🔑 fix: Require Colon in API-Key Header Detection

[dustinhealy]

Pull Request

Summary

The built-in api_key_header detector currently treats the colon after api-key as optional. This makes ordinary prose such as “contains an api-key header” match as though it contained a credential and can cause LibreChat's own content-filter error text to be rejected on a subsequent inspection.

This change requires the literal header delimiter, so api-key: secret remains detected while descriptive prose without a colon is allowed.

How it works

Focused diff:

-pattern: /\b(api-key:?\s+)[^\s"']+/i,
+pattern: /\b(api-key:\s+)[^\s"']+/i,

Type of change

• Bug fix
• Tests / tooling / CI

Testing

Added a regression test using the exact false-positive text: Submitted content contains an api-key header. Remove it and try again.

The existing starter-pattern tests continue to confirm that an actual api-key: header is detected.

Tested environments/configuration:

• Source-aware message filtering
• api_key_header starter pattern

Automated tests:

• CI=true npm test --workspace=@librechat/api -- --runInBand --coverage=false src/protection/runtime.spec.ts
• 48 tests passed
• node scripts/sort-imports.mts <changed files>
• node scripts/sort-imports.mts --check <changed files>
• npx prettier --check <changed files>
• npx eslint <changed files> --pass-on-unpruned-suppressions

Screenshots / recordings

No visual UI change; this is backend pattern-matching behavior.

Risk / compatibility

The detector now follows HTTP-style header syntax by requiring a colon. Existing api-key: <value> detection remains unchanged.

Checklist

• I reviewed my own changes
• Relevant tests have been added or updated
• Existing relevant tests pass
• The change does not introduce new warnings or errors
• User-facing or complex behavior is documented where necessary
• Required dependency changes have been merged/published
• Required documentation PR: N/A

[dustinhealy]

@codex review

[chatgpt-codex-connector]

Codex Review Summary

This comment shows the latest Codex review activity on this pull request.

Review	Status	Commit	Review trigger
📝 Code Review	✅ Completed 2026-10-06T02:25:13.813373Z	c78022a	Manual request

ℹ️ About Codex in GitHub

Your team has set up Codex to review pull requests in this repo. Reviews are triggered when you

• Open a pull request for review
• Mark a draft as ready
• Comment "@codex review" or "@codex security review".

Codex reacts with 👀 while any review is running, comments if it has suggestions, and reacts with 👍 once all reviews finish with no findings.

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🟢 Approval recommended

The focused regex correction preserves valid detection and includes appropriate regression coverage.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: None

What changed in this PR

Requires a colon in api-key header detection, preventing prose from being misclassified as credentials.

Changes:

• Tightens the api_key_header regex.
• Adds regression coverage for the reported false positive.

File	Description
packages/​api/​src/​protection/​detectors/​pattern.ts	Requires the header colon.
packages/​api/​src/​protection/​runtime.spec.ts	Tests descriptive prose remains allowed.

---

💡 Add a code-review agent skill or configure MCP servers for context-aware, tailored reviews. Learn more in the docs.

[chatgpt-codex-connector]

Codex Review: Didn't find any major issues. Nice work!

Reviewed commit: c78022afca

ℹ️ About Codex in GitHub

Your team has set up Codex to review pull requests in this repo. Reviews are triggered when you

• Open a pull request for review
• Mark a draft as ready
• Comment "@codex review".

If Codex has suggestions, it will comment; otherwise it will react with 👍.

Codex can also answer questions or update the PR. Try commenting "@codex address that feedback".