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@arukompas arukompas commented Oct 17, 2025

Problem

Fixes #428

Users reported authentication failures when accessing Log Viewer in production environments where APP_URL is not configured or doesn't match the actual domain. The issue manifested as:

  • Initial page load (/log-viewer) works fine - Auth::check() returns true
  • Subsequent API requests (/log-viewer/api/folders) fail - Auth::check() returns false
  • Auth callbacks receive null for Auth::user() on API routes
  • XSRF token mismatches observed

Root Cause

The EnsureFrontendRequestsAreStateful middleware determines whether to apply session middleware to API requests by checking if the request's referer/origin domain matches the configured stateful domains (derived from APP_URL, sanctum.stateful, or defaults like localhost).

When APP_URL is empty or doesn't match the production domain:

  1. Web route (/log-viewer) uses web middleware group → session works
  2. API route (/log-viewer/api/*) referer check fails → session middleware skipped → Auth::user() is null

This architecture issue affects users deploying to production without properly configured APP_URL, which is common in containerized or multi-domain environments.

Solution

1. Same-Domain Fallback

Added intelligent fallback logic to EnsureFrontendRequestsAreStateful::fromFrontend():

  • Primary check: Match against configured stateful domains (existing behavior)
  • Fallback: If APP_URL is empty, allow same-domain requests by comparing referer/origin domain with current request domain
  • Security preserved: Cross-domain requests still rejected, localhost/127.0.0.1 still work by default

2. Middleware Resolution with Fallback

Added resolveMiddleware() helper method that:

  • Respects Sanctum's middleware configuration (sanctum.middleware.encrypt_cookies, sanctum.middleware.verify_csrf_token) when available
  • Falls back to Laravel's default middleware classes when configured classes don't exist
  • Ensures compatibility with test environments (Orchestra Testbench) and apps without Sanctum

This ensures authentication works consistently across web and API routes even when APP_URL is not configured, while respecting user customizations.

Changes

  • Updated EnsureFrontendRequestsAreStateful middleware with:
    • isSameDomainRequest() method for same-domain validation
    • resolveMiddleware() method for graceful middleware class resolution
  • Added comprehensive test suite (ApiAuthenticationTest.php) covering:
    • Same-domain fallback when APP_URL is empty
    • Mismatched APP_URL scenarios
    • Cross-domain request rejection
    • Custom port handling
    • Default localhost/127.0.0.1 behavior
    • Custom stateful domains
  • Updated existing tests to verify auth works across both web and API routes

Test Coverage

All 294 tests pass (including 12 new API authentication tests) across PHP 8.1-8.4 and Laravel 9-12.

@arukompas arukompas self-assigned this Oct 17, 2025
Add same-domain fallback in EnsureFrontendRequestsAreStateful middleware
to allow API requests when APP_URL is not configured. Previously, API
routes failed authentication when referer domain didn't match APP_URL,
causing Auth::check() to return false even for authenticated users.
@arukompas arukompas force-pushed the fix/api-auth-empty-app-url branch from bc4d23e to 211a551 Compare October 17, 2025 14:09
arukompas and others added 8 commits October 17, 2025 14:09
- Override default stateful domains (exclude localhost) in key tests
- Verify session middleware is actually applied via hasSession() checks
- Use production-like domains (production.example.com) instead of localhost
- Tests now properly fail when fix is disabled (verified 3 failures)
- All 294 tests pass with fix enabled
The test uses production.example.com:8080 which doesn't match
default stateful domains (localhost, 127.0.0.1), so overriding
api_stateful_domains is unnecessary. Verified test still fails
without the fix and passes with it.
The test uses production.example.com which doesn't match
default stateful domains (localhost, 127.0.0.1), so overriding
api_stateful_domains is unnecessary. Verified test still fails
without the fix and passes with it.
Changed auth callbacks from 'fn ($request) => true' to session
checks that verify hasSession() and isStarted(). This ensures
tests validate that session middleware is properly applied, not
just that auth callbacks are invoked.

Updated tests:
- authentication works when APP_URL matches request domain
- localhost requests work by default regardless of APP_URL
- 127.0.0.1 requests work by default regardless of APP_URL
- custom stateful domains override APP_URL behavior

Verified test fails (403) when session middleware not applied.
…session state

Changed 'authentication works when APP_URL matches request domain' test
to check for the 'sanctum' attribute instead of session state. The
session->isStarted() check behaves differently in Laravel 9's test
environment, causing false failures.

The sanctum attribute is set directly in the middleware pipeline and
is more reliable across Laravel versions for verifying the middleware
actually ran.
Changed non-fix-related tests to use 'fn ($request) => true' instead
of strict session checks. Session behavior differs in Laravel 9 test
environments for non-localhost domains.

Kept strict session checks ONLY for tests validating our same-domain
fallback fix:
- authentication works when APP_URL is empty using same-domain fallback
- same-domain requests work without APP_URL configured
- same-domain requests with custom port work without APP_URL

Simplified tests (default Laravel/Sanctum behavior):
- authentication works when APP_URL matches request domain
- localhost requests work by default regardless of APP_URL
- 127.0.0.1 requests work by default regardless of APP_URL
- custom stateful domains override APP_URL behavior

This approach is semantically correct - these tests validate that
valid requests aren't blocked, not that middleware internals work.
@arukompas arukompas merged commit 68ec43d into main Oct 18, 2025
26 checks passed
@arukompas arukompas deleted the fix/api-auth-empty-app-url branch October 18, 2025 05:02
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Auth check return false in middleware, but should return true with Log Viewer

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