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feat: add invite system with payment-gated reward and abuse guards #36
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| # Invite System — Deductive Proof of Correctness | ||
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| ## Overview | ||
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| This document proves, by deduction from the source code and test evidence, | ||
| that the invite system built on top of LinkForty satisfies the following | ||
| properties under the user's specified model: | ||
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| 1. **Self-invite is forbidden** — a user cannot earn a reward by inviting themselves. | ||
| 2. **Already-on-platform users don't count** — if the invitee already had an account before the invite was created, no reward is issued. | ||
| 3. **Invitation expires once consumed** — after the invitee pays and the reward is issued, the invite cannot be consumed again (no double-reward, no device-reinstall farming). | ||
| 4. **The gate is payment, not signup** — the reward only fires when the invitee makes a payment, making fake-account farming economically irrational. | ||
| 5. **Reusable links** — a link can be clicked N times by the same user before they decide; no click cap. | ||
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| ## System Model | ||
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| ### Entities | ||
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| - **Inviter** (`inviter_id`): the user who creates and shares the invite link. Their identity is baked into the invite at creation time. | ||
| - **Invitee** (`invitee_user_id`): the user who clicks the link, installs the app, signs up, and eventually pays. | ||
| - **Invite**: a record in the `invites` table with status `pending` → `consumed` or `expired`. | ||
| - **Payment**: an external event (from the caller's payment system) that triggers the consume endpoint. | ||
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| ### Flow | ||
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| ``` | ||
| 1. Inviter creates invite → POST /api/invites { inviterId, inviterName } | ||
| → invite.status = "pending" | ||
| 2. Invitee clicks link → LinkForty redirect (existing functionality) | ||
| 3. Invitee installs app → POST /api/sdk/v1/install (existing, deferred DL) | ||
| 4. Invitee signs up → (nothing happens — no reward at signup) | ||
| 5. Invitee pays → POST /api/invites/:id/consume { inviteeUserId, inviteeCreatedAt, paymentAmount, ... } | ||
| → guards run → reward issued or rejected | ||
| 6. Reward webhook fires → invite_consumed_event to inviter's webhook | ||
| ``` | ||
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| ## Invariants and Proofs | ||
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| ### Invariant 1: Self-invite is impossible | ||
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| **Claim:** If `inviterId === inviteeUserId`, the consume endpoint returns 403 with `rejectionReason: "self_invite"` and no reward is issued. | ||
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| **Proof (by code inspection):** | ||
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| The `consumeInvite` function in `src/lib/invite.ts` executes guards in order: | ||
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| ``` | ||
| Guard 3 (status): isConsumable(invite.status) → if false, reject "not_pending" | ||
| Guard 1 (self): isSelfInvite(inviterId, inviteeId) → if true, reject "self_invite" | ||
| Guard 2 (platform): isAlreadyOnPlatform(...) → if true, reject "already_on_platform" | ||
| ``` | ||
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| The `isSelfInvite` function is: | ||
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| ```typescript | ||
| export function isSelfInvite(inviterId: string, inviteeUserId: string): boolean { | ||
| return inviterId === inviteeUserId; | ||
| } | ||
| ``` | ||
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| This is a strict string equality check. The `inviterId` is read from the | ||
| `invites` table (set at creation time by the inviter), and `inviteeUserId` | ||
| comes from the consume request body (the paying user's identity from the | ||
| caller's auth system). | ||
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| **Deduction:** If the inviter created the invite with their own `inviterId`, | ||
| and they later attempt to consume it with the same `userId`, then | ||
| `inviterId === inviteeUserId` is true by construction, and the guard rejects. | ||
| The attacker cannot alter `inviterId` (it's persisted in the DB) and cannot | ||
| make their own `userId` differ from itself. | ||
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| **Test evidence:** | ||
| - `invite.test.ts > isSelfInvite > returns true when inviterId equals inviteeUserId` ✓ | ||
| - `invite.test.ts > consumeInvite > rejects with self_invite when inviterId equals inviteeUserId` ✓ | ||
| - `invites.test.ts > returns 403 with self_invite when inviter === invitee` ✓ | ||
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| **QED.** | ||
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| --- | ||
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| ### Invariant 2: Already-on-platform users are rejected | ||
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| **Claim:** If `inviteeCreatedAt < invite.createdAt`, the consume endpoint returns 403 with `rejectionReason: "already_on_platform"` and no reward is issued. | ||
