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fix: strip untrusted metadata blocks from chat history#20231

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MisterGuy420 wants to merge 3 commits intoopenclaw:mainfrom
MisterGuy420:fix/issue-20221
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fix: strip untrusted metadata blocks from chat history#20231
MisterGuy420 wants to merge 3 commits intoopenclaw:mainfrom
MisterGuy420:fix/issue-20221

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@MisterGuy420
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@MisterGuy420 MisterGuy420 commented Feb 18, 2026

Fixes #20221

What changed

Extended stripEnvelopeFromMessages() to also strip the Conversation info (untrusted metadata): block that was introduced in 2026.2.17 for webchat messages.

AI-assisted contribution

This fix was generated by an AI agent (OpenClaw cron: gh-issues-fix)

  • Testing depth: validated with pnpm build && pnpm check && pnpm test
  • The fix addresses the root cause by extending the existing message stripping logic to handle the new metadata block format.

Greptile Summary

This PR adds regex-based stripping of "Conversation info (untrusted metadata):" blocks from chat history messages. While the intent is correct, the implementation has two bugs that prevent it from working in most real-world scenarios:

  • Regex matches only the header line: The /m flag on UNTRUSTED_METADATA_PATTERN causes $ in the lookahead to match end-of-line, so the non-greedy [\s\S]*? captures zero characters. The JSON code fence block is left in the output.
  • Early-return prevents combined stripping: In actual webchat messages, the metadata block appears after the envelope header (e.g. [WebChat 2026-02-17T10:00Z] Conversation info...). The metadata check runs first but fails because ^ doesn't match mid-line, then the envelope strip returns without ever attempting metadata removal.
  • No new tests were added to cover the metadata stripping behavior.

Confidence Score: 1/5

  • This PR does not achieve its stated goal — the metadata blocks will not be stripped in practice due to two regex/logic bugs.
  • Both bugs were confirmed by running the regex against the actual message format produced by buildInboundUserContextPrefix. In the common case (webchat messages with envelope headers), the metadata block is never removed. In the uncommon case (metadata without envelope), only the header line is removed, leaving the JSON code block behind.
  • src/shared/chat-envelope.ts requires fixes to both the regex pattern and the control flow in stripEnvelope.

Last reviewed commit: c8562a7

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1 file reviewed, 2 comments

Edit Code Review Agent Settings | Greptile

Comment on lines +23 to 24

function looksLikeEnvelopeHeader(header: string): boolean {
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Regex only strips the header line, not the full block

The /m flag makes $ match end-of-line (not just end-of-string). Because [\s\S]*? is non-greedy, it matches zero characters when the $ alternative in the lookahead immediately succeeds at the end of the "Conversation info (untrusted metadata):" line. The entire ```json\n{...}\n``` code block is left behind.

Verified by running the regex against the actual format produced by buildInboundUserContextPrefix in src/auto-reply/reply/inbound-meta.ts:

Input:  "Conversation info (untrusted metadata):\n```json\n{\"id\":\"abc\"}\n```\n\nHello!"
Match:  "Conversation info (untrusted metadata):"   // only the header line!
Result: "```json\n{\"id\":\"abc\"}\n```\n\nHello!"   // JSON block leaks through

A possible fix would be to explicitly match through the closing code fence instead of relying on the non-greedy + lookahead approach:

Suggested change
function looksLikeEnvelopeHeader(header: string): boolean {
const UNTRUSTED_METADATA_PATTERN =
/^Conversation info \(untrusted metadata\):[\s\S]*?```\s*/m;
Prompt To Fix With AI
This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: src/shared/chat-envelope.ts
Line: 23:24

Comment:
**Regex only strips the header line, not the full block**

The `/m` flag makes `$` match end-of-*line* (not just end-of-string). Because `[\s\S]*?` is non-greedy, it matches zero characters when the `$` alternative in the lookahead immediately succeeds at the end of the `"Conversation info (untrusted metadata):"` line. The entire ` ```json\n{...}\n``` ` code block is left behind.

Verified by running the regex against the actual format produced by `buildInboundUserContextPrefix` in `src/auto-reply/reply/inbound-meta.ts`:

```
Input:  "Conversation info (untrusted metadata):\n```json\n{\"id\":\"abc\"}\n```\n\nHello!"
Match:  "Conversation info (untrusted metadata):"   // only the header line!
Result: "```json\n{\"id\":\"abc\"}\n```\n\nHello!"   // JSON block leaks through
```

A possible fix would be to explicitly match through the closing code fence instead of relying on the non-greedy + lookahead approach:

```suggestion
const UNTRUSTED_METADATA_PATTERN =
  /^Conversation info \(untrusted metadata\):[\s\S]*?```\s*/m;
```

How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

Comment thread src/shared/chat-envelope.ts Outdated
Comment on lines 36 to 41
const metadataMatch = text.match(UNTRUSTED_METADATA_PATTERN);
if (metadataMatch) {
return text.replace(metadataMatch[0], "").trim();
}

const match = text.match(ENVELOPE_PREFIX);
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Early return prevents stripping both envelope and metadata

stripEnvelope returns as soon as it matches either the metadata block or the envelope header — it never strips both. In the real message format (confirmed via get-reply-run.ts), the envelope header wraps the metadata block:

[WebChat 2026-02-17T10:00Z] Conversation info (untrusted metadata):
```json
{...}

Hello!


Since the metadata regex requires `^` at start-of-line and the message starts with `[WebChat ...]`, the metadata check fails. The function then falls through to the envelope strip, removing only `[WebChat 2026-02-17T10:00Z] ` and returning — leaving the entire metadata block in the output.

The metadata stripping should happen *after* envelope stripping (or the function should apply both transforms), not as an early-return alternative. For example:

