Allow the emailed MFA code to be re-entered after an invalid code is entered. #6671 by dpage · Pull Request #10589 · pgadmin-org/pgadmin4

dpage · 2026-10-15T09:08:05Z

The emailed code now stays valid after a wrong entry, and the code field is shown again, so a typo no longer means requesting a new email. The code is discarded after MAX_EMAIL_CODE_ATTEMPTS (5) failed attempts so it can't be brute forced; that limit is open for review.

Test plan

runtests.py --pkg authenticate.mfa: 17 passed, including the new test_email_retry.py scenarios
Jest MfaValidatePage.spec.js: 4 passed
eslint and pycodestyle on the changed files

Closes #6671

Summary by CodeRabbit

Bug Fixes
- Email verification codes remain available for retry after an incorrect entry, and the sent-code message stays visible during the retry flow.
- Codes are discarded after the allowed number of incorrect attempts, so a new code must be requested. Codes also expire after one hour.
Configuration
- The incorrect-attempt limit defaults to five and can be adjusted. Values below one are treated as one.

coderabbitai · 2026-10-15T09:08:24Z

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📒 Files selected for processing: 2

web/pgadmin/authenticate/mfa/email.py
web/pgadmin/authenticate/mfa/tests/test_email_retry.py

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Walkthrough

Email MFA retains a code after an invalid entry so the user can try again. A configurable attempt limit defaults to five and has a minimum of one. The code expires after one hour. When a retry is available, the server returns the sent-code message and the validation page displays the code-entry and resend controls.

Changes

Email MFA retry flow

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Code retry and attempt limits `web/config.py`, `docs/en_US/mfa.rst`, `web/pgadmin/authenticate/mfa/email.py`, `web/pgadmin/authenticate/mfa/tests/test_email_retry.py`, `web/pgadmin/authenticate/mfa/tests/test_mfa.py`	Email codes are tracked per session and expire after one hour. Validation compares codes in constant time, retains the code after an invalid attempt below the configured limit, and removes it on success or when the limit is reached. The limit defaults to five; values below one are treated as one. Tests cover retries, configuration, and concurrent attempts.
Retry response and validation-page state `web/pgadmin/authenticate/mfa/email.py`, `web/pgadmin/static/js/SecurityPages/MfaValidatePage.jsx`, `web/regression/javascript/SecurityPages/MfaValidatePage.spec.js`	The validation response includes the sent-code message when retry state is available. The email validation page uses that message to show the code-entry and resend controls. Tests cover the message-present and message-absent states.

Priority: ➖ Normal

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~20 minutes

Change: Bug fix · Severity of issue fixed: Medium

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to 5e2f5

The retry limit is enforced for the supported deployment, and replaying an older cookie does not restore attempts. The change is ready to merge after normal checks.

Pre-merge checks: 4 · 1

Failed checks: 1 warning

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage		Docstring coverage is 55.56% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 27 functions across 6 files.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

Passed checks: 4 passed

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check		Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check		The title clearly and concisely describes the main change: allowing users to re-enter an emailed MFA code after an invalid attempt. It matches the pull request objectives and changeset.
Linked Issues check		Issue [`#6671`] requires users to retry an emailed MFA code after an invalid entry. The current implementation preserves the active code after a wrong entry and restores the code-entry view. It discards…
Out of Scope Changes check		The changed email MFA logic, retry tests, UI tests, configuration, and documentation directly support [`#6671`]. The attempt limit is a security control for the retry behavior. No unrelated change is sh…

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dpage · 2026-10-15T10:19:47Z

Replaced the hardcoded attempt limit with a new MFA_EMAIL_CODE_MAX_ATTEMPTS config option (default 5; values below 1 are treated as 1, so it can never be unlimited), documented in mfa.rst and covered by tests for the default, a non-default value and a value of 0.

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Inline comments:
Review comments at @web/pgadmin/authenticate/mfa/email.py:
- Around line 252-262: Make the `_EMAIL_CODE_ATTEMPTS` read-modify-write in
email-code validation atomic across workers by using an atomic server-side
counter update or a distributed per-session lock covering the read, increment,
and write. Keep the maximum-attempt check and counter cleanup within that
serialized operation.

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Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 40d1aca and 56d8e57.

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docs/en_US/mfa.rst
web/config.py
web/pgadmin/authenticate/mfa/email.py
web/pgadmin/authenticate/mfa/tests/test_email_retry.py

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…entered. pgadmin-org#6671 Previously, entering an invalid email verification code discarded the code that had been sent and returned the user to the 'Send Code' step, so a simple typo meant requesting and waiting for another email. The code now stays valid after a failed attempt and the code entry field is shown again, with the option to send a new code. To avoid allowing unlimited guesses against the same code, it is discarded after five failed attempts and a new one must be requested. Closes pgadmin-org#6671

…n success. Use hmac.compare_digest() on the UTF-8 encoded values rather than ==, and also drop the retry session flag alongside the attempt counter once the code has been accepted.

Replace the hardcoded limit with the MFA_EMAIL_CODE_MAX_ATTEMPTS config option (default 5), read at runtime like the other MFA settings. Values below 1 are treated as 1, so retries can never become unlimited. The option is documented alongside the other MFA settings.

…ests. pgadmin-org#6671 The failed-attempt counter was read and written in the Flask session, which is only saved at the end of a request, so parallel requests with the same session cookie could each see the same count and get several guesses per counter step. Track the valid code and its attempt count per session id in a module-level dict guarded by a lock, so the check, increment and invalidation are atomic within the (single) pgAdmin process, and a request arriving after the code is discarded is refused even if its session copy still holds it. Entries are removed on success, on reaching the limit, when a new code is sent, and after an hour.

dpage · 2026-10-15T18:30:23Z

Squashed and merged as 733cd5b.

…entered. #6671 (#10589)

dpage force-pushed the fix/issue-6671-mfa-retry-code branch from 40d1aca to ea5d63e Compare October 15, 2026 09:44

coderabbitai Bot reviewed Oct 15, 2026

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Comment thread web/pgadmin/authenticate/mfa/email.py Resolved

dpage added 4 commits October 15, 2026 15:14

Compare emailed MFA codes in constant time and clear the retry flag o…

277c62a

…n success. Use hmac.compare_digest() on the UTF-8 encoded values rather than ==, and also drop the retry session flag alongside the attempt counter once the code has been accepted.

dpage force-pushed the fix/issue-6671-mfa-retry-code branch from 56d8e57 to 5e2f5c0 Compare October 15, 2026 14:15

dpage added a commit that referenced this pull request Oct 15, 2026

Allow the emailed MFA code to be re-entered after an invalid code is …

733cd5b

…entered. #6671 (#10589)

dpage closed this Oct 15, 2026

dpage mentioned this pull request Oct 15, 2026

If users enter invalid code, user does not have option to enter correct code again. #6671

Closed

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Allow the emailed MFA code to be re-entered after an invalid code is entered. #6671 - #10589

Allow the emailed MFA code to be re-entered after an invalid code is entered. #6671#10589
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