[PR #20471] [MERGED] feat: enforce permissions in backend #41267

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GiteaMirror · 2026-04-25T13:32:46-05:00

GiteaMirror commented

2026-04-25 13:32:46 -05:00

📋 Pull Request Information

Original PR: https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/pull/20471
Author: @silentoplayz
Created: 1/7/2026
Status: ✅ Merged
Merged: 1/7/2026
Merged by: @tjbck

Base: dev ← Head: feat/enforce-backend-permissions

📝 Commits (3)

47166b8 feat: enforce image generation permissions in backend
512df59 feat: enforce web search permissions in backend
6a83385 feat: enforce audio (tts/stt) permissions in backend

📊 Changes

3 files changed (+57 additions, -0 deletions)

View changed files

📝 backend/open_webui/routers/audio.py (+28 -0)
📝 backend/open_webui/routers/images.py (+15 -0)
📝 backend/open_webui/routers/retrieval.py (+14 -0)

📄 Description

Pull Request Checklist

Note to first-time contributors: Please open a discussion post in Discussions to discuss your idea/fix with the community before creating a pull request, and describe your changes before submitting a pull request.

This is to ensure large feature PRs are discussed with the community first, before starting work on it. If the community does not want this feature or it is not relevant for Open WebUI as a project, it can be identified in the discussion before working on the feature and submitting the PR.

Before submitting, make sure you've checked the following:

Target branch: Verify that the pull request targets the dev branch. Not targeting the dev branch will lead to immediate closure of the PR.
Description: Provide a concise description of the changes made in this pull request down below.
Changelog: Ensure a changelog entry following the format of Keep a Changelog is added at the bottom of the PR description.
Documentation: If necessary, update relevant documentation Open WebUI Docs like environment variables, the tutorials, or other documentation sources.
Dependencies: Are there any new dependencies? Have you updated the dependency versions in the documentation?
Testing: Perform manual tests to verify the implemented fix/feature works as intended AND does not break any other functionality. Take this as an opportunity to make screenshots of the feature/fix and include it in the PR description.
Agentic AI Code: Confirm this Pull Request is not written by any AI Agent or has at least gone through additional human review AND manual testing. If any AI Agent is the co-author of this PR, it may lead to immediate closure of the PR.
Code review: Have you performed a self-review of your code, addressing any coding standard issues and ensuring adherence to the project's coding standards?
Title Prefix: To clearly categorize this pull request, prefix the pull request title using one of the following:
- BREAKING CHANGE: Significant changes that may affect compatibility
- build: Changes that affect the build system or external dependencies
- ci: Changes to our continuous integration processes or workflows
- chore: Refactor, cleanup, or other non-functional code changes
- docs: Documentation update or addition
- feat: Introduces a new feature or enhancement to the codebase
- fix: Bug fix or error correction
- i18n: Internationalization or localization changes
- perf: Performance improvement
- refactor: Code restructuring for better maintainability, readability, or scalability
- style: Changes that do not affect the meaning of the code (white space, formatting, missing semi-colons, etc.)
- test: Adding missing tests or correcting existing tests
- WIP: Work in progress, a temporary label for incomplete or ongoing work

Changelog Entry

Description

This PR implements backend-side permission enforcement for three key resource-intensive features: Image Generation, Web Search, and Audio (TTS/STT). Previously, these features relied solely on frontend hiding/disabling. This change ensures that even direct API calls respect the global toggle switches (e.g., ENABLE_IMAGE_GENERATION) and granular user permissions (e.g., features.image_generation).

Added

Added has_permission checks to backend/open_webui/routers/images.py around the generate_images endpoint.
Added has_permission checks to backend/open_webui/routers/retrieval.py around the process_web_search endpoint.
Added has_permission checks to backend/open_webui/routers/audio.py for both speech (TTS) and transcriptions (STT) endpoints.

Changed

Updated generate_images, process_web_search, speech, and transcriptions functions to return 403 Forbidden if the feature is globally disabled or the user lacks the specific permission.
Included an explicit bypass for users with the admin role in granular permission checks, ensuring admins retain access even if granular permissions are unset, matching frontend behavior.

Fixed

Fixed a security gap where disabled features could be accessed via direct API calls.

Security

Enforced robust access control for Image Generation, Web Search, and Audio features at the API level.

Breaking Changes

BREAKING CHANGE: Users or scripts relying on accessing these APIs while the feature is disabled in the Admin UI will now receive a 403 Forbidden error. This is corrected behavior but may break existing workflows that bypassed UI restrictions.

Additional Information

Admin users are exempt from the granular permission checks (e.g., checking features.image_generation), but NOT the global toggle checks (e.g., checking ENABLE_IMAGE_GENERATION). If a feature is globally disabled, even admins cannot use it via the API. This aligns with standard security practices where global switches are absolute.

Contributor License Agreement

By submitting this pull request, I confirm that I have read and fully agree to the Contributor License Agreement (CLA), and I am providing my contributions under its terms.

Note

Deleting the CLA section will lead to immediate closure of your PR and it will not be merged in.

