3 files changed, 76 insertions, 1 deletions
diff --git a/internal/config/bind.go b/internal/config/bind.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f117385
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/config/bind.go
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+package config
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"net"
+)
+
+// ValidateBindAddr enforces loopback-by-default binding. It returns an error
+// when addr resolves to a non-loopback interface and externalAllowed is false,
+// so the server fails loud rather than silently exposing itself. Loopback
+// addresses (127.0.0.1, ::1, localhost) always pass.
+func ValidateBindAddr(addr string, externalAllowed bool) error {
+	host, _, err := net.SplitHostPort(addr)
+	if err != nil {
+		// No port (or malformed): treat the whole string as the host.
+		host = addr
+	}
+	if isLoopbackHost(host) {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if externalAllowed {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return fmt.Errorf(
+		"refusing to bind non-loopback address %q: set external_bind_allowed = true to override, "+
+			"but prefer fronting external access with a reverse proxy (Tailscale / Cloudflare Access / Caddy)",
+		addr,
+	)
+}
+
+// isLoopbackHost reports whether host is a loopback target. An empty host
+// (e.g. ":8484") or 0.0.0.0/:: binds all interfaces and is NOT loopback.
+func isLoopbackHost(host string) bool {
+	switch host {
+	case "localhost":
+		return true
+	case "":
+		return false
+	}
+	if ip := net.ParseIP(host); ip != nil {
+		return ip.IsLoopback()
+	}
+	return false
+}
diff --git a/internal/config/bind_test.go b/internal/config/bind_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e0ab4b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/config/bind_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+package config
+
+import "testing"
+
+func TestValidateBindAddr(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		addr     string
+		external bool
+		wantErr  bool
+	}{
+		{"127.0.0.1:8484", false, false}, // loopback ok
+		{"localhost:8484", false, false}, // loopback ok
+		{"[::1]:8484", false, false},     // ipv6 loopback ok
+		{":8484", false, true},           // all interfaces, not allowed
+		{"0.0.0.0:8484", false, true},    // all interfaces, not allowed
+		{"192.168.1.10:8484", false, true}, // LAN ip, not allowed
+		{":8484", true, false},           // all interfaces, explicitly allowed
+		{"0.0.0.0:8484", true, false},    // explicitly allowed
+		{"192.168.1.10:8484", true, false}, // explicitly allowed
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		err := ValidateBindAddr(c.addr, c.external)
+		if (err != nil) != c.wantErr {
+			t.Errorf("ValidateBindAddr(%q, external=%v): err=%v, wantErr=%v", c.addr, c.external, err, c.wantErr)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 58de95c..6f6b958 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -70,6 +70,10 @@ type Config struct {
 	ClaudeConfigDir  string        `toml:"claude_config_dir"`
 	LocalModel       LocalModel    `toml:"local_model"`
 	Budget           BudgetConfig  `toml:"budget"`
+	// ExternalBindAllowed must be explicitly true to bind a non-loopback address.
+	// Default external access should go through a reverse proxy (Tailscale /
+	// Cloudflare Access / Caddy); binding the server directly is a footgun.
+	ExternalBindAllowed bool `toml:"external_bind_allowed"`
 }
 
 // BudgetConfig configures rolling per-provider spend caps. With no providers
@@ -103,7 +107,7 @@ func Default() (*Config, error) {
 		GeminiImage:      "claudomator-agent:latest",
 		MaxConcurrent:    3,
 		DefaultTimeout:   "15m",
-		ServerAddr:       ":8484",
+		ServerAddr:       "127.0.0.1:8484",
 		WorkspaceRoot:    "/workspace",
 		ClaudeConfigDir:  "/workspace/claudomator/credentials/claude",
 	}, nil