fix: Course Auditor gets 403 navigating to a course unit - #38986
fix: Course Auditor gets 403 navigating to a course unit#38986efortish wants to merge 3 commits into
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xblock_outline_handler (the course outline tree) was already migrated to the AuthZ-aware user_has_course_permission(..., COURSES_VIEW_COURSE, ..., LegacyAuthoringPermission.READ) check, so it correctly recognizes AuthZ- native roles that have no legacy equivalent, like course_auditor and course_editor. xblock_container_handler (the unit/container page — what's hit when navigating to a unit) and xblock_view_handler (renders each child block's preview fragment on that page), plus xblock_edit_view, were never migrated the same way: they still called the legacy-only has_studio_read_access directly, which only recognizes roles with a legacy equivalent (staff/instructor/limited_staff). A Course Auditor has none, so get_user_permissions() returned no permissions and these handlers raised PermissionDenied, even though the outline (using the correct pattern) let the same user in. Migrate the three remaining read checks in block.py to the same user_has_course_permission pattern xblock_outline_handler already uses. The xblock_handler/handle_xblock CRUD endpoint was already correctly AuthZ-aware (via _check_xblock_permission) and needed no change. Fixes openedx/openedx-authz#384
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…ctually uses Manual testing against a real devstack found that the block.py fix alone wasn't enough: the modern Authoring MFE calls the REST API v1 ContainerHandlerView (/api/contentstore/v1/container_handler/...), which still 403'd for course_auditor. That view (and container_handler/container_embed_handler/xblock_edit_view in the legacy views) all route through the shared _get_item_in_course() helper in component.py, which gated on has_course_author_access — a legacy-only *write* check — even though all four callers only need read access to render a view. course_auditor has no legacy role equivalent, so it never had write access and always got PermissionDenied here, regardless of the block.py fix. Migrate _get_item_in_course() to the same user_has_course_permission read check, fixing all four callers (including the REST API v1 view) at their single shared choke point instead of patching each call site. Verified locally end-to-end: mounted this branch into a real devstack, assigned course_auditor to a test user, confirmed the unit page 403'd before this commit and loads correctly after it. Also ran the full test_block.py + test_vertical_block.py suites against the same devstack (186 passed).
Description
Fixes openedx-authz#384
A user with the Course Auditor role can view the course outline, but gets a
403 Forbiddenwhen opening a specific unit.Root causes (two, found via local testing against a real devstack)
1. Legacy Studio views (
cms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/block.py)xblock_outline_handler(the outline tree) already uses the AuthZ-awareuser_has_course_permission(..., COURSES_VIEW_COURSE.identifier, ..., LegacyAuthoringPermission.READ)check, so it correctly recognizes AuthZ-native roles that have no legacy equivalent —course_auditorandcourse_editoraren't inLEGACY_COURSE_ROLE_EQUIVALENCES.xblock_container_handler,xblock_view_handler, andxblock_edit_viewwere never migrated to that pattern. They called the legacy-onlyhas_studio_read_accessdirectly, which bottoms out inget_user_permissions()(common/djangoapps/student/auth.py) and only grants access based on legacy-mapped roles (staff,instructor,limited_staff, ...).2. The REST API v1 view the Authoring MFE actually uses (found by testing manually)
The modern Authoring MFE's unit page doesn't call the legacy routes above. It calls
GET /api/contentstore/v1/container_handler/{usage_key}(ContainerHandlerViewinrest_api/v1/views/vertical_block.py), which still returned 403 after theblock.pyfix.That view — along with
container_handler,container_embed_handler, andxblock_edit_view's call site — all route through a shared helper,_get_item_in_course()incms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/component.py, which gated onhas_course_author_access(a legacy-only write check), even though every one of its callers only needs read access to render a view.course_auditornever has write access, so it always hitPermissionDeniedhere regardless of theblock.pyfix.Fix
block.pyto the sameuser_has_course_permissionpatternxblock_outline_handleralready uses._get_item_in_course()incomponent.pyfromhas_course_author_accessto the same read-baseduser_has_course_permissioncheck, fixing all of its callers (including the REST API v1 view) at their single shared choke point.component_handler's own, separatehas_course_author_accesscheck — which correctly gates the actual write/persist side effect — is untouched.xblock_handler/handle_xblock(the CRUD endpoint for reading/editing/deleting xblocks) was already correctly AuthZ-aware via_check_xblock_permission, so it needed no change.Testing instructions
authz.enable_course_authoringflag globally.course_auditorrole for a course.Verified manually end-to-end, not just with automated tests: mounted this branch into a real devstack, assigned
course_auditorto a test user, reproduced the 403 on the unit page before this fix, and confirmed it resolves after it.Added/updated tests:
TestXBlockContainerAndViewHandlerAuthzincms/djangoapps/contentstore/views/tests/test_block.py, coveringxblock_container_handlerandxblock_view_handlerforcourse_staff,course_admin,course_auditor, andcourse_editor, mirroring the existingTestXBlockOutlineHandlerAuthzcoverage for the outline handler.ContainerHandlerViewAuthzTestincms/djangoapps/contentstore/rest_api/v1/views/tests/test_vertical_block.py, covering the REST API v1ContainerHandlerViewfor the same set of roles.