WebApp Sec mailing list archives

Re: Cookies as the second factor


From: "Darren Bounds" <dbounds () gmail com>
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 14:06:06 -0400

There's no reason a cookie couldn't be generated client-side. I could
easily have a client-side application generate a 'secure', one-time
use token, populate a cookie and then use that value as one part of a
multi-factor authentication scheme.




On 7/18/06, Rogan Dawes <discard () dawes za net> wrote:
Jeff Robertson wrote:
> It seems like it's been mentioned on here before, that a number of "two
> factor" or "multi factor" authentication schemes actually use a cookie
> as the second factor.
>
> Anyone here have specific experience with such solutions, or opinions
> about how much security they add to a system?
>

Sounds completely bogus to me.

The cookie is typically generated by the server, as a response to an
authentication event (single or multi-factor). The cookie is then used
to maintain that authentication from request to request.

There is NO authentication component in such a cookie. It is created by
the SERVER, and as such CANNOT qualify as an authentication factor at all.

Rogan

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--

Thank you,
Darren Bounds

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