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TASK-068: secure_zero arena clear (CWE-14 / CWE-226 mitigation)
Replace the std::memset call in connection_state::reset_arena() with a new httpserver::detail::secure_zero helper that the optimizer is forbidden to elide as a dead store. The helper dispatches to explicit_bzero (glibc/musl/BSD), RtlSecureZeroMemory (Windows), or a portable volatile-pointer loop + asm("" ::: "memory") clobber fallback (macOS and any other lane without explicit_bzero). The full 8 KiB initial_buffer_ is scrubbed unconditionally, closing the residual- credential window across keep-alive requests for credentials that fit within the arena (overflow blocks remain an accepted residue, documented in the rewritten comment block). The DR-008 sanity gate (a DEADBEEFCRED sentinel carried as a basic-auth username on request 1 must not be observable to request 2 on the same MHD connection) is pinned by a new integ test that reaches the underlying MHD_Connection through a new HTTPSERVER_COMPILATION-gated http_request::underlying_connection_for_testing() accessor and probes connection_state::initial_buffer_ directly. A second integ-signal hook (connection_opened) asserts curl keep-alive engaged exactly once across both requests. Two additional unit tests guard the helper itself: secure_zero_dce_test is compiled at -O2 -DNDEBUG and reads every byte through a volatile sink to verify the writes are not dead-store eliminated; and connection_state_sentinel_test pins that reset_arena() zeros the entire arena, not just the bump-pointer prefix. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
1 parent 06447ee commit 3d70a4d

12 files changed

Lines changed: 610 additions & 29 deletions

configure.ac

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Original file line numberDiff line numberDiff line change
@@ -114,6 +114,24 @@ AC_CHECK_HEADER([signal.h],[],[AC_MSG_ERROR("signal.h not found")])
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AC_CHECK_HEADER([gnutls/gnutls.h],[have_gnutls="yes"],[AC_MSG_WARN("gnutls/gnutls.h not found. TLS will be disabled"); have_gnutls="no"])
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117+
# TASK-068: portable secure-zero primitive selection. Probe for
118+
# explicit_bzero (glibc / musl / FreeBSD / OpenBSD / *BSD). The header
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# httpserver/detail/secure_zero.hpp dispatches at compile time based on
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# whether this is available. Windows takes the RtlSecureZeroMemory
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# branch; macOS and other platforms without explicit_bzero take the
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# portable volatile + asm-clobber fallback (which has the same security
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# guarantee without the __STDC_WANT_LIB_EXT1__ include-order coupling
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# that memset_s would impose on a transitively-included header).
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#
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# The HAVE_EXPLICIT_BZERO macro is pushed into AM_CXXFLAGS / AM_CFLAGS
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# (matching the established libhttpserver pattern for HAVE_GNUTLS /
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# HAVE_BAUTH / etc.) so it reaches the header without requiring an
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# explicit `#include "config.h"` from secure_zero.hpp.
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AC_CHECK_DECLS([explicit_bzero], [], [], [[#include <string.h>]])
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AS_IF([test "x$ac_cv_have_decl_explicit_bzero" = "xyes"],
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[AM_CXXFLAGS="$AM_CXXFLAGS -DHAVE_EXPLICIT_BZERO"
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AM_CFLAGS="$AM_CFLAGS -DHAVE_EXPLICIT_BZERO"])
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117135
# Checks for libmicrohttpd
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if test x"$host" = x"$build"; then
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AC_CHECK_HEADER([microhttpd.h],

