fix(update): never advertise a downgrade as an update; clear every stale BTCPay pin

The app store offered "update to 2.3.9" on a node already running 2.4.2 — the
release that fixes an actively exploited 2FA bypass. Taking it would have
rolled the node back onto the vulnerable version.

Root cause: available_update_for_images compared tags for inequality only.
Same repo + different tag meant "update available", with no ordering. Every
version claim upstream of it can go stale — the signed catalog, a legacy
catalog entry, the image-versions.sh baseline pin — and any one of them
lagging turned into a backwards Update button.

Guard added: when both tags parse as dotted-numeric versions, a lower pinned
version is never offered. Tags that cannot be ordered (RELEASE.2024-11-07…,
14-vectorchord0.4.3) keep the previous behaviour rather than silently losing
updates. This makes stale data fail safe, which matters more than any single
pin being correct.

Four sources still named 2.3.9, three of them able to act on it:
- releases/app-catalog.json — a LEGACY `btcpay` entry, distinct from
  `btcpay-server`, carrying a concrete 2.3.9 image. catalog_primary_image
  treats that as authoritative, so this is what drove the button. Fixed, but
  held back from this commit: it needs re-signing.
- scripts/image-versions.sh — the baseline pin used when the catalog does not
  cover an app.
- stacks.rs — the legacy BTCPay installer, twice. The fallback install path
  would have deployed 2.3.9 outright.
- neode-ui curatedApps/marketplaceData and public/catalog.json — the store's
  displayed version, hardcoded rather than read from the catalog, which is why
  it still showed 2.3.9 after the update landed.

Audited every other installer for the same shape. The remaining literals are
the immich stack, which currently agrees with its manifests; hits in
set_config.rs and app_catalog.rs are test fixtures. To keep it that way,
scripts/check-installer-image-pins.py asserts that any installer literal
naming the same repository as an app manifest carries the same tag, and runs
blocking in CI. Verified it catches a simulated revert to 2.3.9.

Tests: 13/13 in image_versions including the exact BTCPay case, a genuine
upgrade still offered, equal versions silent, prerelease suffixes ordered on
their numbers, and opaque tags unchanged.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

.github/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -108,6 +108,12 @@ jobs:
       - name: Catalog registry trust floor
         run: python3 scripts/check-catalog-registry-trust.py
 
+      # A stale image literal on the fallback install path deploys an old
+      # image after the manifest has moved on — how a withdrawn, vulnerable
+      # release gets installed post-fix. Blocking.
+      - name: Installer image pins
+        run: python3 scripts/check-installer-image-pins.py
+
       # Advisory: shows where the release catalog has fallen behind the
       # manifests in this repo. Not blocking, because the catalog can only be
       # updated through the signing ceremony, so drift is expected between a

app-catalog/catalog.json

@@ -52,13 +52,13 @@
     {
       "id": "btcpay-server",
       "title": "BTCPay Server",
-      "version": "2.3.9",
+      "version": "2.4.2",
       "description": "Self-hosted Bitcoin payment processor. Accept Bitcoin payments without intermediaries.",
       "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/btcpay-server.png",
       "author": "BTCPay Server Foundation",
       "category": "commerce",
       "tier": "core",
-      "dockerImage": "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.3.9",
+      "dockerImage": "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.4.2",
       "repoUrl": "https://github.com/btcpayserver/btcpayserver",
       "requires": [
         "bitcoin-knots"

core/archipelago/src/api/rpc/package/stacks.rs

@@ -1076,7 +1076,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
         let images = [
             &format!("{}/postgres:15.17", REGISTRY),
             &format!("{}/nbxplorer:2.6.0", REGISTRY),
-            "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.3.9",
+            "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.4.2",
         ];
         self.set_install_phase("btcpay-server", InstallPhase::PullingImage)
             .await;
@@ -1233,7 +1233,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
                     "BTCPAY_POSTGRES=User ID=btcpay;Password={};Host=archy-btcpay-db;Port=5432;Database=btcpay;Include Error Detail=true",
                     db_pass
                 ),
-                "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.3.9",
+                "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.4.2",
             ])
             .output()
             .await

core/archipelago/src/container/image_versions.rs

@@ -230,9 +230,54 @@ pub fn available_update_for_images(pinned: &str, running_image: &str) -> Option<
         return None;
     }
 
