Harden transactional email envelopes

Dockerfile

@@ -133,6 +133,7 @@ RUN apt-get update \
   && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
     build-essential=12.12 \
     ca-certificates=20250419 \
+    cmake=3.31.6-2 \
     git=1:2.47.3-0+deb13u1 \
   && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 

config/runtime.exs

@@ -727,9 +727,16 @@ if config_env() == :prod do
 
   config :who_need_help, :handover_secret, handover_secret
 
+  email_from_name = System.get_env("EMAIL_FROM_NAME", "Who Need Help")
+  email_from_address = System.get_env("EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS", "contact@example.com")
+
+  unless WhoNeedHelp.EmailAddress.valid?(email_from_address) do
+    raise "EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS must be a single SMTP-safe mailbox address."
+  end
+
   config :who_need_help, :mailer_from,
-    name: System.get_env("EMAIL_FROM_NAME", "Who Need Help"),
+    name: email_from_name,
-    address: System.get_env("EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS", "contact@example.com")
+    address: email_from_address
 
   support_inbox_address =
     case System.get_env("SUPPORT_INBOX_ADDRESS") do
@@ -737,9 +744,8 @@ if config_env() == :prod do
       value -> value
     end
 
-  if support_inbox_address &&
+  if support_inbox_address && not WhoNeedHelp.EmailAddress.valid?(support_inbox_address) do
-       not Regex.match?(~r/^[^@,;\s]+@[^@,;\s]+$/, support_inbox_address) do
+    raise "SUPPORT_INBOX_ADDRESS must be a single SMTP-safe mailbox address."
-    raise "SUPPORT_INBOX_ADDRESS must be a single email address without spaces."
   end
 
   config :who_need_help, :support_inbox_address, support_inbox_address

docs/verification.md

@@ -5,6 +5,16 @@ results from product limits and unknown production properties.
 
 ## Current launch-boundary and transactional-email proof on 2026-08-12
 
+- A follow-up SMTP-envelope regression run completed successfully in isolated
+  user-systemd unit
+  `codex-heavy-wnh-email-full-final-20260812-213848-711438.service`.
+  ExUnit reported 468 passing tests with seed `954756`. The shared mailbox
+  validator now covers model input, production/test environment preflight, and
+  every outbound envelope; malformed historical recipients cancel their exact
+  Oban mail job instead of reaching the SMTP adapter or retrying indefinitely.
+  A separately built production image loaded the same runtime validation
+  successfully in unit
+  `codex-heavy-wnh-release-runtime-email-20260812-213723-667643.service`.
 - The final email-boundary quality rerun completed successfully in isolated
   user-systemd unit
   `codex-heavy-wnh-email-quality-final-20260812-184719-3589051.service`.
@@ -77,6 +87,12 @@ results from product limits and unknown production properties.
 - `SUPPORT_OPERATOR_EMAIL_MODE` was absent in the production environment and
   the deployed default was `disabled`; verified support requests therefore did
   not generate an operator-inbox alert in that observed configuration.
+- Four legacy SMTP exceptions were reproduced from stored recipients whose
+  local part began or ended with a dot or contained consecutive dots. The
+  deployed revision accepted those forms before the SMTP adapter rejected
+  them. This establishes the failure class, but the legacy aggregate lacks
+  recipient and purpose labels, so it does not prove which historical rows
+  produced each of the four process-level exceptions.
 - The workstation-scheduled encrypted off-site backup completed successfully
   at 2026-08-12 00:04:48 EEST, including its isolated restore drill. The new
   restore-verified heartbeat implementation was committed later that day, so

lib/who_need_help/email_delivery.ex

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ defmodule WhoNeedHelp.EmailDelivery do
   subjects, bodies, references, and other personal data are never attached.
   """
 
+  alias WhoNeedHelp.EmailAddress
   alias WhoNeedHelp.Mailer
 
   @kinds [
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@ defmodule WhoNeedHelp.EmailDelivery do
   def deliver(%Swoosh.Email{} = email, kind) when kind in @kinds do
     started_at = System.monotonic_time()
 
+    if valid_envelope?(email) do
       try do
         result = Mailer.deliver(email)
         emit(started_at, kind, result_status(result))
@@ -39,6 +41,10 @@ defmodule WhoNeedHelp.EmailDelivery do
           emit(started_at, kind, :exception)
           :erlang.raise(class, reason, __STACKTRACE__)
       end
+    else
+      emit(started_at, kind, :error)
+      {:error, :invalid_email_address}
+    end
   end
 
   def kinds, do: @kinds
@@ -46,6 +52,16 @@ defmodule WhoNeedHelp.EmailDelivery do
   defp result_status({:ok, _metadata}), do: :ok
   defp result_status({:error, _reason}), do: :error
 