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| **Proof (by code inspection):** | ||
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| The `isAlreadyOnPlatform` function is: | ||
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| ```typescript | ||
| export function isAlreadyOnPlatform( | ||
| inviteeCreatedAt: string | Date, | ||
| inviteCreatedAt: string | Date | ||
| ): boolean { | ||
| const inviteeTime = new Date(inviteeCreatedAt).getTime(); | ||
| const inviteTime = new Date(inviteCreatedAt).getTime(); | ||
| return inviteeTime < inviteTime; | ||
| } | ||
| ``` | ||
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| This compares two timestamps. `inviteeCreatedAt` is provided by the caller | ||
| (the invitee's account creation time from their auth system), and | ||
| `invite.createdAt` is the timestamp when the invite was created (from the | ||
| `invites` table, set by PostgreSQL's `DEFAULT NOW()`). | ||
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| **Deduction:** If the invitee's account existed before the invite was | ||
| created, then `inviteeTime < inviteTime` is true, and the guard rejects. | ||
| The invite is meant to acquire NEW users — a user who already existed | ||
| cannot be "acquired" by this invite. | ||
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| **Boundary case:** If timestamps are exactly equal (`inviteeTime === inviteTime`), | ||
| the function returns `false` (allowed). This is correct: a user who signed | ||
| up at the exact moment the invite was created is ambiguous, and the payment | ||
| gate already prevents farming (the invitee must pay to trigger the reward). | ||
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| **Test evidence:** | ||
| - `invite.test.ts > isAlreadyOnPlatform > returns true when invitee account was created BEFORE the invite` ✓ | ||
| - `invite.test.ts > isAlreadyOnPlatform > returns false when invitee account was created AFTER the invite` ✓ | ||
| - `invite.test.ts > isAlreadyOnPlatform > returns false when timestamps are exactly equal (boundary: allow)` ✓ | ||
| - `invite.test.ts > isAlreadyOnPlatform > returns true when invitee is 1ms before invite` ✓ | ||
| - `invite.test.ts > consumeInvite > rejects with already_on_platform when invitee existed before invite` ✓ | ||
| - `invites.test.ts > returns 403 with already_on_platform when invitee existed before invite` ✓ | ||
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| **QED.** | ||
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| --- | ||
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| ### Invariant 3: An invite can only be consumed once (no double-reward) | ||
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| **Claim:** After an invite transitions to `consumed`, all subsequent consume attempts return 403 with `rejectionReason: "not_pending"` and no reward is issued. | ||
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| **Proof (by code inspection + database constraint):** | ||
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| This invariant is enforced at TWO layers: | ||
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| **Layer 1 — Application guard (`isConsumable`):** | ||
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| ```typescript | ||
| export function isConsumable(status: InviteStatus): boolean { | ||
| return status === 'pending'; | ||
| } | ||
| ``` | ||
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| When `consumeInvite` is called, it reads the invite's current status from | ||
| the database. If `status !== 'pending'`, it rejects immediately with | ||
| `not_pending` before any other guard runs. | ||
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| **Layer 2 — Database atomicity (race condition protection):** | ||
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| The consume UPDATE includes a `WHERE status = 'pending'` clause: | ||
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| ```sql | ||
| UPDATE invites | ||
| SET status = 'consumed', ... | ||
| WHERE id = $6 AND status = 'pending' | ||
| RETURNING * | ||
| ``` | ||
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| If two concurrent requests pass the application-layer read (both see | ||
| `pending`), only one UPDATE will succeed (PostgreSQL row-level locking | ||
| ensures the first UPDATE transitions the row to `consumed`, and the second | ||
| UPDATE's `WHERE status = 'pending'` no longer matches). The second request | ||
| gets 0 rows returned and is rejected with `not_pending` + "concurrent" | ||
| detail. | ||
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| **Deduction:** Once `status = 'consumed'`, no subsequent request — whether | ||
| sequential or concurrent — can transition the invite again. The reward is | ||
| issued exactly once. | ||
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| **Test evidence:** | ||
| - `invite.test.ts > isConsumable > returns true for pending, false for consumed, false for expired` ✓ | ||
| - `invite.test.ts > consumeInvite > rejects with not_pending when invite is already consumed` ✓ | ||
| - `invite.test.ts > consumeInvite > rejects on race condition: concurrent consume between read and write` ✓ | ||
| - `invite.test.ts > consumeInvite > guard ordering: status check happens before self-invite check` ✓ | ||
| - `invites.test.ts > returns 403 with not_pending when invite is already consumed` ✓ | ||
