Deprecate/block packets with a missing/invalid hop_start value (pre-hop firmware) (related to issue #7369)

src/configuration.h

@@ -78,6 +78,11 @@ along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 // Configuration
 // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+// Pre-hop drop handling (compile-time flag).
+#ifndef MESHTASTIC_PREHOP_DROP
+#define MESHTASTIC_PREHOP_DROP 0
+#endif
+
 /// Convert a preprocessor name into a quoted string
 #define xstr(s) ystr(s)
 #define ystr(s) #s

src/mesh/NodeDB.cpp

@@ -1635,6 +1635,25 @@ uint32_t sinceReceived(const meshtastic_MeshPacket *p)
     return delta;
 }
 
+HopStartStatus classifyHopStart(const meshtastic_MeshPacket &p)
+{
+    // Guard against invalid values.
+    if (p.hop_start < p.hop_limit)
+        return HopStartStatus::INVALID;
+
+    if (p.hop_start == 0) {
+        // Firmware prior to 2.3.0 (585805c) lacked a hop_start field. Firmware version 2.5.0 (bf34329) introduced a
+        // bitfield that is always present. Use the presence of the bitfield to determine if the origin's firmware
+        // version is guaranteed to have hop_start populated. Note that this can only be done for decoded packets as
+        // the bitfield is encrypted under the channel encryption key.
+        if (p.which_payload_variant == meshtastic_MeshPacket_decoded_tag && p.decoded.has_bitfield)
+            return HopStartStatus::VALID;
+        return HopStartStatus::MISSING_OR_UNKNOWN;
+    }
+
+    return HopStartStatus::VALID;
+}
+
 int8_t getHopsAway(const meshtastic_MeshPacket &p, int8_t defaultIfUnknown)
 {
     // Firmware prior to 2.3.0 (585805c) lacked a hop_start field. Firmware version 2.5.0 (bf34329) introduced a
@@ -1672,6 +1691,21 @@ size_t NodeDB::getNumOnlineMeshNodes(bool localOnly)
 #include "MeshModule.h"
 #include "Throttle.h"
 
+static constexpr uint32_t HOPSTART_DROP_LOG_INTERVAL_MS = 15000;
+
+void logHopStartDrop(const meshtastic_MeshPacket &p, const char *context)
+{
+    static uint32_t lastLogMs = 0;
+    if (Throttle::isWithinTimespanMs(lastLogMs, HOPSTART_DROP_LOG_INTERVAL_MS)) {
+        return;
+    }
+    lastLogMs = millis();
+    const bool decoded = (p.which_payload_variant == meshtastic_MeshPacket_decoded_tag);
+    const bool hasBitfield = decoded && p.decoded.has_bitfield;
+    LOG_DEBUG("Drop packet (%s): hop_start invalid/missing (from=0x%x id=%u hop_start=%u hop_limit=%u decoded=%d has_bitfield=%d)",
+              context ? context : "unknown", p.from, p.id, p.hop_start, p.hop_limit, decoded, hasBitfield);
+}
+
 /** Update position info for this node based on received position data
  */
 void NodeDB::updatePosition(uint32_t nodeId, const meshtastic_Position &p, RxSource src)

src/mesh/NodeDB.h

@@ -114,6 +114,27 @@ uint32_t sinceReceived(const meshtastic_MeshPacket *p);
 /// Returns defaultIfUnknown if the number of hops couldn't be determined.
 int8_t getHopsAway(const meshtastic_MeshPacket &p, int8_t defaultIfUnknown = -1);
 
+enum class HopStartStatus : uint8_t { VALID = 0, MISSING_OR_UNKNOWN, INVALID };
+
+/// Classify hop_start validity for forwarding decisions.
+HopStartStatus classifyHopStart(const meshtastic_MeshPacket &p);
+
+inline bool shouldDropPacketForPreHop(const meshtastic_MeshPacket &p)
+{
+#if !MESHTASTIC_PREHOP_DROP
+    (void)p;
+    return false;
+#else
+    if (isFromUs(&p)) {
+        return false; // local-originated packets should never be dropped by pre-hop drop policy
+    }
+    return classifyHopStart(p) != HopStartStatus::VALID;
+#endif
+}
+
+/// Rate-limited debug log when hop_start is invalid/missing and packet is dropped.
+void logHopStartDrop(const meshtastic_MeshPacket &p, const char *context);
+
 enum LoadFileResult {
     // Successfully opened the file
     LOAD_SUCCESS = 1,

src/mesh/Router.cpp

@@ -814,6 +814,12 @@ void Router::perhapsHandleReceived(meshtastic_MeshPacket *p)
         return;
     }
 
+    if (shouldDropPacketForPreHop(*p)) {
+        logHopStartDrop(*p, "pre-hop drop");
+        packetPool.release(p);
+        return;
+    }
+
     if (shouldFilterReceived(p)) {
         LOG_DEBUG("Incoming msg was filtered from 0x%x", p->from);
         packetPool.release(p);