fix(engine): reject path-traversal repo segments on the governor-ledger write path

[RealDiligent]

Summary

packages/loopover-engine/src/governor-ledger.ts's normalizeOptionalRepoFullName validated only "exactly two non-empty segments", so a traversal value normalized through unchanged:

appendGovernorEvent({ eventType: "denied", repoFullName: "../evilrepo", ... });
// owner ".." and repo "evilrepo" both pass the non-empty/one-slash check
// -> written into governor_events.repo_full_name

This is a fresh instance of the #5831 / #7525 / #7795 vulnerability class on the one write path none of them touched. Those issues hardened the parsers in packages/loopover-miner/lib/** (which share repo-clone.ts's isValidRepoSegment), and miner-lib's governor-ledger.ts even has its own correctly-guarded copy — but that copy only serves readGovernorEvents/readGovernorDecisions/purgeByRepo. appendGovernorEvent, the function that performs the SQLite INSERT, delegates to normalizeGovernorLedgerEvent from @loopover/engine — the unguarded copy. Read and purge were protected; the write was not.

Fix. The guard is restated locally inside the engine package, per the issue's required pattern — the engine must not import from the miner package (miner depends on engine, not the reverse). It matches isValidRepoSegment's semantics exactly: /^[A-Za-z0-9._-]+$/ and rejecting a bare . or .. segment, throwing the same invalid_repo_full_name the function already throws for other invalid shapes. The exported signature, return type, and undefined/null passthrough are unchanged, and miner-lib's own guarded copy is untouched.

Closes #8350

Tests — and why there are two files

The issue asks for a node --test regression in packages/loopover-engine/test/, which I added (3 tests: traversal segments, out-of-charset segments, and the still-accepted legitimate slugs + null passthrough).

That file alone would not satisfy codecov/patch, though: the engine's node --test suite runs against dist/, so it is invisible to Codecov, which measures packages/loopover-engine/src/**. I therefore also extended the existing root vitest suite test/unit/governor-ledger.test.ts, which imports the engine source directly (../../packages/loopover-engine/src/governor-ledger) — that is what actually exercises the changed lines under coverage.

Verified the tests genuinely pin the fix rather than merely passing alongside it: deleting the new guard line makes the root vitest regression fail; restoring it makes all 9 pass. Cases covered: ../evilrepo, acme/.., ./acme, acme/., a space, ;, a `` control char — plus acme/widgets, `acme-co/my_widget.js`, `a/b` still normalizing (dots, dashes and underscores are legal in real slugs and must not regress).

Scope

• The PR title follows type(scope): short summary Conventional Commit format, for example fix(api): restore profile access checks.
• This PR is focused and does not mix unrelated backend, UI, MCP, docs, dependency, and deploy changes.
• This follows CONTRIBUTING.md and does not reintroduce GitHub Pages, VitePress, site/, or CNAME.
• I linked a currently open issue this PR resolves (e.g. Closes #123) — a linked open issue is required for every contributor PR.

Validation

• git diff --check
• npm run actionlint
• npm run typecheck
• npm run test:coverage locally; codecov/patch requires ≥99% coverage of the lines AND branches you changed (aim for 100% on your diff so CI variance does not fail near the threshold). Global coverage is a non-blocking trend with a loose 90% backstop, not the gate.
• npm run test:workers
• npm run build:mcp
• npm run test:mcp-pack
• npm run ui:openapi:check
• npm run ui:lint
• npm run ui:typecheck
• npm run ui:build
• npm audit --audit-level=moderate
• New or changed behavior has unit/integration tests for new branches, fallback paths, and sanitizer boundaries

If any required check was skipped, explain why:

• This diff touches one engine source file and two test files, so actionlint (no workflow change), build:mcp/test:mcp-pack (no MCP change), ui:* (no UI/OpenAPI change), test:workers (no worker change), and npm audit (no dependency change) are not exercised by it.
• Verified locally: the root vitest suite passes (9 tests), the new engine node --test file passes (3 tests) against a fresh npm run build --workspace @loopover/engine, root tsc --noEmit is clean, and git diff --check is clean.

Safety

• No secrets, wallet details, hotkeys, coldkeys, user PATs, private keys, raw trust scores, private rankings, or private maintainer evidence are exposed.
• Public GitHub text stays sanitized, low-noise, and does not imply compensation guarantees or optimization tactics.
• Auth, cookie, CORS, GitHub App, Cloudflare, or session changes include negative-path tests.
• API/OpenAPI/MCP behavior is updated and tested where needed.
• UI changes use live API data or real empty/error/loading states, not production mock/demo fallbacks.
• Visible UI changes include a UI Evidence section below with JPG/JPEG or PNG screenshots arranged as organized, captioned, clickable thumbnails. SVG screenshots are not used as review evidence. Review-only screenshots or recordings are not committed to the repository.
• Public docs/changelogs are updated where needed; changelogs are only edited for release-prep PRs.

UI Evidence

Not applicable — an input-validation guard in packages/loopover-engine; no visible UI, frontend, docs, or extension change.

Notes

• Tightening a persistence-path validator can in principle reject input that previously "worked". Every value newly rejected here is one the sibling parsers already reject and that fix(engine): extend #5831's repo-segment path-safety validation to governor/portfolio/worktree stores #7525's own rationale says must never reach persistence, and the accepted-slug cases above pin that ordinary repo names (including dots, dashes, underscores) are unaffected.

[superagent-security]

Superagent didn't find any vulnerabilities or security issues in this PR.

[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 92.49%. Comparing base (7f5550b) to head (4c0859b).
⚠️ Report is 17 commits behind head on main.

