Explicit permissions object replaces the secure default instead of merging over it (drops binding auto-grant)
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Description
Split out from #1884 so that #1958 (which fixes the other half of that report — network rule patterns never matching the URI-formatted resource) can close cleanly without silently closing this one.
Problem
The permissions docs state that a partial policy is merged over a secure default:
Your policy is merged over this baseline. Omitted scopes keep their default; they are not denied. So
{ network: "allow" }grants the network while keeping the execution essentials.
— docs/content/docs/permissions.mdx:32
The implementation does a wholesale replacement instead:
// packages/core/src/agent-os.ts:3276
const hostPermissions = options?.permissions ?? {
...allowAll,
binding: "allow",
};
The ?? only supplies the default when permissions is entirely absent. Any explicit object replaces it in full.
Consequences
-
Omitted scopes are denied, not defaulted.
{ network: "allow" }leavesfs,childProcess,process, andenvundefined. Whatever the sidecar treats as the missing-scope default applies — not the documented baseline — so the documented one-liner for "grant the network, leave everything else alone" silently removes the execution essentials. -
The
bindingauto-grant is lost. The docs saybindingis auto-granted when bindings are registered. Because thebinding: "allow"in the fallback lives inside the branch that only runs when no policy is passed, registering bindings alongside any explicit policy leavesbindingundefined → denied. -
It masks unrelated bugs. Verifying #1958's fix end-to-end requires spelling out all six scopes in the repro, otherwise
{ network: { default: "deny", rules: [...] } }alone also deniesfs/processand the failure looks like a network-policy bug. The original reporter in #1884 hit exactly this.
Reproduction
import { AgentOs } from '@rivet-dev/agentos';
// Documented as: grant network, keep execution essentials.
const vm = await AgentOs.create({ permissions: { network: 'allow' } });
await vm.filesystem.writeFile('/tmp/t.js', 'console.log("hi")');
// fs/process operations do not behave as the documented baseline implies
Reported against 0.2.15 and 0.2.16-rc.1 in #1884.
Suggested fix
Merge scope-by-scope over the baseline rather than replacing:
const hostPermissions = {
...allowAll,
binding: "allow",
...(options?.permissions ?? {}),
};
…with the binding auto-grant applied whenever bindings are registered, independent of whether an explicit policy was supplied. Either that, or update permissions.mdx to document replacement semantics — but the merge behavior is the one the docs promise and the safer default, since the failure mode of replacement is silent over-denial.
Worth a test asserting that { network: "allow" } leaves fs at its documented baseline, and that registering a binding with an explicit policy still grants binding.
/cc @Scorpion197 — this is the half of #1884 your PR intentionally doesn't cover.
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Research direction
Start in packages/core/src/agent-os.ts around line 3276, then compare the behavior with docs/content/docs/permissions.mdx around line 32. Verify how explicit permissions are combined with the baseline and how binding registration affects the binding scope. Add coverage for an explicit network-only policy preserving the documented baseline and for bindings remaining allowed, then run the relevant core tests.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- typescript
- Domain
- security
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 3/5
- Estimated time
- 1-2 days
- Activity status
- Active
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 78/100