kadence/desktop/kadence_desktop/blocking/resolver.py

"""Website blocking at DNS level, for the patterns a hosts file cannot express.

`/etc/hosts` can only answer with a fixed list of hostnames, so a mask like
`*.youtube.com` — *every* subdomain — cannot be written into it. The server
expands the labels the user listed and hands the rest over in the policy's
`unexpandable` field; this module is what makes those patterns real here:

* [StubResolver] is a small DNS server bound to `127.0.0.1` on a high port. It
  needs no privileges, it is only reachable from this machine, and it is not a
  resolver of its own: anything it does not block is forwarded verbatim to the
  machine's real upstreams, in parallel, and the first answer is passed back.
  The forwarding matters — an allow-listed subdomain of a blocked zone
  (`music.youtube.com` under `*.youtube.com`) has to keep resolving.
* [ResolvedRoute] tells `systemd-resolved` to send the affected zones here, via
  a drop-in file the privileged helper writes. `systemd-resolved` routes a name
  to the *most specific* matching route-only domain, so a `~youtube.com` route
  beats a VPN's catch-all `~.` for that zone — and because the route is the
  whole scope, those queries go to this stub and nowhere else.

Two invariants keep this from taking the machine's DNS down, and both are the
reason `BlockerManager` starts and stops this pair in a fixed order:

* the stub is listening *before* the drop-in that points zones at it exists;
* the drop-in is gone *before* the stub stops.

A crash between those steps leaves zones pointing at a dead port until the app
runs again — the honest failure mode, and the reason the stub is started at
startup whenever a drop-in is found lying around.
"""

from __future__ import annotations

import concurrent.futures
import contextlib
import fnmatch
import ipaddress
import logging
import os
import re
import shutil
import socket
import struct
import subprocess
import threading
import time
from dataclasses import dataclass, field

log = logging.getLogger(__name__)

# The stub binds the first of these ports that is free. 5353 is not just some
# high port: it is mDNS's, hence "the obvious one" — but it can be taken, so the
# fallbacks are tried in turn and the *actual* port is what gets routed.
STUB_ADDRESS = "127.0.0.1"
STUB_PORTS = (5353, 5453, 5553, 5354)

# systemd-resolved's own listener, and the extra one it may listen on. Sending a
# query there would come straight back to this stub (resolved asks us, we ask
# resolved, …), so they are never used as upstreams.
RESOLVED_LISTENERS = {"127.0.0.53", "127.0.0.54"}

# The file listing the uplink DNS servers resolved actually uses. In stub mode
# (the normal one) it holds the real upstreams, not 127.0.0.53.
UPSTREAM_PATH = "/run/systemd/resolve/resolv.conf"

DROPIN_PATH = "/etc/systemd/resolved.conf.d/kadence.conf"

# Short on purpose: an answer must not outlive the interval that produced it by
# much, or a site stays unreachable from a cache after the block lifts.
ANSWER_TTL = 60

TYPE_A, TYPE_AAAA, CLASS_IN = 1, 28, 1
ROOT_TIMEOUT = 2.5


# ==========================================================================
# Which patterns *can* be routed at DNS level
# ==========================================================================


def _zone_of(pattern: str) -> str | None:
    """The zone a mask anchors on, or None when no zone can be routed for it.

    `*.youtube.com` anchors on `youtube.com`: every name under it matches the
    mask, so the whole zone can be sent to the stub. `*gram.com` anchors on
    `gram.com` the same way — the suffix is literal, only the front is not.
    `*gram*` has nothing after the last `*` — no anchor, no route, and it is
    reported as unenforceable rather than silently ignored. A zone of a single
    label (`*.site`) is refused too: routing a whole top-level domain is not what
    the user meant.
    """
    zone = pattern.rsplit("*", 1)[-1].strip(".").lower()
    return zone if len(zone.split(".")) >= 2 else None


def split_routable(patterns: list[str]) -> tuple[list[str], list[str], list[str]]:
    """Sort `unexpandable` masks into (routable, unroutable, zones to route).

