🔒 Fix Unauthenticated RCE Vulnerability in execute_tool endpoint

[jakobengdahl]

This PR addresses a critical security vulnerability where the /execute_tool endpoint allowed unauthenticated execution of arbitrary MCP tools, potentially leading to Remote Code Execution (RCE) or data loss.

Changes:

1. Backend (backend/api_host/server.py):

   • Defined a SAFE_TOOLS set containing read-only tools (e.g., search_graph, get_node_details).
   • Modified execute_tool_endpoint to enforce a check: if AUTH_ENABLED is false, only tools in SAFE_TOOLS are allowed. All other tools return a 403 Forbidden.
   • If AUTH_ENABLED is true, the existing middleware handles authentication, so no additional check is needed (authenticated users are trusted).

2. Frontend (frontend/web/src/components/ChatPanel.jsx):

   • Refactored the "Save View" functionality to use api.addNodes() (which calls the REST endpoint) instead of api.executeTool('add_nodes', ...). This ensures the frontend uses the appropriate, typed API method and avoids the new restriction on execute_tool for what is essentially a data creation operation.

3. Tests (backend/tests/test_security_execute_tool.py):

   • Added a new test file to verify the security logic.
   • Tests cover:
     • Unauthenticated access to safe tools (Allowed).
     • Unauthenticated access to unsafe tools (Blocked 403).
     • Authenticated access to unsafe tools (Allowed).
     • Authenticated access without credentials (Blocked 401).

Impact:

• Security: significantly improved by preventing unauthorized modification of the graph or execution of sensitive tools via the generic tool endpoint.
• Usability: Unauthenticated users (e.g., public read-only deployments) can still use search and visualization features but cannot modify data. Local developers running without auth can still use the REST API for data modification if needed, though execute_tool is now read-only for them. This encourages enabling authentication for any write-access deployment.

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PR created automatically by Jules for task 4151204992036068489 started by @jakobengdahl

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