specs/tasks/M7-v2-cleanup/TASK-068.md

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@@ -10,10 +10,12 @@ Two acknowledged residual gaps at `connection_state.hpp:122, 130`:
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2. CWE-14 — the current clear path uses `memset(…, 0, …)`, which an optimizer may dead-code-eliminate. Replace with `explicit_bzero` (or a portable equivalent) so the zeroing is observable.
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**Action Items:**
13-
- [ ] In `connection_state::reset()` (or whatever clears the arena between requests), zero the entire used-bytes prefix unconditionally. Document the trade-off (cycles vs. CWE-226 mitigation) in the header.
14-
- [ ] Replace the `memset` call with `explicit_bzero` on glibc/musl/macOS, `SecureZeroMemory` on Windows, or a hand-rolled `volatile`-pointer loop where neither is available. Centralize the helper in `src/httpserver/detail/secure_zero.hpp`.
15-
- [ ] Update the inline comments at lines 122 and 130 to reference the fix.
16-
- [ ] Add a unit test (compile-time + runtime) that pins the helper is not dead-code-eliminated under `-O2` (using a memory barrier and a `volatile` sink to observe the write).
13+
- [x] In `connection_state::reset_arena()`, zero the entire `initial_buffer_` unconditionally via the new `httpserver::detail::secure_zero` helper. The trade-off (a few thousand cycles per keep-alive request for a non-elidable byte-wise clear vs. the CWE-14 + CWE-226 mitigation) is documented in the rewritten comment block at lines 106-148.
14+
- [x] Replace the `memset` call with the `secure_zero` helper centralized in `src/httpserver/detail/secure_zero.hpp`. The helper dispatches at compile time to `explicit_bzero` (glibc/musl/BSD), `RtlSecureZeroMemory` (Windows), or a portable `volatile`-pointer loop + `asm __volatile__("" ::: "memory")` clobber fallback (macOS + any lane without `explicit_bzero`). Note: `memset_s` was evaluated and skipped -- its `__STDC_WANT_LIB_EXT1__` include-order requirement is incompatible with a transitively-included internal header, so macOS takes the portable fallback (same security guarantee without the preprocessor-order coupling).
15+
- [x] Updated the inline comments at the formerly-line-122 / formerly-line-130 sites (now lines 106-148 of `connection_state.hpp`) to reference the `secure_zero` helper and the CWE-14 / CWE-226 posture. Also updated the cross-reference comment at `src/detail/webserver_callbacks.cpp:124`.
16+
- [x] Added `test/unit/secure_zero_dce_test.cpp` -- compiled at `-O2 -DNDEBUG` (per-target `CXXFLAGS` override), prefills a 256-byte buffer with 0xA5, calls `secure_zero`, then reads every byte through a `volatile unsigned char sink` and asserts each is zero. Also pinned `secure_zero(nullptr, 0)` and `secure_zero(p, 0)` no-op contracts.
17+
- [x] Added `test/unit/connection_state_sentinel_test.cpp` -- prefills the full 8 KiB arena with 0xDE, calls `reset_arena()`, and asserts every byte is zero (CWE-226 unit pin). A companion test confirms that a sentinel pattern written into a 512-byte arena allocation is scrubbed after `reset_arena()` + same-size re-allocation.
18+
- [x] Added `test/integ/connection_state_body_residue_test.cpp` -- the acceptance-criterion integ test. Two `GET /peek` requests over a single curl-keep-alive connection; the first carries a `DEADBEEFCRED_SENTINEL_USERNAME_FROM_REQUEST_1` basic-auth username (decoded into the arena-backed `http_request_impl::username` pmr::string), the second carries no Authorization header. The handler peeks `connection_state::initial_buffer_` via a new `HTTPSERVER_COMPILATION`-gated `http_request::underlying_connection_for_testing()` accessor. Sanity: request 1's handler observes the sentinel; headline: request 2's handler does not. Belt-and-braces: a server-wide `connection_opened` hook fires exactly once across both requests.
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**Dependencies:**
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- Blocked by: None
@@ -29,4 +31,4 @@ Two acknowledged residual gaps at `connection_state.hpp:122, 130`:
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**Related Requirements:** PRD §2 security NFR (CWE-226, CWE-14)
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**Related Decisions:** None new
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**Status:** Backlog
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**Status:** Completed

