Ticket #73: do not intercept 'cd' in compound commands

src/filemanager/command.c

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
    Free Software Foundation, Inc.
 
    Written by:
+   Marek Libra <marek.libra@gmail.com>, 2026
    Slava Zanko <slavazanko@gmail.com>, 2013
    Andrew Borodin <aborodin@vmail.ru>, 2011-2022
 
@@ -102,7 +103,8 @@ enter (WInput *lc_cmdline)
     if (*cmd == '\0')
         return MSG_HANDLED;
 
-    if (strncmp (cmd, "cd", 2) == 0 && (cmd[2] == '\0' || whitespace (cmd[2])))
+    if (strncmp (cmd, "cd", 2) == 0 && (cmd[2] == '\0' || whitespace (cmd[2]))
+        && !command_has_unquoted_metacharacters (cmd))
     {
         cd_to (cmd + 2);
         input_clean (lc_cmdline);
@@ -207,6 +209,88 @@ command_callback (Widget *w, Widget *sender, widget_msg_t msg, int parm, void *d
 /*** public functions ****************************************************************************/
 /* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
 
+/**
+ * Detect shell syntax that the internal cd handler cannot process.
+ *
+ * Returns TRUE when any of the following appears outside of single quotes
+ * and backslash escaping:
+ *   - Command separators/operators: ; | &
+ *   - Command substitution: $( or ` (including inside double quotes,
+ *     where the shell still expands them)
+ *
+ * Note: plain parameter expansion ($VAR, ${VAR}) is intentionally excluded
+ * because the internal cd handler expands environment variables itself.
+ *
+ * Motivation: the internal cd handler cannot expand command substitutions
+ * nor execute compound commands. When any of these constructs are present,
+ * the entire command line must be passed to the shell.
+ *
+ * Only single quotes and backslash fully suppress detection. Double quotes
+ * suppress ; | & but NOT $( and ` because the shell expands command
+ * substitution inside double quotes.
+ *
+ * Parsing strategy: forward scan tracking quote state.
+ * We treat $( and ` as immediate indicators rather than parsing their
+ * contents, because internal cd cannot handle them regardless
+ * of what is inside.
+ */
+
+gboolean
+command_has_unquoted_metacharacters (const char *cmd)
+{
+    gboolean in_single_quote = FALSE;
+    gboolean in_double_quote = FALSE;
+    const char *p;
+
+    for (p = cmd; *p != '\0'; p++)
+    {
+        if (in_single_quote)
+        {
+            if (*p == '\'')
+                in_single_quote = FALSE;
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if (*p == '\\' && p[1] != '\0')
+        {
+            p++;
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if (*p == '`')
+            return TRUE;
+
+        if (*p == '$' && p[1] == '(')
+            return TRUE;
+
+        if (in_double_quote)
+        {
+            if (*p == '"')
+                in_double_quote = FALSE;
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if (*p == '\'')
+        {
+            in_single_quote = TRUE;
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if (*p == '"')
+        {
+            in_double_quote = TRUE;
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if (*p == ';' || *p == '|' || *p == '&')
+            return TRUE;
+    }
+
+    return FALSE;
+}
+
+/* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
+
 WInput *
 command_new (int y, int x, int cols)
 {

src/filemanager/command.h

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ extern WInput *cmdline;
 
 WInput *command_new (int y, int x, int len);
 void command_insert (WInput *in, const char *text, gboolean insert_extra_space);
+gboolean command_has_unquoted_metacharacters (const char *cmd);
 
 /*** inline functions ****************************************************************************/
 #endif

tests/src/filemanager/Makefile.am

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ endif
 
 TESTS = \
 	cd_to \
+	has_unquoted_metacharacters \
 	examine_cd \
 	exec_get_export_variables_ext \
 	ext__exec_make_shell_string \
@@ -28,6 +29,9 @@ check_PROGRAMS = $(TESTS)
 cd_to_SOURCES = \
 	cd_to.c
 
+has_unquoted_metacharacters_SOURCES = \
+	has_unquoted_metacharacters.c
+
 examine_cd_SOURCES = \
 	examine_cd.c
 

