refactor(core): route project paths through a single resolveWithinProject chokepoint

Structural follow-up to the symlink-escape fix. The recurring miss (#465
fixed isSafePath but left render.ts; the sweep then turned up play.ts,
htmlBundler, ...) is because containment was enforced by convention —
"remember to call isSafePath after every resolve()" — which a new call site
can silently skip.

Add resolveWithinProject(base, relativePath) -> string | null (resolve +
containment in one call) and route the studio-api + bundler sites through
it, so a caller cannot resolve a project-relative path without the guard:

- studio-api routes/files.ts (read, rename, duplicate, upload-dir), preview.ts
  (sub-comp + static asset), render.ts (composition) — all the
  resolve()+isSafePath() pairs collapse to a single call.
- compiler/htmlBundler.ts: its local safePath helper was exactly this; drop
  it for the shared one.

Left intentionally on isSafePath: files.ts upload (resolves a name against a
validated sub-dir but contains against the project root) and htmlBundler's
CSS @import (resolves against the CSS file's dir, contains against the root) —
these resolve and contain against *different* bases, which the single-base
chokepoint doesn't model.

Exported from @hyperframes/core and re-exported from studio-api/helpers for
back-compat. Adds resolveWithinProject unit tests; all existing studio-api
route tests pass unchanged (behavior is identical — same resolve, same
containment, same reject paths).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: jrusso1020

packages/core/src/compiler/htmlBundler.ts

@@ -17,17 +17,7 @@ import { validateHyperframeHtmlContract } from "./staticGuard";
 import { getHyperframeRuntimeScript } from "../generated/runtime-inline";
 import { readDeclaredDefaults } from "../runtime/getVariables";
 import { inlineSubCompositions } from "./inlineSubCompositions";
-import { isSafePath } from "../safePath.js";
-
-/**
- * Resolve a relative path within projectDir, rejecting traversal outside it.
- * Uses isSafePath so an in-project symlink pointing outside the root can't
- * smuggle an external file into the bundle (this fn's result is read+inlined).
- */
-function safePath(projectDir: string, relativePath: string): string | null {
-  const resolved = resolve(projectDir, relativePath);
-  return isSafePath(projectDir, resolved) ? resolved : null;
-}
+import { isSafePath, resolveWithinProject } from "../safePath.js";
 
 const DEFAULT_RUNTIME_SCRIPT_URL = "";
 
@@ -233,7 +223,7 @@ function maybeInlineRelativeAssetUrl(urlValue: string, projectDir: string): stri
   if (!urlValue || !isRelativeUrl(urlValue)) return null;
   const { basePath, suffix } = splitUrlSuffix(urlValue.trim());
   if (!basePath) return null;
-  const filePath = safePath(projectDir, basePath);
+  const filePath = resolveWithinProject(projectDir, basePath);
   if (!filePath || !shouldInlineAsDataUrl(filePath)) return null;
   const content = safeReadFileBuffer(filePath);
   if (content == null) return null;
@@ -643,7 +633,7 @@ export async function bundleToSingleHtml(
   for (const el of [...document.querySelectorAll('link[rel="stylesheet"]')]) {
     const href = el.getAttribute("href");
     if (!href || !isRelativeUrl(href)) continue;
-    const cssPath = safePath(projectDir, href);
+    const cssPath = resolveWithinProject(projectDir, href);
     if (!cssPath) continue;
     const css = safeReadFile(cssPath);
     if (css == null) continue;
@@ -675,7 +665,7 @@ export async function bundleToSingleHtml(
   for (const el of [...document.querySelectorAll("script[src]")]) {
     const src = el.getAttribute("src");
     if (!src || !isRelativeUrl(src)) continue;
-    const jsPath = safePath(projectDir, src);
+    const jsPath = resolveWithinProject(projectDir, src);
     const js = jsPath ? safeReadFile(jsPath) : null;
     if (js == null) continue;
     localJsChunks.push(js);
@@ -710,7 +700,7 @@ export async function bundleToSingleHtml(
   const subCompResult = inlineSubCompositions(document, subCompositionHosts, {
     resolveHtml: (srcPath: string) => {
       if (!isRelativeUrl(srcPath)) return null;
-      const compPath = safePath(projectDir, srcPath);
+      const compPath = resolveWithinProject(projectDir, srcPath);
       return compPath ? safeReadFile(compPath) : null;
     },
     parseHtml: parseHTMLContent,
@@ -741,7 +731,7 @@ export async function bundleToSingleHtml(
     if (seenCompScriptSrcs.has(extSrc)) continue;
     seenCompScriptSrcs.add(extSrc);
     if (isRelativeUrl(extSrc)) {
-      const jsPath = safePath(projectDir, extSrc);
+      const jsPath = resolveWithinProject(projectDir, extSrc);
       const js = jsPath ? safeReadFile(jsPath) : null;
       if (js != null) {
         compScriptChunks.push(js);
@@ -806,7 +796,7 @@ export async function bundleToSingleHtml(
             if (!seenCompScriptSrcs.has(externalSrc)) {
               seenCompScriptSrcs.add(externalSrc);
               if (isRelativeUrl(externalSrc)) {
-                const jsPath = safePath(projectDir, externalSrc);
+                const jsPath = resolveWithinProject(projectDir, externalSrc);
                 const js = jsPath ? safeReadFile(jsPath) : null;
                 if (js != null) {
                   compScriptChunks.push(js);
@@ -861,7 +851,7 @@ export async function bundleToSingleHtml(
             if (!seenCompScriptSrcs.has(externalSrc)) {
               seenCompScriptSrcs.add(externalSrc);
               if (isRelativeUrl(externalSrc)) {
-                const jsPath = safePath(projectDir, externalSrc);
+                const jsPath = resolveWithinProject(projectDir, externalSrc);
                 const js = jsPath ? safeReadFile(jsPath) : null;
                 if (js != null) {
                   compScriptChunks.push(js);