src/Makefile.am

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@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ libhttpserver_la_SOURCES = string_utilities.cpp webserver.cpp http_utils.cpp fil
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# noinst_HEADERS: shipped in the tarball but NEVER installed under $prefix/include.
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# Detail headers (httpserver/detail/*.hpp) live here so they cannot leak to
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# downstream consumers — the public surface comes in through <httpserver.hpp>.
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noinst_HEADERS = httpserver/string_utilities.hpp httpserver/detail/modded_request.hpp httpserver/detail/http_endpoint.hpp httpserver/detail/body.hpp httpserver/detail/webserver_impl.hpp httpserver/detail/webserver_impl_dispatch.hpp httpserver/detail/connection_state.hpp httpserver/detail/http_request_impl.hpp httpserver/detail/resource_hook_table.hpp httpserver/detail/route_entry.hpp httpserver/detail/lambda_resource.hpp httpserver/detail/radix_tree.hpp httpserver/detail/route_cache.hpp httpserver/detail/route_tier.hpp gettext.h
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noinst_HEADERS = httpserver/string_utilities.hpp httpserver/detail/modded_request.hpp httpserver/detail/http_endpoint.hpp httpserver/detail/body.hpp httpserver/detail/webserver_impl.hpp httpserver/detail/webserver_impl_dispatch.hpp httpserver/detail/connection_state.hpp httpserver/detail/secure_zero.hpp httpserver/detail/http_request_impl.hpp httpserver/detail/resource_hook_table.hpp httpserver/detail/route_entry.hpp httpserver/detail/lambda_resource.hpp httpserver/detail/radix_tree.hpp httpserver/detail/route_cache.hpp httpserver/detail/route_tier.hpp gettext.h
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nobase_include_HEADERS = httpserver.hpp httpserver/body_kind.hpp httpserver/cookie.hpp httpserver/constants.hpp httpserver/create_webserver.hpp httpserver/create_test_request.hpp httpserver/webserver.hpp httpserver/webserver_routes.hpp httpserver/webserver_websocket.hpp httpserver/webserver_hooks.hpp httpserver/websocket_handler.hpp httpserver/http_utils.hpp httpserver/ip_representation.hpp httpserver/file_info.hpp httpserver/http_request.hpp httpserver/http_request_auth.hpp httpserver/http_response.hpp httpserver/http_resource.hpp httpserver/feature_unavailable.hpp httpserver/iovec_entry.hpp httpserver/http_arg_value.hpp httpserver/http_method.hpp httpserver/hook_phase.hpp httpserver/hook_action.hpp httpserver/hook_handle.hpp httpserver/hook_context.hpp
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AM_CXXFLAGS += -fPIC -Wall

src/detail/webserver_callbacks.cpp

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@@ -122,11 +122,15 @@ void webserver_impl::request_completed(void *cls, struct MHD_Connection *connect
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*con_cls = nullptr;
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// (2) Now that no live object inside the arena's storage remains,
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// rewind the bump pointer AND zero the initial buffer so that
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// rewind the bump pointer AND secure-zero the initial buffer so
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// credentials from the completed request do not linger in the
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// reused memory (security-reviewer-iter1-3). reset_arena() does
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// both atomically. The next request on this keep-alive connection
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// reuses the same memory (verified by http_request_arena unit test).
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// reused memory (security-reviewer-iter1-3, CWE-226 / CWE-14).
128+
// reset_arena() does release + non-elidable zero atomically; see
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// connection_state::reset_arena() docs and
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// httpserver/detail/secure_zero.hpp for the platform-specific
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// dispatch (TASK-068). The next request on this keep-alive
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// connection reuses the same memory (verified by
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// http_request_arena and connection_state_sentinel unit tests).
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//
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// Unconditional release is correct regardless of the `toe`
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// (MHD_RequestTerminationCode) value: step (1) above always destroys

