From 376f248b1e31a3269a97d1cbb9a8796f06c33269 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: ChuckBuilds <charlesmynard@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:26:53 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] fix(web): stop reporting client errors as server faults

Werkzeug's HTTPExceptions subclass Exception, so the catch-all handler
saw them too and turned every 405, 400, 413 and 415 into a 500
UNKNOWN_ERROR. A GET on a POST-only route answered "an error occurred;
see logs for details", which tells the caller nothing and blames the
wrong side -- found while probing a device whose POST-only config
endpoints did exactly that.

Hand HTTPExceptions back as themselves, with their own status and
description. A genuine server fault still reports as one, with the
detail this branch adds.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01Udr6MfaFLUPhX5Fgo67Jf5
---
 test/test_web_error_detail.py | 48 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 web_interface/app.py          | 13 ++++++++++
 2 files changed, 61 insertions(+)

diff --git a/test/test_web_error_detail.py b/test/test_web_error_detail.py
index 282097c6..f193282a 100644
--- a/test/test_web_error_detail.py
+++ b/test/test_web_error_detail.py
@@ -150,6 +150,54 @@ class TestHandlersCarryDetail:
             "handlers returning the generic message without %s: %r"
             % ("both a traceback log and the detail", offenders))
 
+    def test_client_errors_keep_their_own_status(self):
+        """A 405 must not be reported as a server-side UNKNOWN_ERROR.
+
+        Werkzeug's HTTPExceptions subclass Exception, so the catch-all saw them
+        too: a GET on a POST-only route came back 500 "an error occurred",
+        which tells the caller nothing and blames the wrong side. Found while
+        probing a device whose POST-only config endpoints answered every GET
+        with UNKNOWN_ERROR.
+        """
+        from flask import Flask, jsonify
+        from werkzeug.exceptions import HTTPException
+
+        app = Flask(__name__)
+
+        @app.errorhandler(Exception)
+        def handle(error):
+            if isinstance(error, HTTPException):
+                return jsonify({
+                    "status": "error",
+                    "error_code": (error.name or "HTTP_ERROR").upper().replace(" ", "_"),
+                    "message": error.description,
+                }), error.code or 500
+            return jsonify({
+                "status": "error",
+                "error_code": "UNKNOWN_ERROR",
+                "message": "An error occurred; see logs for details",
+                "details": describe_exception(error),
+            }), 500
+
+        @app.route("/only-post", methods=["POST"])
+        def only_post():
+            return jsonify({"ok": True})
+
+        @app.route("/boom")
+        def boom():
+            raise OSError(5, "Input/output error", "systemctl")
+
+        client = app.test_client()
+
+        resp = client.get("/only-post")
+        assert resp.status_code == 405, "a wrong method must stay a 405"
+        assert resp.get_json()["error_code"] == "METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED"
+
+        # A genuine server fault still reports as one, with its detail.
+        resp = client.get("/boom")
+        assert resp.status_code == 500
+        assert "Input/output error" in resp.get_json()["details"]
+
     def test_global_handler_reports_the_underlying_error(self):
         from flask import Flask, jsonify
 
diff --git a/web_interface/app.py b/web_interface/app.py
index ecfb7f39..8ed9cb8c 100644
--- a/web_interface/app.py
+++ b/web_interface/app.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).parent.parent))
 
 from src.config_manager import ConfigManager
 from src.web_interface.error_handler import describe_exception
+from werkzeug.exceptions import HTTPException
 from src.exceptions import ConfigError
 from src.plugin_system.plugin_manager import PluginManager
 from src.plugin_system.store_manager import PluginStoreManager
@@ -416,6 +417,18 @@ def handle_exception(error):
     `[Errno 5] Input/output error`. Naming the error costs nothing here and is
     frequently the whole diagnosis, so include it alongside the log pointer.
     """
+    # Werkzeug's HTTPExceptions subclass Exception, so this catch-all sees
+    # them too and was reporting every 405, 400, 413 and 415 as a server-side
+    # UNKNOWN_ERROR 500. A GET on a POST-only route came back as "an error
+    # occurred" rather than "method not allowed", which tells the caller
+    # nothing and blames the wrong side. Hand those back as themselves.
+    if isinstance(error, HTTPException):
+        return jsonify({
+            'status': 'error',
+            'error_code': (error.name or 'HTTP_ERROR').upper().replace(' ', '_'),
+            'message': error.description,
+        }), error.code or 500
+
     import logging
     logger = logging.getLogger('web_interface')
     logger.error("Unhandled exception", exc_info=True)