fix(security): block gateway and tool env vars in subprocesses

Extend subprocess env sanitization beyond provider credentials by blocking Hermes-managed tool, messaging, and related gateway runtime vars. Reuse a shared sanitizer in LocalEnvironment and ProcessRegistry so background and PTY processes honor the same blocklist and _HERMES_FORCE_ escape hatch. Add regression coverage for local env execution and process_registry spawning.

tests/tools/test_local_env_blocklist.py

@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-"""Tests for provider env var blocklist in LocalEnvironment.
+"""Tests for subprocess env sanitization in LocalEnvironment.
 
-Verifies that Hermes-internal provider env vars (OPENAI_BASE_URL, etc.)
+Verifies that Hermes-managed provider, tool, and gateway env vars are
-are stripped from subprocess environments so external CLIs are not
+stripped from subprocess environments so external CLIs are not silently
-silently misrouted.
+misrouted or handed Hermes secrets.
 
 See: https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues/1002
+See: https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/issues/1264
 """
 
 import os
@@ -110,6 +111,30 @@ class TestProviderEnvBlocklist:
         for var in extra_provider_vars:
             assert var not in result_env, f"{var} leaked into subprocess env"
 
+    def test_tool_and_gateway_vars_are_stripped(self):
+        """Tool and gateway secrets/config must not leak into subprocess env."""
+        leaked_vars = {
+            "TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN": "bot-token",
+            "TELEGRAM_HOME_CHANNEL": "12345",
+            "DISCORD_HOME_CHANNEL": "67890",
+            "SLACK_APP_TOKEN": "xapp-secret",
+            "WHATSAPP_ALLOWED_USERS": "+15555550123",
+            "SIGNAL_ACCOUNT": "+15555550124",
+            "HASS_TOKEN": "ha-secret",
+            "EMAIL_PASSWORD": "email-secret",
+            "FIRECRAWL_API_KEY": "fc-secret",
+            "BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID": "bb-project",
+            "ELEVENLABS_API_KEY": "el-secret",
+            "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_secret",
+            "GH_TOKEN": "gh_alias_secret",
+            "GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS": "true",
+            "GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS": "alice,bob",
+        }
+        result_env = _run_with_env(extra_os_env=leaked_vars)
+
+        for var in leaked_vars:
+            assert var not in result_env, f"{var} leaked into subprocess env"
+
     def test_safe_vars_are_preserved(self):
         """Standard env vars (PATH, HOME, USER) must still be passed through."""
         result_env = _run_with_env()
@@ -205,3 +230,56 @@ class TestBlocklistCoverage:
             "HELICONE_API_KEY",
         }
         assert extras.issubset(_HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST)
+
+    def test_optional_tool_and_messaging_vars_are_in_blocklist(self):
+        """Tool/messaging vars from OPTIONAL_ENV_VARS should stay covered."""
+        from hermes_cli.config import OPTIONAL_ENV_VARS
+
+        for name, metadata in OPTIONAL_ENV_VARS.items():
+            category = metadata.get("category")
+            if category in {"tool", "messaging"}:
+                assert name in _HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST, (
+                    f"Optional env var {name} (category={category}) missing from blocklist"
+                )
+            elif category == "setting" and metadata.get("password"):
+                assert name in _HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST, (
+                    f"Secret setting env var {name} missing from blocklist"
+                )
+
+    def test_gateway_runtime_vars_are_in_blocklist(self):
+        extras = {
+            "TELEGRAM_HOME_CHANNEL",
+            "TELEGRAM_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME",
+            "DISCORD_HOME_CHANNEL",
+            "DISCORD_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME",
+            "DISCORD_REQUIRE_MENTION",
+            "DISCORD_FREE_RESPONSE_CHANNELS",
+            "DISCORD_AUTO_THREAD",
+            "SLACK_HOME_CHANNEL",
+            "SLACK_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME",
+            "SLACK_ALLOWED_USERS",
+            "WHATSAPP_ENABLED",
+            "WHATSAPP_MODE",
+            "WHATSAPP_ALLOWED_USERS",
+            "SIGNAL_HTTP_URL",
+            "SIGNAL_ACCOUNT",
+            "SIGNAL_ALLOWED_USERS",
+            "SIGNAL_GROUP_ALLOWED_USERS",
+            "SIGNAL_HOME_CHANNEL",
+            "SIGNAL_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME",
+            "SIGNAL_IGNORE_STORIES",
+            "HASS_TOKEN",
+            "HASS_URL",
+            "EMAIL_ADDRESS",
+            "EMAIL_PASSWORD",
+            "EMAIL_IMAP_HOST",
+            "EMAIL_SMTP_HOST",
+            "EMAIL_HOME_ADDRESS",
+            "EMAIL_HOME_ADDRESS_NAME",
+            "GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS",
+            "GH_TOKEN",
+            "GITHUB_APP_ID",
+            "GITHUB_APP_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH",
+            "GITHUB_APP_INSTALLATION_ID",
+        }
+        assert extras.issubset(_HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST)

tests/tools/test_process_registry.py

@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
 """Tests for tools/process_registry.py — ProcessRegistry query methods, pruning, checkpoint."""
 