    The three lists answer three different questions: what the stub answers,
    what no machine can answer (the phone's URL matcher still can), and what
    goes into the resolved drop-in.
    """
    routable: list[str] = []
    unroutable: list[str] = []
    zones: list[str] = []
    for pattern in patterns:
        zone = _zone_of(pattern)
        if zone is None:
            unroutable.append(pattern)
            continue
        routable.append(pattern)
        if zone not in zones:
            zones.append(zone)
    return routable, unroutable, zones


def _matches(name: str, patterns: list[str]) -> bool:
    return any(fnmatch.fnmatchcase(name, pattern) for pattern in patterns)


def _allowed(name: str, entries: list[str]) -> bool:
    """Whether an exception covers this name.

    Not [_matches]: a plain exception covers its subdomains, the same way a plain
    block-list entry does. Parity with `blocker_service.is_allowed` and `:core`'s
    `isAllowed` — the stub is the third place that decides this, and an exception
    that works in the browser but not at the resolver is worse than neither.
    """
    for entry in entries:
        if any(char in entry for char in "*?["):
            if fnmatch.fnmatchcase(name, entry):
                return True
        elif name == entry or name.endswith(f".{entry}"):
            return True
    return False


# ==========================================================================
# The DNS wire format, as little of it as a blocker needs
# ==========================================================================

_HEADER = struct.Struct("!HHHHHH")
_FLAG_QR, _FLAG_RD, _FLAG_RA = 0x8000, 0x0100, 0x0080
_RCODE_SERVFAIL = 2


@dataclass(frozen=True)
class Question:
    qid: int
    flags: int
    name: str
    qtype: int
    qclass: int
    end: int  # offset just past the question section


def _read_name(packet: bytes, offset: int) -> tuple[str, int] | None:
    """Read a possibly-compressed domain name; `(lowercased name, next offset)`.

    Compression pointers are followed with a small hop budget, because a query
    is attacker-controlled data like any other packet on a socket.
    """
    labels: list[str] = []
    end = offset
    jumped = False
    hops = 0
    while True:
        if offset >= len(packet):
            return None
        length = packet[offset]
        if length == 0:
            offset += 1
            if not jumped:
                end = offset
            return ".".join(labels).lower(), end
        if length & 0xC0 == 0xC0:
            if offset + 1 >= len(packet):
                return None
            if not jumped:
                end = offset + 2
            offset = ((length & 0x3F) << 8) | packet[offset + 1]
            jumped = True
            hops += 1
            if hops > 10:
                return None
            continue
        if length & 0xC0:
            return None
        offset += 1
        labels.append(packet[offset : offset + length].decode("ascii", errors="replace"))
        offset += length
        if not jumped:
            end = offset


def parse_question(packet: bytes) -> Question | None:
    """The single question of a standard query, or None for anything else."""
    if len(packet) < _HEADER.size:
        return None
    qid, flags, qdcount, _, _, _ = _HEADER.unpack_from(packet)
    if flags & _FLAG_QR or qdcount != 1 or flags & 0x7800:  # a reply, or not a query
        return None
    read = _read_name(packet, _HEADER.size)
    if read is None:
        return None
    name, end = read
    if end + 4 > len(packet):
        return None
    qtype, qclass = struct.unpack_from("!HH", packet, end)
    return Question(qid, flags, name, qtype, qclass, end + 4)


def _build_response(
    request: bytes,
    question: Question,
    *,
    rdata: bytes | None = None,
    record_type: int = TYPE_A,
    rcode: int = 0,
) -> bytes:
    """Answer `question`: one record when `rdata` is given, NODATA otherwise."""
    flags = _FLAG_QR | (question.flags & _FLAG_RD) | _FLAG_RA | rcode
    answers = 1 if rdata is not None else 0
    header = _HEADER.pack(question.qid, flags, 1, answers, 0, 0)
    body = request[_HEADER.size : question.end]
    if rdata is None:
        return header + body
    answer = b"\xc0\x0c" + struct.pack("!HHIH", record_type, CLASS_IN, ANSWER_TTL, len(rdata)) + rdata
    return header + body + answer


# ==========================================================================
# The stub itself
# ==========================================================================


@dataclass(frozen=True)
class _Rules:
    """What the stub is currently doing. Swapped whole, under the GIL."""

    active: bool = False
    patterns: tuple[str, ...] = ()
    allow: tuple[str, ...] = ()
    redirect: ipaddress.IPv4Address | ipaddress.IPv6Address | None = None

    def blocks(self, name: str) -> bool:
        return (
            self.active
            and bool(self.patterns)
            and not _allowed(name, list(self.allow))
            and _matches(name, list(self.patterns))
        )


class StubResolver:
    """The local DNS server the routed zones are pointed at.

