Use devise paranoid mode and ensure the same message is returned every time

CHANGELOG

@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@ v 8.2.3
   - Fix Error 500s when creating global milestones with Unicode characters (Stan Hu)
   - Update documentation for "Guest" permissions
   - Properly convert Emoji-only comments into Award Emojis
+  - Enable devise paranoid mode to prevent user enumeration attack
+
+v 8.2.3
   - Webhook payload has an added, modified and removed properties for each commit
   - Fix 500 error when creating a merge request that removes a submodule
 

app/controllers/passwords_controller.rb

@@ -40,7 +40,9 @@ class PasswordsController < Devise::PasswordsController
   def throttle_reset
     return unless resource && resource.recently_sent_password_reset?
 
-    redirect_to new_password_path(resource_name),
-      alert: I18n.t('devise.passwords.recently_reset')
+    # Throttle reset attempts, but return a normal message to
+    # avoid user enumeration attack.
+    redirect_to new_user_session_path,
+      notice: I18n.t('devise.passwords.send_paranoid_instructions')
   end
 end

config/initializers/devise.rb

@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ Devise.setup do |config|
   # It will change confirmation, password recovery and other workflows
   # to behave the same regardless if the e-mail provided was right or wrong.
   # Does not affect registerable.
-  # config.paranoid = true
+  config.paranoid = true
 
   # ==> Configuration for :database_authenticatable
   # For bcrypt, this is the cost for hashing the password and defaults to 10. If

config/locales/devise.en.yml

@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ en:
       success: "Successfully authenticated from %{kind} account."
     passwords:
       no_token: "You can't access this page without coming from a password reset email. If you do come from a password reset email, please make sure you used the full URL provided."
-      recently_reset: "Instructions about how to reset your password have already been sent recently. Please wait a few minutes to try again."
       send_instructions: "You will receive an email with instructions on how to reset your password in a few minutes."
       send_paranoid_instructions: "If your email address exists in our database, you will receive a password recovery link at your email address in a few minutes."
       updated: "Your password has been changed successfully. You are now signed in."

spec/features/password_reset_spec.rb

@@ -3,11 +3,12 @@ require 'spec_helper'
 feature 'Password reset', feature: true do
   describe 'throttling' do
     it 'sends reset instructions when not previously sent' do
-      visit root_path
-      forgot_password(create(:user))
+      user = create(:user)
+      forgot_password(user)
 
-      expect(page).to have_content(I18n.t('devise.passwords.send_instructions'))
+      expect(page).to have_content(I18n.t('devise.passwords.send_paranoid_instructions'))
       expect(current_path).to eq new_user_session_path
+      expect(user.recently_sent_password_reset?).to be_truthy
     end
 
     it 'sends reset instructions when previously sent more than a minute ago' do
@@ -15,26 +16,25 @@ feature 'Password reset', feature: true do
       user.send_reset_password_instructions
       user.update_attribute(:reset_password_sent_at, 5.minutes.ago)
 
-      visit root_path
-      forgot_password(user)
-
-      expect(page).to have_content(I18n.t('devise.passwords.send_instructions'))
+      expect{ forgot_password(user) }.to change{ user.reset_password_sent_at }
+      expect(page).to have_content(I18n.t('devise.passwords.send_paranoid_instructions'))
       expect(current_path).to eq new_user_session_path
     end
 
-    it "throttles multiple resets in a short timespan" do
+    it 'throttles multiple resets in a short timespan' do
       user = create(:user)
       user.send_reset_password_instructions
+      # Reload because PG handles datetime less precisely than Ruby/Rails
+      user.reload
 
-      visit root_path
-      forgot_password(user)
-
-      expect(page).to have_content(I18n.t('devise.passwords.recently_reset'))
-      expect(current_path).to eq new_user_password_path
+      expect{ forgot_password(user) }.not_to change{ user.reset_password_sent_at }
+      expect(page).to have_content(I18n.t('devise.passwords.send_paranoid_instructions'))
+      expect(current_path).to eq new_user_session_path
     end
   end
 
   def forgot_password(user)
+    visit root_path
     click_on 'Forgot your password?'
     fill_in 'Email', with: user.email
     click_button 'Reset password'