src/http_request.cpp

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@@ -123,6 +123,14 @@ std::pmr::memory_resource* pick_resource(struct MHD_Connection* connection) {
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} // namespace
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// TASK-068: internal-only accessor for the per-connection arena residue
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// integration test. See http_request.hpp for the contract. Returns the
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// MHD_Connection* the impl was constructed against (nullptr on the
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// test-request / create_test_request path).
130+
MHD_Connection* http_request::underlying_connection_for_testing() const noexcept {
131+
return impl_ ? impl_->connection_ : nullptr;
132+
}
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http_request::http_request(struct MHD_Connection* underlying_connection, unescaper_ptr unescaper)
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: impl_(nullptr, detail::http_request_impl_deleter{nullptr}) {
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auto* res = pick_resource(underlying_connection);

src/httpserver/detail/connection_state.hpp

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@@ -29,11 +29,12 @@
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#define SRC_HTTPSERVER_DETAIL_CONNECTION_STATE_HPP_
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#include <cstddef>
32-
#include <cstring>
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#include <array>
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#include <memory_resource>
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36+
#include "httpserver/detail/secure_zero.hpp"
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namespace httpserver {
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namespace detail {
3940

@@ -112,26 +113,43 @@ struct connection_state {
112113
// Explicit zeroing after release() closes that residual-credential
113114
// window. (security-reviewer-iter1-3, CWE-226.)
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//
115-
// Scope limitation: zeroing covers only initial_buffer_ (ARENA_INITIAL_BYTES).
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// If a request's arena usage overflows the initial buffer, the monotonic_
117-
// buffer_resource silently allocates additional blocks from the upstream
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// resource (heap). Those overflow blocks are freed by arena_.release()
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// but NOT zeroed here. Credentials that spill past ARENA_INITIAL_BYTES
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// are therefore not cleared by this call. In practice the buffer is sized
121-
// to hold typical requests without overflow (see sizing comment above);
122-
// if sizing assumptions change, this limitation should be revisited.
123-
// (code-quality-reviewer-iter1-5)
116+
// CWE-14 mitigation (TASK-068): the clear uses
117+
// httpserver::detail::secure_zero (defined in
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// httpserver/detail/secure_zero.hpp), which dispatches to
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// explicit_bzero / memset_s / RtlSecureZeroMemory where available
120+
// and falls back to a volatile-pointer loop plus an inline-asm
121+
// memory clobber. The previous std::memset path was vulnerable to
122+
// dead-store elimination at -O2 / LTO under the right conditions
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// (the buffer's bytes are not observably read on the no-keep-alive
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// tear-down path, only on the next request's allocation). The new
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// helper is non-elidable by construction and is pinned by the
126+
// unit test secure_zero_dce_test.cpp.
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//
128+
// Trade-off: secure_zero walks the 8 KiB buffer byte-by-byte rather
129+
// than letting the compiler emit a vectorised store. The cost is a
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// few thousand cycles per keep-alive request -- well below the
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// arena-allocation cost the next request will pay anyway -- in
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// exchange for the CWE-14 guarantee. Profiling has not surfaced
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// this as a bench-relevant hot path.
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//
125-
// Using std::memset here (rather than explicit_bzero / SecureZeroMemory)
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// is acceptable because the buffer is accessed again immediately by the
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// next request's arena allocation, preventing the compiler from
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// optimising the clear away as a dead store. (security-reviewer-iter1-4,
