feat(security): Wave 0 — startup auditor + honest SQL-injection docs

AGENTS.md

@@ -248,8 +248,10 @@ Templates are **Mustache files** that generate SQL from request parameters.
 - `env.*` - Whitelisted environment variables
 
 **Key Rule: Triple vs. Double Braces**
-- **Triple braces `{{{ }}}`** for strings: Auto-escapes quotes, prevents SQL injection
-- **Double braces `{{ }}`** for numbers/identifiers: No quotes, safe for numeric types
+- **Triple braces `{{{ }}}`** for strings: Renders the raw value (no HTML entity escaping). Use inside single-quoted SQL string literals.
+- **Double braces `{{ }}`** for numbers/identifiers: HTML-escapes the value (turns `<` into `&lt;` etc.), which is harmless but not SQL-aware — use only where the value is a number or known-safe identifier.
+
+> **Security note:** Neither form performs SQL-specific escaping. Mustache does not understand SQL string literals, quote-doubling, or comment syntax. Defense against injection comes from the `RequestValidator` (typed fields, regex/range/enum checks) and disciplined template authoring (quote string params, parameterise numerics). When in doubt, add a stricter validator rather than relying on rendering.
 
 **Example Template:**
 ```sql

CMakeLists.txt

@@ -245,6 +245,7 @@ add_library(flapi-lib STATIC
     src/request_validator.cpp
     src/rate_limit_middleware.cpp
     src/route_translator.cpp
+    src/security_auditor.cpp
     src/sql_template_processor.cpp
     src/sql_utils.cpp
     src/mcp_server.cpp

docs/CONFIG_REFERENCE.md

@@ -1362,14 +1362,16 @@ WHERE id = {{ params.id }}
 LIMIT {{ params.limit }}
 ```
 
-**Triple Braces `{{{ }}}`** - For string values (escapes quotes, prevents SQL injection):
+**Triple Braces `{{{ }}}`** - For string values, renders the raw value with no HTML entity escaping. Use this form inside single-quoted SQL string literals:
 
 ```sql
 SELECT * FROM table
 WHERE name = '{{{ params.name }}}'
 AND status = '{{{ params.status }}}'
 ```
 
+> **Security note:** Neither double nor triple braces perform SQL-specific escaping. Mustache does not understand SQL string literals, quote-doubling, or comment syntax. Defense against SQL injection comes from the `RequestValidator` (typed fields, regex/range/enum checks) plus disciplined template authoring — not from the brace form alone. Pair every user-supplied string field with an appropriately strict validator.
+
 ### 9.2 Available Contexts
 
 | Context | Description | Example |
@@ -1416,13 +1418,15 @@ WHERE 1=1
 **2. Always Use Triple Braces for Strings:**
 
 ```sql
--- CORRECT: Prevents SQL injection
+-- CORRECT: renders the raw string inside the quoted literal
 WHERE name = '{{{ params.name }}}'
 
--- INCORRECT: Vulnerable to injection
+-- INCORRECT: HTML-entity escaping mangles legitimate characters (e.g., `'` → `'`)
 WHERE name = '{{ params.name }}'
 ```
 
