Add runtime Tor-egress self-check (fail-closed) for Nostr relays

Runtime-verified whether Apple's URLSession honors connectionProxyDictionary
SOCKS settings for Nostr relay traffic (plain HTTPS + URLSessionWebSocketTask),
since the app routes all Nostr traffic through Arti's local SOCKS5 proxy solely
via those keys and Apple does not officially support SOCKS for URLSession on iOS.

Verification harness (scripts/tor-egress-verification/): a minimal SOCKS5 CONNECT
proxy that logs arriving connections, plus a Swift probe that runs an HTTPS GET
and a WebSocket ping through a URLSession configured with the proxy dict. Result:
on macOS (kCFNetworkProxiesSOCKS* constants) and the iOS simulator (raw
"SOCKSProxy"/"SOCKSPort" string keys, the exact app path) BOTH HTTP and WebSocket
are proxied, do remote DNS through the proxy, and the proxied session is
fail-closed (every request errors when the SOCKS proxy is down). The feared
direct-egress leak did not reproduce on the tested platforms.

Defense-in-depth for the platform Apple does not guarantee (physical iOS):
add TorEgressVerifier, which performs a canary request through the proxied
session and asserts the exit is a Tor node (check.torproject.org IsTor==true),
positively detecting a direct egress even if the OS silently ignored the proxy.
Policy: verifiedTor allows (cached for a TTL); notTor refuses (leak detected,
never open relays); unreachable allows-with-warning (session stays fail-closed
by construction). Wired into TorManager.awaitEgressReady() and required by both
NostrRelayManager and GeoRelayDirectory before opening connections. Cache is
invalidated on Tor restart/dormant/shutdown. Never falls back to a direct
connection.

Probe is injected so the policy/caching is unit-tested offline; the live-network
harness lives under scripts/ and is not run by CI.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
This commit is contained in:
jack
2026-07-01 23:34:10 +02:00
co-authored by Claude Fable 5
parent f688e529f6
commit c7ee2a4cb4
9 changed files with 675 additions and 2 deletions
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
// Standalone harness: does Apple's URLSession honor connectionProxyDictionary
// SOCKS settings for a plain HTTPS GET and for URLSessionWebSocketTask?
//
// Build: swiftc -O proxy_probe.swift -o proxy_probe
// Usage: proxy_probe <http|ws> <cf|raw> <proxyPort> [targetURL]
//
// Prints a single RESULT line: RESULT <mode> <keyStyle> <outcome> <detail>
// The caller correlates this with the SOCKS proxy's connection log to decide
// whether the request was proxied.
#if canImport(CFNetwork)
import CFNetwork
#endif
import Foundation
let args = CommandLine.arguments
guard args.count >= 4 else {
FileHandle.standardError.write(Data("usage: proxy_probe <http|ws> <cf|raw> <proxyPort> [targetURL]\n".utf8))
exit(2)
}
let mode = args[1]
let keyStyle = args[2]
let proxyPort = Int(args[3]) ?? 19999
let host = "127.0.0.1"
func makeProxyDict() -> [AnyHashable: Any] {
switch keyStyle {
#if os(macOS)
case "cf":
// The exact constants the app uses on macOS.
return [
kCFNetworkProxiesSOCKSEnable as String: 1,
kCFNetworkProxiesSOCKSProxy as String: host,
kCFNetworkProxiesSOCKSPort as String: proxyPort
]
#endif
default:
// The exact raw string keys the app uses on iOS.
return [
"SOCKSEnable": 1,
"SOCKSProxy": host,
"SOCKSPort": proxyPort
]
}
}
let cfg = URLSessionConfiguration.ephemeral
cfg.waitsForConnectivity = false
cfg.timeoutIntervalForRequest = 20
cfg.connectionProxyDictionary = makeProxyDict()
let session = URLSession(configuration: cfg)
func emit(_ outcome: String, _ detail: String) {
print("RESULT \(mode) \(keyStyle) \(outcome) \(detail)")
exit(outcome == "ERROR" ? 1 : 0)
}
let sem = DispatchSemaphore(value: 0)
if mode == "http" {
let target = URL(string: args.count >= 5 ? args[4] : "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/permissionlesstech/georelays/refs/heads/main/nostr_relays.csv")!
let task = session.dataTask(with: target) { data, resp, err in
if let err = err {
emit("ERROR", "\(err.localizedDescription)")
} else if let http = resp as? HTTPURLResponse {
emit("OK", "status=\(http.statusCode) bytes=\(data?.count ?? 0)")
} else {
emit("OK", "bytes=\(data?.count ?? 0)")
}
}
task.resume()
} else {
// WebSocket
let target = URL(string: args.count >= 5 ? args[4] : "wss://relay.damus.io")!
let ws = session.webSocketTask(with: target)
ws.resume()
// A successful ping proves the TLS+WS handshake completed end-to-end.
ws.sendPing { err in
if let err = err {
emit("ERROR", "\(err.localizedDescription)")
} else {
emit("OK", "ws-ping-ok")
}
}
}
// Global watchdog so we never hang.
