camel-component-wasm

WASM plugin component for rust-camel — loads and executes WASM modules as route processors using the Component Model.

Features

• WASM Component Model: Loads WASM modules compiled for wasm32-wasip2 target
• Wasmtime v31: Latest runtime with async support and component-model features
• Host Functions: camel_call(), get_property(), set_property(), host_store(), host_load() for guest-host communication
• URI-Based Routing: wasm:path/to/module.wasm format for easy integration
• Path Validation: Prevents directory traversal and escapes from project root
• Recursion Guard: Blocks nested WASM calls to prevent infinite loops
• Tower Service: Implements Service<Exchange> for async processing
• Exchange Properties: Per-request properties accessible from WASM via host functions
• Persistent State: host_store/host_load for per-endpoint state that survives across process() calls
• Production Hardening: Epoch-based timeouts, memory limits, structured trap classification, automatic recovery

Installation

Add to Cargo.toml (workspace dependency):

[dependencies]
camel-component-wasm.workspace = true

URI Format

wasm:path/to/module.wasm[?timeout=<secs>&max-memory=<bytes>]

• Must be relative path (no leading /)
• No .. components allowed
• Resolved against configured base directory

Query Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
timeout	u64 (seconds)	30	Max wall-clock time per guest call. Enforced via epoch interruption.
max-memory	u64 (bytes)	52428800 (50 MB)	Max linear memory the guest can allocate.

Zero or invalid values are silently ignored and the default is used.

Examples

wasm:plugins/transform.wasm
wasm:plugins/transform.wasm?timeout=5
wasm:plugins/transform.wasm?timeout=10&max-memory=10485760

Host Functions

WASM plugins can call these host functions from guest code:

camel_call(uri: String, payload: String) -> Result<String>

Calls another endpoint from within WASM.

// Guest-side (WASM)
use camel_wasm_sdk::Host;

async fn process(exchange: &mut Exchange) -> Result<()> {
    let response = Host::camel_call("log:info", "Processing data".to_string()).await?;
    Ok(())
}

get_property(key: String) -> Option<String>

Retrieves an exchange property by key.

let user_id = Host::get_property("userId".to_string()).await?;

set_property(key: String, value: String)

Sets an exchange property. Value can be JSON string for structured data.

Host::set_property("timestamp".to_string(), "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z".to_string()).await;
Host::set_property("metadata".to_string(), r#"{"source":"wasm"}"#.to_string()).await;

host_store(key: String, value: String) -> Result<()>

Stores a key-value pair that persists across process() calls for this route endpoint.

use camel_wasm_sdk::state_helpers;

// Store config loaded in init()
state_helpers::store("api-key", "secret-123")?;

// Store structured data as JSON
state_helpers::store_json("config", &my_config)?;

host_load(key: String) -> Result<Option<String>>

Loads a previously stored value. Returns None if the key has not been stored.

// Load a string value
let api_key = state_helpers::load("api-key")?;

// Load and deserialize JSON
let config: Option<MyConfig> = state_helpers::load_json("config")?;

Scope: State is scoped per route endpoint. Different routes using the same .wasm file maintain independent state stores.

Usage

Registration

use camel_component_wasm::WasmBundle;
use camel_core::CamelContext;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    let mut ctx = CamelContext::new();
    let registry = ctx.registry().clone();

    // Register WASM component with base directory
    let bundle = WasmBundle::new(registry, PathBuf::from("./wasm-plugins"));
    bundle.register_all(&mut ctx);

    ctx.start().await?;
    Ok(())
}

Route with WASM Processor

use camel_builder::RouteBuilder;

// Route that processes data through a WASM module
ctx.add_route(
    RouteBuilder::from("http://0.0.0.0:8080/process")
        .to("wasm:plugins/transform.wasm")
        .to("log:info")
        .build()?
).await?;

WASM Plugin Example

Build your plugin with wasm32-wasip2 target:

// src/main.rs (guest plugin)
use camel_wasm_sdk::{Exchange, Host, plugin};

#[plugin]
async fn init() -> Result<()> {
    println!("Plugin initialized");
    Ok(())
}

#[plugin]
async fn process(mut exchange: Exchange) -> Result<Exchange> {
    let body = exchange.body.as_text().unwrap_or("");
    let processed = format!("[WASM] {}", body);
    exchange.body = camel_wasm_sdk::Body::Text(processed);

    // Log via host function
    let _ = Host::camel_call("log:debug", format!("Processed: {}", body).into()).await;

    Ok(exchange)
}

Build:

cargo build --target wasm32-wasip2 --release
cp target/wasm32-wasip2/release/plugin.wasm wasm-plugins/

Chaining WASM Plugins

RouteBuilder::from("direct:chain")
    .to("wasm:plugins/validate.wasm")
    .to("wasm:plugins/transform.wasm")
    .to("wasm:plugins/enrich.wasm")
    .to("log:info")
    .build()?;

Security

Path Validation

• Absolute paths are rejected
• Paths containing .. are rejected
• Canonical path must start with base directory
• Prevents directory traversal attacks

Recursion Guard

• WASM plugins cannot call other WASM plugins via camel_call()
• Prevents infinite recursion and stack overflow
• Returns error: recursive wasm calls not supported

Production Configuration

Phase 4 hardening adds epoch-based timeouts, memory limits, and structured trap classification to every plugin call.

