Fix: avoid mutating device.name in _get_common_name

[k-sumayya]

Fix: Avoid in-place mutation of device.name in _get_common_name

This PR fixes an issue where _get_common_name was mutating device.name directly, causing unintended side effects due to Django ORM caching.

Changes:

• Removed in-place mutation of device.name
• Introduced a local variable name to safely handle truncation
• Ensured formatting uses the derived value instead of modifying the original object

Result:

• Prevents silent data corruption
• Keeps original device.name unchanged
• Aligns with expected behavior

Closes #1296

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ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Organization UI

Review profile: ASSERTIVE

Plan: Pro

Run ID: ddf01a15-911b-4423-a627-9e950731e296

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between e0ee749 and 715c852.

📒 Files selected for processing (2)

• openwisp_controller/config/base/vpn.py
• openwisp_controller/config/tests/test_vpn.py

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

AbstractVpnClient._get_common_name() now truncates the device name locally, uses it for common-name formatting, and leaves d.name unchanged. The long-name test verifies this non-mutating behavior.

Estimated code review effort: 2 (Simple) | ~10 minutes

Possibly related issues

• [bug] _get_common_name() mutates device name in memory during certificate creation #1284 — Addresses the same in-place device.name mutation in _get_common_name().

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	Title clearly identifies the fix and matches the issue's core problem - preventing mutation of device.name in _get_common_name.
Description check	✅ Passed	Description covers the problem, changes made, and results, though it lacks a screenshot section which is non-critical.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Changes fully satisfy issue #1296 requirements: removed in-place mutation, introduced local variable for truncation, preserved original device.name, and prevent side effects.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	All changes are directly related to fixing the device.name mutation issue in _get_common_name() and corresponding test updates, with no out-of-scope modifications.
Bug Fixes	✅ Passed	_get_common_name truncates into local name and formats CN without writing back to d.name; test_auto_create_cert_with_long_device_name asserts d.name unchanged and CN base (excluding random suffix...

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✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests

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[openwisp-companion]

Commit Message Format Failure

Hello @k-sumayya,
(Analysis for commit c392985)

The CI failed because the commit message does not follow the required format. Please ensure your commit messages adhere to the following structure:

• Header: [prefix] Capitalized title or [prefix] Capitalized title #<issue>
• Body: A blank line after the header, followed by a detailed description.
• Footer: A closing keyword and issue number (e.g., Fixes #<issue>).

Here is an example of a correctly formatted commit message:

[fix] Update user authentication logic #123

This commit addresses an issue where users were unable to log in due to an incorrect password hashing algorithm. The hashing algorithm has been updated to bcrypt, and all existing user passwords have been rehashed.

Fixes #123

[coveralls]

coverage: 98.685% (+0.03%) from 98.658%
when pulling 46acb5f on k-sumayya:fix-common-name-bug
into 45b24b6 on openwisp:master.

[k-sumayya]

Thank you for the review! Please let me know if anything else is needed from my side.

[nemesifier]

Good catch @k-sumayya, this is a correct and worthwhile fix. The old code did d.name = d.name[:end], mutating the in-memory device instance as a side effect of generating a VPN common name. Because that object can be reused and potentially saved later in the same request, this could silently truncate and persist the device's actual name. Switching to a local name variable removes the side effect while keeping identical output.

One thing before merge:

• Please add a regression test asserting that after _get_common_name() runs, device.name is unchanged (and that the generated common name is still correct, including the {mac_address}-{name} collapse-to-{mac_address} branch). This is exactly the kind of side-effect bug that silently comes back without a test pinning it.

Correct fix, just add the test and it is ready.

[openwisp-companion]

Hi @k-sumayya 👋,

This is a friendly reminder that this pull request has had no activity for 8 days since changes were requested.

We'd love to see this contribution merged! Please take a moment to:

• Address the review feedback
• Push your changes
• Let us know if you have any questions or need clarification

If you're busy or need more time, no worries! Just leave a comment to let us know you're still working on it.

Note: within 6 more days, the linked issue will be unassigned to allow other contributors to work on it.

Thank you for your contribution! 🙏

[openwisp-companion]

Hi @k-sumayya 👋,

This pull request has been marked as stale due to 14 days of inactivity after changes were requested.

As a result, any linked issues are being unassigned from you so other contributors can pick them up.

However, you can still continue working on this PR! If you push new commits or respond to the review feedback:

• The issue will be reassigned to you
• Your contribution is still very welcome

If you need more time or have questions about the requested changes, please let us know. We're happy to help! 🤝

[openwisp-companion]

Dependency Conflict During Package Installation

Hello @k-sumayya,
(Analysis for commit 520e8a0)

There is a dependency conflict between openwisp-controller and openwisp-ipam packages during the installation process.

Failure:

The CI failed because openwisp-controller==1.3a0 depends on django-reversion~=6.0.0, while openwisp-ipam==1.3a0 depends on django-reversion~=6.2.0. Pip cannot resolve these conflicting version requirements.

To Fix:

Update the version specifier for django-reversion in the requirements-test.txt file to a compatible version that satisfies both dependencies. For example, you could try django-reversion~=6.2.0 or a more relaxed range if appropriate.

[openwisp-companion]

The CI is failing due to transient infrastructure issues (not related to your code). I have restarted the failed jobs automatically (1/3).

[openwisp-companion]

The CI is failing due to transient infrastructure issues (not related to your code). I have restarted the failed jobs automatically (2/3).

[openwisp-companion]

The CI is failing due to transient infrastructure issues (not related to your code). I have restarted the failed jobs automatically (3/3).

[openwisp-companion]

Test Failures in Selenium Tests

Hello @k-sumayya,
(Analysis for commit 715c852)

The CI build failed due to a test error in TestDevice.test_restoring_deleted_device.

Failure:
A TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not iterable occurred in the test test_restoring_deleted_device within the TestDevice class. This indicates that a function expected to return an iterable (like a list or tuple) returned None instead.

Location:
The error originates from the line for error in self.get_browser_logs(): in the test file openwisp_controller/tests/test_selenium.py. This suggests that self.get_browser_logs() returned None.

Fix:
The get_browser_logs method in the TestDevice class likely needs to be reviewed to ensure it always returns an iterable, even if there are no logs. It's possible that in certain test conditions, it's returning None when it should return an empty list.

Additionally, several other Selenium tests are reported as slow, which is a separate issue that might need attention after the primary failure is resolved.

[k-sumayya]

Added the requested regression test to ensure device.name remains unchanged after _get_common_name() runs. The remaining CI failure appears to be in the unrelated Selenium test TestDevice.test_restoring_deleted_device

[openwisp-companion]

Thanks for following up, @k-sumayya! 🙌 The stale status has been removed and the linked issue(s) have been reassigned to you. Looking forward to your updates!

[CodingWithSaksham]

Hi @k-sumayya, nice work on the PR! Its minimal and solves the issue correctly, could you please update the branch to the latest commit?

[CodingWithSaksham]

@coderabbitai summary

[coderabbitai]

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