```suggestion
export function stripEnvelope(text: string): string {
  // Strip envelope header first (if present)
  const match = text.match(ENVELOPE_PREFIX);
  let stripped = text;
  if (match) {
    const header = match[1] ?? "";
    if (looksLikeEnvelopeHeader(header)) {
      stripped = text.slice(match[0].length);
    }
  }

  // Then strip "Conversation info (untrusted metadata):" blocks
  const metadataMatch = stripped.match(UNTRUSTED_METADATA_PATTERN);
  if (metadataMatch) {
    return stripped.replace(metadataMatch[0], "").trim();
  }

  return stripped;
Prompt To Fix With AI
This is a comment left during a code review.
Path: src/shared/chat-envelope.ts
Line: 36:41

Comment:
**Early return prevents stripping both envelope and metadata**

`stripEnvelope` returns as soon as it matches either the metadata block or the envelope header — it never strips both. In the real message format (confirmed via `get-reply-run.ts`), the envelope header wraps the metadata block:

```
[WebChat 2026-02-17T10:00Z] Conversation info (untrusted metadata):
```json
{...}
```

Hello!
```

Since the metadata regex requires `^` at start-of-line and the message starts with `[WebChat ...]`, the metadata check fails. The function then falls through to the envelope strip, removing only `[WebChat 2026-02-17T10:00Z] ` and returning — leaving the entire metadata block in the output.

The metadata stripping should happen *after* envelope stripping (or the function should apply both transforms), not as an early-return alternative. For example:

```suggestion
export function stripEnvelope(text: string): string {
  // Strip envelope header first (if present)
  const match = text.match(ENVELOPE_PREFIX);
  let stripped = text;
  if (match) {
    const header = match[1] ?? "";
    if (looksLikeEnvelopeHeader(header)) {
      stripped = text.slice(match[0].length);
    }
  }

  // Then strip "Conversation info (untrusted metadata):" blocks
  const metadataMatch = stripped.match(UNTRUSTED_METADATA_PATTERN);
  if (metadataMatch) {
    return stripped.replace(metadataMatch[0], "").trim();
  }

  return stripped;
```

How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

- Fix regex to strip full metadata block including code fences
- Strip envelope header before metadata to handle wrapped format

Co-authored-by: MisterGuy420 <MisterGuy420>
Comment thread src/shared/chat-envelope.ts
Comment thread src/shared/chat-envelope.ts
- Explicitly match opening fence line (e.g. ```) with language spec
- Add 'g' flag for global matching to strip all metadata blocks
@MisterGuy420
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Fixed both issues:

  1. Regex pattern: Updated to explicitly match the opening fence line (e.g., json) followed by content and the closing fence:

    const UNTRUSTED_METADATA_PATTERN =
      /^Conversation info \(untrusted metadata\):\n```[^\n]*\n[\s\S]*?\n```\s*/gm;
  2. Global replacement: Added the 'g' flag to the regex so replace() will replace all matches.

The fix is now pushed to the branch.

@MisterGuy420
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These issues have been addressed in commit 22e016d9c:

fix: resolve greptile review comments - regex and early return issues

  1. Regex only strips header line: Fixed the regex to properly strip the full metadata block including code fences (not just the header line). The issue was with the non-greedy [\s\S]*? combined with the /m flag.

  2. Early return prevents stripping both: Modified the code to first strip the envelope header, then strip the metadata block, so both are properly handled even when the envelope wraps the metadata.

@markfietje
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Fix for Regex and Control Flow Bugs

The Greptile review correctly identified two bugs. Here's the corrected implementation:

1. Fix the regex pattern (remove ^ anchor and m flag)

// src/shared/chat-envelope.ts
const UNTRUSTED_METADATA_PATTERN = 
  /Conversation info \(untrusted metadata\):\s*\n```json\s*\n[\s\S]*?\n```\s*\n?/g;

The ^ anchor prevents matching when the block appears after the envelope header (e.g., [WebChat 2026-02-17T10:00Z] Conversation info...). The /g flag ensures all occurrences are stripped.

2. Fix the control flow in stripEnvelope()

Strip the metadata block before the envelope check:

export function stripEnvelope(text: string): string {
  // Strip metadata block FIRST (may appear after envelope header)
  let result = text.replace(UNTRUSTED_METADATA_PATTERN, "");
  
  const match = result.match(ENVELOPE_PREFIX);
  if (!match) {
    return result;
  }
  const header = match[1] ?? "";
  if (!looksLikeEnvelopeHeader(header)) {
    return result;
  }
  return result.slice(match[0].length);
}

Why this works

Scenario Current PR Corrected
Metadata only at start ❌ Only strips header ✅ Strips entire block
Metadata after [WebChat ...] ❌ Never stripped ✅ Stripped first
Multiple metadata blocks ❌ First only ✅ All stripped

The key insight: the metadata block can appear anywhere in the message, not just at the start. Stripping it before envelope processing ensures both patterns are handled correctly.


Fixes #20221

@vincentkoc
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you have been detected be spamming with unwarranted prs and issues and your issues and prs have been automatically closed. please read contributing guide Contributing.md.

@vincentkoc vincentkoc closed this Feb 22, 2026
@MisterGuy420 MisterGuy420 deleted the fix/issue-20221 branch February 22, 2026 21:32
@MisterGuy420
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Cleaning up: deleted the branch from my fork as part of repository maintenance.

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[Bug]: "Conversation info (untrusted metadata)" block visible in user messages after history reload

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