+    // Never advertise a LOWER version as an update.
+    //
+    // Everything upstream of here is a version claim that can go stale: the
+    // signed catalog, a legacy catalog entry with no manifest, the
+    // image-versions.sh baseline pin. When one lags behind what a node is
+    // actually running, a bare `pinned != running` check turns that staleness
+    // into an "Update" button that rolls the node BACKWARDS — and a rollback
+    // to a version withdrawn for a vulnerability is precisely the case where
+    // that must not happen. Observed with BTCPay: 2.4.2 installed, a stale
+    // 2.3.9 pin, and the UI offering "update" to the exploited release.
+    //
+    // Only suppress when both tags parse as comparable version numbers, so
+    // apps with opaque tags (RELEASE.2024-11-07T00-52-20Z, 14-vectorchord0.4.3)
+    // keep the previous behaviour rather than silently losing updates.
+    if let (Some(p), Some(r)) = (
+        parse_version_parts(&pinned_version),
+        parse_version_parts(&running_version),
+    ) {
+        if p < r {
+            return None;
+        }
+    }
+
     Some(pinned_version)
 }
 
+/// Numeric components of a version tag, for ordering comparisons only.
+///
+/// Accepts a leading `v` and a trailing pre-release suffix (`v0.18.4-beta`),
+/// comparing on the dotted numbers alone. Returns None when the tag is not a
+/// recognisable dotted-numeric version, which the caller treats as "cannot
+/// order these" rather than as equality.
+fn parse_version_parts(tag: &str) -> Option<Vec<u64>> {
+    let core = tag.strip_prefix('v').unwrap_or(tag);
+    // Drop a pre-release/build suffix: 0.18.4-beta -> 0.18.4
+    let core = core.split(['-', '+', '_']).next().unwrap_or(core);
+    if core.is_empty() {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let parts: Vec<&str> = core.split('.').collect();
+    let mut out = Vec::with_capacity(parts.len());
+    for part in parts {
+        // Any non-numeric component makes the whole tag unorderable.
+        out.push(part.parse::<u64>().ok()?);
+    }
+    Some(out)
+}
+
 /// Extract version tag from a full image reference.
 /// e.g. "source.archipelago-foundation.org/lfg2025/lnd:v0.18.4-beta" → "v0.18.4-beta"
 /// Returns "latest" if no tag or tag is empty.
@@ -417,4 +462,63 @@ NOT_AN_IMAGE="something"
         );
         assert_eq!(image_var_for_app("unknown-app"), None);
     }
+
+    /// The BTCPay case that prompted the guard: 2.4.2 shipped for an actively
+    /// exploited 2FA bypass, a stale 2.3.9 pin left in a legacy catalog entry,
+    /// and the UI offering the withdrawn release as an "update".
+    #[test]
+    fn never_advertises_a_downgrade_as_an_update() {
+        let stale = "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.3.9";
+        let running = "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.4.2";
+        assert_eq!(available_update_for_images(stale, running), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn still_advertises_a_genuine_upgrade() {
+        let pinned = "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.4.2";
+        let running = "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.3.9";
+        assert_eq!(
+            available_update_for_images(pinned, running),
+            Some("2.4.2".to_string())
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn equal_versions_offer_nothing() {
+        let same = "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.4.2";
+        assert_eq!(available_update_for_images(same, same), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn prerelease_suffixes_compare_on_their_numbers() {
+        let older = "example.test/lfg2025/lnd:v0.18.3-beta";
+        let newer = "example.test/lfg2025/lnd:v0.18.4-beta";
+        assert_eq!(available_update_for_images(older, newer), None);
+        assert_eq!(
+            available_update_for_images(newer, older),
+            Some("v0.18.4-beta".to_string())
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Opaque tags stay on the old behaviour: we cannot order them, so a
+    /// difference is still reported rather than silently swallowed.
+    #[test]
+    fn unorderable_tags_keep_previous_behaviour() {
+        let a = "example.test/lfg2025/minio:RELEASE.2024-11-07T00-52-20Z";
+        let b = "example.test/lfg2025/minio:RELEASE.2024-10-01T00-00-00Z";
+        assert_eq!(
+            available_update_for_images(a, b),
+            Some("RELEASE.2024-11-07T00-52-20Z".to_string())
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_version_parts_rejects_non_numeric() {
+        assert_eq!(parse_version_parts("2.4.2"), Some(vec![2, 4, 2]));
+        assert_eq!(parse_version_parts("v0.18.4-beta"), Some(vec![0, 18, 4]));
+        assert_eq!(parse_version_parts("28.4"), Some(vec![28, 4]));
+        assert_eq!(parse_version_parts("RELEASE.2024-11-07T00-52-20Z"), None);
+        assert_eq!(parse_version_parts("14-vectorchord0.4.3"), Some(vec![14]));
+        assert_eq!(parse_version_parts("latest"), None);
+    }
 }

