From c6d4311e0a0472473971c06b386966883bb905bb Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Alex Gleason <alex@alexgleason.me>
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:53:43 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] fix(nip98): reject tokens whose created_at is in the future

validateEventTimestamp() computed `now - created_at < 60`, which is
satisfied by any timestamp ahead of now, since the difference goes
negative. A token signed with a `created_at` far in the future therefore
validates indefinitely, and the 60 second window -- the only replay
defense NIP-98 has, as there is no nonce or seen-token cache -- never
closes for it.

Compare the absolute difference instead, so the window is 60 seconds on
both sides.
---
 nip98.test.ts | 21 +++++++++++++++++++++
 nip98.ts      |  6 ++++--
 2 files changed, 25 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/nip98.test.ts b/nip98.test.ts
index 7018e95..3c2027d 100644
--- a/nip98.test.ts
+++ b/nip98.test.ts
@@ -136,6 +136,17 @@ describe('validateToken', () => {
     expect(isTokenValid).rejects.toThrow(Error)
   })
 
+  test('throws an error for an event timestamp in the future', async () => {
+    const sk = generateSecretKey()
+    const invalidToken = await getToken('http://test.com', 'get', e => {
+      e.created_at = Math.round(Date.now() / 1000) + 3600
+      return finalizeEvent(e, sk)
+    })
+    const isTokenValid = validateToken(invalidToken, 'http://test.com', 'get')
+
+    expect(isTokenValid).rejects.toThrow(Error)
+  })
+
   test('throws an error for invalid url', async () => {
     const sk = generateSecretKey()
     const token = await getToken('http://test.com', 'get', e => finalizeEvent(e, sk))
@@ -239,6 +250,16 @@ describe('validateEventTimestamp', () => {
 
     expect(isEventTimestampValid).toBe(false)
   })
+
+  test('returns false for a timestamp in the future', async () => {
+    const sk = generateSecretKey()
+    const token = await getToken('http://test.com', 'get', e => finalizeEvent(e, sk), true)
+    const unpackedEvent: Event = await unpackEventFromToken(token)
+    unpackedEvent.created_at = Math.round(Date.now() / 1000) + 3600
+    const isEventTimestampValid = validateEventTimestamp(unpackedEvent)
+
+    expect(isEventTimestampValid).toBe(false)
+  })
 })
 
 describe('validateEventKind', () => {
diff --git a/nip98.ts b/nip98.ts
index 55baafa..22af04a 100644
--- a/nip98.ts
+++ b/nip98.ts
@@ -87,14 +87,16 @@ export async function unpackEventFromToken(token: string): Promise<Event> {
 /**
  * Validates the timestamp of an event.
  * @param event - The event object to validate.
- * @returns A boolean indicating whether the event timestamp is within the last 60 seconds.
+ * @returns A boolean indicating whether the event timestamp is within 60 seconds of now.
  */
 export function validateEventTimestamp(event: Event): boolean {
   if (!event.created_at) {
     return false
   }
 
-  return Math.round(new Date().getTime() / 1000) - event.created_at < 60
+  // the comparison has to be absolute: a `created_at` in the future produces a
+  // negative difference, which would otherwise satisfy the check forever.
+  return Math.abs(Math.round(new Date().getTime() / 1000) - event.created_at) < 60
 }
 
 /**