    Deliberately small: it answers the address queries for names it blocks and
    forwards everything else, including the whole allow list. It has no cache of
    its own — caching here would mean answers that outlive the interval — so the
    upstreams and `systemd-resolved` stay the source of truth.
    """

    def __init__(
        self,
        *,
        address: str = STUB_ADDRESS,
        ports: tuple[int, ...] = STUB_PORTS,
        upstream_path: str = UPSTREAM_PATH,
        timeout: float = ROOT_TIMEOUT,
    ) -> None:
        self.address = address
        self.ports = ports
        self.upstream_path = upstream_path
        self.timeout = timeout

        self._rules = _Rules()
        self._lock = threading.Lock()
        self._running = False
        self._port: int | None = None
        self._error: str | None = None
        self._udp: socket.socket | None = None
        self._tcp: socket.socket | None = None
        self._threads: list[threading.Thread] = []
        self._handlers: concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor | None = None
        self._forwards: concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor | None = None
        self._upstream_cache: tuple[float, list[tuple[str, int]]] | None = None

    # ---- lifecycle ---------------------------------------------------------

    @property
    def running(self) -> bool:
        return self._running

    @property
    def port(self) -> int | None:
        """The port actually bound — what the drop-in has to name."""
        return self._port

    @property
    def error(self) -> str | None:
        return self._error

    def start(self) -> bool:
        """Bind the first free port. True when the stub is listening."""
        if self._running:
            return True
        for port in self.ports:
            bound = self._bind(port)
            if bound is not None:
                return True
        self._error = (
            f"the local DNS stub could not bind {self.address} on any of "
            f"{', '.join(str(p) for p in self.ports)} ({self._error})"
        )
        log.warning(self._error)
        return False

    def _bind(self, port: int) -> socket.socket | None:
        udp = tcp = None
        try:
            # TCP first: with port 0 it picks a free port, and UDP then takes the
            # same one — the two protocols have separate namespaces, so this is
            # how both end up on one number even when the kernel chooses.
            tcp = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
            tcp.setsockopt(socket.SOL_SOCKET, socket.SO_REUSEADDR, 1)
            tcp.bind((self.address, port))
            tcp.listen(16)
            bound = tcp.getsockname()[1]
            udp = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
            udp.setsockopt(socket.SOL_SOCKET, socket.SO_REUSEADDR, 1)
            udp.bind((self.address, bound))
            # A timeout on the blocking calls below, so `stop()` can actually
            # interrupt them: closing a socket from another thread does not wake
            # a recvfrom() that is already parked on it.
            udp.settimeout(0.5)
            tcp.settimeout(0.5)
        except OSError as exc:
            self._error = f"{self.address}:{port}: {exc}"
            for sock in (udp, tcp):
                if sock is not None:
                    sock.close()
            return None

        self._udp, self._tcp = udp, tcp
        self._port = udp.getsockname()[1]
        self._handlers = concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=8, thread_name_prefix="kadence-dns")
        self._forwards = concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=8, thread_name_prefix="kadence-fwd")
        self._running = True
        self._error = None
        self._threads = [
            threading.Thread(target=self._serve_udp, name="kadence-dns-udp", daemon=True),
            threading.Thread(target=self._serve_tcp, name="kadence-dns-tcp", daemon=True),
        ]
        for thread in self._threads:
            thread.start()
        log.info("DNS stub listening on %s:%s", self.address, self._port)
        return udp

    def stop(self) -> None:
        """Stop answering and give the port back. Only safe once unrouted."""
        if not self._running:
            return
        self._running = False
        for sock in (self._udp, self._tcp):
            if sock is None:
                continue
            with contextlib.suppress(OSError):
                sock.close()  # the blocking recv/accept raises, ending the loop
        for thread in self._threads:
            thread.join(timeout=1)
        for pool in (self._handlers, self._forwards):
            if pool is not None:
                pool.shutdown(wait=False)
        self._handlers = self._forwards = None
        self._udp = self._tcp = None
        self._threads = []
        self._port = None
        log.info("DNS stub stopped")

    def set_rules(
        self,
        patterns: list[str],
        allow: list[str],
        redirect_ip: str,
        *,
        active: bool,
    ) -> None:
        """What to block until told otherwise. Never touches the sockets."""
        try:
            redirect = ipaddress.ip_address(redirect_ip)
        except ValueError:
            log.warning("redirect_ip %r is not an IP address; falling back to 127.0.0.1", redirect_ip)
            redirect = ipaddress.ip_address("127.0.0.1")
        rules = _Rules(
            active=bool(active),
            patterns=tuple(p.strip().lower() for p in patterns if p.strip()),
            allow=tuple(a.strip().lower() for a in allow if a.strip()),
            redirect=redirect,
        )
        with self._lock:
            self._rules = rules

