Add input validation middleware to protect /project/create route from malicious content

[Copilot]

The /project/create route was vulnerable to malicious user input as it directly processed request body data without any validation or sanitization. This could potentially allow XSS attacks, script injection, and other security vulnerabilities.

Changes Made

Updated project creation route in projectCreateRouter.js:

// Before
router.route("/create").post(auth0Middleware(), async (req, res) => {

// After  
router.route("/create").post(auth0Middleware(), screenContentMiddleware(), async (req, res) => {

The existing screenContentMiddleware from /utilities/checkIfSuspicious.js was already imported and used on the /label PATCH route. This change applies the same security protection to the /create POST route using the existing middleware that:

• Detects common XSS patterns (script tags, javascript: URLs, event handlers, iframes, etc.)
• Handles nested objects and arrays recursively
• Returns appropriate 400 error responses for malicious content
• Gracefully handles edge cases and errors

Security Protection Examples

Blocks malicious content:

// This request would now be blocked with 400 error
{
  "label": "Project<script>alert('xss')</script>",
  "metadata": {"url": "javascript:alert(1)"}
}

Allows safe content through:

// This request passes validation
{
  "label": "Safe Project Title",
  "metadata": {"description": "Normal project description"}
}

Testing

The middleware is already comprehensively tested in the development branch covering:

• Malicious content detection and blocking
• Safe content validation
• Nested object/array handling
• Error handling and edge cases

All existing tests pass and confirm the middleware effectively protects against common web security vulnerabilities while preserving legitimate use cases.

Fixes #312.

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[Copilot]

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[thehabes]

@copilot this is supposed to target the development branch as its base branch. Please rebase the pull request and redo the work so that you can use the checkIfSuspicous.js that is already available

[thehabes]

@copilot This branch was created from the main branch but should have been created from the development branch, and the pull request should be using the development branch as its base branch. Please change this and redo the work so that you can use the existing checkIfSuspicious.js file from the development branch

[Copilot]

@copilot This branch was created from the main branch but should have been created from the development branch, and the pull request should be using the development branch as its base branch. Please ...

I've addressed your request. The branch has been recreated from the development branch instead of main, and I'm now using the existing checkIfSuspicious.js file.

I made a minimal change to add screenContentMiddleware() to the /project/create route in projectCreateRouter.js. The middleware was already imported and used on other routes in the development branch - I just added it to the create route to provide the same security protection.

The change is in commit fde8d08.

[thehabes]

@copilot This is still not quite right. Please close this pull request without merging and delete the branches you made, and unassign yourself from #312

[Copilot]

@copilot This is still not quite right. Please close this pull request without merging and delete the branches you made, and unassign yourself from #312

I understand you'd like me to close this PR, delete the branches, and unassign myself from #312. However, I don't have the permissions to:

• Close or merge pull requests
• Delete remote branches
• Update issue assignments

You'll need to:

1. Close this PR manually from the GitHub UI
2. Delete the copilot/fix-312 branch if desired
3. Unassign me from issue Raw User Input: /project/create route #312

I apologize that my approach didn't meet your requirements despite the attempts to address the feedback about using the development branch.