neode-ui/public/catalog.json

@@ -52,13 +52,13 @@
     {
       "id": "btcpay-server",
       "title": "BTCPay Server",
-      "version": "2.3.9",
+      "version": "2.4.2",
       "description": "Self-hosted Bitcoin payment processor. Accept Bitcoin payments without intermediaries.",
       "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/btcpay-server.png",
       "author": "BTCPay Server Foundation",
       "category": "commerce",
       "tier": "core",
-      "dockerImage": "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.3.9",
+      "dockerImage": "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.4.2",
       "repoUrl": "https://github.com/btcpayserver/btcpayserver",
       "requires": [
         "bitcoin-knots"

neode-ui/src/views/discover/curatedApps.ts

@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ export function getCuratedAppList(): MarketplaceApp[] {
   return [
     { id: 'bitcoin-knots', title: 'Bitcoin Knots', version: '28.1.0', description: 'Run a full Bitcoin node. Validate and relay blocks and transactions on the Bitcoin network.', icon: '/assets/img/app-icons/bitcoin-knots.webp', author: 'Bitcoin Knots', dockerImage: `${R}/bitcoin-knots:latest`, repoUrl: 'https://github.com/bitcoinknots/bitcoin' },
     { id: 'bitcoin-core', title: 'Bitcoin Core', version: '28.4', description: 'Reference implementation of the Bitcoin protocol. Run a full node validating and relaying blocks on the Bitcoin network.', icon: '/assets/img/app-icons/bitcoin-core.svg', author: 'Bitcoin Core contributors', dockerImage: 'docker.io/bitcoin/bitcoin:28.4', repoUrl: 'https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin' },
-    { id: 'btcpay-server', title: 'BTCPay Server', version: '2.3.9', description: 'Self-hosted Bitcoin payment processor. Accept Bitcoin payments without intermediaries or fees.', icon: '/assets/img/app-icons/btcpay-server.png', author: 'BTCPay Server Foundation', dockerImage: 'docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.3.9', repoUrl: 'https://github.com/btcpayserver/btcpayserver' },
+    { id: 'btcpay-server', title: 'BTCPay Server', version: '2.4.2', description: 'Self-hosted Bitcoin payment processor. Accept Bitcoin payments without intermediaries or fees.', icon: '/assets/img/app-icons/btcpay-server.png', author: 'BTCPay Server Foundation', dockerImage: 'docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.4.2', repoUrl: 'https://github.com/btcpayserver/btcpayserver' },
     { id: 'lnd', title: 'LND', version: '0.18.4', description: 'Lightning Network Daemon. Fast and cheap Bitcoin payments through the Lightning Network.', icon: '/assets/img/app-icons/lnd.png', author: 'Lightning Labs', dockerImage: `${R}/lnd:v0.18.4-beta`, repoUrl: 'https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd' },
     { id: 'mempool', title: 'Mempool Explorer', version: '3.0.0', description: 'Self-hosted Bitcoin blockchain and mempool visualizer. Monitor transactions without revealing your addresses to third parties.', icon: '/assets/img/app-icons/mempool.webp', author: 'Mempool', dockerImage: `${R}/mempool-frontend:v3.0.0`, repoUrl: 'https://github.com/mempool/mempool' },
     { id: 'homeassistant', title: 'Home Assistant', version: '2024.1', description: 'Open-source home automation. Control smart home devices privately, on your own hardware.', icon: '/assets/img/app-icons/homeassistant.png', author: 'Home Assistant', dockerImage: `${R}/home-assistant:2024.1`, repoUrl: 'https://github.com/home-assistant/core' },