DispatchQueue.global().asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 25) {
emit("ERROR", "timeout")
}
sem.wait()
+73
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#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Orchestrates the Tor-egress proxy-honoring verification on macOS.
#
# For each (request-type x key-style) it runs two experiments:
# A) proxy UP — did a connection arrive at the SOCKS proxy? (log grows)
# B) proxy DOWN — pointed at a dead port; does the request still SUCCEED?
# If it succeeds with no proxy, egress went DIRECT (proxy ignored).
# If it fails, the proxy setting is being enforced (fail-closed).
#
# Discriminator: PROXIED = connection observed at proxy AND fails when proxy down
# DIRECT = no connection at proxy OR succeeds when proxy down
set -u
DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)"
PORT=19999
DEADPORT=19998 # nothing listens here
LOG="$(mktemp -t sockslog)"
BIN="$(mktemp -t proxyprobe)"
echo "== building swift probe =="
swiftc -O "$DIR/proxy_probe.swift" -o "$BIN" || { echo "swiftc failed"; exit 1; }
echo "== starting SOCKS proxy on $PORT =="
: > "$LOG"
python3 "$DIR/socks5_probe_proxy.py" "$PORT" "$LOG" >/tmp/socksproxy.out 2>&1 &
PROXY_PID=$!
trap 'kill $PROXY_PID 2>/dev/null' EXIT
# wait for READY
for _ in $(seq 1 50); do
grep -q READY /tmp/socksproxy.out 2>/dev/null && break
sleep 0.1
done
run_case() {
local mode="$1" key="$2"
# Experiment A: proxy up, watch log
local before after target
before=$(wc -l < "$LOG" | tr -d ' ')
local outA
outA=$("$BIN" "$mode" "$key" "$PORT" 2>/dev/null | grep '^RESULT' || echo "RESULT $mode $key ERROR no-output")
sleep 0.3
after=$(wc -l < "$LOG" | tr -d ' ')
local proxied="NO"
if [ "$after" -gt "$before" ]; then proxied="YES"; fi
local newlines
newlines=$(tail -n +"$((before+1))" "$LOG" | tr '\t' ' ' | tr '\n' '|')
# Experiment B: proxy down (dead port), same request
local outB
outB=$("$BIN" "$mode" "$key" "$DEADPORT" 2>/dev/null | grep '^RESULT' || echo "RESULT $mode $key ERROR no-output")
echo "----------------------------------------"
echo "CASE mode=$mode key=$key"
echo " A(proxy up): $outA | connection_at_proxy=$proxied [$newlines]"
echo " B(proxy down): $outB"
# verdict
local a_ok b_ok
a_ok=$(echo "$outA" | awk '{print $4}')
b_ok=$(echo "$outB" | awk '{print $4}')
local verdict="UNKNOWN"
if [ "$proxied" = "YES" ] && [ "$b_ok" = "ERROR" ]; then verdict="PROXIED (enforced)"; fi
if [ "$proxied" = "NO" ] && [ "$b_ok" = "OK" ]; then verdict="DIRECT (proxy ignored)"; fi
if [ "$proxied" = "YES" ] && [ "$b_ok" = "OK" ]; then verdict="AMBIGUOUS (uses proxy if up, but egresses direct if down)"; fi
if [ "$proxied" = "NO" ] && [ "$b_ok" = "ERROR" ]; then verdict="BLOCKED both (network/target issue?)"; fi
echo " VERDICT: $verdict"
}
for mode in http ws; do
for key in cf raw; do
run_case "$mode" "$key"
done
done
echo "========================================"
echo "raw proxy log:"; cat "$LOG" | tr '\t' ' '
+166
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@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Minimal threaded SOCKS5 CONNECT proxy used to verify whether Apple's
URLSession actually honors `connectionProxyDictionary` SOCKS settings for
different request types (plain HTTPS vs URLSessionWebSocketTask).
