feat: enforce openedx-authz permissions on object tag and xblock outline endpoints by wgu-taylor-payne · Pull Request #38292 · openedx/openedx-platform

wgu-taylor-payne · 2026-04-07T01:42:34Z

Description

When AUTHZ_COURSE_AUTHORING_FLAG is enabled for a course, enforces openedx-authz permissions on content tagging and xblock outline endpoints, fully bypassing legacy permission checks.

This PR depends on a companion openedx-core PR (openedx/openedx-core#541) that extracts overridable permission methods from ObjectTagView, allowing edx-platform to plug in authz checks without duplicating parent view logic.

Object tag endpoints (/api/content_tagging/v1/object_tags/{object_id}/):

ObjectTagOrgView overrides 4 permission methods introduced in openedx-core:

Override	Behavior when authz active
`check_view_object_tags_permission`	No-op — any authenticated user can view tags
`check_can_tag_object_permission`	Enforces `courses.manage_tags` via `authz_api.is_user_allowed`, raises `PermissionDenied` if denied
`get_can_tag_object_value`	Returns `authz_api.is_user_allowed(COURSES_MANAGE_TAGS)` — drives `can_tag_object` in response
`get_can_delete_objecttag_value`	Returns `authz_api.is_user_allowed(COURSES_MANAGE_TAGS)` — drives `can_delete_objecttag` in response

Additionally, get_permissions() swaps the legacy ObjectTagObjectPermissions for IsAuthenticated when authz is active, so DRF dispatch doesn't block requests before the override methods run.

All overrides fall through to super() (legacy behavior) when the flag is off or the object is not course-scoped (e.g., library content).

Course key is extracted from any content key type (course, block, unit, collection, container) via get_context_key_from_key_string.

Xblock outline endpoint (/xblock/outline/{usage_key}):

GET — replaces has_studio_read_access with user_has_course_permission using courses.view_course, with legacy READ fallback when the flag is off. This endpoint is called by Studio when the content tags drawer opens (e.g., in the course outline, course unit editor, etc.).

When the flag is off, all endpoints use existing legacy behavior unchanged.

Endpoint → permission mapping:

Endpoint	Permission	Flag scope
`PUT /object_tags/{object_id}/`	`courses.manage_tags`	per-course
`GET /object_tags/{object_id}/`	authenticated (view) + `courses.manage_tags` (edit fields)	per-course
`GET /xblock/outline/{usage_key}`	`courses.view_course`	per-course

Roles and permissions (from Casbin policy):

Role	`view_course`	`manage_tags`
`course_admin`	✓	✓
`course_staff`	✓	✓
`course_editor`	✓	✓
`course_auditor`	✓	✗

Supporting information

Closes Task - RBAC Authz - Implement new permissions for Tags and Taxonomies #38143
Companion openedx-core PR: openedx/openedx-core#541
Adjacent investigation into legacy permissions around tagging: Spike - RBAC AuthZ - review content tagging legacy permissions #38222
Permission list: https://openedx.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/OEPM/pages/5528715266/openedx-authz+permission+list

Testing instructions

Flag OFF (legacy behavior unchanged):

Ensure authz.enable_course_authoring waffle flag is inactive
As a course staff user, verify tagging content objects works as before
Verify xblock outline endpoint returns 200

Flag ON per-course:

Django Admin → Waffle Flag Course Overrides → authz.enable_course_authoring for a specific course → Force On
As course_staff: open course outline → click tag icon on a section → add/remove tags → save. Should succeed.
As course_auditor: open course outline → click tag icon. Verify unable to change/save tags (403).
As course_auditor: verify xblock outline endpoint still loads.
As a user with no authz role: verify both endpoints return 403.
For a different course without the override: should fall through to legacy checks.

Deadline

Verawood

Other information

Co-authored with Kiro — AI-assisted implementation and testing.

openedx-webhooks · 2026-04-07T01:42:41Z

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rodmgwgu · 2026-04-09T21:19:54Z

@wgu-taylor-payne we discussed this in the Weekly meeting and the decision is that for M1 we will only focus on implementing the courses.manage_tags permission on course-related endpoints.

So no taxonomies-related changes for now.