Timeout enforcement

Every guest call (init and process) sets an epoch deadline before invocation. A background thread (EpochTicker) increments the wasmtime engine epoch every 10 ms. If the deadline is exceeded, the call is interrupted and returns WasmError::Timeout.

// 5-second timeout
let uri = "wasm:plugins/slow.wasm?timeout=5";

Memory limits

StoreLimits is installed in every Store. If the guest exceeds max-memory, the next allocation fails and returns WasmError::OutOfMemory.

// 10 MB limit
let uri = "wasm:plugins/heavy.wasm?max-memory=10485760";

Configuring Bean and AuthorizationPolicy plugins via Camel.toml

Processor plugins are configured via the wasm: URI query string (above). For Bean and AuthorizationPolicy plugins, the same knobs are exposed through a [limits] block in Camel.toml:

# Bean plugin
[default.beans.my-bean]
plugin = "my-bean"

[default.beans.my-bean.limits]
timeout-secs = 600          # optional, defaults to 30
max-memory = 4294967296     # optional, defaults to 52428800 (50 MiB)
max-concurrent-calls = 4    # optional, defaults to 4 (bean: not enforced today)

# AuthorizationPolicy plugin (WASM provider)
[security.permissions.providers.my-policy]
provider = "wasm"
path = "plugins/authz.wasm"

[security.permissions.providers.my-policy.limits]
timeout-secs = 5
max-memory = 10485760

All three fields are optional. None means "use the runtime default" — no silent fallback lie (per ADR-0011). The defaults are applied explicitly in WasmConfig::from_limits, the single source of truth.

For SecurityPolicy, ADR-0014 documents why no Camel.toml path is exposed (no production callers today). The runtime still honours the default 50 MiB cap through the shared WasmRuntime::create_host_state.

See docs/adr/0014-wasm-plugin-config-unification.md for the full design rationale.

Error variants

Variant	When raised
WasmError::Timeout { plugin, timeout_secs }	Epoch deadline exceeded
WasmError::OutOfMemory { plugin, max_memory_bytes }	Guest exceeded memory limit
WasmError::Trap { plugin, reason }	Guest hit unreachable/stack-overflow/other trap
WasmError::GuestPanic(msg)	Guest panicked with a message
WasmError::Unhealthy(msg)	Plugin failed health check

Recovery

After a Timeout, Trap, or OutOfMemory, the plugin runtime is automatically reset on the next call. No manual intervention required.

Architecture

┌─────────────────┐
│  WasmComponent  │
│  (scheme: wasm) │
└────────┬────────┘
         │ creates_endpoint()
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│  WasmEndpoint   │
│  (URI resolver) │
└────────┬────────┘
         │ create_producer()
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│  WasmProducer   │
│  (Tower Service)│
└────────┬────────┘
         │ poll_ready() -> call()
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│  WasmRuntime    │
│  (Wasmtime)     │
└─────────────────┘
         │ call_init_once() / call_process()
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│  WasmHostState  │
│  (registry,     │
│   properties,   │
│   state_store,  │
│   call_depth)   │
└─────────────────┘

• WasmComponent: Component trait implementation, URI scheme wasm:, path validation
• WasmEndpoint: Resolves URI to WASM module path, creates producer
• WasmProducer: Tower Service wrapping WasmRuntime, lazy initialization, error handling
• WasmRuntime: Wasmtime engine, linker, component instantiation
• WasmHostState: Per-request state with registry, properties, call depth guard

Host Function Internals

The WasmHostState maintains per-invocation state:

pub struct WasmHostState {
    pub table: ResourceTable,           // Wasmtime resource table
    pub wasi: WasiCtx,                  // WASI system calls
    pub properties: HashMap<String, Value>, // Exchange properties
    pub registry: Arc<Mutex<Registry>>, // Component registry
    pub call_depth: u32,                // Recursion guard (0 = allowed)
    pub state_store: StateStore,        // Per-endpoint persistent state
    pub limits: StoreLimits,            // Memory allocation limits
}

Each request gets a new WasmHostState with:

• Exchange properties copied from the incoming Exchange
• call_depth reset to 0
• Fresh WASI context with stderr inheritance

Testing

Unit tests verify path validation, recursion guard, host functions, state persistence, hardening (epoch timeout, memory limits, trap recovery), and performance benchmarks:

cargo test -p camel-component-wasm
# 81 tests: 50 unit + 10 hardening + 14 integration + 6 state + 1 perf

Integration tests require a compiled WASM module:

# Build test plugin
cargo build --target wasm32-wasip2 --release -p example-wasm-plugin
cp target/wasm32-wasip2/release/example_wasm_plugin.wasm tests/fixtures/

# Run integration tests
cargo test -p camel-component-wasm --test integration

Guest SDK

See crates/camel-wasm-sdk/README.md for plugin development:

• #[plugin] macro for exported functions
• Exchange and Body types for data access
• Host trait for calling host functions

Bean Support

The WASM component also supports bean plugins — multi-method WASM components that expose several callable methods from a single module.