    # ---- serving -----------------------------------------------------------

    def _serve_udp(self) -> None:
        while self._running and self._udp is not None:
            try:
                data, address = self._udp.recvfrom(4096)
            except TimeoutError:
                continue
            except OSError:
                break
            handlers = self._handlers
            if handlers is None:
                break
            try:
                handlers.submit(self._answer_udp, data, address)
            except RuntimeError:
                break

    def _answer_udp(self, data: bytes, address: tuple[str, int]) -> None:
        try:
            response = self._resolve(data, tcp=False)
            if response and self._udp is not None:
                self._udp.sendto(response, address)
        except OSError:
            pass

    def _serve_tcp(self) -> None:
        while self._running and self._tcp is not None:
            try:
                connection, _ = self._tcp.accept()
            except TimeoutError:
                continue
            except OSError:
                break
            handlers = self._handlers
            if handlers is None:
                break
            try:
                handlers.submit(self._answer_tcp, connection)
            except RuntimeError:
                break

    def _answer_tcp(self, connection: socket.socket) -> None:
        try:
            with connection:
                connection.settimeout(5)
                header = _recv_exact(connection, 2)
                if header is None:
                    return
                (length,) = struct.unpack("!H", header)
                data = _recv_exact(connection, length)
                if data is None:
                    return
                response = self._resolve(data, tcp=True)
                if response is None:
                    response = _servfail(data)
                connection.sendall(struct.pack("!H", len(response)) + response)
        except OSError:
            pass

    def _resolve(self, data: bytes, *, tcp: bool) -> bytes | None:
        question = parse_question(data)
        if question is not None and question.qclass == CLASS_IN:
            rules = self._rules
            if rules.blocks(question.name):
                return self._blocked_answer(data, question, rules)
        return self._forward(data, tcp=tcp)

    def _blocked_answer(self, data: bytes, question: Question, rules: _Rules) -> bytes:
        """Redirect the address family we have an address for, drop the rest.

        Dropping the others is the point: an HTTPS/SVCB record carries address
        hints, and answering those would hand the browser a real address to
        connect to without ever asking the A record.
        """
        redirect = rules.redirect
        if question.qtype == TYPE_A and redirect is not None and redirect.version == 4:
            return _build_response(data, question, rdata=redirect.packed, record_type=TYPE_A)
        if question.qtype == TYPE_AAAA and redirect is not None and redirect.version == 6:
            return _build_response(data, question, rdata=redirect.packed, record_type=TYPE_AAAA)
        return _build_response(data, question)

    # ---- forwarding --------------------------------------------------------

    def _upstreams(self) -> list[tuple[str, int]]:
        """The machine's real DNS servers, read from resolved's uplink file.

        Cached until the file changes: resolved rewrites it whenever the network
        does, and this is on the path of every query.
        """
        try:
            stat = os.stat(self.upstream_path)
            stamp = stat.st_mtime
        except OSError:
            stamp = 0.0
        cached = self._upstream_cache
        if cached is not None and cached[0] == stamp and stamp != 0.0:
            return cached[1]

        servers = _parse_resolv_conf(self.upstream_path)
        if not servers:
            servers = _parse_resolv_conf("/etc/resolv.conf")
        servers = [
            server
            for server in servers
            if server[0] not in RESOLVED_LISTENERS and server != (self.address, self._port)
        ]
        if cached is None or cached[1] != servers:
            log.info("forwarding DNS to %s", ", ".join(f"{host}:{port}" for host, port in servers) or "nowhere")
        self._upstream_cache = (stamp, servers)
        return servers

