Home > Archive > PHP SQL > January 2007 > Secure auto-login using cookies
You are viewing an archived Text-only version of the thread.
To view this thread in it's original format and/or if you want to reply to
this thread please [click here]
| Author |
Secure auto-login using cookies
|
|
|
| Hi!
I'm trying to build a "Remember Me" auto-login feature but all solutions I
have seen on the Internet are done insecurely.
The way I see it, cookie is always transmitted in cleartext, so anyone could
steal it and acces the user's account without problems. At least in all
implementations I have seen.
What is more: I think there is no way to store data on client computer and
transmit it on challenge / response mechanism.
Am I right?
I thought I might have a solution to this, but when trying to implement it I
figured out that JS can't access SSL-only cookies. :(
This is the solution I had in mind (it can't be done, but anyway):
The cookie should be set SSL-only (even though we don't have SSL), but
readable by JavaScript.
Once the user comes (again) to the side, it gets a challenge string from
server. JS checks and notices the SSL-only cookie, makes a hash from the
SSL-only cookie and the challenge string, then set a normal cookie with it
and redirects the browser to the same page - which posts the normal cookie
to the server. Server then checks this normal cookie if it is a hash of
challenge+SSL-only cookie, and if so, it is OK. If not - login fails.
Unfortunately JS can't read SSL-only cookies and all non-SSL cookies are
transmitted as cleartext. :(
Any thoughts on how to implement secure "remember me" without SSL would be
appreciated. Even "it can't be done" would be helpful... :)
Best,
Anze
| |
|
|
Sorry, wrong newsgroup... Will post again in alt.comp.lang.php...
Best,
Anze
> Hi!
>
> I'm trying to build a "Remember Me" auto-login feature but all solutions I
> have seen on the Internet are done insecurely.
|
|
|
|
|