From d17a813cc35842afede7ee3ac7c286299b4f3840 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Christian Gunderman <gundermanc@google.com>
Date: Wed, 13 May 2026 15:29:05 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Revert "fix:reorder env var redaction checks to scan values
 first (#21059)"

This reverts commit 9773a084c99719ccc1e357bf16034f2e3fce57fd.
---
 .../services/environmentSanitization.test.ts  | 42 -------------------
 .../src/services/environmentSanitization.ts   | 36 ++++++++--------
 2 files changed, 19 insertions(+), 59 deletions(-)

diff --git a/packages/core/src/services/environmentSanitization.test.ts b/packages/core/src/services/environmentSanitization.test.ts
index e36f879f06..dcf665f88e 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/services/environmentSanitization.test.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/services/environmentSanitization.test.ts
@@ -230,48 +230,6 @@ describe('sanitizeEnvironment', () => {
     });
   });
 
-  describe('value-first security: secret values must be caught even for allowed variable names', () => {
-    it('should redact ALWAYS_ALLOWED variables whose values contain a GitHub token', () => {
-      const env = {
-        HOME: 'ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx',
-        PATH: '/usr/bin',
-      };
-      const sanitized = sanitizeEnvironment(env, EMPTY_OPTIONS);
-      expect(sanitized).toEqual({ PATH: '/usr/bin' });
-    });
-
-    it('should redact ALWAYS_ALLOWED variables whose values contain a certificate', () => {
-      const env = {
-        SHELL:
-          '-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----\nMIIE...\n-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----',
-        USER: 'alice',
-      };
-      const sanitized = sanitizeEnvironment(env, EMPTY_OPTIONS);
-      expect(sanitized).toEqual({ USER: 'alice' });
-    });
-
-    it('should redact user-allowlisted variables whose values contain a secret', () => {
-      const env = {
-        MY_SAFE_VAR: 'ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx',
-        OTHER: 'fine',
-      };
-      const sanitized = sanitizeEnvironment(env, {
-        allowedEnvironmentVariables: ['MY_SAFE_VAR'],
-        blockedEnvironmentVariables: [],
-        enableEnvironmentVariableRedaction: true,
-      });
-      expect(sanitized).toEqual({ OTHER: 'fine' });
-    });
-
-    it('should NOT redact GEMINI_CLI_ variables even if their value looks like a secret (fully trusted)', () => {
-      const env = {
-        GEMINI_CLI_INTERNAL: 'ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx',
-      };
-      const sanitized = sanitizeEnvironment(env, EMPTY_OPTIONS);
-      expect(sanitized).toEqual(env);
-    });
-  });
-
   it('should ensure all names in the sets are capitalized', () => {
     for (const name of ALWAYS_ALLOWED_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES) {
       expect(name).toBe(name.toUpperCase());
diff --git a/packages/core/src/services/environmentSanitization.ts b/packages/core/src/services/environmentSanitization.ts
index eb95a91ca8..909a3518b1 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/services/environmentSanitization.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/services/environmentSanitization.ts
@@ -14,9 +14,11 @@ export function sanitizeEnvironment(
   processEnv: NodeJS.ProcessEnv,
   config: EnvironmentSanitizationConfig,
 ): NodeJS.ProcessEnv {
+  // Enable strict sanitization in GitHub actions.
   const isStrictSanitization =
     !!processEnv['GITHUB_SHA'] || processEnv['SURFACE'] === 'Github';
 
+  // Always sanitize when in GitHub actions.
   if (!config.enableEnvironmentVariableRedaction && !isStrictSanitization) {
     return { ...processEnv };
   }
@@ -150,22 +152,7 @@ function shouldRedactEnvironmentVariable(
   key = key.toUpperCase();
   value = value?.toUpperCase();
 
-  if (key.startsWith('GEMINI_CLI_')) {
-    return false;
-  }
-
-  if (value) {
-    for (const pattern of NEVER_ALLOWED_VALUE_PATTERNS) {
-      if (pattern.test(value)) {
-        return true;
-      }
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (key.startsWith('GIT_CONFIG_')) {
-    return false;
-  }
-
+  // User overrides take precedence.
   if (allowedSet?.has(key)) {
     return false;
   }
@@ -173,14 +160,20 @@ function shouldRedactEnvironmentVariable(
     return true;
   }
 
-  if (ALWAYS_ALLOWED_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES.has(key)) {
+  // These are never redacted.
+  if (
+    ALWAYS_ALLOWED_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES.has(key) ||
+    key.startsWith('GEMINI_CLI_')
+  ) {
     return false;
   }
 
+  // These are always redacted.
   if (NEVER_ALLOWED_ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES.has(key)) {
     return true;
   }
 
+  // If in strict mode (e.g. GitHub Action), and not explicitly allowed, redact it.
   if (isStrictSanitization) {
     return true;
   }
@@ -191,6 +184,15 @@ function shouldRedactEnvironmentVariable(
     }
   }
 
+  // Redact if the value looks like a key/cert.
+  if (value) {
+    for (const pattern of NEVER_ALLOWED_VALUE_PATTERNS) {
+      if (pattern.test(value)) {
+        return true;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   return false;
 }