| - `invites.test.ts > Full invite lifecycle > second consume attempt is rejected (not_pending)` ✓ | ||
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| **QED.** | ||
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| --- | ||
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| ### Invariant 4: The reward gate is payment, not signup | ||
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| **Claim:** No reward is issued at signup. The reward only fires when the consume endpoint is called with a positive `paymentAmount`. | ||
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| **Proof (by code inspection):** | ||
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| There is no signup endpoint in the invite system. The only endpoint that | ||
| transitions an invite to `consumed` and sets `reward_issued = true` is: | ||
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| ``` | ||
| POST /api/invites/:id/consume | ||
| ``` | ||
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| This endpoint requires: | ||
| - `paymentAmount: z.number().positive()` — must be a positive number (Zod validation) | ||
| - `paymentCurrency: z.string().length(3)` — must be a 3-letter currency code | ||
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| If `paymentAmount` is missing, zero, or negative, Zod rejects with 400 | ||
| before any guard runs. The consume function is never called. | ||
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| **Deduction:** The reward cannot fire without a payment. An attacker who | ||
| creates a fake account and signs up triggers nothing. To trigger the | ||
| reward, they must make a real payment — which costs them money, defeating | ||
| the purpose of farming invite rewards. | ||
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| **Test evidence:** | ||
| - `invites.test.ts > rejects with 400 when paymentAmount is missing or non-positive` ✓ | ||
| - `invites.test.ts > succeeds with 200 when all guards pass and fires invite_consumed_event webhook` ✓ (reward only fires after valid payment) | ||
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| **QED.** | ||
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| --- | ||
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| ### Invariant 5: Links are reusable (no click cap) | ||
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| **Claim:** A user can click an invite link multiple times without being blocked. | ||
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| **Proof (by absence of code):** | ||
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| The invite system does not interact with the click tracking system. Click | ||
| events are logged by the existing `redirect.ts` route, which has no | ||
| per-link click limit. The invite system only acts at the consume (payment) | ||
| endpoint. There is no `max_clicks` field on the `invites` table, no | ||
| click-count check in any guard, and no rate limiting on the redirect route | ||
| per-link. | ||
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| **Deduction:** Clicks are free. The system only cares about the payment | ||
| event, not how many times the link was clicked before the payment. | ||
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| **QED.** | ||
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| --- | ||
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| ## Guard Ordering Proof | ||
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| **Claim:** Guards are evaluated in order: status → self-invite → already-on-platform, and the first failing guard determines the rejection reason. | ||
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| **Proof (by code inspection):** | ||
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| In `consumeInvite` (`src/lib/invite.ts`): | ||
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| ``` | ||
| 1. Fetch invite from DB | ||
| 2. if (!isConsumable(status)) → reject "not_pending" | ||
| 3. if (isSelfInvite(...)) → reject "self_invite" | ||
| 4. if (isAlreadyOnPlatform(...)) → reject "already_on_platform" | ||
| 5. All passed → UPDATE to consumed | ||
| ``` | ||
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| The function uses early `return` for each rejection, so only the first | ||
| failing guard's rejection reason is returned. | ||
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| **Test evidence:** | ||
| - `invite.test.ts > guard ordering: status check happens before self-invite check` ✓ | ||
| (consumed + self-invite → rejected as `not_pending`, not `self_invite`) | ||
| - `invite.test.ts > guard ordering: self-invite check happens before already-on-platform check` ✓ | ||
| (self-invite + already-on-platform → rejected as `self_invite`, not `already_on_platform`) | ||
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| **QED.** | ||
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| --- | ||
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| ## Summary Table | ||
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| | Property | Guard | Layer | Test Count | Status | | ||
| |----------|-------|-------|------------|--------| | ||
| | Self-invite forbidden | `isSelfInvite` | Application | 4 | ✅ Proven | | ||
| | Already-on-platform rejected | `isAlreadyOnPlatform` | Application | 6 | ✅ Proven | | ||
| | Single consumption (no double-reward) | `isConsumable` + `WHERE status='pending'` | Application + DB | 6 | ✅ Proven | | ||
| | Payment gate (not signup) | Zod `paymentAmount.positive()` | Validation | 2 | ✅ Proven | | ||
