WebApp Sec mailing list archives
Re: Session Management and IP address - experiences?
From: "David Wall @ Yozons, Inc." <dwall () yozons com>
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 12:40:05 -0700
It is common knowledge, that things like loadbalanced proxies, where the
ip
address might change within a running session, interfere with this kind of security enhanced session management.
It's pretty common, especially for those using the biggest ISPs who use these schemes. Most others come from a single proxy or NAT/gw so the IP wouldn't change.
Is it perhaps exceptable, as it happens only in rare cases? If this is the case, one might present the user another login where he can prove his identity again and continue with the session.
But what ACTUAL problem are you trying to avoid? Have you seen someone step in the middle of one of your users activities, steal a session cookie, and then impersonate them? If not, perhaps you are solving problems you don't really have, so why put the headache in for those who will have issues because they are being such proxies?
(It is another story that session-ip-binding wouldn't solve the whole problem, as there are several szenarios, where an attacker might use the same proxy etc. as the victim...)
Exactly, which also leads to the question of why bother? Perhaps if IPv6 ever gets into widespread use (ha ha ha?!) this will be powerful because such proxies may no longer be there. Today, it seems like solving a problem that perhaps doesn't exist. Couple a good session id (random and long) with SSL and you'll find most of your security violations result from bad passwords and social engineering attacks -- they are much easier to hack than stepping in the middle of a session... David
Current thread:
- Session Management and IP address - experiences? Thomas Schreiber (Sep 02)
- Re: Session Management and IP address - experiences? David Wall @ Yozons, Inc. (Sep 02)
- Re: Session Management and IP address - experiences? avarni (Sep 04)
- RE: Session Management and IP address - experiences? Thomas Schreiber (Sep 05)
- Re: Session Management and IP address - experiences? Steven Boone (Sep 02)
- RE: Session Management and IP address - experiences? V. Poddubnyy (Sep 02)
- Re: Session Management and IP address - experiences? Jeremiah Grossman (Sep 02)
- Re: Session Management and IP address - experiences? Frank Knobbe (Sep 04)
- Re: Session Management and IP address - experiences? Jeremiah Grossman (Sep 04)
- Re: Session Management and IP address - experiences? Frank Knobbe (Sep 04)
- Re: Session Management and IP address - experiences? saphyr (Sep 02)
- Re: Session Management and IP address - experiences? Ben Timby (Sep 02)
- Re: Session Management and IP address - experiences? Bill Marquette (Sep 02)
(Thread continues...)
- Re: Session Management and IP address - experiences? David Wall @ Yozons, Inc. (Sep 02)