packages/core/src/index.ts

@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ export {
   type MediaVisualStyleProperty,
 } from "./inline-scripts/parityContract";
 export { redactTelemetryString } from "./telemetryRedaction";
-export { isSafePath } from "./safePath";
+export { isSafePath, resolveWithinProject } from "./safePath";
 export type {
   HyperframePickerApi,
   HyperframePickerBoundingBox,

packages/core/src/safePath.test.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { describe, it, expect, afterEach } from "vitest";
 import { mkdtempSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync, symlinkSync, rmSync } from "node:fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
 import { join } from "node:path";
-import { isSafePath } from "./safePath.js";
+import { isSafePath, resolveWithinProject } from "./safePath.js";
 
 describe("isSafePath", () => {
   const tmpDirs: string[] = [];
@@ -106,3 +106,52 @@ describe("isSafePath", () => {
     expect(isSafePath(base, join(base, "file.txt"))).toBe(false);
   });
 });
+
+describe("resolveWithinProject", () => {
+  const tmpDirs: string[] = [];
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    for (const d of tmpDirs) rmSync(d, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    tmpDirs.length = 0;
+  });
+
+  function tmpDir(prefix: string): string {
+    const dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), prefix));
+    tmpDirs.push(dir);
+    return dir;
+  }
+
+  function tryCreateSymlink(target: string, path: string, type: "dir" | "file"): boolean {
+    try {
+      symlinkSync(target, path, type);
+      return true;
+    } catch {
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+
+  it("returns the resolved absolute path for an in-project relative path", () => {
+    const base = tmpDir("rwp-base-");
+    expect(resolveWithinProject(base, "assets/logo.png")).toBe(join(base, "assets", "logo.png"));
+  });
+
+  it("returns the resolved path for a not-yet-existing write target", () => {
+    const base = tmpDir("rwp-base-");
+    expect(resolveWithinProject(base, "new/deep/file.txt")).toBe(
+      join(base, "new", "deep", "file.txt"),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("returns null for a `..` traversal that escapes the project", () => {
+    const base = tmpDir("rwp-base-");
+    expect(resolveWithinProject(base, "../../etc/passwd")).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("returns null when the path resolves outside via an in-project symlink", () => {
+    const base = tmpDir("rwp-base-");
+    const external = tmpDir("rwp-external-");
+    writeFileSync(join(external, "secret.txt"), "top secret");
+    if (!tryCreateSymlink(external, join(base, "link"), "dir")) return;
+    expect(resolveWithinProject(base, "link/secret.txt")).toBeNull();
+  });
+});

