From 4a04cb0eb3ff78302fde93576f62a1ee9d66c58b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "Sharad." <sharadvc@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 2026 14:35:46 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Validate attempt input in arena pipeline

Reject whitespace-only and oversized input in runAttempt before filter,
agent, or persistence. Share validateAttemptInput with the API route.

Fixes #9
---
 app/api/attempt/route.ts | 15 +++++++-------
 lib/arena.ts             | 13 ++++++++++++
 tests/pipeline.test.ts   | 45 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 3 files changed, 64 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/app/api/attempt/route.ts b/app/api/attempt/route.ts
index 770b2d9..2e01a11 100644
--- a/app/api/attempt/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/attempt/route.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { NextResponse } from "next/server";
-import { runAttempt } from "@/lib/arena";
+import { runAttempt, validateAttemptInput } from "@/lib/arena";
 import { getChallenge } from "@/lib/challenges/levels";
 import { ensureSession } from "@/lib/http";
 import { rateLimit } from "@/lib/ratelimit";
@@ -7,8 +7,6 @@ import { rateLimit } from "@/lib/ratelimit";
 export const runtime = "nodejs";
 export const dynamic = "force-dynamic";
 
-const MAX_INPUT = 4000;
-
 export async function POST(req: Request) {
   const session = ensureSession();
 
@@ -31,11 +29,12 @@ export async function POST(req: Request) {
       { status: 400 },
     );
   }
-  if (input.length === 0 || input.length > MAX_INPUT) {
-    return NextResponse.json(
-      { error: `input must be 1..${MAX_INPUT} characters` },
-      { status: 400 },
-    );
+  try {
+    validateAttemptInput(input);
+  } catch (err) {
+    const message =
+      err instanceof Error ? err.message : "invalid input";
+    return NextResponse.json({ error: message }, { status: 400 });
   }
   if (!getChallenge(challengeId)) {
     return NextResponse.json({ error: "unknown challenge" }, { status: 404 });
diff --git a/lib/arena.ts b/lib/arena.ts
index fcda7ce..039aff3 100644
--- a/lib/arena.ts
+++ b/lib/arena.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,17 @@ import type { Verdict } from "./types";
 // Scoring rule: only the *first* crack of a level by a session earns points;
 // subsequent cracks and all failures earn zero.
 
+export const MAX_ATTEMPT_INPUT = 4000;
+
+export function validateAttemptInput(input: string): void {
+  if (input.trim().length === 0) {
+    throw new Error("input must not be empty or whitespace-only");
+  }
+  if (input.length > MAX_ATTEMPT_INPUT) {
+    throw new Error(`input must be at most ${MAX_ATTEMPT_INPUT} characters`);
+  }
+}
+
 export interface RunAttemptArgs {
   session: Session;
   challengeId: string;
@@ -44,6 +55,8 @@ export async function runAttempt(args: RunAttemptArgs): Promise<AttemptOutcome>
     throw new Error(`Unknown challenge: ${args.challengeId}`);
   }
 
+  validateAttemptInput(args.input);
+
   const priorAttempts = args.dryRun
     ? args.priorAttempts ?? 0
     : await countAttempts(args.session.sessionId, challenge.id);
diff --git a/tests/pipeline.test.ts b/tests/pipeline.test.ts
index cdbf271..3f7b739 100644
--- a/tests/pipeline.test.ts
+++ b/tests/pipeline.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
-import { runAttempt } from "@/lib/arena";
+import * as agentModule from "@/lib/agent";
+import { MAX_ATTEMPT_INPUT, runAttempt } from "@/lib/arena";
 import {
   countAttempts,
   getLeaderboard,
@@ -20,10 +21,52 @@ describe("end-to-end attempt pipeline with persistence", () => {
   });
 
   afterEach(() => {
+    vi.restoreAllMocks();
     vi.unstubAllEnvs();
     vi.unstubAllGlobals();
   });
 
+  it("rejects whitespace-only input before agent or persistence", async () => {
+    const respond = vi.fn();
+    vi.spyOn(agentModule, "getAgent").mockReturnValue({
+      name: "test",
+      isAvailable: () => true,
+      respond,
+    });
+
+    await expect(
+      runAttempt({
+        session: alice,
+        challengeId: "level-1-open-book",
+        input: "   ",
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow(/input/i);
+
+    expect(respond).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(await countAttempts("alice-1", "level-1-open-book")).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it("rejects oversized input before agent or persistence", async () => {
+    const respond = vi.fn();
+    vi.spyOn(agentModule, "getAgent").mockReturnValue({
+      name: "test",
+      isAvailable: () => true,
+      respond,
+    });
+
+    const oversized = "x".repeat(MAX_ATTEMPT_INPUT + 1);
+    await expect(
+      runAttempt({
+        session: alice,
+        challengeId: "level-1-open-book",
+        input: oversized,
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow(/input/i);
+
+    expect(respond).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(await countAttempts("alice-1", "level-1-open-book")).toBe(0);
+  });
+
   it("persists a failed attempt with zero points", async () => {
     const out = await runAttempt({
       session: alice,