+  defp valid_envelope?(email) do
+    [email.from, email.reply_to | email.to ++ email.cc ++ email.bcc]
+    |> List.flatten()
+    |> Enum.reject(&is_nil/1)
+    |> Enum.all?(fn
+      {_name, address} -> EmailAddress.valid?(address)
+      _invalid_recipient -> false
+    end)
+  end
+
   defp emit(started_at, kind, status) do
     :telemetry.execute(
       [:who_need_help, :email, :delivery],

lib/who_need_help/mail/content_removal_email_worker.ex

@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ defmodule WhoNeedHelp.Mail.ContentRemovalEmailWorker do
   defp deliver(%Notice{} = notice, "operator") do
     case Notifier.deliver_operator_alert(notice) do
       {:ok, _metadata} -> :ok
+      {:error, :invalid_email_address} -> {:cancel, :invalid_email_address}
       {:error, reason} -> {:error, reason}
     end
   end
@@ -70,5 +71,8 @@ defmodule WhoNeedHelp.Mail.ContentRemovalEmailWorker do
     end
   end
 
+  defp mark_sent({:error, :invalid_email_address}, _notice, _field),
+    do: {:cancel, :invalid_email_address}
+
   defp mark_sent({:error, reason}, _notice, _field), do: {:error, reason}
 end

lib/who_need_help/mail/support_confirmation_worker.ex

@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ defmodule WhoNeedHelp.Mail.SupportConfirmationWorker do
       %SupportRequest{} = request ->
         case Notifier.deliver_confirmation(request, Support.confirmation_url(request)) do
           {:ok, _metadata} -> :ok
+          {:error, :invalid_email_address} -> {:cancel, :invalid_email_address}
           {:error, reason} -> {:error, reason}
         end
     end

lib/who_need_help/mail/support_operator_alert_worker.ex

@@ -24,7 +24,10 @@ defmodule WhoNeedHelp.Mail.SupportOperatorAlertWorker do
         {:cancel, :contact_not_verified}
 
       %SupportRequest{} = request ->
-        Notifier.deliver_operator_alert(request)
+        case Notifier.deliver_operator_alert(request) do
+          {:error, :invalid_email_address} -> {:cancel, :invalid_email_address}
+          result -> result
+        end
     end
   end
 end

lib/who_need_help/mail/support_update_worker.ex

@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ defmodule WhoNeedHelp.Mail.SupportUpdateWorker do
       %SupportRequest{} = request ->
         case Notifier.deliver_decision(request, Support.status_url(request)) do
           {:ok, _metadata} -> mark_sent(request)
+          {:error, :invalid_email_address} -> {:cancel, :invalid_email_address}
           {:error, reason} -> {:error, reason}
         end
     end

scripts/validate-production-env.sh

@@ -92,6 +92,27 @@ valid_nonempty_csv() {
   done
 }
 
+valid_mailbox_address() {
+  local address=$1 local_part domain label
+  local -a labels
+
+  [[ "$address" =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9.!#\$%\&\'*+/=\?\^_\`\{\|\}~-]+@[A-Za-z0-9.-]+$ ]] ||
+    return 1
+
+  local_part=${address%@*}
+  domain=${address#*@}
+  [[ -n "$local_part" && "$local_part" != .* && "$local_part" != *. &&
+    "$local_part" != *..* ]] || return 1
+
+  IFS='.' read -r -a labels <<<"$domain"
+  [[ ${#labels[@]} -ge 2 ]] || return 1
+
+  for label in "${labels[@]}"; do
+    [[ -n "$label" && "$label" =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9-]+$ &&
+      "$label" != -* && "$label" != *- ]] || return 1
+  done
+}
+
 valid_public_rate_limit_policy() {
   local json=$1
 
@@ -397,13 +418,13 @@ case "$email_delivery_provider" in
     exit 1
     ;;
 esac
-[[ "$email_from_address" == *@* ]] || {
+valid_mailbox_address "$email_from_address" || {
-  echo "EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS is not an email address." >&2
+  echo "EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS must be a single SMTP-safe mailbox address." >&2
   exit 1
 }
-if [[ -n "$support_inbox_address" &&
+if [[ -n "$support_inbox_address" ]] &&
-  ! "$support_inbox_address" =~ ^[^@,\;[:space:]]+@[^@,\;[:space:]]+$ ]]; then
+  ! valid_mailbox_address "$support_inbox_address"; then
-  echo "SUPPORT_INBOX_ADDRESS is not an email address." >&2
+  echo "SUPPORT_INBOX_ADDRESS must be a single SMTP-safe mailbox address." >&2
   exit 1
 fi
 

