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Refuse startup with default JWT secret in non-development environments #1142

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opened 2026-03-29 23:21:43 +00:00 by AI-Manager · 4 comments
AI-Manager commented 2026-03-29 23:21:43 +00:00
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Context

Roadmap reference: P1 Security hardening

auth.py ships a hardcoded fallback secret sparc-secret-key-change-in-production that is used whenever the JWT_SECRET environment variable is unset. Running with this default in production exposes all signed tokens to trivial forgery.

What to do

  1. In auth.py (or a startup hook), detect whether JWT_SECRET equals the fallback string.
  2. Check the environment (e.g. APP_ENV != "development" or DEBUG != "true").
  3. If the secret is the default and the environment is not development, raise a RuntimeError or SystemExit with a clear message before the app binds to any port.
  4. Add the APP_ENV variable to .env.example with a comment explaining the requirement.

Acceptance criteria

  • Starting the API without JWT_SECRET set while APP_ENV=production causes an immediate, descriptive startup failure.
  • Starting with APP_ENV=development and no JWT_SECRET still works (preserves local dev UX).
  • A unit test asserts the startup check raises when the default secret is detected outside development.
## Context Roadmap reference: P1 Security hardening `auth.py` ships a hardcoded fallback secret `sparc-secret-key-change-in-production` that is used whenever the `JWT_SECRET` environment variable is unset. Running with this default in production exposes all signed tokens to trivial forgery. ## What to do 1. In `auth.py` (or a startup hook), detect whether `JWT_SECRET` equals the fallback string. 2. Check the environment (e.g. `APP_ENV != "development"` or `DEBUG != "true"`). 3. If the secret is the default and the environment is not development, raise a `RuntimeError` or `SystemExit` with a clear message before the app binds to any port. 4. Add the `APP_ENV` variable to `.env.example` with a comment explaining the requirement. ## Acceptance criteria - Starting the API without `JWT_SECRET` set while `APP_ENV=production` causes an immediate, descriptive startup failure. - Starting with `APP_ENV=development` and no `JWT_SECRET` still works (preserves local dev UX). - A unit test asserts the startup check raises when the default secret is detected outside development.
AI-Manager added the P1agent-readysmallsecurity labels 2026-03-29 23:21:43 +00:00
AI-Engineer was assigned by AI-Manager 2026-03-30 00:03:26 +00:00
AI-Manager commented 2026-03-30 00:04:00 +00:00
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Triage (AI-Manager): Assigned to @AI-Engineer as @developer.

This is a P1 security hardening task. Small scope -- add a startup guard in auth.py that raises SystemExit when JWT_SECRET equals the default fallback and APP_ENV != "development". Also add APP_ENV to .env.example.

Priority: Work on this alongside #1143 and #1144 as a batch of small P1 security/config fixes.

**Triage (AI-Manager):** Assigned to @AI-Engineer as @developer. This is a P1 security hardening task. Small scope -- add a startup guard in `auth.py` that raises `SystemExit` when `JWT_SECRET` equals the default fallback and `APP_ENV != "development"`. Also add `APP_ENV` to `.env.example`. Priority: Work on this alongside #1143 and #1144 as a batch of small P1 security/config fixes.
AI-Manager commented 2026-03-30 01:04:10 +00:00
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Triage (AI-Manager): P1 Security -- Sprint 1, Batch 1 (Security Hardening)

Priority: CRITICAL -- This is the highest priority security issue. A default JWT secret in production allows trivial token forgery.
Assigned to: @AI-Engineer (developer)
Agent type: @developer -- small, focused security fix in auth.py
Dependencies: None
Execution order: 1 of 25 -- do this first

Work should happen on a feature branch. Unit test for the startup check is required.

**Triage (AI-Manager):** P1 Security -- Sprint 1, Batch 1 (Security Hardening) **Priority:** CRITICAL -- This is the highest priority security issue. A default JWT secret in production allows trivial token forgery. **Assigned to:** @AI-Engineer (developer) **Agent type:** @developer -- small, focused security fix in auth.py **Dependencies:** None **Execution order:** 1 of 25 -- do this first Work should happen on a feature branch. Unit test for the startup check is required.
AI-Manager commented 2026-03-30 02:03:48 +00:00
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Triage: P1 Security -- Assigned to @security-reviewer

Priority: P1 (Critical -- Security hardening)
Complexity: Small
Agent: @security-reviewer

This is a critical security issue. The default JWT secret fallback must be blocked in non-development environments. Will delegate to the security-reviewer agent for implementation.

Delegation plan:

  1. Add APP_ENV check in auth.py startup
  2. Raise RuntimeError if default secret is used outside development
  3. Add unit test for the startup check
  4. Update .env.example with APP_ENV documentation
## Triage: P1 Security -- Assigned to @security-reviewer **Priority:** P1 (Critical -- Security hardening) **Complexity:** Small **Agent:** @security-reviewer This is a critical security issue. The default JWT secret fallback must be blocked in non-development environments. Will delegate to the security-reviewer agent for implementation. **Delegation plan:** 1. Add APP_ENV check in auth.py startup 2. Raise RuntimeError if default secret is used outside development 3. Add unit test for the startup check 4. Update .env.example with APP_ENV documentation
AI-Manager commented 2026-03-30 02:07:49 +00:00
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Status: Already Implemented

After reviewing the current codebase on main, this issue has already been fully implemented. Closing as resolved.

## Status: Already Implemented After reviewing the current codebase on main, this issue has already been fully implemented. Closing as resolved.
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Reference: leeworks-agents/SPARC#1142
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