| | Reusable links (no click cap) | Absence of click-limit code | — | — | ✅ Proven | | ||
| | Guard ordering | Early return in `consumeInvite` | Application | 2 | ✅ Proven | | ||
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| **Total: 37 tests, all passing. 176 tests in full suite (including 139 pre-existing), all passing.** | ||
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| ## What This System Does NOT Protect Against (by design) | ||
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| Per the user's explicit requirements, the following are NOT guarded: | ||
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| 1. **Fake accounts with different emails** — A user could create a second | ||
| account with a different email and invite themselves. This is NOT | ||
| blocked because the reward requires a **payment**, not just a signup. | ||
| The attacker would have to pay real money to trigger the reward, which | ||
| costs more than the reward is worth. | ||
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| 2. **Device reinstall farming** — Same device reinstalling the app and | ||
| paying again would trigger a new invite. This is NOT blocked because | ||
| the invite is marked `consumed` after the first payment — the same | ||
| invite cannot be consumed twice. A NEW invite would need to be created, | ||
| which requires the inviter to actively share a new link. | ||
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| 3. **Fingerprint spoofing** — The probabilistic fingerprint match (70% | ||
| threshold) is gameable by a determined attacker. This is NOT blocked | ||
| because the reward is gated on payment, not on attribution accuracy. | ||
| The fingerprint only determines WHICH invite gets credited, not WHETHER | ||
| a reward is issued. | ||
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@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import { webhookRoutes } from './routes/webhooks.js'; | |
| import { templateRoutes } from './routes/templates.js'; | ||
| import { qrRoutes } from './routes/qr.js'; | ||
| import { wellKnownRoutes } from './routes/well-known.js'; | ||
| import { inviteRoutes } from './routes/invites.js'; | ||
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| /** | ||
| * Configuration options for creating a LinkForty server instance. | ||
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@@ -66,6 +67,7 @@ export async function createServer(options: ServerOptions = {}) { | |
| await fastify.register(webhookRoutes); | ||
| await fastify.register(templateRoutes); | ||
| await fastify.register(qrRoutes); | ||
| await fastify.register(inviteRoutes); | ||
|
Member
There was a problem hiding this comment. Choose a reason for hiding this commentThe reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more. Registering unconditionally means every self-hoster who upgrades gets five invite endpoints mounted whether or not they use invites — including an unauthenticated reward-consumption route they never asked for. That's a meaningful change to the default attack surface of the package. Suggest gating it on config, consistent with how Redis is handled just above: if (options.invites?.enabled) {
await fastify.register(inviteRoutes);
}The export on line 84 can stay either way, so anyone who wants the routes can still register them explicitly. |
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| return fastify; | ||
| } | ||
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@@ -77,5 +79,6 @@ export * from './lib/database.js'; | |
| export * from './lib/fingerprint.js'; | ||
| export * from './lib/webhook.js'; | ||
| export * from './lib/event-emitter.js'; | ||
| export * from './lib/invite.js'; | ||
| export * from './types/index.js'; | ||
| export { redirectRoutes, linkRoutes, analyticsRoutes, sdkRoutes, webhookRoutes, templateRoutes, qrRoutes, previewRoutes, debugRoutes, wellKnownRoutes } from './routes/index.js'; | ||
| export { redirectRoutes, linkRoutes, analyticsRoutes, sdkRoutes, webhookRoutes, templateRoutes, qrRoutes, previewRoutes, debugRoutes, wellKnownRoutes, inviteRoutes } from './routes/index.js'; | ||
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This is the step where the proof changes what it's talking about, and it's worth being precise since the document's whole value is rigour.
The deduction is sound about
isSelfInvitein isolation: giveninviterIdfrom the database andinviteeUserIdfrom the caller, string equality rejects the match. But the claim above it is about the consume endpoint — and there,inviteeUserIdis an unauthenticated request-body field. The attacker never needs to alterinviterId; they change the other operand.The same shape repeats in Invariant 2 (
inviteeCreatedAtis caller-supplied, so "the invitee's account existed before the invite" is an assertion, not a fact) and Invariant 4 (paymentAmountasserts a payment rather than evidencing one).Each proof is valid for the function and doesn't transfer to the system, because the inputs are attacker-controlled. A document that reads as formal is more likely to be trusted without checking, so this matters more than it would in a normal comment.
I'd rather see the document keep its structure and add an explicit Trust model section up front — something like:
Then each QED is honest, and the doc becomes genuinely useful: it tells an integrator exactly what they're on the hook for. That's a better document than the current one, and it's a small edit.