The generalised sweep found what 0.3.2's hand-written rows missed. All three are
the documented class -- a run in front of a required literal that never arrives,
so every start position rescans the tail -- and all three are worse than the
0.3.3 findings, because `sanitize`, `neutralize`, `scan_active_content` and the
okf link graph apply NO input cap. `scan_lexicon`/`scan_output` are the only
entry points that do, so there is no ceiling to extrapolate to.
sanitize._HTML_COMMENT_RE `<!--`*100_000 20.1s, exponent 1.96-2.14
active_content.URL_IN_TEXT_RE `<a `+`A`*100_000 12.99s / 14.9s, exponent ~2.0
okf._MD_LINK_RE `[`*100_000 7.1s, exponent 1.99-2.05
Each fix is the one the pattern's own shape allows, not a copied choice:
- The comment stripper drops the regex for `str.find`. Excluding `<` would lose
every comment containing markup; bounding the run would be a carrier bypass
of the exact construct the stripper exists to remove.
- `URL_IN_TEXT_RE` bounds its scheme run to an RFC 3986 scheme (`{0,63}`).
Bounding is safe *here* only because it is a defanger inside a tag already
flagged `active:raw-html`. A lookbehind was measured too and rejected: it
drops `-http://evil.com`, a one-character evasion. Bounded: 0.185s at 1M.
- `_MD_LINK_RE` excludes `[`, matching `active_content.MD_LINK_RE` exactly,
including the nested-label trade already documented there.
`sanitize` claimed "no catastrophic backtracking" in a comment; that claim was
wrong in the same way `output`'s was before 0.3.2, and is corrected in place.
676 tests (+10), coverage 128/128 + 6/6 gaps, sweep clean across 150 patterns.
The okf destination run gets no row: `[^)\s]+` cannot fail, so a row for it
could never go red.
Build-order step 6. Close the EchoLeak class (CVE-2025-32711): active content in
persisted model OUTPUT that a downstream renderer auto-fetches or makes clickable,
exfiltrating data zero-click. These carriers are neither injection strings nor
high-entropy, so lexicon + entropy miss them — a distinct control (OWASP LLM05,
Improper Output Handling).
Defang, don't delete. URLs in active-content position are rewritten to a
non-resolvable but auditable form (https://evil.com -> hxxps://evil[.]com;
data:/javascript: colon neutralized to [:]); raw active HTML is escaped so a
renderer shows inert literal text. Visible information survives review; only the
machine-actionable affordance dies. Dot-defang is idempotent (never [[.]]).
Six classes, each a Finding: markdown-image (HIGH, the zero-click primitive),
inline-link (MEDIUM), reference-link definition (MEDIUM, the documented
image-filter bypass), angle-bracket autolink (MEDIUM), raw active HTML (HIGH,
inherently-active tag OR event/URL attribute — benign <b>/<em> left untouched),
standalone data: URI (HIGH). Processing order prevents double-counting.
Opt-in and separate: calling neutralize() IS the opt-in to mutate; the report-only
gate stays pure (design principles 3 & 4). Byte-identical on clean output, mirror
of the sanitizer invariant. Scope conceded in the docstring: a targeted defanger,
not a full HTML sanitizer.
17 tests: byte-identity + FP guards (lone <>[], metadata:, benign HTML), image
defang + non-resolvability, secret-exfil URL, inline/reference/autolink, raw-html
escape + script neutralization, data: URI, no double-count, counts, source.
[skip-docs]: README positioning + honest-limitations remains the deliberate
build-order step-11 deliverable (steps 1-5 likewise left README frozen).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01HyRCQMocjZ6SmSQ6JidJ2k