
# blocked when running under a profile (HERMES_HOME points at
# <root>/profiles/<name> in profile mode). Same shape as the write
# deny widening (#15981, #14157).
hermes_dirs: list[Path] = []
for base in (_hermes_home_path(), _hermes_root_path()):
try:
real = base.resolve()
if real not in hermes_dirs:
hermes_dirs.append(real)
except Exception:
continue
# Skills .hub: prompt-injection carriers.
for hd in hermes_dirs:
blocked_dirs = [
hd / "skills" / ".hub" / "index-cache",
hd / "skills" / ".hub",
]
for blocked in blocked_dirs:
try:
resolved.relative_to(blocked)
except ValueError:
continue
return (
f"Access denied: {path} is an internal Hermes cache file "
"and cannot be read directly to prevent prompt injection. "
"Use the skills_list or skill_view tools instead."
)
# Credential / secret stores. Exact-file matches under either
# HERMES_HOME or <root>.
credential_file_names = (
"auth.json",
"auth.lock",
".anthropic_oauth.json",
".env",
"webhook_subscriptions.json",
)
for hd in hermes_dirs:
for name in credential_file_names:
try:
blocked = (hd / name).resolve()
except Exception:
continue
if resolved == blocked:
return (
f"Access denied: {path} is a Hermes credential store "
"and cannot be read directly. Provider tools consume "
"these credentials through internal channels. "
"(Defense-in-depth — not a security boundary; the "
"terminal tool can still bypass.)"
)
# mcp-tokens/: directory prefix match — anything inside is OAuth
# token material.
for hd in hermes_dirs:
try:
mcp_tokens = (hd / "mcp-tokens").resolve()
except Exception:
continue
if resolved == mcp_tokens:
return (
f"Access denied: {path} is the Hermes MCP token directory "
"and cannot be read directly. (Defense-in-depth — not a "
"security boundary; the terminal tool can still bypass.)"
)
try:
resolved.relative_to(mcp_tokens)
except ValueError:
continue
return (
f"Access denied: {path} is a Hermes MCP token file "
"and cannot be read directly. (Defense-in-depth — not a "
"security boundary; the terminal tool can still bypass.)"
)
return None
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Cross-profile write guard (#TBD)
#
# Hermes profiles are separate HERMES_HOME dirs under
# ``<root>/profiles/<name>/``. Each profile has its own skills/, plugins/,
# cron/, memories/. When an agent runs under one profile, writing into
# ANOTHER profile's directories is almost always wrong — those skills /
# plugins / cron jobs / memories affect a different session the user runs
# from a different shell.
#
# Soft guard, NOT a security boundary: the agent runs as the same OS user
# and has unrestricted terminal access, so this returns a warning the model
# can choose to honor or override with ``cross_profile=True``. Same shape
# as the dangerous-command approval flow — the agent is told the boundary
# exists, and explicit user direction is required to cross it.
#
# Reference: May 2026 incident where a hermes-security profile session
# edited skills under both ``~/.hermes/profiles/hermes-security/skills/``
# AND ``~/.hermes/skills/`` (the default profile's skills) without realizing
# the second path belonged to a different profile.
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Profile-scoped directories under HERMES_HOME / <root> / <root>/profiles/<X>/
# that should be guarded. Adding a new area here extends the guard with no
# other code change.
PROFILE_SCOPED_AREAS = ("skills", "plugins", "cron", "memories")
def _resolve_active_profile_name() -> str:
"""Return the active profile name derived from HERMES_HOME.
``~/.hermes`` -> ``"default"``
``~/.hermes/profiles/X`` -> ``"X"``
Falls back to ``"default"`` on any resolution failure so the guard
never raises into the tool path.
"""
try:
home_real = _hermes_home_path().resolve()
root_real = _hermes_root_path().resolve()
except (OSError, RuntimeError):
return "default"
profiles_dir = root_real / "profiles"
try:
rel = home_real.relative_to(profiles_dir)
parts = rel.parts
if len(parts) >= 1:
return parts[0]
except ValueError:
pass
return "default"
def classify_cross_profile_target(path: str) -> Optional[dict]:
"""Classify a write target as cross-profile if it lands in another
profile's scoped area (skills/plugins/cron/memories).
Returns ``None`` when the target is outside Hermes scope, or is inside
the ACTIVE profile, or doesn't hit a profile-scoped area. Otherwise
returns a dict with:
* ``active_profile``: name of the profile the agent is running as
* ``target_profile``: name of the profile the path belongs to
* ``area``: which scoped area (``"skills"``, ``"plugins"``, etc.)
* ``target_path``: the resolved path string
The caller decides what to do with the result — surface a warning to
the model, prompt the user, or (with explicit consent /
``cross_profile=True``) proceed anyway.
"""
try:
target = Path(os.path.expanduser(str(path))).resolve()
root_real = _hermes_root_path().resolve()
except (OSError, RuntimeError):
return None
target_profile: Optional[str] = None
area: Optional[str] = None
try:
rel = target.relative_to(root_real)
except ValueError:
return None
parts = rel.parts
if not parts:
return None
if parts[0] in PROFILE_SCOPED_AREAS:
# ``<root>/<area>/...`` → default profile.
target_profile = "default"
area = parts[0]
elif (
parts[0] == "profiles"
and len(parts) >= 3
and parts[2] in PROFILE_SCOPED_AREAS
):
# ``<root>/profiles/<name>/<area>/...`` → named profile.
target_profile = parts[1]
area = parts[2]
else:
return None
active_profile = _resolve_active_profile_name()
if target_profile == active_profile:
# In-profile write — not a cross-profile event.
return None
return {
"active_profile": active_profile,
"target_profile": target_profile,
"area": area,
"target_path": str(target),
}
def get_cross_profile_warning(path: str) -> Optional[str]:
"""Return a model-facing warning string when ``path`` is cross-profile.
Returns ``None`` when the write is in-scope (same profile) or outside
Hermes entirely. Caller is expected to surface the warning to the
agent as a tool-result error, NOT to silently allow the write — the
agent must either get explicit user direction to proceed, or pass
``cross_profile=True`` to its write tool.
This is defense-in-depth: the terminal tool runs as the same OS user
and can write any of these paths without going through this guard.
Treat the guard as a confusion-reducer, not a security boundary.
"""
info = classify_cross_profile_target(path)
if info is None:
return None
return (
f"Cross-profile write blocked by soft guard: {info['target_path']} "
f"belongs to Hermes profile {info['target_profile']!r}, but the "
f"agent is running under profile {info['active_profile']!r}. "
f"Editing another profile's {info['area']}/ will affect that "
f"profile's future sessions, not the one you are currently in. "
f"Confirm with the user before proceeding. To bypass this guard "
f"after explicit user direction, retry the call with "
f"``cross_profile=True``. (Defense-in-depth — not a security "
f"boundary; the terminal tool can still bypass.)"
)