    def _forward(self, query: bytes, *, tcp: bool) -> bytes | None:
        upstreams = self._upstreams()
        pool = self._forwards
        if not upstreams or pool is None:
            return _servfail(query)
        deadline = time.monotonic() + self.timeout
        pending = {
            pool.submit(self._ask_tcp if tcp else self._ask_udp, server, query, self.timeout): server
            for server in upstreams
        }
        try:
            while pending:
                done, pending = concurrent.futures.wait(
                    pending, timeout=max(0.05, deadline - time.monotonic()),
                    return_when=concurrent.futures.FIRST_COMPLETED,
                )
                if not done:
                    break
                for future in done:
                    try:
                        response = future.result()
                    except (OSError, concurrent.futures.CancelledError):
                        continue
                    if response:
                        return response
                if time.monotonic() >= deadline:
                    break
        finally:
            for future in pending:
                future.cancel()
        # No upstream spoke: SERVFAIL, so the client retries rather than caching
        # a lie about a domain we did not mean to block.
        return _servfail(query)

    def _ask_udp(self, server: tuple[str, int], query: bytes, timeout: float) -> bytes | None:
        with socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM) as sock:
            sock.settimeout(timeout)
            try:
                sock.sendto(query, server)
                response, _ = sock.recvfrom(4096)
            except OSError:
                return None
        return _plausible(query, response)

    def _ask_tcp(self, server: tuple[str, int], query: bytes, timeout: float) -> bytes | None:
        with socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM) as sock:
            sock.settimeout(timeout)
            try:
                sock.connect(server)
                sock.sendall(struct.pack("!H", len(query)) + query)
                header = _recv_exact(sock, 2)
                if header is None:
                    return None
                (length,) = struct.unpack("!H", header)
                response = _recv_exact(sock, length)
            except OSError:
                return None
        return _plausible(query, response)


def _recv_exact(sock: socket.socket, count: int) -> bytes | None:
    chunks = b""
    while len(chunks) < count:
        try:
            chunk = sock.recv(count - len(chunks))
        except OSError:
            return None
        if not chunk:
            return None
        chunks += chunk
    return chunks


def _plausible(query: bytes, response: bytes | None) -> bytes | None:
    """A response is only worth passing on if it answers *this* query."""
    if not response or len(response) < _HEADER.size:
        return None
    if response[:2] != query[:2]:  # the transaction id must come back intact
        return None
    return response


_NAMESERVER_RE = re.compile(r"^nameserver\s+(?P<token>\S+)")


def _parse_nameserver(token: str) -> tuple[str, int] | None:
    """`nameserver` line → `(address, port)`, tolerating the odd shapes.

    resolv.conf itself never carries a port, but systemd's generated file can,
    and so can hand-written ones: `1.2.3.4:5353`, `[::1]:5353`, a bare IPv6
    address, or an address with a comment bolted on.
    """
    token = token.split("#", 1)[0].strip()
    port = 53
    if token.startswith("["):
        host, bracket, rest = token[1:].partition("]")
        if not bracket:
            return None
        if rest.startswith(":") and rest[1:].isdigit():
            port = int(rest[1:])
        elif rest:
            return None
    elif token.count(":") == 1:
        host, text = token.split(":")
        if not text.isdigit():
            return None
        port = int(text)
    else:
        host = token
    try:
        ipaddress.ip_address(host)
    except ValueError:
        return None
    return (host, port) if 1 <= port <= 65535 else None


def _parse_resolv_conf(path: str) -> list[tuple[str, int]]:
    servers: list[tuple[str, int]] = []
    try:
        with open(path, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace") as handle:
            lines = handle.read().splitlines()
    except OSError:
        return servers
    for line in lines:
        match = _NAMESERVER_RE.match(line.strip())
        if match is None:
            continue
        entry = _parse_nameserver(match.group("token"))
        if entry is not None and entry not in servers:
            servers.append(entry)
    return servers


def _servfail(query: bytes) -> bytes:
    """A response that says "try again", for a query we cannot answer at all."""
    if len(query) < _HEADER.size:
        return b""
    qid = struct.unpack_from("!H", query)[0]
    flags = _FLAG_QR | (struct.unpack_from("!H", query, 2)[0] & _FLAG_RD) | _FLAG_RA | _RCODE_SERVFAIL
    question = parse_question(query)
    body = query[_HEADER.size : question.end] if question is not None else b""
    return _HEADER.pack(qid, flags, 1, 0, 0, 0) + body


# ==========================================================================
# Pointing systemd-resolved at the stub
# ==========================================================================


@dataclass
class ResolvedRoute:
    """The resolved drop-in, kept in step through the privileged helper.