+Note: the triple-brace rule keeps the rendered SQL syntactically correct. It does **not** by itself prevent SQL injection — that protection comes from the `RequestValidator` for the corresponding request field.
+
 **3. Provide Default Values:**
 
 ```sql

src/include/security_auditor.hpp

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+
+namespace flapi {
+
+class ConfigManager;
+
+struct SecurityWarning {
+    std::string code;
+    std::string message;
+    std::string location;
+};
+
+class SecurityAuditor {
+public:
+    std::vector<SecurityWarning> audit(const ConfigManager& config) const;
+
+    static std::string classifyPassword(const std::string& password);
+};
+
+} // namespace flapi

src/main.cpp

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 #include "rate_limit_middleware.hpp"
 #include "config_token_utils.hpp"
 #include "credential_manager.hpp"
+#include "security_auditor.hpp"
 #include "vfs_health_checker.hpp"
 
 using namespace flapi;
@@ -90,6 +91,23 @@ void printValidationWarnings(const std::string& endpoint_name, const std::vector
     }
 }
 
+void printSecurityWarnings(const std::vector<SecurityWarning>& warnings) {
+    if (warnings.empty()) {
+        return;
+    }
+    std::cerr << "\n" << std::string(60, '=') << std::endl;
+    std::cerr << "SECURITY WARNINGS (" << warnings.size() << ")" << std::endl;
+    std::cerr << std::string(60, '=') << std::endl;
+    for (const auto& w : warnings) {
+        std::cerr << "[" << w.code << "] " << w.message;
+        if (!w.location.empty()) {
+            std::cerr << " (at: " << w.location << ")";
+        }
+        std::cerr << std::endl;
+    }
+    std::cerr << std::endl;
+}
+
 void printValidationSummary(bool all_valid, int errors_count, int warnings_count) {
     std::cout << "\n" << std::string(60, '=') << std::endl;
     if (all_valid) {
@@ -316,6 +334,13 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
 
     auto config_manager = initializeConfig(config_file);
 
+    // Surface configuration-level security warnings (plaintext passwords, MCP without auth, etc.)
+    // Runs in both --validate-config mode and normal server start; never aborts startup.
+    {
+        SecurityAuditor auditor;
+        printSecurityWarnings(auditor.audit(*config_manager));
+    }
+
     // If validate-config flag is set, validate and exit
     if (validate_config) {
         return validateConfiguration(config_manager, config_file);

src/security_auditor.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+#include "security_auditor.hpp"
+
+#include <algorithm>
+#include <cctype>
+
+#include "config_manager.hpp"
+
+namespace flapi {
+
+namespace {
+
+bool isBcryptPrefix(const std::string& password) {
+    if (password.size() < 4) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (password[0] != '$' || password[1] != '2' || password[3] != '$') {
+        return false;
+    }
+    const char variant = password[2];
+    return variant == 'a' || variant == 'b' || variant == 'y';
+}
+
+bool isMd5HexDigest(const std::string& password) {
+    if (password.size() != 32) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    return std::all_of(password.begin(), password.end(), [](char c) {
+        return std::isxdigit(static_cast<unsigned char>(c)) != 0;
+    });
+}
+
+void scanUsers(const std::vector<AuthUser>& users,
+               const std::string& location,
+               std::vector<SecurityWarning>& out) {
+    for (const auto& user : users) {
+        const std::string code = SecurityAuditor::classifyPassword(user.password);
+        if (code == "AUTH_PLAINTEXT_PASSWORD") {
+            out.push_back({
+                code,
+                "User '" + user.username + "' has a plaintext password. "
+                "Use bcrypt instead (see flapii auth hash, when available).",
+                location
+            });
+        } else if (code == "AUTH_MD5_PASSWORD") {
+            out.push_back({
+                code,
+                "User '" + user.username + "' has an MD5-hashed password. "
+                "MD5 is cryptographically broken; migrate to bcrypt.",
+                location
+            });
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+} // namespace
+
+std::string SecurityAuditor::classifyPassword(const std::string& password) {
+    if (password.empty()) {
+        return {};
+    }
+    if (isBcryptPrefix(password)) {
+        return {};
+    }
+    if (isMd5HexDigest(password)) {
+        return "AUTH_MD5_PASSWORD";
+    }
+    return "AUTH_PLAINTEXT_PASSWORD";
+}
+
+std::vector<SecurityWarning> SecurityAuditor::audit(const ConfigManager& config) const {
+    std::vector<SecurityWarning> warnings;
+
+    for (const auto& endpoint : config.getEndpoints()) {
+        scanUsers(endpoint.auth.users, "endpoint " + endpoint.getIdentifier(), warnings);
+    }
+
+    const auto& mcp = config.getMCPConfig();
+    scanUsers(mcp.auth.users, "mcp.auth", warnings);
+
+    if (mcp.enabled && !mcp.auth.enabled) {
+        const bool any_mcp_tool = std::any_of(
+            config.getEndpoints().begin(), config.getEndpoints().end(),
+            [](const EndpointConfig& e) { return e.isMCPTool(); });
+        if (any_mcp_tool) {
+            warnings.push_back({
+                "MCP_UNAUTHENTICATED_TOOLS",
+                "MCP tools are exposed without authentication (mcp.auth.enabled is false). "
+                "Anyone reaching the server can invoke any MCP tool. "
+                "Enable mcp.auth.enabled and configure users or JWT before exposing this server.",
+                "mcp"
+            });
+        }
+    }
+
+    return warnings;
+}
+
+} // namespace flapi

test/cpp/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ add_executable(flapi_tests
     rate_limit_middleware_test.cpp
     request_handler_test.cpp
     request_validator_test.cpp
+    security_auditor_test.cpp
     sql_template_processor_test.cpp
     sql_utils_test.cpp
     test_duckdb_raii.cpp