2026-07-15-invalid-honeypot-time.md

Invalid Honeypot Timestamp Implementation Plan

For agentic workers: REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: Use superpowers:subagent-driven-development (recommended) or superpowers:executing-plans to implement this plan task-by-task. Steps use checkbox (- [ ]) syntax for tracking.

Goal: Reject empty and non-numeric honeypot timestamps without raising an exception or processing the form submission.

Architecture: Keep timestamp validation inside HoneypotFormSubmissionMixin.time_diff(), which remains a boolean predicate. Conversion failures return False, allowing the existing process_form_submission() condition to ignore malformed submissions without changing template output or valid submission behavior.

Tech Stack: Python, Django, Wagtail, Django TestCase, Ruff, uv

Global Constraints

• Preserve all existing HONEYPOT_* setting names and valid-input behavior.
• Preserve the existing time_diff(value, interval) interface and interval boundary semantics.
• Treat TypeError and ValueError from timestamp conversion as invalid honeypot input.
• Do not suppress invalid project configuration such as a non-numeric interval.
• Do not change templates, migrations, dependencies, or README usage documentation.
• Add a short user-facing entry under CHANGELOG → Unreleased.

---

Task 1: Fail Closed for Malformed Honeypot Timestamps

Files:

• Modify: tests/test_methods.py:19-31
• Modify: tests/test_form.py:93-103
• Modify: wagtail_honeypot/models.py:44-48
• Modify: CHANGELOG:5-8

Interfaces:

• Consumes: HoneypotFormSubmissionMixin.time_diff(value, interval) and the existing HoneypotFormPageTestCase.post_form(**overrides) helper.

• Produces: unchanged time_diff(value, interval) -> bool; values that cannot be converted with int(value) produce False.

• Step 1: Add focused method tests for invalid values

Add this method after test_time_diff_thresholds in tests/test_methods.py:

def test_time_diff_rejects_invalid_values(self):
    cases = [
        ("empty string", ""),
        ("non-numeric string", "not-a-timestamp"),
        ("none", None),
    ]

    for label, submitted_time in cases:
        with self.subTest(label=label):
            self.assertFalse(self.form.time_diff(submitted_time, self.interval))

• Step 2: Add form-flow regression coverage

Add this method after test_form_submission_is_ignored_when_honeypot_time_is_too_short in TestHoneypotFormEnabled in tests/test_form.py:

def test_form_submission_is_ignored_when_honeypot_time_is_invalid(self):
    for value in ("", "not-a-timestamp"):
        with self.subTest(value=value):
            resp = self.post_form(whf_time=value)
            self.assert_submission_count(0)
            self.assertContains(resp, "Thank you for your message")

The response assertion protects the existing indistinguishable thank-you response, while the submission count proves the malformed request did not reach Wagtail's normal submission persistence path.

• Step 3: Run the new tests and verify the regression

Run:

uv run manage.py test \
  tests.test_methods.TestHoneypotMethods.test_time_diff_rejects_invalid_values \
  tests.test_form.TestHoneypotFormEnabled.test_form_submission_is_ignored_when_honeypot_time_is_invalid

Expected: FAILED (errors=...); each malformed value reaches wagtail_honeypot/models.py and raises TypeError or ValueError from int(value).

• Step 4: Implement the minimal conversion guard

Replace time_diff() in wagtail_honeypot/models.py with:

@staticmethod
def time_diff(value, interval):
    now_time = str(time.time()).split(".")[0]
    try:
        submitted_time = int(value)
    except (TypeError, ValueError):
        return False
    diff = abs(int(now_time) - submitted_time)
    return True if diff > interval else False

Keep int(now_time) and the interval comparison outside the exception handler so project configuration and internal errors remain visible.

• Step 5: Run the focused regression tests

Run:

uv run manage.py test \
  tests.test_methods.TestHoneypotMethods.test_time_diff_rejects_invalid_values \
  tests.test_form.TestHoneypotFormEnabled.test_form_submission_is_ignored_when_honeypot_time_is_invalid

Expected: Ran 2 tests followed by OK.

• Step 6: Add the changelog entry

Add this flat entry beneath ## Unreleased in CHANGELOG:

- Ignore malformed honeypot timestamps instead of raising an exception.

• Step 7: Run focused form and method coverage

Run:

uv run manage.py test tests.test_methods tests.test_form

Expected: all method and form tests pass, including valid timestamp thresholds, accepted submissions, and every ignored-submission case.

• Step 8: Run the complete test suite

Run:

make test

Expected: the Django suite reports OK, and the coverage command exits successfully.

• Step 9: Run lint and inspect the final diff

Run:

make lint
git diff --check
git diff -- wagtail_honeypot/models.py tests/test_methods.py tests/test_form.py CHANGELOG

Expected: Ruff reports no errors, git diff --check prints nothing, and the diff contains only the conversion guard, regression tests, and changelog entry.

• Step 10: Commit the fix

git add wagtail_honeypot/models.py tests/test_methods.py tests/test_form.py CHANGELOG
git commit -m "fix: reject malformed honeypot timestamps"

Expected: one implementation commit containing the production fix, regression coverage, and changelog entry.