grant xblock edit access via authz edit_course_content permission

[jacobo-dominguez-wgu]

Description

In Studio, the per-component "Edit" action on an XBlock card is controlled by the can_edit flag in xblock_view_handler. Previously can_edit was derived solely from the legacy has_studio_write_access check.

Under the authz course-authoring rollout, a user can be granted courses.edit_course_content without holding legacy studio write access. Those users were incorrectly denied the "Edit" action on component cards, even though the authz
permission is meant to grant exactly that capability.

This change makes can_edit the union of the legacy check and the authz path:

can_edit = has_studio_write_access(request.user, usage_key.course_key) or (
    is_authz_authoring_enabled and authz_can_edit_course_content
)

The is_authz_authoring_enabled / authz_can_edit_course_content flags are already resolved for this request via _get_authz_permissions_flags, so no additional permission lookups are introduced. When the authz flag is off, behavior is unchanged.

Supporting information

Fixes openedx/openedx-authz#418

Testing instructions

Automated:

• Run the regression tests added in TestXBlockViewHandlerHeaderActionsAuthz:

  DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=cms.envs.test uv run python -m pytest \
    "cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/tests/test_block.py::TestXBlockViewHandlerHeaderActionsAuthz" -p no:randomly
  

  They cover the component edit button on a leaf html component preview:

  • authz flag on + edit_course_content granted + no legacy write access → edit button shown
  • authz flag on + permission denied + no legacy write access → edit button hidden

Manual:

1. Enable the authz course-authoring flag for a course.
2. Grant a user courses.edit_course_content without legacy studio write access.
3. Open a unit in Studio and confirm the component cards show the "Edit" action.
4. Revoke the permission and confirm the "Edit" action disappears.

Demo

User with edit_course_content permission must be able to edit course content.

Screen.Recording.2026-08-31.at.3.16.16.PM.mov

AI usage notice

Used Copilot with auto model mode (Claude) to assist on the modification and creation of unit tests.

Important

Needs to be reviewed after #39013, it contains code from that pr.

[openedx-webhooks]

Thanks for the pull request, @jacobo-dominguez-wgu!

This repository is currently maintained by @openedx/wg-maintenance-openedx-platform-oncall.

Once you've gone through the following steps feel free to tag them in a comment and let them know that your changes are ready for engineering review.

🔘 Get product approval

If you haven't already, check this list to see if your contribution needs to go through the product review process.

• If it does, you'll need to submit a product proposal for your contribution, and have it reviewed by the Product Working Group.
  • This process (including the steps you'll need to take) is documented here.
• If it doesn't, simply proceed with the next step.

🔘 Provide context

To help your reviewers and other members of the community understand the purpose and larger context of your changes, feel free to add as much of the following information to the PR description as you can:

• Dependencies

  This PR must be merged before / after / at the same time as ...

• Blockers

  This PR is waiting for OEP-1234 to be accepted.

• Timeline information

  This PR must be merged by XX date because ...

• Partner information

  This is for a course on edx.org.

• Supporting documentation
• Relevant Open edX discussion forum threads

🔘 Get a green build

If one or more checks are failing, continue working on your changes until this is no longer the case and your build turns green.

🔘 Update the status of your PR

Your PR is currently marked as a draft. After completing the steps above, update its status by clicking "Ready for Review", or removing "WIP" from the title, as appropriate.

---

Where can I find more information?

If you'd like to get more details on all aspects of the review process for open source pull requests (OSPRs), check out the following resources:

• Overview of Review Process for Community Contributions
• Pull Request Status Guide
• Making changes to your pull request

When can I expect my changes to be merged?

Our goal is to get community contributions seen and reviewed as efficiently as possible.

However, the amount of time that it takes to review and merge a PR can vary significantly based on factors such as:

• The size and impact of the changes that it introduces
• The need for product review
• Maintenance status of the parent repository

💡 As a result it may take up to several weeks or months to complete a review and merge your PR.