fix: harden input validation

current/src/main/kotlin/io/github/jpicklyk/mcptask/current/application/service/ItemHierarchyValidator.kt

@@ -45,13 +45,14 @@ class ItemHierarchyValidator {
         }
 
         // Guard: ancestor cycle check — walk up from parentId, ensure itemId is not an ancestor
+        // Uses a visited set to detect pre-existing cycles in the hierarchy (not just depth-bounded)
+        val visited = mutableSetOf<UUID>()
         var cursor: UUID? = parentId
-        repeat(MAX_DEPTH + 1) {
-            val cursorId = cursor ?: return@repeat
-            val ancestorResult = repo.getById(cursorId)
-            val ancestor = when (ancestorResult) {
+        while (cursor != null && visited.size <= MAX_DEPTH) {
+            if (!visited.add(cursor)) break  // Pre-existing cycle — stop walking
+            val ancestor = when (val ancestorResult = repo.getById(cursor)) {
                 is Result.Success -> ancestorResult.data
-                is Result.Error -> return@repeat
+                is Result.Error -> break
             }
             if (ancestor.id == itemId) {
                 throw ToolValidationException(

current/src/main/kotlin/io/github/jpicklyk/mcptask/current/application/tools/BaseToolDefinition.kt

@@ -277,6 +277,20 @@ abstract class BaseToolDefinition : ToolDefinition {
     // UUID extraction (v3-specific)
     // ──────────────────────────────────────────────
 
+    /**
+     * Extracts and parses a required UUID parameter, returning a non-null UUID.
+     *
+     * Wraps [extractUUID] with `required=true` so call sites avoid `!!` non-null assertions.
+     *
+     * @param params The input parameters
+     * @param name The parameter name
+     * @return The parsed UUID (never null)
+     * @throws ToolValidationException if missing or not a valid UUID
+     */
+    protected fun requireUUID(params: JsonElement, name: String): UUID =
+        extractUUID(params, name, required = true)
+            ?: throw ToolValidationException("'$name' is required and must be a valid UUID")
+
     /**
      * Extracts and parses a UUID parameter from a string value.
      *

current/src/main/kotlin/io/github/jpicklyk/mcptask/current/application/tools/dependency/QueryDependenciesTool.kt

@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ Returns dependencies with counts breakdown and optional graph traversal data.
     }
 
     override suspend fun execute(params: JsonElement, context: ToolExecutionContext): JsonElement {
-        val itemId = extractUUID(params, "itemId", required = true)!!
+        val itemId = requireUUID(params, "itemId")
         val direction = optionalString(params, "direction") ?: "all"
         val typeFilter = optionalString(params, "type")?.let { DependencyType.fromString(it) }
         val includeItemInfo = optionalBoolean(params, "includeItemInfo", defaultValue = false)

current/src/main/kotlin/io/github/jpicklyk/mcptask/current/application/tools/items/QueryItemsTool.kt

@@ -343,6 +343,17 @@ Operations: get, search, overview
         val offset = (optionalInt(params, "offset") ?: 0).coerceAtLeast(0)
         val includeAncestors = optionalBoolean(params, "includeAncestors", false)
 
+        // Validate time ranges — reject inverted ranges early
+        if (createdAfter != null && createdBefore != null && createdAfter > createdBefore) {
+            return errorResponse("createdAfter must be before createdBefore", ErrorCodes.VALIDATION_ERROR)
+        }
+        if (modifiedAfter != null && modifiedBefore != null && modifiedAfter > modifiedBefore) {
+            return errorResponse("modifiedAfter must be before modifiedBefore", ErrorCodes.VALIDATION_ERROR)
+        }
+        if (roleChangedAfter != null && roleChangedBefore != null && roleChangedAfter > roleChangedBefore) {
+            return errorResponse("roleChangedAfter must be before roleChangedBefore", ErrorCodes.VALIDATION_ERROR)
+        }
+
         // Parse role
         val role = roleStr?.let {
             Role.fromString(it)

current/src/main/kotlin/io/github/jpicklyk/mcptask/current/application/tools/notes/QueryNotesTool.kt

@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ Read-only query operations for Notes (get, list).
     // ──────────────────────────────────────────────
 
     private suspend fun executeGet(params: JsonElement, context: ToolExecutionContext): JsonElement {
-        val id = extractUUID(params, "id", required = true)!!
+        val id = requireUUID(params, "id")
         val noteRepo = context.noteRepository()
 
         return when (val result = noteRepo.getById(id)) {
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ Read-only query operations for Notes (get, list).
     // ──────────────────────────────────────────────
 
     private suspend fun executeList(params: JsonElement, context: ToolExecutionContext): JsonElement {
-        val itemId = extractUUID(params, "itemId", required = true)!!
+        val itemId = requireUUID(params, "itemId")
         val role = optionalString(params, "role")
         val includeBody = optionalBoolean(params, "includeBody", defaultValue = true)
         val noteRepo = context.noteRepository()

current/src/main/kotlin/io/github/jpicklyk/mcptask/current/application/tools/workflow/GetNextStatusTool.kt

@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ Read-only status progression recommendation for a WorkItem.
     }
 
     override suspend fun execute(params: JsonElement, context: ToolExecutionContext): JsonElement {
-        val itemId = extractUUID(params, "itemId", required = true)!!
+        val itemId = requireUUID(params, "itemId")
 
         // Fetch the WorkItem
         val itemResult = context.workItemRepository().getById(itemId)

current/src/main/kotlin/io/github/jpicklyk/mcptask/current/infrastructure/repository/SQLiteWorkItemRepository.kt

@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ class SQLiteWorkItemRepository(private val databaseManager: DatabaseManager) : W
             val items = baseQuery
                 .orderBy(sortColumn, order)
                 .limit(limit)
-                .offset(offset.toLong())
+                .offset(offset.coerceAtLeast(0).toLong())
                 .mapNotNull { toWorkItemOrNull(it) }
 
             Result.Success(items)