From e5cb2227f4a949e30c8db55c8904b0054970774f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Peter Steinberger <steipete@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 2 Aug 2026 23:46:01 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] fix: pin synchronous secret preview identity

---
 CHANGELOG.md                     |  4 ++++
 src/secret-file.ts               | 10 +++++++++-
 test/secret-file-failure.test.ts | 30 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 43 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 05276d2..ccc366e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+### Security and Correctness
+
+- Reject synchronous secret reads when the path is retargeted after the preview check, matching the asynchronous reader's `path-mismatch` contract instead of returning bytes from the replacement file.
+
 ## 0.5.2 - 2026-08-02
 
 ### Security and Correctness
diff --git a/src/secret-file.ts b/src/secret-file.ts
index 0ef07d3..eb05a60 100644
--- a/src/secret-file.ts
+++ b/src/secret-file.ts
@@ -123,8 +123,16 @@ function readSecretFileOutcomeSync(
       message: `Failed to read ${label} file at ${resolvedPath}: ${String(error)}`,
     };
   }
-
   try {
+    if (!sameFileIdentity(previewStat, opened.stat)) {
+      const error = new FsSafeError("path-mismatch", "security validation failed");
+      return {
+        ok: false,
+        code: "path-mismatch",
+        error,
+        message: `Failed to read ${label} file at ${resolvedPath}: ${String(error)}`,
+      };
+    }
     const raw = readFileDescriptorBoundedSync(opened.fd, maxBytes).toString("utf8");
     const secret = raw.trim();
     if (!secret) {
diff --git a/test/secret-file-failure.test.ts b/test/secret-file-failure.test.ts
index e9ee16b..2977c89 100644
--- a/test/secret-file-failure.test.ts
+++ b/test/secret-file-failure.test.ts
@@ -2,12 +2,14 @@ import fsSync from "node:fs";
 import fs from "node:fs/promises";
 import path from "node:path";
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { expectFsSafeError, expectFsSafeErrorSync } from "./helpers/security.js";
 import { itPosix, itWin32, useTempDirs } from "./helpers/vitest.js";
 import {
   readSecretFileSync,
   tryReadSecretFileSync,
   writeSecretFileAtomic,
 } from "../src/secret-file.js";
+import { readSecretFile } from "../src/secret-read-async.js";
 
 const { tempRoot } = useTempDirs();
 
@@ -126,6 +128,34 @@ describe("secret file refusal paths", () => {
     );
   });
 
+  itPosix("rejects a secret path retargeted after the preview in sync and async readers", async () => {
+    const root = await tempRoot("fs-safe-secret-preview-retarget-");
+    const originalPath = path.join(root, "original");
+    const replacementPath = path.join(root, "replacement");
+    const syncLink = path.join(root, "sync-token");
+    const asyncLink = path.join(root, "async-token");
+    await fs.writeFile(originalPath, "original");
+    await fs.writeFile(replacementPath, "replacement");
+    await fs.symlink(originalPath, syncLink);
+    await fs.symlink(originalPath, asyncLink);
+
+    const realpathSync = fsSync.realpathSync.bind(fsSync);
+    vi.spyOn(fsSync, "realpathSync").mockImplementationOnce((candidate, options) => {
+      fsSync.unlinkSync(syncLink);
+      fsSync.symlinkSync(replacementPath, syncLink);
+      return realpathSync(candidate, options as never);
+    });
+    expectFsSafeErrorSync(() => readSecretFileSync(syncLink, "sync token"), "path-mismatch");
+
+    const realpath = fs.realpath.bind(fs);
+    vi.spyOn(fs, "realpath").mockImplementationOnce(async (candidate, options) => {
+      await fs.unlink(asyncLink);
+      await fs.symlink(replacementPath, asyncLink);
+      return await realpath(candidate, options as never);
+    });
+    await expectFsSafeError(readSecretFile(asyncLink, "async token"), "path-mismatch");
+  });
+
   it("rejects a different descriptor identity during post-write verification", async () => {
     const root = await tempRoot("fs-safe-secret-write-identity-");
     const filePath = path.join(root, "token");