neode-ui/src/views/marketplace/marketplaceData.ts

@@ -155,11 +155,11 @@ export function getCuratedAppList(): MarketplaceApp[] {
     {
       id: 'btcpay-server',
       title: 'BTCPay Server',
-      version: '2.3.9',
+      version: '2.4.2',
       description: 'Self-hosted Bitcoin payment processor. Accept Bitcoin payments without intermediaries or fees.',
       icon: '/assets/img/app-icons/btcpay-server.png',
       author: 'BTCPay Server Foundation',
-      dockerImage: 'docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.3.9',
+      dockerImage: 'docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.4.2',
       manifestUrl: undefined,
       repoUrl: 'https://github.com/btcpayserver/btcpayserver'
     },

scripts/check-installer-image-pins.py

@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Fail when a hardcoded installer image tag disagrees with the app manifest.
+
+The legacy stack installers in core/archipelago/src/api/rpc/package/stacks.rs
+carry image references as string literals. Those literals are a second source of
+truth for a version, sitting behind the manifest and the signed catalog, and
+nothing keeps them in step.
+
+That is not cosmetic. BTCPay shipped 2.4.2 for an actively exploited 2FA bypass
+on 2026-08-07 while the legacy installer still named 2.3.9, so the fallback
+install path would have deployed the withdrawn release. The same shape applies
+to any app whose installer literal is left behind.
+
+The rule enforced here: if an installer literal names the same image repository
+as an app manifest, the tags must match. Repositories with no manifest are
+ignored, and so are floating tags, which carry no version claim.
+
+Usage:
+  scripts/check-installer-image-pins.py
+  scripts/check-installer-image-pins.py --show
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import re
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import yaml
+
+# Files that pin images as literals on an install path. Test modules inside them
+# are stripped before scanning: fixtures deliberately name old versions.
+INSTALLER_SOURCES = [
+    "core/archipelago/src/api/rpc/package/stacks.rs",
+]
+
+FLOATING_TAGS = {"latest", "stable", "release", "main", "edge"}
+
+IMAGE_RE = re.compile(r'"([a-z0-9][a-z0-9._-]*(?:\.[a-z]+|:[0-9]+)?/[a-z0-9._/-]+:[A-Za-z0-9._-]+)"')
+
+
+def strip_test_modules(text: str) -> str:
+    """Remove #[cfg(test)] modules so fixture literals are not treated as pins."""
+    marker = "#[cfg(test)]"
+    idx = text.find(marker)
+    return text if idx == -1 else text[:idx]
+
+
+def repo_of(image: str) -> str:
+    """Image repository without registry host or tag."""
+    without_tag = image.rsplit(":", 1)[0] if ":" in image.rsplit("/", 1)[-1] else image
+    head, _, rest = without_tag.partition("/")
+    if "." in head or ":" in head or head == "localhost":
+        return rest
+    return without_tag
+
+
+def tag_of(image: str) -> str:
+    last = image.rsplit("/", 1)[-1]
+    return last.rsplit(":", 1)[1] if ":" in last else "latest"
+
+
+def manifest_images(repo_root: Path) -> dict[str, tuple[str, str]]:
+    """{image repo: (tag, manifest path)} across apps/*/manifest.yml."""
+    out: dict[str, tuple[str, str]] = {}
+    for path in sorted((repo_root / "apps").glob("*/manifest.yml")):
+        try:
+            data = yaml.safe_load(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+        except Exception:
+            continue
+        app = (data or {}).get("app")
+        if not isinstance(app, dict):
+            continue
+        image = (app.get("container") or {}).get("image")