…ine endpoints When AUTHZ_COURSE_AUTHORING_FLAG is enabled for a course, legacy permission checks are fully bypassed in favor of openedx-authz: - PUT /object_tags/{object_id}/: enforces courses.manage_tags - GET /object_tags/{object_id}/: patches can_tag_object in response - GET /xblock/outline/{usage_key}: enforces courses.view_course For object tag endpoints, the parent ObjectTagView legacy checks (ObjectTagObjectPermissions, per-taxonomy can_tag_object, and view_objecttag in get_queryset) are all bypassed via get_permissions, get_queryset, and _update_tags overrides. Course key is extracted from any content key type via get_context_key_from_key_string. Library content is unaffected (falls through to legacy). When the flag is off, all endpoints use existing legacy behavior. Co-authored-by: Kiro <kiro-noreply@amazon.com>

dwong2708 · 2026-04-14T18:13:33Z

+        object_id = self.kwargs["object_id"]
+        _, authz_active = self._is_authz_active(object_id)
+        if authz_active:
+            return get_object_tags(object_id)


In this workflow, some logic differs from the original implementation. Should we add it here?
The missing parts are:

Validate query params to get taxonomy_id

Validate tags from multiple objects

Pass taxonomy_id to get_object_tags

For that reason, I think this implementation may not be maintainable, because if new logic is added to the original view, it could be affected.

My suggestion is to implement the AuthZ permission directly in ObjectTagView. Another option would be to update ObjectTagView so that the permission check is handled in a separate method, which can then be overridden from openedx-platform.

I also think this could be addressed in a separate ticket to avoid blocking this work.

What do you think?

Good question. I went this route because I don't think openedx-tagging should be concerned with waffle flags defined in openedx-platform. I was hoping to avoid having to touch openedx-tagging, but yes, you point out a valid concern. I think we can refactor openedx-tagging to allow for a cleaner implementation here. I'll look into that.

Here is a potential implementation on the openedx-core side that could allow a cleaner path for the changes here: openedx/openedx-core#541.

…ck outline endpoints

wgu-taylor-payne self-assigned this Apr 7, 2026

openedx-webhooks added open-source-contribution PR author is not from Axim or 2U core contributor PR author is a Core Contributor (who may or may not have write access to this repo). labels Apr 7, 2026

openedx-webhooks added this to Contributions Apr 7, 2026

github-project-automation bot moved this to Needs Triage in Contributions Apr 7, 2026

wgu-taylor-payne marked this pull request as draft April 7, 2026 01:42

wgu-taylor-payne force-pushed the tpayne/authz-for-taxonomies branch 2 times, most recently from d1ae95c to c26f972 Compare April 7, 2026 16:30

mphilbrick211 added the mao-onboarding Reviewing this will help onboard devs from an Axim mission-aligned organization (MAO). label Apr 8, 2026

mphilbrick211 moved this from Needs Triage to Waiting on Author in Contributions Apr 8, 2026

wgu-taylor-payne force-pushed the tpayne/authz-for-taxonomies branch 5 times, most recently from 55ae268 to 51f9f3e Compare April 13, 2026 17:22

wgu-taylor-payne changed the title ~~feat: authorize tags and taxonomies endpoints via openedx-authz when …~~ feat: authorize object tag updates via openedx-authz when flag is enabled Apr 13, 2026

wgu-taylor-payne force-pushed the tpayne/authz-for-taxonomies branch 3 times, most recently from 2be413a to 97a2719 Compare April 13, 2026 22:10

wgu-taylor-payne changed the title ~~feat: authorize object tag updates via openedx-authz when flag is enabled~~ feat: enforce openedx-authz permissions on object tag and xblock outline endpoints Apr 13, 2026

wgu-taylor-payne marked this pull request as ready for review April 13, 2026 22:51

wgu-taylor-payne requested review from bmtcril, dwong2708, mariajgrimaldi and rodmgwgu April 13, 2026 22:51

wgu-taylor-payne force-pushed the tpayne/authz-for-taxonomies branch from aff4d6c to 2e46a22 Compare April 14, 2026 16:58

wgu-taylor-payne requested a review from MaferMazu April 14, 2026 17:25

wgu-taylor-payne requested a review from BryanttV April 14, 2026 17:25

dwong2708 suggested changes Apr 14, 2026

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wgu-taylor-payne added 2 commits April 14, 2026 14:09

fixup! feat: enforce openedx-authz permissions on object tag and xblo…

1240f91

…ck outline endpoints

fixup! feat: enforce openedx-authz permissions on object tag and xblo…

dbbfc5e

…ck outline endpoints

wgu-taylor-payne mentioned this pull request Apr 14, 2026

feat: extract overridable permission methods from ObjectTagView openedx/openedx-core#541

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wgu-taylor-payne added 2 commits April 14, 2026 16:53

fixup! feat: enforce openedx-authz permissions on object tag and xblo…

b7b17dc

…ck outline endpoints

temp: point openedx-core to authz refactor branch

3466d86

wgu-taylor-payne requested review from feanil and kdmccormick as code owners April 15, 2026 17:21

fixup! feat: enforce openedx-authz permissions on object tag and xblo…

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…ck outline endpoints

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feat: enforce openedx-authz permissions on object tag and xblock outline endpoints#38292

feat: enforce openedx-authz permissions on object tag and xblock outline endpoints#38292
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