scripts/validate-test-env.sh

@@ -63,6 +63,27 @@ valid_nonempty_csv() {
   done
 }
 
+valid_mailbox_address() {
+  local address=$1 local_part domain label
+  local -a labels
+
+  [[ "$address" =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9.!#\$%\&\'*+/=\?\^_\`\{\|\}~-]+@[A-Za-z0-9.-]+$ ]] ||
+    return 1
+
+  local_part=${address%@*}
+  domain=${address#*@}
+  [[ -n "$local_part" && "$local_part" != .* && "$local_part" != *. &&
+    "$local_part" != *..* ]] || return 1
+
+  IFS='.' read -r -a labels <<<"$domain"
+  [[ ${#labels[@]} -ge 2 ]] || return 1
+
+  for label in "${labels[@]}"; do
+    [[ -n "$label" && "$label" =~ ^[A-Za-z0-9-]+$ &&
+      "$label" != -* && "$label" != *- ]] || return 1
+  done
+}
+
 [[ "$(require_value DEPLOYMENT_ENV)" == test ]] || {
   echo "Test validation requires DEPLOYMENT_ENV=test." >&2
   exit 1
@@ -126,7 +147,11 @@ case "$email_delivery_provider" in
     exit 1
     ;;
 esac
-require_value EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS >/dev/null
+email_from_address=$(require_value EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS)
+valid_mailbox_address "$email_from_address" || {
+  echo "EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS must be a single SMTP-safe mailbox address." >&2
+  exit 1
+}
 [[ "$(require_value PHX_HOST)" == "$expected_domain" &&
   "$(require_value WNH_BASE_URL)" == "https://$expected_domain" ]] || {
   echo "The test public origin does not match EXPECTED_DOMAIN." >&2

test/who_need_help/email_address_test.exs

@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
 defmodule WhoNeedHelp.EmailAddressTest do
   use ExUnit.Case, async: true
 
+  import Swoosh.Email
+
   alias WhoNeedHelp.EmailAddress
+  alias WhoNeedHelp.EmailDelivery
+  alias Swoosh.Adapters.SMTP.Helpers
 
   test "accepts ordinary mailbox addresses used by transactional email" do
     assert EmailAddress.valid?("person@example.com")
@@ -9,6 +13,8 @@ defmodule WhoNeedHelp.EmailAddressTest do
   end
 
   test "rejects addresses that the SMTP adapter cannot safely parse" do
+    refute EmailAddress.valid?(".person@example.com")
+    refute EmailAddress.valid?("person.@example.com")
     refute EmailAddress.valid?("two..dots@example.com")
     refute EmailAddress.valid?("person@example")
     refute EmailAddress.valid?("person@-example.com")
@@ -16,4 +22,31 @@ defmodule WhoNeedHelp.EmailAddressTest do
     refute EmailAddress.valid?("person@exam ple.com")
     refute EmailAddress.valid?("first@example.com,second@example.com")
   end
+
+  test "every accepted address can be encoded by the configured SMTP implementation" do
+    for address <- ["person@example.com", "person+alerts@example.co.uk"] do
+      encoded =
+        new()
+        |> from({"Who Need Help", "contact@example.com"})
+        |> to(address)
+        |> reply_to("support@example.com")
+        |> subject("Email address compatibility")
+        |> text_body("Compatibility check")
+        |> Helpers.body([])
+
+      assert is_binary(encoded)
+    end
+  end
+
+  test "delivery rejects an invalid envelope before invoking the mail adapter" do
+    email =
+      new()
+      |> from({"Who Need Help", "contact@example.com"})
+      |> to(".person@example.com")
+      |> subject("Invalid envelope check")
+      |> text_body("This message must not be delivered")
+
+    assert {:error, :invalid_email_address} =
+             EmailDelivery.deliver(email, :auth_login)
+  end
 end

test/who_need_help/support_and_content_removal_test.exs

@@ -98,6 +98,28 @@ defmodule WhoNeedHelp.SupportAndContentRemovalTest do
     refute_receive {:email, _duplicate_received_email}, 50
   end
 
+  test "legacy support jobs with an invalid stored mailbox are cancelled without delivery" do
+    assert {:ok, request} =
+             Support.create_request(nil, %{
+               "kind" => "technical_issue",
+               "contact_email" => "legacy@example.com",
+               "subject" => "Legacy queued support message",
+               "details" =>
+                 "This request simulates malformed historical data already stored before validation."
+             })
+
+    {1, nil} =
+      Repo.update_all(
+        from(stored_request in SupportRequest, where: stored_request.id == ^request.id),
+        set: [contact_email: ".legacy@example.com"]
+      )
+
+    assert {:cancel, :invalid_email_address} =
+             perform_job(SupportConfirmationWorker, %{"request_id" => request.id})
+
+    refute_receive {:email, _email}, 50
+  end
+
   test "operator alert is sent only after public contact verification" do
     previous = Application.get_env(:who_need_help, :support_inbox_address)
     previous_mode = Application.get_env(:who_need_help, :support_operator_email_mode)