_{🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.}

## 📋 Pull Request Information **Original PR:** https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/pull/20471 **Author:** [@silentoplayz](https://github.com/silentoplayz) **Created:** 1/7/2026 **Status:** ✅ Merged **Merged:** 1/7/2026 **Merged by:** [@tjbck](https://github.com/tjbck) **Base:** `dev` ← **Head:** `feat/enforce-backend-permissions` --- ### 📝 Commits (3) - [`47166b8`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/47166b84510d97a9ade7d62337170b51a8260aef) feat: enforce image generation permissions in backend - [`512df59`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/512df5912ac3e899d07231a5cf0ce16d1288f213) feat: enforce web search permissions in backend - [`6a83385`](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/commit/6a83385cf6376da73d9ee63fcb9fee92167e4285) feat: enforce audio (tts/stt) permissions in backend ### 📊 Changes **3 files changed** (+57 additions, -0 deletions) <details> <summary>View changed files</summary> 📝 `backend/open_webui/routers/audio.py` (+28 -0) 📝 `backend/open_webui/routers/images.py` (+15 -0) 📝 `backend/open_webui/routers/retrieval.py` (+14 -0) </details> ### 📄 Description # Pull Request Checklist ### Note to first-time contributors: Please open a discussion post in [Discussions](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/discussions) to discuss your idea/fix with the community before creating a pull request, and describe your changes before submitting a pull request. This is to ensure large feature PRs are discussed with the community first, before starting work on it. If the community does not want this feature or it is not relevant for Open WebUI as a project, it can be identified in the discussion before working on the feature and submitting the PR. **Before submitting, make sure you've checked the following:** - [x] **Target branch:** Verify that the pull request targets the `dev` branch. **Not targeting the `dev` branch will lead to immediate closure of the PR.** - [x] **Description:** Provide a concise description of the changes made in this pull request down below. - [x] **Changelog:** Ensure a changelog entry following the format of [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/) is added at the bottom of the PR description. - [X] **Documentation:** If necessary, update relevant documentation [Open WebUI Docs](https://github.com/open-webui/docs) like environment variables, the tutorials, or other documentation sources. - [x] **Dependencies:** Are there any new dependencies? Have you updated the dependency versions in the documentation? - [x] **Testing:** Perform manual tests to **verify the implemented fix/feature works as intended AND does not break any other functionality**. Take this as an opportunity to **make screenshots of the feature/fix and include it in the PR description**. - [x] **Agentic AI Code:** Confirm this Pull Request is **not written by any AI Agent** or has at least **gone through additional human review AND manual testing**. If any AI Agent is the co-author of this PR, it may lead to immediate closure of the PR. - [x] **Code review:** Have you performed a self-review of your code, addressing any coding standard issues and ensuring adherence to the project's coding standards? - [x] **Title Prefix:** To clearly categorize this pull request, prefix the pull request title using one of the following: - **BREAKING CHANGE**: Significant changes that may affect compatibility - **build**: Changes that affect the build system or external dependencies - **ci**: Changes to our continuous integration processes or workflows - **chore**: Refactor, cleanup, or other non-functional code changes - **docs**: Documentation update or addition - **feat**: Introduces a new feature or enhancement to the codebase - **fix**: Bug fix or error correction - **i18n**: Internationalization or localization changes - **perf**: Performance improvement - **refactor**: Code restructuring for better maintainability, readability, or scalability - **style**: Changes that do not affect the meaning of the code (white space, formatting, missing semi-colons, etc.) - **test**: Adding missing tests or correcting existing tests - **WIP**: Work in progress, a temporary label for incomplete or ongoing work # Changelog Entry ### Description This PR implements backend-side permission enforcement for three key resource-intensive features: **Image Generation, Web Search, and Audio (TTS/STT)**. Previously, these features relied solely on frontend hiding/disabling. This change ensures that even direct API calls respect the global toggle switches (e.g., `ENABLE_IMAGE_GENERATION`) and granular user permissions (e.g., `features.image_generation`). ### Added - Added `has_permission` checks to `backend/open_webui/routers/images.py` around the `generate_images` endpoint. - Added `has_permission` checks to `backend/open_webui/routers/retrieval.py` around the `process_web_search` endpoint. - Added `has_permission` checks to `backend/open_webui/routers/audio.py` for both `speech` (TTS) and `transcriptions` (STT) endpoints. ### Changed - Updated `generate_images`, `process_web_search`, `speech`, and `transcriptions` functions to return `403 Forbidden` if the feature is globally disabled or the user lacks the specific permission. - Included an explicit bypass for users with the `admin` role in granular permission checks, ensuring admins retain access even if granular permissions are unset, matching frontend behavior. ### Fixed - Fixed a security gap where disabled features could be accessed via direct API calls. ### Security - Enforced robust access control for Image Generation, Web Search, and Audio features at the API level. ### Breaking Changes - **BREAKING CHANGE**: Users or scripts relying on accessing these APIs while the feature is disabled in the Admin UI will now receive a `403 Forbidden` error. This is corrected behavior but may break existing workflows that bypassed UI restrictions. --- ### Additional Information - Admin users are exempt from the granular permission checks (e.g., checking `features.image_generation`), but **NOT** the global toggle checks (e.g., checking `ENABLE_IMAGE_GENERATION`). If a feature is globally disabled, even admins cannot use it via the API. This aligns with standard security practices where global switches are absolute. ### Contributor License Agreement By submitting this pull request, I confirm that I have read and fully agree to the [Contributor License Agreement (CLA)](https://github.com/open-webui/open-webui/blob/main/CONTRIBUTOR_LICENSE_AGREEMENT), and I am providing my contributions under its terms. > [!NOTE] > Deleting the CLA section will lead to immediate closure of your PR and it will not be merged in. --- <sub>🔄 This issue represents a GitHub Pull Request. It cannot be merged through Gitea due to API limitations.</sub>

GiteaMirror added the pull-request label 2026-04-25 13:32:46 -05:00

GiteaMirror closed this issue

2026-04-25 13:32:48 -05:00

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Reference: github-starred/open-webui#41267