Tagged Questions

2
votes
3answers
154 views

Secure login system - using sessions?

I'm looking for a secure way to let users login on my website. Currently, I've always used a session system, like this: <?php session_start(); if (validPass() || isset($_SESSION['userId'])) { ...
2
votes
4answers
264 views

When logging out of a website is anything else required then destroying the session?

In PHP, I'm not sure if I should start the session before destroying it when a user wants to log out. session_start(); session_destroy(); Is there anything else that needs to be done? EDIT: I ...
1
vote
1answer
131 views

Are there modules to harden Symfony 2 sessions?

We're looking at building a new app on top of Symfony 2, but security is our top priority. After digging around a bit, it seems that there are a number of built-in options for Session management (eg ...
0
votes
3answers
110 views

Maintain sensitive key between requests

EDIT: Reworked question. Previous version too poorly asked. On my website users write sensitive messages that must be kept secret. The entire user area is over SSL, so the communication between user ...
1
vote
1answer
522 views

Stopping Session Hijacking

If you noticed, I put "stopping" instead "preventing" in the title because I want my PHP application to be as secure as possible. I am wondering if anyone has any better ways to prevent session ...
3
votes
1answer
361 views

Where and How is data stored in a session?

Where is the information in the fields of a session stored? If I, for instance, store in a session something like $_SESSION['foo'] = 'bar'. Where is "bar" stored? If I store an object of a class, in ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views

Do you need to encrypt session data?

I came across a session management class in PHP which encrypts session data in the session storage folder (i.e., /tmp) and can be decrypted later in your script using a key. I was wondering if it's ...
3
votes
1answer
816 views

Will session_regenerate_id() without true parameter improves security? Should I use it right before login?

I want to decrease session fixation attack vulnerability, hence I used session_regenerate_id() before login. Somehow I'm in dark now and not sure the right answer for questions below: When we ...
4
votes
1answer
473 views

Is this admin area secure enough? V2

This is a response to my previous question, Is this admin area secure enough?. There were some very helpful answers there, for which I am very grateful. So I went back to the drawing board and here ...
3
votes
3answers
317 views

Is this admin area secure enough?

EDIT: Please view the revised question instead The admin area has special access to the database (modifying orders, etc). To help explain, I drew a diagram, so here is my process: Notes: I ...
4
votes
2answers
729 views

Are PHP Sessions based on cookies or a cookie-IP pair?

I have a PHP website and my question is: If someone manages to steal my users' cookies via an XSS attack, is it enough for him to be identified as the user? Or does his IP also have to be the same as ...
4
votes
2answers
266 views

Attack vectors in POSTing variables from one php script to the next?

I have an application which is structured in the following way for its signup page. After this signup, the user is directly granted access into the system - there is no email verification (as ...
15
votes
4answers
3k views

How to hijack a session?

Despite the blatant title of the question, this is actually for a genuine purpose. My site uses PHP code like this: $select="select id from tableA where user_id='".$_SESSION['sess_user_id']."'"; ...
3
votes
3answers
786 views

Altering a $_SESSION variable in PHP via XSS?

Not sure if what I'm saying makes sense... but is it possible for me to alter a $_SESSION variable from outside the target PHP script? One of our scripts uses a $_SESSION variable and I'm not sure if ...