Additional details and impacted files

@@             Coverage Diff             @@
##             main    #8469       +/-   ##
===========================================
+ Coverage   80.86%   92.49%   +11.63%     
===========================================
  Files         791      791               
  Lines       79320    79333       +13     
  Branches    23954    23960        +6     
===========================================
+ Hits        64142    73382     +9240     
+ Misses      12156     4807     -7349     
+ Partials     3022     1144     -1878     

Flag	Coverage Δ
shard-1	55.47% <ø> (-2.90%)	⬇️
shard-2	49.89% <ø> (-1.21%)	⬇️
shard-3	56.86% <ø> (?)

Flags with carried forward coverage won't be shown. Click here to find out more.

Files with missing lines	Coverage Δ
packages/loopover-engine/src/governor-ledger.ts	100.00% <ø> (ø)

... and 241 files with indirect coverage changes

[loopover-orb]

Tip

✅ LoopOver review result - approve/merge recommended

_{Review updated: 2026-07-24 14:59:38 UTC}

3 files · 1 AI reviewer · no blockers · readiness 93/100 · CI green · clean

✅ Suggested Action - Approve/Merge

• safe to merge

Review summary
This PR closes a real gap: the engine-side `normalizeOptionalRepoFullName` (the function backing `appendGovernorEvent`'s SQLite INSERT via `normalizeGovernorLedgerEvent`) previously accepted any two non-empty slash-separated segments, letting `../evilrepo` persist unchanged. The fix duplicates miner-lib's `isValidRepoSegment` semantics locally (charset + bare-dot/dot-dot rejection) since the engine cannot import from miner, and is verified against the actual call chain shown in `governor-ledger.ts` (miner-lib). Tests are added in both a real `node --test` file (engine's own dist-based suite) and a vitest regression in `test/unit/governor-ledger.test.ts` exercising the exact traversal, invalid-charset, and legitimate-slug cases, with all CI checks passing.

Nits — 5 non-blocking

• The `isValidRepoSegment` logic is now duplicated verbatim in two packages (packages/loopover-engine/src/governor-ledger.ts and packages/loopover-miner/lib/repo-clone.ts) with only a comment tying them together — consider extracting to a tiny shared zero-dependency package if a third copy ever appears.
• The control-character case (`acme/wid\u0000gets`) is tested in `test/unit/governor-ledger.test.ts` but not in the `packages/loopover-engine/test/governor-ledger.test.ts` node:test file — minor asymmetry between the two suites.
• The inline comments in governor-ledger.ts:39-45 are fairly long for a small guard; could be trimmed once the historical context is captured in the PR description/issue.
• Consider factoring `REPO_SEGMENT_PATTERN`/`isValidRepoSegment` into a tiny shared internal utility package if a third instance of this duplication emerges (engine, miner-lib, and any future package).
• Add the control-character case to packages/loopover-engine/test/governor-ledger.test.ts for parity with the vitest suite.

Decision drivers

• ✅ Code review — No blockers (1 reviewer)
• ✅ Gate result — Passing (No configured blocker found.)

Context & advisory signals — never blocks the verdict

Signal	Result	Evidence
Linked issue	✅ Linked	#8350
Related work	✅ No active overlap found	No same-issue or scoped active PR overlap found.
Change scope	✅ 20/20	Low review scope from cached public metadata (1 linked issue).
Validation posture	✅ 25/25	PR body includes validation/test evidence.
Contributor workload	✅ 10/10	Author activity: 361 registered-repo PR(s), 142 merged, 36 issue(s).
Contributor context	✅ Confirmed Gittensor contributor	RealDiligent; Gittensor profile; 361 PR(s), 36 issue(s).
Improvement	✅ Minor	risk: clean · value: minor · LLM: moderate

Linked issue satisfaction

Addressed
The diff adds a local isValidRepoSegment/REPO_SEGMENT_PATTERN guard directly in packages/loopover-engine/src/governor-ledger.ts's normalizeOptionalRepoFullName matching the required regex and '.'/'..' rejection semantics without importing from the miner package, and includes regression tests covering traversal, invalid-character, and control-character segments while confirming legitimate slugs sti

Review context

• Author: RealDiligent
• Role context: outside_contributor
• Public audience mode: oss maintainer
• Lane context: Repository is configured for direct PR review.
• Public profile languages: not available
• Official Gittensor activity: 361 PR(s), 36 issue(s).
• PR-specific overlap: none found.

Contributor next steps

• Start here: Triage stale or unlinked PRs.

Signal definitions

• Related work = same linked issue, overlapping active PRs, or title/path similarity.
• Change scope = cached public metadata such as size labels, draft state, and review-burden hints.
• Validation posture = whether the PR provides enough public validation/test evidence for maintainer review.
• Contributor workload = public contributor activity and cleanup pressure, not a repo-wide quality failure.
• Contributor context = public GitHub/Gittensor identity context; non-Gittensor status is not a blocker.

🧪 Chat with LoopOver

Ask LoopOver a question about this PR directly in a comment — grounded only in the same cached, public-safe facts shown above, never a new claim.

• @loopover ask <question> answers contribution-quality Q&A with source citations and freshness.
• @loopover chat <question> answers in natural prose from cached decision-pack facts via local inference (maintainer/collaborator; read-only).
• A plain-language @loopover mention with a real question is routed to the closest matching read-only command automatically — no exact syntax required.

Full command reference: https://loopover.ai/docs/loopover-commands

🧪 Experimental — new and may change.

_{🟩 Safe / merged · 🟦 Advisory · 🟨 Held for review · 🟥 Blocked / closed}

---

💰 Earn for open-source contributions like this. Gittensor lets GitHub contributors earn for the work they already do — register to start earning →.

Checked by LoopOver, a quiet PR intelligence layer for OSS maintainers.

• Re-run LoopOver review

[loopover-orb]

LoopOver approves — the gate is satisfied and CI is green.