 import json
+import os
 import time
 import pytest
 from pathlib import Path
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
+from tools.environments.local import _HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_FORCE_PREFIX
 from tools.process_registry import (
     ProcessRegistry,
     ProcessSession,
@@ -213,6 +215,54 @@ class TestPruning:
         assert total <= MAX_PROCESSES
 
 
+# =========================================================================
+# Spawn env sanitization
+# =========================================================================
+
+class TestSpawnEnvSanitization:
+    def test_spawn_local_strips_blocked_vars_from_background_env(self, registry):
+        captured = {}
+
+        def fake_popen(cmd, **kwargs):
+            captured["env"] = kwargs["env"]
+            proc = MagicMock()
+            proc.pid = 4321
+            proc.stdout = iter([])
+            proc.stdin = MagicMock()
+            proc.poll.return_value = None
+            return proc
+
+        fake_thread = MagicMock()
+
+        with patch.dict(os.environ, {
+            "PATH": "/usr/bin:/bin",
+            "HOME": "/home/user",
+            "USER": "tester",
+            "TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN": "bot-secret",
+            "FIRECRAWL_API_KEY": "fc-secret",
+        }, clear=True), \
+            patch("tools.process_registry._find_shell", return_value="/bin/bash"), \
+            patch("subprocess.Popen", side_effect=fake_popen), \
+            patch("threading.Thread", return_value=fake_thread), \
+            patch.object(registry, "_write_checkpoint"):
+            registry.spawn_local(
+                "echo hello",
+                cwd="/tmp",
+                env_vars={
+                    "MY_CUSTOM_VAR": "keep-me",
+                    "TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN": "drop-me",
+                    f"{_HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_FORCE_PREFIX}TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN": "forced-bot-token",
+                },
+            )
+
+        env = captured["env"]
+        assert env["MY_CUSTOM_VAR"] == "keep-me"
+        assert env["TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN"] == "forced-bot-token"
+        assert "FIRECRAWL_API_KEY" not in env
+        assert f"{_HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_FORCE_PREFIX}TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN" not in env
+        assert env["PYTHONUNBUFFERED"] == "1"
+
+
 # =========================================================================
 # Checkpoint
 # =========================================================================

tools/environments/local.py

@@ -27,11 +27,12 @@ _HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_FORCE_PREFIX = "_HERMES_FORCE_"
 
 
 def _build_provider_env_blocklist() -> frozenset:
-    """Derive the blocklist from the provider registry + known extras.
+    """Derive the blocklist from provider, tool, and gateway config.
 
     Automatically picks up api_key_env_vars and base_url_env_var from
-    every registered provider, so adding a new provider to auth.py is
+    every registered provider, plus tool/messaging env vars from the
-    enough — no manual list to keep in sync.
+    optional config registry, so new Hermes-managed secrets are blocked
+    in subprocesses without having to maintain multiple static lists.
     """
     blocked: set[str] = set()
 
@@ -44,7 +45,18 @@ def _build_provider_env_blocklist() -> frozenset:
     except ImportError:
         pass
 
-    # Vars not in the registry but still Hermes-internal / conflict-prone
+    try:
+        from hermes_cli.config import OPTIONAL_ENV_VARS
+        for name, metadata in OPTIONAL_ENV_VARS.items():
+            category = metadata.get("category")
+            if category in {"tool", "messaging"}:
+                blocked.add(name)
+            elif category == "setting" and metadata.get("password"):
+                blocked.add(name)
+    except ImportError:
+        pass
+
+    # Vars not covered above but still Hermes-internal / conflict-prone.
     blocked.update({
         "OPENAI_BASE_URL",
         "OPENAI_API_KEY",
@@ -67,6 +79,41 @@ def _build_provider_env_blocklist() -> frozenset:
         "FIREWORKS_API_KEY",       # Fireworks AI
         "XAI_API_KEY",             # xAI (Grok)
         "HELICONE_API_KEY",        # LLM Observability proxy
+        # Gateway/runtime config not represented in OPTIONAL_ENV_VARS.
+        "TELEGRAM_HOME_CHANNEL",
+        "TELEGRAM_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME",
+        "DISCORD_HOME_CHANNEL",
+        "DISCORD_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME",
+        "DISCORD_REQUIRE_MENTION",
+        "DISCORD_FREE_RESPONSE_CHANNELS",
+        "DISCORD_AUTO_THREAD",
+        "SLACK_HOME_CHANNEL",
+        "SLACK_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME",
+        "SLACK_ALLOWED_USERS",
+        "WHATSAPP_ENABLED",
+        "WHATSAPP_MODE",
+        "WHATSAPP_ALLOWED_USERS",
+        "SIGNAL_HTTP_URL",
+        "SIGNAL_ACCOUNT",
+        "SIGNAL_ALLOWED_USERS",
+        "SIGNAL_GROUP_ALLOWED_USERS",
+        "SIGNAL_HOME_CHANNEL",
+        "SIGNAL_HOME_CHANNEL_NAME",
+        "SIGNAL_IGNORE_STORIES",
+        "HASS_TOKEN",
+        "HASS_URL",
+        "EMAIL_ADDRESS",
+        "EMAIL_PASSWORD",
+        "EMAIL_IMAP_HOST",
+        "EMAIL_SMTP_HOST",
+        "EMAIL_HOME_ADDRESS",
+        "EMAIL_HOME_ADDRESS_NAME",
+        "GATEWAY_ALLOWED_USERS",
+        # Skills Hub / GitHub app auth paths and aliases.
+        "GH_TOKEN",
+        "GITHUB_APP_ID",
+        "GITHUB_APP_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH",
+        "GITHUB_APP_INSTALLATION_ID",
     })
     return frozenset(blocked)
 