tests/src/filemanager/has_unquoted_metacharacters.c

@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+/*
+   src/filemanager - tests for command_has_unquoted_metacharacters()
+
+   Copyright (C) 2026
+   Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+
+   Written by:
+   Marek Libra <marek.libra@gmail.com>, 2026
+
+   This file is part of the Midnight Commander.
+
+   The Midnight Commander is free software: you can redistribute it
+   and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
+   published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License,
+   or (at your option) any later version.
+
+   The Midnight Commander is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+#define TEST_SUITE_NAME "/src/filemanager"
+
+#include "tests/mctest.h"
+
+#include "src/filemanager/command.h"
+
+/* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
+
+/* @DataSource("test_metacharacters_ds") */
+static const struct test_metacharacters_ds
+{
+    const char *input_value;
+    gboolean expected_result;
+} test_metacharacters_ds[] = {
+    /* simple commands - no metacharacters */
+    { "cd", FALSE },
+    { "cd /tmp", FALSE },
+    { "cd ..", FALSE },
+    { "cd ~/projects", FALSE },
+    { "cd $HOME", FALSE },
+    { "cd -", FALSE },
+    { "cd /path/to/dir", FALSE },
+    { "cd foo bar", FALSE },
+
+    /* semicolons */
+    { "cd ..; make", TRUE },
+    { "cd ..; make; cd -", TRUE },
+    { "cd /tmp; ls", TRUE },
+    { "cd ..;ls", TRUE },
+    { "cd /tmp;ls", TRUE },
+
+    /* && */
+    { "cd .. && make", TRUE },
+    { "cd /tmp && ls && pwd", TRUE },
+    { "cd ..&&ls", TRUE },
+
+    /* || */
+    { "cd .. || echo fail", TRUE },
+    { "cd ..||ls", TRUE },
+
+    /* pipe */
+    { "cd foo | bar", TRUE },
+    { "cd ..|ls", TRUE },
+
+    /* background / single & */
+    { "cd &", TRUE },
+    { "cd a&b", TRUE },
+
+    /* quoted paths - metacharacters inside quotes are literal */
+    { "cd 'foo bar'", FALSE },
+    { "cd \"foo bar\"", FALSE },
+    { "cd 'foo;bar'", FALSE },
+    { "cd 'foo|bar'", FALSE },
+    { "cd 'foo&bar'", FALSE },
+    { "cd \"foo;bar\"", FALSE },
+    { "cd \"foo|bar\"", FALSE },
+    { "cd \"foo&bar\"", FALSE },
+
+    /* quoted path followed by a real separator */
+    { "cd 'foo'; ls", TRUE },
+
+    /* backslash-escaped metacharacters are literal */
+    { "cd foo\\ bar", FALSE },
+    { "cd foo\\;bar", FALSE },
+    { "cd foo\\|bar", FALSE },
+    { "cd foo\\&bar", FALSE },
+    { "cd path\\;with\\;semicolons", FALSE },
+
+    /* escaped metacharacter plus a real separator */
+    { "cd foo\\;bar; make", TRUE },
+
+    /* double-backslash before semicolon: \\; at runtime - first \ escapes second, the ; is real */
+    { "cd foo\\\\;ls", TRUE },
+    /* triple-backslash before semicolon: \\\; at runtime - \\ + \; (escaped semicolon) */
+    { "cd foo\\\\\\;ls", FALSE },
+
+    /* command substitution $(...) - internal cd cannot expand */
+    { "cd $(echo /tmp)", TRUE },
+    { "cd $(pwd)", TRUE },
+    { "cd $(echo foo;echo bar)", TRUE },
+
+    /* command substitution with backticks */
+    { "cd `echo /tmp`", TRUE },
+    { "cd `pwd`", TRUE },
+
+    /* single-quoted command substitution - literal, not metacharacters */
+    { "cd '$(echo /tmp)'", FALSE },
+    { "cd '`echo /tmp`'", FALSE },
+
+    /* double-quoted command substitution - shell still expands these */
+    { "cd \"$(echo /tmp)\"", TRUE },
+    { "cd \"`echo /tmp`\"", TRUE },
+
+    /* escaped $ and backtick */
+    { "cd \\$(echo /tmp)", FALSE },
+    { "cd \\`echo /tmp\\`", FALSE },
+
+    /* empty and whitespace-only strings */
+    { "", FALSE },
+    { "   ", FALSE },
+
+    /* parameter expansion - not command substitution */
+    { "cd ${HOME}", FALSE },
+
+    /* arithmetic expansion - triggers $( detection */
+    { "cd $((1+2))", TRUE },
+
+    /* unterminated quotes - no metachar, shell would error anyway */
+    { "cd 'foo", FALSE },
+    { "cd \"foo", FALSE },
+};
+
+/* @Test(dataSource = "test_metacharacters_ds") */
+START_PARAMETRIZED_TEST (test_metacharacters, test_metacharacters_ds)
+{
+    gboolean actual_result;
+
+    actual_result = command_has_unquoted_metacharacters (data->input_value);
+
+    ck_assert_int_eq (actual_result, data->expected_result);
+}
+END_PARAMETRIZED_TEST
+
+/* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- */
+
+int
+main (void)
+{
+    TCase *tc_core;
+
+    tc_core = tcase_create ("Core");
+
+    /* Add new tests here: *************** */
+    mctest_add_parameterized_test (tc_core, test_metacharacters, test_metacharacters_ds);
+    /* *********************************** */
+
+    return mctest_run_all (tc_core);
+}
+
+/* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- */