    Like the hosts blocker, this diffs against what it last applied and treats a
    no-op as a no-op — a restart of `systemd-resolved` drops the whole machine's
    DNS cache for a moment, so it should only happen when the routed zones
    genuinely changed. The applied state is re-read from the drop-in on first
    use, so starting the app against an unchanged file does not restart
    anything.
    """

    helper_path: str = "/usr/local/bin/kadence-helper"
    dropin_path: str = DROPIN_PATH
    _applied: tuple[tuple[str, ...], int] | None = None
    _error: str | None = None
    _loaded: bool = field(default=False, repr=False)

    @property
    def helper_installed(self) -> bool:
        return os.path.isfile(self.helper_path) and os.access(self.helper_path, os.X_OK)

    @property
    def last_error(self) -> str | None:
        return self._error

    @property
    def applied(self) -> tuple[tuple[str, ...], int] | None:
        self._load()
        return self._applied

    def _load(self) -> None:
        if self._loaded:
            return
        self._loaded = True
        if self._applied is not None:
            return
        self._applied = self._read_dropin()

    def _read_dropin(self) -> tuple[tuple[str, ...], int] | None:
        """What the drop-in currently says, if it is one of ours."""
        try:
            with open(self.dropin_path, encoding="utf-8") as handle:
                text = handle.read()
        except OSError:
            return None
        port: int | None = None
        zones: tuple[str, ...] = ()
        for line in text.splitlines():
            line = line.strip()
            if line.startswith("DNS="):
                for address in line[4:].split():
                    if address.startswith(f"{STUB_ADDRESS}:"):
                        try:
                            port = int(address.rsplit(":", 1)[1])
                        except ValueError:
                            port = None
            elif line.startswith("Domains="):
                zones = tuple(
                    sorted(part[1:].lower() for part in line[8:].split() if part.startswith("~") and len(part) > 1)
                )
        if port is None:
            return None
        return zones, port

    def on(self, zones: list[str], port: int) -> bool:
        """Route `zones` to a stub on `127.0.0.1:port`. True when it is so."""
        self._load()
        wanted = tuple(sorted({zone.strip().lower().strip(".") for zone in zones if zone.strip()}))
        if not wanted:
            return self.off()
        if self._applied == (wanted, port):
            return True

        runner = self._runner()
        if runner is None:
            return False
        command = [*runner, "resolved-on", "--port", str(port), "--domains", ",".join(wanted)]
        if not self._run(command, f"route {len(wanted)} zone(s) through the local stub"):
            return False
        self._applied = (wanted, port)
        return True

    def off(self) -> bool:
        """Stop routing anything to the stub. True when nothing is routed."""
        self._load()
        if self._applied is None and not os.path.exists(self.dropin_path):
            return True
        runner = self._runner()
        if runner is None:
            return False
        if not self._run([*runner, "resolved-off"], "stop routing DNS through the local stub"):
            return False
        self._applied = None
        return True

    def _runner(self) -> list[str] | None:
        if not self.helper_installed:
            self._error = (
                f"The privileged helper is not installed at {self.helper_path}. "
                "Run desktop/helper/install.sh once."
            )
            return None
        if shutil.which("pkexec") and os.environ.get("DISPLAY", os.environ.get("WAYLAND_DISPLAY")):
            return ["pkexec", self.helper_path]
        if shutil.which("sudo"):
            return ["sudo", "-n", self.helper_path]
        self._error = "Neither pkexec nor sudo is available to run the helper."
        return None

    def _run(self, command: list[str], what: str) -> bool:
        try:
            result = subprocess.run(command, capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=90, check=False)
        except (OSError, subprocess.SubprocessError) as exc:
            self._error = f"Could not {what}: {exc}"
            log.warning(self._error)
            return False
        if result.returncode != 0:
            detail = (result.stderr or result.stdout).strip()[:300]
            if result.returncode in (126, 127):
                detail = detail or "the authorisation prompt was dismissed"
            self._error = f"Could not {what}: {detail}"
            log.warning(self._error)
            return False
        self._error = None
        log.info("helper: %s", result.stdout.strip() or what)
        return True