WasmBean Adapter

WasmBean is the host-side adapter that loads a WASM bean module and dispatches method calls to the correct guest function. It uses the bean WIT world (distinct from the processor world) to communicate with the guest.

Configuration

Register beans in Camel.toml:

[beans.auth]
plugin = "my-auth-bean"

Each bean entry creates an isolated WASM instance. Methods are invoked by name from YAML DSL or Rust routes:

routes:
  - id: "auth-route"
    from: "direct:auth"
    steps:
      - bean:
          name: "auth"
          method: "validate"

Building Bean Plugins

Use the SDK's BeanPlugin trait and export_bean! macro:

use camel_wasm_sdk::{export_bean, BeanPlugin, WasmExchange, WasmError};

struct AuthBean;

impl BeanPlugin for AuthBean {
    fn methods() -> Vec<&'static str> {
        vec!["validate", "refresh"]
    }

    fn invoke(method: &str, exchange: WasmExchange) -> Result<WasmExchange, WasmError> {
        match method {
            "validate" => Ok(exchange),
            "refresh" => Ok(exchange),
            _ => Err(WasmError::ProcessorError(format!("unknown method: {method}"))),
        }
    }
}

export_bean!(AuthBean);

Security Policy Support

The WASM component can serve as a security policy backend, delegating authorization decisions to a guest module. Two host types are provided, both backed by the shared WasmPluginContext.

Exchange-Level: WasmSecurityPolicy

Implements the SecurityPolicy trait. Called during route processing with the full Exchange (including camel.auth.* properties populated by the authentication layer). The guest module's evaluate() function returns:

• Ok(None) -- access granted, the exchange continues
• Ok(Some(reason)) -- access denied with a reason string
• Err(...) -- processing error, propagated as CamelError

use camel_component_wasm::security_policy::WasmSecurityPolicy;

let policy = WasmSecurityPolicy::new(
    "plugins/auth-policy.wasm",
    WasmConfig::default(),
    registry,
    init_config,
).await?;

Permission-Level: WasmAuthorizationPolicyEvaluator

Implements the PermissionEvaluator trait. Called by the PermissionEvaluatorRegistry with a PermissionRequest (principal, resource, action, scopes). The host builds a synthetic Exchange from the request and delegates to the same guest evaluate() function. Returns PermissionDecision::Granted or PermissionDecision::Denied { reason }.

Registered as a permission provider in Camel.toml:

[security.permission-providers.rbac]
provider = "wasm"
path = "plugins/rbac-policy.wasm"

[security.permission-providers.rbac.config]
default-role = "viewer"

Shared Context: WasmPluginContext

Both WasmSecurityPolicy and WasmAuthorizationPolicyEvaluator are thin wrappers around WasmPluginContext, which owns:

• Engine and Linker -- shared WASM runtime
• Component -- the compiled guest module
• Registry -- for host function callbacks
• StateStore -- persistent key-value state
• EpochTicker -- epoch-based timeout enforcement

Each call to evaluate() creates a fresh Store from this shared context, so concurrent evaluations are isolated.

Authorization Policy WIT World

Guest modules implementing security policies must target the authorization-policy world defined in wit/camel-plugin.wit. This world imports the same host functions as the plugin world and exports two functions:

world authorization-policy {
    import host;

    use types.{wasm-exchange, wasm-error};

    /// Evaluate the exchange and return an authorization decision.
    /// None = Granted, Some(reason) = Denied.
    export evaluate: func(exchange: wasm-exchange) -> result<option<string>, wasm-error>;

    /// Initialization hook with config from registration.
    export init: func(config: list<tuple<string, string>>) -> result<_, string>;
}

Key differences from the plugin world:

• evaluate replaces process -- returns option<string> (deny reason) instead of a full exchange
• init receives key-value config from the provider registration in Camel.toml
• Guest reads auth context via get-property("camel.auth.roles"), get-property("camel.auth.principal"), etc.

Route Example

routes:
  - id: "secured-api"
    from: "http:0.0.0.0:8080/api"
    security_policy:
      wasm: "corp-auth"
    steps:
      - to: "log:secured"

The security_policy: wasm form references a WasmSecurityPolicy registered in the SecurityPolicyRegistry. Policies are registered from Camel.toml:

[security.policies.wasm.corp-auth]
path = "fixtures/role-check.wasm"

[security.policies.wasm.corp-auth.limits]
timeout-secs = 30
max-memory = 52428800

[security.policies.wasm.corp-auth.config]
ldap_url = "ldap://corp"

The guest module's init() function receives the [<name>.config] pairs as sorted (String, String) arguments at instantiation time.

Migration — Previously the YAML form accepted a config: block per-route, which was silently dropped. As of ADR-0014 §4 closure (bd rc-0te), per-route config is rejected with a hard error. Move config: keys to [security.policies.wasm.<name>.config] in Camel.toml.

Documentation

• API Documentation
• Repository

License

This project is licensed under the same license as rust-camel.

Contributing

See the main repository for contribution guidelines.