Files
AegisGitea-MCP/docs/adr/0004-auth-modes.md
T
Latte 566d0b65dd feat: add per-user OAuth mode proxying sign-in to Gitea
Authorization server for MCP clients (SDK provider with dynamic client
registration, PKCE, refresh rotation and revocation) that signs users in
through Gitea and runs tool calls with the user's own Gitea token.

- consent page with CSRF protection and a browser-binding cookie on the
  Gitea callback (confused-deputy protection for the shared Gitea app)
- encrypted token store (Fernet, HKDF-derived key, 0600, atomic writes,
  symlink and corrupt-file refusal); our tokens stored only as hashes
- tokens bound to the MCP endpoint resource and the gitea scope; the
  static bearer keeps working next to OAuth
- code replay and refresh token reuse revoke the grant
- automatic upstream refresh with per-session locking; invalid_grant
  ends the session and never falls back to the admin token
- OAuth-only deployments (no GITEA_TOKEN, no bearer) may start
- rate limit on the OAuth endpoints, query strings dropped from access logs
2026-10-14 16:41:18 +02:00

4.1 KiB

ADR 0004: admin-token mode and per-user OAuth mode

Status: accepted (2026-10-14)

Context

Two authentication models must coexist on one deployment: an admin with full access, and other users who log in as themselves. Gitea is an OAuth2 provider but has no RFC 8414 metadata and no dynamic client registration; Mistral Le Chat requires dynamic client registration and Claude prefers it. Details: docs/research/sdk-oauth-gitea.md sections 4 and 6.

Decision

  • Admin-token mode (default). GITEA_TOKEN is used for every call. stdio always runs in this mode. On HTTP, a request carrying the static MCP_BEARER_TOKEN (constant-time comparison) runs in this mode.
  • Per-user OAuth mode (HTTP). The server is an OAuth 2.1 authorization server for MCP clients, using the SDK's OAuthAuthorizationServerProvider with dynamic client registration, and a confidential OAuth2 client of Gitea upstream (authorization code with PKCE S256, fixed and validated scope list). Our /oauth/callback exchanges the Gitea code, then issues our own opaque access and refresh tokens mapped to the user's Gitea tokens. Tool calls use the user's Gitea access token, so Gitea enforces that user's permissions; admin tools fail with Gitea's own 403 for non-admins. Upstream refresh is automatic.
  • Token store. A JSON file under DATA_DIR (default ~/.local/state/aegis-gitea-mcp, /var/lib/aegis-mcp in the image), mode 0600, values encrypted with Fernet using a key derived from TOKEN_ENCRYPTION_KEY. Our own tokens are stored only as SHA-256 hashes.
  • Combined verifier. One TokenVerifier accepts the static bearer (admin identity) or an issued OAuth token (user identity). The SDK requires passing it explicitly on the low-level server.
  • Identity in results. Every tool result carries identity: {login, mode, sudo}.

Consequences

The server holds per-user Gitea tokens. That is the most sensitive asset after the admin token and is covered by the threat model.

Implementation notes (chunk B5)

  • OAuth-only deployments are allowed. With OAUTH_ENABLED=true, no MCP_BEARER_TOKEN and no GITEA_TOKEN, the server starts and every user brings their own Gitea token. Admin-token mode is then unavailable and fails closed. GITEA_TOKEN stays required whenever admin-token mode is reachable (a static bearer, or an unauthenticated loopback endpoint).
  • Own consent step. Gitea remembers consent for our single Gitea application, so a dynamically registered client with an attacker's redirect URI could otherwise obtain a token for a victim who merely opens a link (the confused-deputy problem of OAuth proxies). /authorize therefore leads to our consent page, which names the client and the redirect URI. Approving needs a CSRF token bound by a SameSite=Strict cookie and a matching Origin, and sets a browser-binding cookie that /oauth/callback requires, so a Gitea redirect URL obtained by someone else cannot be completed in another browser.
  • Token binding. Tokens are bound to the MCP endpoint URL (RFC 8707) and carry the single scope gitea; the SDK enforces both (validate_token_resource=True, required_scopes=["gitea"]), and the static bearer reports the same resource and scope. /authorize with another resource is refused with invalid_target.
  • Replay handling. A replayed authorization code, or a rotated-out refresh token presented again, revokes the whole grant (RFC 6749 4.1.2, OAuth 2.1 refresh token reuse detection). Revoking either token ends the grant.
  • Store key. The Fernet key is HKDF-SHA256(TOKEN_ENCRYPTION_KEY, info aegis-gitea-mcp oauth store), so the setting can be any long random string. Changing it makes the store unreadable; startup then stops instead of wiping the file.
  • Limits. At most 500 registered clients (the least recently used client without a session is evicted, otherwise registration is refused), 50 sessions per Gitea login (the oldest ends), and 1024 pending sign-ins. The unauthenticated OAuth endpoints share the per-IP rate limit, and query strings are removed from access log lines.