Java: add RegexpCheckBarrier to trust-boundary-violation sanitizers#21656
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MarkLee131 wants to merge 3 commits intogithub:mainfrom
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Java: add RegexpCheckBarrier to trust-boundary-violation sanitizers#21656MarkLee131 wants to merge 3 commits intogithub:mainfrom
MarkLee131 wants to merge 3 commits intogithub:mainfrom
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The trust-boundary-violation query only recognized OWASP ESAPI validators
as sanitizers. ESAPI is rarely used in modern Java projects, while regex
validation via String.matches() and @javax.validation.constraints.Pattern
is the standard approach in Spring/Jakarta applications.
RegexpCheckBarrier already exists in Sanitizers.qll and is used by other
queries (e.g., RequestForgery). This wires it into TrustBoundaryConfig,
so patterns like input.matches("[a-zA-Z0-9]+") and @pattern annotations
are recognized as sanitizers, consistent with the existing ESAPI treatment.
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Pull request overview
Updates the Java trust-boundary-violation query to treat regex-based validation as a sanitizer/barrier, aligning it with common Spring/Jakarta validation patterns and reducing false positives compared to ESAPI-only recognition.
Changes:
- Wire
RegexpCheckBarrierintoTrustBoundaryConfig.isBarrier(...)forjava/trust-boundary-violation. - Add a query-test scenario intended to demonstrate regex guard sanitization.
- Add a change-note documenting the expanded sanitizer recognition.
Reviewed changes
Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| java/ql/lib/semmle/code/java/security/TrustBoundaryViolationQuery.qll | Extends the trust-boundary barrier set to include RegexpCheckBarrier. |
| java/ql/test/query-tests/security/CWE-501/TrustBoundaryViolations.java | Adds a “GOOD” case using a String.matches(...) guard for session writes. |
| java/ql/lib/change-notes/2026-04-04-trust-boundary-regexp-barrier.md | Documents the query behavior change as a minor analysis improvement. |
java/ql/test/query-tests/security/CWE-501/TrustBoundaryViolations.java
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java/ql/test/query-tests/security/CWE-501/TrustBoundaryViolations.java
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…ons.java Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Adds a dedicated test verifying that fields annotated with @javax.validation.constraints.Pattern are recognized as sanitized by RegexpCheckBarrier, in addition to the existing String.matches() guard test.
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This is an experimental fix for #21655:
The trust-boundary-violation query only recognized OWASP ESAPI validators as sanitizers. ESAPI is rarely used in modern Java projects, while regex validation via String.matches() and @javax.validation.constraints.Pattern is the standard approach in Spring/Jakarta applications.
RegexpCheckBarrier already exists in Sanitizers.qll and is used by other queries (e.g., RequestForgery). This wires it into TrustBoundaryConfig, so patterns like input.matches("[a-zA-Z0-9]+") and @pattern annotations are recognized as sanitizers, consistent with the existing ESAPI treatment.