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// CWE-14 risk acknowledged; std::atomic_signal_fence or volatile
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// initial_buffer_ would provide a language-level guarantee if needed
131-
// by future deployments.)
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// Scope limitation (accepted residue): zeroing covers only
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// initial_buffer_ (ARENA_INITIAL_BYTES = 8 KiB). If a request's
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// arena usage overflows the initial buffer, the monotonic_
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// buffer_resource silently allocates additional blocks from the
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// upstream resource (heap). Those overflow blocks are freed by
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// arena_.release() but NOT zeroed here -- the trailing bytes can
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// still be observed by a future unrelated allocation in the same
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// process. The buffer is sized to hold typical requests without
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// overflow (see the sizing comment above); credentials are several
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// hundred bytes at most, so they are reliably inside the 8 KiB
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// window in practice. A follow-up task is required to close the
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// overflow gap (hand-rolled arena or a zero-on-deallocate upstream
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// adapter); the current task explicitly accepts this residue.
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// (security-reviewer-iter1-3, code-quality-reviewer-iter1-5,
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// TASK-068.)
132150
void reset_arena() noexcept {
133151
arena_.release();
134-
std::memset(initial_buffer_.data(), 0, ARENA_INITIAL_BYTES);
152+
secure_zero(initial_buffer_.data(), ARENA_INITIAL_BYTES);
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}
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};
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/*
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This file is part of libhttpserver
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Copyright (C) 2011-2026 Sebastiano Merlino
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This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
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modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
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License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
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version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
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This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
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but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
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MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
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Lesser General Public License for more details.
14+
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You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
16+
License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
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Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301
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USA
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*/
20+
21+
// TASK-068: portable secure-zero primitive.
22+
//
23+
// CWE-14 mitigation: the per-connection arena clearing path needs a write
24+
// that the optimizer is forbidden to elide as a dead store, since the
25+
// bytes being cleared are credentials (basic-auth username/password,
26+
// digest-auth digested_user) that linger in the arena across keep-alive
27+
// requests until the next allocation overwrites them. A plain
28+
// std::memset(p, 0, n) followed by no observable read is exactly the
29+
// shape that GCC / clang dead-store elimination targets at -O2 and above.
30+
//
31+
// This header centralizes a `secure_zero(void*, size_t)` helper that
32+
// dispatches to:
33+
// - explicit_bzero on glibc / musl / FreeBSD / OpenBSD / *BSD
34+
// (POSIX-ish lanes; declared in <string.h> when
35+
// the libc supports it)
36+
// - RtlSecureZeroMemory on Windows (the canonical kernel-grade
37+
// primitive; declared in <winnt.h> / <windows.h>)
38+
// - a portable fallback that walks the buffer through a `volatile`
39+
// unsigned-char pointer and follows the loop
40+
// with an inline-asm memory clobber. This is
41+
// the same pattern used by OpenSSL
42+
// OPENSSL_cleanse and by the Linux kernel's
43+
// barrier_data(); see also CERT C MSC06-C.
44+
//
45+
// Selection happens at compile time via HAVE_EXPLICIT_BZERO emitted by
