AOSSIE-Org / AOSSIE-Org/DebateAI

Race Condition in Rating Updates (Data Loss)

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Dominant language
TypeScript
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198
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2d 19h
Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Description
The rating update logic uses a "Read-Calculate-Write" pattern without locking. If a user completes two matches efficiently (e.g., in two browser tabs or against two fast bots), the second update may overwrite the first update's results.

How to Reproduce

1. User A (Rating 1200) finishes Match 1. Server reads 1200.
2. Milliseconds later, User A finishes Match 2. Server reads 1200 (Match 1 write hasn't finished).
3. Match 1 calculation sets Rating to 1210. Writes to DB.
4. Match 2 calculation sets Rating to 1190 (based on 1200). Writes to DB.
5. Final Rating is 1190. The gain from Match 1 is completely lost.

Root Cause
In rating_service.go, UpdateRatings retrieves the user object, performs math in Go, and then sets the new values with $set. It does not check if the document changed in between.

Expected Behavior
Both match results should be applied sequentially and correctly.

Potential Fixes
- Use MongoDB FindOneAndUpdate to perform the read and write atomically (though Glicko math is complex to do in-db).
- Use Optimistic Locking: Include a version field in the User document. Update only if version matches the read version. Retry if it fails.

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