packages/core/src/safePath.ts

@@ -56,3 +56,17 @@ export function isSafePath(base: string, resolved: string): boolean {
     return targetReal === baseReal || targetReal.startsWith(baseReal + sep);
   }
 }
+
+/**
+ * Resolve `relativePath` against `base` and return the absolute path only if it
+ * stays within `base` (after symlink resolution); otherwise return `null`.
+ *
+ * Prefer this over a bare `resolve()` followed by a separate `isSafePath()`
+ * check: collapsing the two into one call means a caller cannot resolve a
+ * project-relative path and then forget the containment guard — the gap that
+ * let the symlink-escape slip past several call sites historically.
+ */
+export function resolveWithinProject(base: string, relativePath: string): string | null {
+  const resolved = resolve(base, relativePath);
+  return isSafePath(base, resolved) ? resolved : null;
+}

packages/core/src/studio-api/helpers/safePath.ts

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { readdirSync } from "node:fs";
 // `isSafePath` lives at the package root so non-studio-api layers (compiler,
 // CLI, engine) can share it without a backwards dependency on studio-api.
 // Re-exported here for back-compat with existing `../helpers/safePath.js` imports.
-export { isSafePath } from "../../safePath.js";
+export { isSafePath, resolveWithinProject } from "../../safePath.js";
 
 const IGNORE_DIRS = new Set([".thumbnails", "node_modules", ".git"]);
 

packages/core/src/studio-api/routes/files.ts

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import type { StudioApiAdapter } from "../types.js";
 import { isAudioFile } from "../helpers/mime.js";
 import { generateWaveformCache } from "../helpers/waveform.js";
 import { validateUploadedMediaBuffer } from "../helpers/mediaValidation.js";
-import { isSafePath } from "../helpers/safePath.js";
+import { isSafePath, resolveWithinProject } from "../helpers/safePath.js";
 import { backupPathForResponse, snapshotBeforeWrite } from "../helpers/backupJournal.js";
 import {
   findUnsafeDomPatchValues,
@@ -66,8 +66,8 @@ async function resolveProjectPath(
     return { error: c.json({ error: "forbidden" }, 403) } as const;
   }
 
-  const absPath = resolve(project.dir, filePath);
-  if (!isSafePath(project.dir, absPath)) {
+  const absPath = resolveWithinProject(project.dir, filePath);
+  if (!absPath) {
     return { error: c.json({ error: "forbidden" }, 403) } as const;
   }
 
@@ -1037,8 +1037,8 @@ export function registerFileRoutes(api: Hono, adapter: StudioApiAdapter): void {
       return c.json({ error: "newPath required" }, 400);
     }
 
-    const newAbs = resolve(res.project.dir, body.newPath);
-    if (!isSafePath(res.project.dir, newAbs)) {
+    const newAbs = resolveWithinProject(res.project.dir, body.newPath);
+    if (!newAbs) {
       return c.json({ error: "forbidden" }, 403);
     }
     if (existsSync(newAbs)) {
@@ -1065,14 +1065,14 @@ export function registerFileRoutes(api: Hono, adapter: StudioApiAdapter): void {
       return c.json({ error: "path required" }, 400);
     }
 
-    const srcAbs = resolve(project.dir, body.path);
-    if (!isSafePath(project.dir, srcAbs) || !existsSync(srcAbs)) {
+    const srcAbs = resolveWithinProject(project.dir, body.path);
+    if (!srcAbs || !existsSync(srcAbs)) {
       return c.json({ error: "not found" }, 404);
     }
 
     const copyPath = generateCopyPath(project.dir, body.path);
-    const destAbs = resolve(project.dir, copyPath);
-    if (!isSafePath(project.dir, destAbs)) {
+    const destAbs = resolveWithinProject(project.dir, copyPath);
+    if (!destAbs) {
       return c.json({ error: "forbidden" }, 403);
     }
 
@@ -1098,8 +1098,8 @@ export function registerFileRoutes(api: Hono, adapter: StudioApiAdapter): void {
 