46+
// configure.ac. The macOS path intentionally takes the portable
47+
// fallback: although Apple libc exposes memset_s when
48+
// __STDC_WANT_LIB_EXT1__ is defined before <string.h>, this header is
49+
// included transitively from many TUs whose include order we cannot
50+
// control, so the macro might be set after a sibling header already
51+
// pulled in <string.h>. The volatile + asm-memory-clobber fallback has
52+
// the same security guarantee with no preprocessor-order coupling, so
53+
// the trade-off is worth it.
54+
55+
// Internal detail header. Strict gate: reachable only from libhttpserver
56+
// translation units, never from the public umbrella.
57+
#if !defined(HTTPSERVER_COMPILATION)
58+
#error "secure_zero.hpp is internal; only reachable when compiling libhttpserver."
59+
#endif
60+
61+
#ifndef SRC_HTTPSERVER_DETAIL_SECURE_ZERO_HPP_
62+
#define SRC_HTTPSERVER_DETAIL_SECURE_ZERO_HPP_
63+
64+
#include <cstddef>
65+
66+
// HAVE_EXPLICIT_BZERO and HAVE_MEMSET_S are emitted as -D flags by
67+
// configure.ac (pushed into AM_CXXFLAGS, mirroring the HAVE_GNUTLS /
68+
// HAVE_BAUTH propagation pattern). This header therefore consults them
69+
// without an explicit config.h include.
70+
71+
#if defined(_WIN32)
72+
// RtlSecureZeroMemory lives in <windows.h>. We forward-declare it instead
73+
// of pulling the full Win32 header here to keep this internal helper
74+
// self-contained: the broader codebase already includes <winsock2.h> in
75+
// the network path, and the two declarations are ODR-compatible (both
76+
// are `extern "C" void* __stdcall RtlSecureZeroMemory(void*, size_t)`
77+
// in <winnt.h>).
78+
extern "C" void* __stdcall RtlSecureZeroMemory(void*, std::size_t);
79+
#elif defined(HAVE_EXPLICIT_BZERO)
80+
#include <string.h>
81+
#endif
82+
83+
namespace httpserver {
84+
namespace detail {
85+
86+
// secure_zero(p, n): zero `n` bytes starting at `p` with a write the
87+
// optimizer is forbidden to eliminate as a dead store.
88+
//
89+
// Contract:
90+
// - secure_zero(nullptr, 0) is a no-op (precondition for callers that
91+
// hold a possibly-empty buffer).
92+
// - For n > 0, p must point at a writable region of at least n bytes.
93+
// - The function is noexcept.
94+
//
95+
// Trade-off: relative to plain std::memset, the fallback walks the
96+
// buffer byte-by-byte through a volatile pointer and emits a memory
97+
// clobber. For the ARENA_INITIAL_BYTES = 8192 case in
98+
// connection_state::reset_arena() this is a few thousand extra cycles
99+
// per keep-alive request. The CWE-226 mitigation is worth it because
100+
// the alternative is credential residue across requests. (Profiling
101+
// has not surfaced this as a hot-path concern for the bench workloads.)
102+
inline void secure_zero(void* p, std::size_t n) noexcept {
103+
if (p == nullptr || n == 0) {
104+
return;
105+
}
106+
#if defined(_WIN32)
107+
::RtlSecureZeroMemory(p, n);
108+
#elif defined(HAVE_EXPLICIT_BZERO)
109+
::explicit_bzero(p, n);
110+
#else
111+
// Portable fallback. The two ingredients:
112+
// (1) Walk through a volatile pointer so every store is a
113+
// visible side effect [intro.execution].
114+
// (2) Follow the loop with an inline-asm memory clobber so the
115+
// compiler cannot prove the writes are dead even under LTO.
116+
volatile unsigned char* q = static_cast<volatile unsigned char*>(p);
117+
for (std::size_t i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
118+
q[i] = 0;
119+
}
120+
#if defined(__GNUC__) || defined(__clang__)
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__asm__ __volatile__("" : : "r"(p) : "memory");
122+
#endif
123+
#endif
124+
}
125+
126+
} // namespace detail
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} // namespace httpserver
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#endif // SRC_HTTPSERVER_DETAIL_SECURE_ZERO_HPP_

src/httpserver/http_request.hpp

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@@ -417,6 +417,17 @@ class http_request {
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// See the MHD_Connection forward-declaration comment at global scope
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// above for the namespace-injection rationale.
419419
http_request(MHD_Connection* underlying_connection, unescaper_ptr unescaper);
420+
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public:
422+
// TASK-068: internal-only test accessor. Returns the underlying
423+
// MHD_Connection* the request was built against (the same pointer
424+
// passed to the internal constructor above). Used exclusively by
425+
// test/integ/connection_state_body_residue_test.cpp to peek the
426+
// per-connection arena and pin the CWE-226 mitigation contract.
427+
// NOT part of the public ABI; only visible when the library itself
428+
// is being compiled (gated by HTTPSERVER_COMPILATION).
429+
MHD_Connection* underlying_connection_for_testing() const noexcept;
430+
private:
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#endif // HTTPSERVER_COMPILATION
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/**

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