@@ -74,6 +121,30 @@ def _build_provider_env_blocklist() -> frozenset:
 _HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST = _build_provider_env_blocklist()
 
 
+def _sanitize_subprocess_env(base_env: dict | None, extra_env: dict | None = None) -> dict:
+    """Filter Hermes-managed secrets from a subprocess environment.
+
+    `_HERMES_FORCE_<VAR>` entries in ``extra_env`` opt a blocked variable back in
+    intentionally for callers that truly need it.
+    """
+    sanitized: dict[str, str] = {}
+
+    for key, value in (base_env or {}).items():
+        if key.startswith(_HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_FORCE_PREFIX):
+            continue
+        if key not in _HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST:
+            sanitized[key] = value
+
+    for key, value in (extra_env or {}).items():
+        if key.startswith(_HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_FORCE_PREFIX):
+            real_key = key[len(_HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_FORCE_PREFIX):]
+            sanitized[real_key] = value
+        elif key not in _HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST:
+            sanitized[key] = value
+
+    return sanitized
+
+
 def _find_bash() -> str:
     """Find bash for command execution.
 
@@ -249,18 +320,11 @@ class LocalEnvironment(BaseEnvironment):
             # Ensure PATH always includes standard dirs — systemd services
             # and some terminal multiplexers inherit a minimal PATH.
             _SANE_PATH = "/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin"
-            # Strip Hermes-internal provider vars so external CLIs
+            # Strip Hermes-managed provider/tool/gateway vars so external CLIs
-            # (e.g. codex) are not silently misrouted.  Callers that
+            # are not silently misrouted or handed Hermes secrets. Callers that
-            # truly need a blocked var can opt in by prefixing the key
+            # truly need a blocked var can opt in by prefixing the key with
-            # with _HERMES_FORCE_ in self.env (e.g. _HERMES_FORCE_OPENAI_API_KEY).
+            # _HERMES_FORCE_ in self.env (e.g. _HERMES_FORCE_OPENAI_API_KEY).
-            merged = dict(os.environ | self.env)
+            run_env = _sanitize_subprocess_env(os.environ, self.env)
-            run_env = {}
-            for k, v in merged.items():
-                if k.startswith(_HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_FORCE_PREFIX):
-                    real_key = k[len(_HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_FORCE_PREFIX):]
-                    run_env[real_key] = v
-                elif k not in _HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST:
-                    run_env[k] = v
             existing_path = run_env.get("PATH", "")
             if "/usr/bin" not in existing_path.split(":"):
                 run_env["PATH"] = f"{existing_path}:{_SANE_PATH}" if existing_path else _SANE_PATH

tools/process_registry.py

@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ import time
 import uuid
 
 _IS_WINDOWS = platform.system() == "Windows"
-from tools.environments.local import _find_shell, _HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST
+from tools.environments.local import _find_shell, _sanitize_subprocess_env
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional
@@ -155,9 +155,7 @@ class ProcessRegistry:
                 else:
                     from ptyprocess import PtyProcess as _PtyProcessCls
                 user_shell = _find_shell()
-                pty_env = {k: v for k, v in os.environ.items()
+                pty_env = _sanitize_subprocess_env(os.environ, env_vars)
-                           if k not in _HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST}
-                pty_env.update(env_vars or {})
                 pty_env["PYTHONUNBUFFERED"] = "1"
                 pty_proc = _PtyProcessCls.spawn(
                     [user_shell, "-lic", command],
@@ -198,9 +196,7 @@ class ProcessRegistry:
         # Force unbuffered output for Python scripts so progress is visible
         # during background execution (libraries like tqdm/datasets buffer when
         # stdout is a pipe, hiding output from process(action="poll")).
-        bg_env = {k: v for k, v in os.environ.items()
+        bg_env = _sanitize_subprocess_env(os.environ, env_vars)
-                  if k not in _HERMES_PROVIDER_ENV_BLOCKLIST}
-        bg_env.update(env_vars or {})
         bg_env["PYTHONUNBUFFERED"] = "1"
         proc = subprocess.Popen(
             [user_shell, "-lic", command],