Behavior:
- Speaks enough SOCKS5 (no-auth) to complete a CONNECT and then relays
bytes bidirectionally to the real destination.
- Every accepted CONNECT is appended to a log file as one line:
<iso8601>\tCONNECT\t<host>:<port>
- Any raw connection that is NOT valid SOCKS5 is logged as:
<iso8601>\tNON_SOCKS\t<first-bytes-hex>
(this catches the feared case where URLSession sends a raw TLS/HTTP
ClientHello straight at the proxy port instead of a SOCKS greeting).
If a request egresses DIRECTLY (proxy ignored), nothing is logged at all.
Usage: socks5_probe_proxy.py <listen_port> <log_file>
"""
import selectors
import socket
import sys
import threading
from datetime import datetime, timezone
LOG_LOCK = threading.Lock()
def log(logfile, kind, detail):
line = f"{datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat()}\t{kind}\t{detail}\n"
with LOG_LOCK:
with open(logfile, "a") as f:
f.write(line)
sys.stderr.write("[proxy] " + line)
sys.stderr.flush()
def recv_exact(sock, n):
buf = b""
while len(buf) < n:
chunk = sock.recv(n - len(buf))
if not chunk:
return None
buf += chunk
return buf
def handle(client, logfile):
client.settimeout(15)
try:
# SOCKS5 greeting: VER=0x05, NMETHODS, METHODS...
head = recv_exact(client, 2)
if not head:
return
if head[0] != 0x05:
# Not SOCKS5 at all — this is the smoking gun for a direct egress
# that mistakenly hit the proxy port. Log the first bytes.
rest = b""
try:
client.setblocking(False)
rest = client.recv(64)
except Exception:
pass
log(logfile, "NON_SOCKS", (head + rest).hex())
return
nmethods = head[1]
if nmethods:
recv_exact(client, nmethods)
# Reply: no authentication required
client.sendall(b"\x05\x00")
# Request: VER, CMD, RSV, ATYP, ADDR, PORT
req = recv_exact(client, 4)
if not req or req[1] != 0x01: # only CONNECT
client.sendall(b"\x05\x07\x00\x01\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00")
return
atyp = req[3]
if atyp == 0x01: # IPv4
addr = socket.inet_ntoa(recv_exact(client, 4))
elif atyp == 0x03: # domain
ln = recv_exact(client, 1)[0]
addr = recv_exact(client, ln).decode("ascii", errors="replace")
elif atyp == 0x04: # IPv6
addr = socket.inet_ntop(socket.AF_INET6, recv_exact(client, 16))
else:
client.sendall(b"\x05\x08\x00\x01\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00")
return
port = int.from_bytes(recv_exact(client, 2), "big")
log(logfile, "CONNECT", f"{addr}:{port}")
# Connect to the real destination and reply success.
try:
remote = socket.create_connection((addr, port), timeout=15)
except Exception as e:
log(logfile, "CONNECT_FAIL", f"{addr}:{port} {e}")
client.sendall(b"\x05\x01\x00\x01\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00")
return
client.sendall(b"\x05\x00\x00\x01\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00")
relay(client, remote)
except Exception:
pass
finally:
try:
client.close()
except Exception:
pass
def relay(a, b):
a.setblocking(False)
b.setblocking(False)
sel = selectors.DefaultSelector()
sel.register(a, selectors.EVENT_READ, b)
sel.register(b, selectors.EVENT_READ, a)
try:
while True:
events = sel.select(timeout=30)
if not events:
break
for key, _ in events:
src = key.fileobj
dst = key.data
try:
data = src.recv(65536)
except (BlockingIOError, InterruptedError):
continue
except Exception:
return
if not data:
return
try:
dst.sendall(data)
except Exception:
return
finally:
sel.close()
for s in (a, b):
try:
s.close()
except Exception:
pass
def main():
if len(sys.argv) != 3:
print("usage: socks5_probe_proxy.py <port> <logfile>", file=sys.stderr)
sys.exit(2)
port = int(sys.argv[1])
logfile = sys.argv[2]
srv = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
srv.setsockopt(socket.SOL_SOCKET, socket.SO_REUSEADDR, 1)
srv.bind(("127.0.0.1", port))
srv.listen(64)
sys.stderr.write(f"[proxy] listening on 127.0.0.1:{port}, log={logfile}\n")
sys.stderr.flush()
print("READY", flush=True)
while True:
client, _ = srv.accept()
threading.Thread(target=handle, args=(client, logfile), daemon=True).start()
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()