+        if isinstance(image, str) and image:
+            out[repo_of(image)] = (tag_of(image), str(path.relative_to(repo_root)))
+    return out
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__,
+                                     formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter)
+    parser.add_argument("--repo", default=".")
+    parser.add_argument("--show", action="store_true")
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    repo_root = Path(args.repo)
+    manifests = manifest_images(repo_root)
+    problems: list[str] = []
+    checked = 0
+
+    for rel in INSTALLER_SOURCES:
+        path = repo_root / rel
+        if not path.exists():
+            continue
+        text = strip_test_modules(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+        for line_no, line in enumerate(text.splitlines(), start=1):
+            for image in IMAGE_RE.findall(line):
+                repo = repo_of(image)
+                if repo not in manifests:
+                    continue
+                tag = tag_of(image)
+                manifest_tag, manifest_path = manifests[repo]
+                checked += 1
+                if args.show:
+                    print(f"  {rel}:{line_no}  {repo}:{tag}  (manifest {manifest_tag})")
+                if tag in FLOATING_TAGS or manifest_tag in FLOATING_TAGS:
+                    continue
+                if tag != manifest_tag:
+                    problems.append(
+                        f"{rel}:{line_no}\n"
+                        f"    installer pins {repo}:{tag}\n"
+                        f"    manifest wants {repo}:{manifest_tag}  ({manifest_path})"
+                    )
+
+    if problems:
+        print("")
+        print("Installer image pins disagree with their app manifests:")
+        for problem in problems:
+            print(f"\n  {problem}")
+        print("")
+        print("An installer literal left behind deploys the older image on the")
+        print("fallback install path — which is how a withdrawn, vulnerable")
+        print("release gets installed after it has supposedly been replaced.")
+        print("Update the literal to match the manifest.")
+        return 1
+
+    print(f"OK: {checked} installer image pin(s) agree with their app manifests.")
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())

scripts/image-versions.sh

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ MEMPOOL_WEB_IMAGE="$ARCHY_REGISTRY/mempool-frontend:v3.0.1"
 MARIADB_IMAGE="$ARCHY_REGISTRY/mariadb:11.4.10"
 
 # BTCPay
-BTCPAY_IMAGE="docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.3.9"
+BTCPAY_IMAGE="docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.4.2"
 NBXPLORER_IMAGE="$ARCHY_REGISTRY/nbxplorer:2.6.0"
 POSTGRES_IMAGE="$ARCHY_REGISTRY/postgres:15.17"
 BTCPAY_POSTGRES_IMAGE="$ARCHY_REGISTRY/postgres:15.17"

tests/lifecycle/remote-lifecycle.sh

@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ image_for() {
   case "$1" in
     bitcoin-knots) echo "source.archipelago-foundation.org/lfg2025/bitcoin-knots:latest" ;;
     bitcoin-core) echo "docker.io/bitcoin/bitcoin:28.4" ;;
-    btcpay-server) echo "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.3.9" ;;
+    btcpay-server) echo "docker.io/btcpayserver/btcpayserver:2.4.2" ;;
     lnd) echo "source.archipelago-foundation.org/lfg2025/lnd:v0.18.4-beta" ;;
     mempool) echo "source.archipelago-foundation.org/lfg2025/mempool-frontend:v3.0.0" ;;
     homeassistant) echo "source.archipelago-foundation.org/lfg2025/home-assistant:2024.1" ;;