VNC password authentication

[xingyaoww]

Currently, the VNC server we setup in openhands/agent_server/docker/Dockerfile is not authenticated. Similar to /vscode endpoint in agent_server, we should figure a way to authenticate the VNC server, ideally with some URL-based authentication.

[xingyaoww]

@OpenHands can you look at the Dockerfile and see how we can add it back?

[openhands-ai]

I'm on it! xingyaoww can track my progress at all-hands.dev

[openhands-ai]

Summary

I've successfully implemented VNC token-based authentication to address issue #972. Here's what was accomplished:

✅ Requirements Completed

1. Token-Based Authentication Implementation

• Added connection_token attribute to DesktopService class
• Token can be provided via session_api_keys or auto-generated (64-char hex)
• Token stored in ~/.vnc/websockify-tokens.conf with secure permissions (0o600)

2. WebSocket Authentication with TokenFile Plugin

• Updated noVNC proxy to use websockify's TokenFile plugin for authentication
• Token format: <token>: 127.0.0.1:5901\n (space after colon required by websockify)
• Only clients with valid tokens can access VNC through the websockify proxy

3. URL-Based Authentication (Similar to VSCode)

• Modified get_vnc_url() to include token in URL parameters
• URL format: <base>/vnc.html?path=<host>/websockify&token=<token>&autoconnect=1&resize=remote
• Follows the same pattern as VSCode's connection token approach

4. Integration with Config

• Updated get_desktop_service() to use session_api_keys[0] as token when available
• Maintains consistency with VSCode authentication pattern

5. Comprehensive Testing

• Added 7 new tests covering token initialization, generation, file creation, and URL generation
• All 33 tests passing with 0 failures
• Pre-commit hooks all passing (format, lint, type check)

📝 Security Improvements

• Token authentication: Only authenticated clients can access VNC
• Localhost binding: VNC server still listens only on 127.0.0.1 for additional security
• Secure file permissions: Token file created with mode 0o600 (owner read/write only)
• Token rotation: New tokens generated per session when not explicitly provided

🔗 Pull Request

Created draft PR #1160: #1160

The PR is ready for review and successfully addresses the security vulnerability identified in issue #972 by implementing URL-based token authentication similar to the VSCode endpoint.

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