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Java web application security

Java web application security. Dr Jim Briggs. What is security?. Usually ensuring that only authorised users can access specific parts of a website Security has two basic concepts: authentication: who is it? authorisation: what can they do?. Categories of security mechanism.

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Java web application security

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  1. Java web application security Dr Jim Briggs WEB2P security

  2. What is security? • Usually ensuring that only authorised users can access specific parts of a website • Security has two basic concepts: • authentication: who is it? • authorisation: what can they do? WEB2P security

  3. Categories of security mechanism • Container-managed (e.g. Tomcat) • Specified as part of the Java Servlet Specification • However, the implementation is container specific (and therefore not necessarily portable between containers) • Application-managed • Independent of the container • However, you have to write the code yourself (or use some other mechanism) WEB2P security

  4. HTTP authentication • HTTP provides for authentication - see RFC 2617 • Operates on a challenge/response paradigm: • Server receives a request for an access-protected object • Server responds with a "401 Unauthorized" status code • Client must then resend the request with an Authorization header • Most browsers will prompt the user for a username and password • Most browsers cache this for the duration of the browser session • Some will allow the user to save it between sessions • Distinction between Basic Authentication and Digest Authentication: • Basic passes usernames and passwords in clear text (actually in Base64 format, but this is easily translatable) • Digest scrambles the password by sending a checksum (by default, MD5) of the username, the password, a given nonce value, the HTTP method, and the requested URI. The nonce value is sent by the server with the 401 response. • Realm is the zone of security • Effectively the store against which credentials are checked WEB2P security

  5. Mechanisms for securing Java web applications • Fundamentals • Container-managed techniques • Application-managed techniques • Mix and match WEB2P security

  6. Fundamentals • HTTP authentication • Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) • HTTP over SSL (HTTPS) • See how to set this up in Apache • See how to set this up in Tomcat • Unlikely to need latter if using Tomcat as auxiliary server (especially via AJP) WEB2P security

  7. Container-managed security • Security constraints in web.xml file • Authentication • Authorization • Secure transport WEB2P security

  8. Authentication <login-config>    <auth-method>BASIC</auth-method> </login-config> <login-config> <auth-method>FORM</auth-method> <form-login-config> <form-login-page>/login.jsp</form-login-page> <form-error-page>/fail_login.html</form-error-page> </form-login-config> </login-config> WEB2P security

  9. Authorization <security-constraint>   <web-resource-collection>        <web-resource-name>Admin</web-resource-name>        <url-pattern>/admin/*</url-pattern>    </web-resource-collection>    <auth-constraint>        <role-name>private</role-name>    </auth-constraint> </security-constraint> WEB2P security

  10. Secure transport <security-constraint>     ... <user-data-constraint> <transport-guarantee> CONFIDENTIAL </transport-guarantee> </user-data-constraint> </security-constraint> WEB2P security

  11. Authentication methods • Basic - uses HTTP Basic Authentication • Digest - uses HTTP Digest Authentication • Form - presents a login form to the user <form method="POST" action="j_security_check">     <input type="text" name="j_username">     <input type="password" name="j_password"> </form> • Client certificate - requires digital certificate from client WEB2P security

  12. Tomcat realms • MemoryRealm • a file (tomcat-users.xml) in the TOMCAT/conf directory • JDBCRealm • specify tables and columns of a database that contain usernames, passwords and roles • DataSourceRealm • similar, but using a JNDI-named DataSource rather than a specific JDBC driver • JNDIRealm • looks up users in an LDAP directory server accessed by a JNDI provider • JAASRealm • authenticates users through the Java Authentication & Authorization Service (JAAS) framework WEB2P security

  13. Application-managed security 1 • Request properties: • request.getRemoteUser() • request.getUserPrincipal() • request.isUserInRole(role) • Use session attributes to store the user's identity • Use cookies to store username and password (can be persistent between browser sessions) WEB2P security

  14. Application-managed security 2 • Use a security filter • Use a base servlet • Use a custom JSP tag • forward request to a login page if the user is not logged in or does not have authorisation) • Struts facilities: • Use Struts roles (each action has a roles attribute) • Customise the Struts RequestProcessor • specifically the method processPreprocess • Use a Struts Base Action WEB2P security

  15. Mix and match • Many of the techniques can be used in combination • SecurityFilter (from Sourceforge.net) is an application-managed mechanism that mimics container-managed security WEB2P security

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