       // Optional subdirectory within the project (e.g. "assets/audio")
       const subDir = c.req.query("dir") ?? "";
-      const targetDir = subDir ? resolve(project.dir, subDir) : project.dir;
-      if (!isSafePath(project.dir, targetDir)) return c.json({ error: "forbidden" }, 403);
+      const targetDir = subDir ? resolveWithinProject(project.dir, subDir) : project.dir;
+      if (!targetDir) return c.json({ error: "forbidden" }, 403);
       if (subDir && !existsSync(targetDir)) mkdirSync(targetDir, { recursive: true });
 
       const formData = await c.req.formData();

packages/core/src/studio-api/routes/preview.ts

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 import type { Hono } from "hono";
 import { existsSync, readFileSync, statSync } from "node:fs";
-import { join, resolve } from "node:path";
+import { join } from "node:path";
 import { injectScriptsIntoHtml } from "../../compiler/htmlDocument.js";
 import type { StudioApiAdapter } from "../types.js";
-import { isSafePath } from "../helpers/safePath.js";
+import { resolveWithinProject } from "../helpers/safePath.js";
 import { getMimeType } from "../helpers/mime.js";
 import { buildSubCompositionHtml } from "../helpers/subComposition.js";
 import { createProjectSignature } from "../helpers/projectSignature.js";
@@ -287,12 +287,8 @@ export function registerPreviewRoutes(api: Hono, adapter: StudioApiAdapter): voi
     const compPath = decodeURIComponent(
       c.req.path.replace(`/projects/${project.id}/preview/comp/`, "").split("?")[0] ?? "",
     );
-    const compFile = resolve(project.dir, compPath);
-    if (
-      !isSafePath(project.dir, compFile) ||
-      !existsSync(compFile) ||
-      !statSync(compFile).isFile()
-    ) {
+    const compFile = resolveWithinProject(project.dir, compPath);
+    if (!compFile || !existsSync(compFile) || !statSync(compFile).isFile()) {
       return c.text("not found", 404);
     }
 
@@ -321,9 +317,12 @@ export function registerPreviewRoutes(api: Hono, adapter: StudioApiAdapter): voi
     const subPath = decodeURIComponent(
       c.req.path.replace(`/projects/${project.id}/preview/`, "").split("?")[0] ?? "",
     );
-    const file = resolve(project.dir, subPath);
+    const file = resolveWithinProject(project.dir, subPath);
+    if (!file) {
+      return c.text("not found", 404);
+    }
     const stat = existsSync(file) ? statSync(file) : null;
-    if (!isSafePath(project.dir, file) || !stat?.isFile()) {
+    if (!stat?.isFile()) {
       return c.text("not found", 404);
     }
     const contentType = getMimeType(subPath);

packages/core/src/studio-api/routes/render.ts

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 import type { Hono } from "hono";
 import { streamSSE } from "hono/streaming";
 import { existsSync, readFileSync, mkdirSync, unlinkSync, readdirSync, statSync } from "node:fs";
-import { join, resolve } from "node:path";
+import { join } from "node:path";
 import type { StudioApiAdapter, RenderJobState } from "../types.js";
 import { VALID_CANVAS_RESOLUTIONS, parseFps, type CanvasResolution } from "../../core.types.js";
-import { isSafePath } from "../helpers/safePath.js";
+import { resolveWithinProject } from "../helpers/safePath.js";
 
 const VALID_RESOLUTIONS = new Set<string>(VALID_CANVAS_RESOLUTIONS);
 
@@ -80,11 +80,10 @@ export function registerRenderRoutes(api: Hono, adapter: StudioApiAdapter): void
       : undefined;
     let composition: string | undefined;
     if (typeof body.composition === "string" && body.composition.length > 0) {
-      const resolved = resolve(project.dir, body.composition);
-      // `body.composition` is attacker-controlled (from c.req.json()). isSafePath
-      // dereferences symlinks so an in-project symlink pointing outside the root
-      // can't smuggle the render target out of the project dir.
-      if (!isSafePath(project.dir, resolved)) {
+      // `body.composition` is attacker-controlled (from c.req.json()).
+      // resolveWithinProject dereferences symlinks, so an in-project symlink
+      // pointing outside the root can't smuggle the render target out.
+      if (!resolveWithinProject(project.dir, body.composition)) {
         return c.json({ error: "composition path must be within the project directory" }, 400);
       }
       composition = body.composition;