[thelist] RE: Can cookies be faked?

John.Brooking at NA.SAPPI.COM John.Brooking at NA.SAPPI.COM
Thu Oct 9 06:01:18 CDT 2003


Thank you, Simon, for that enlightening reply. That's a definate security
must-know. (I know, I really must take a class.) Can I ask a follow-up?

The fuller context of my question is that I have a CGI application (Perl)
and I want to control access to the scripts in the /cgi-bin. So far I have
not added much security to it at the application level. It sounds like the
standard approach to security in this situation would be implement a login
screen and check usernames and passwords. If the login succeeds, then give
them the session cookie.

If I'm lazy and don't want to go to the trouble (hypothetically-speaking of
course -- if I must do the login/session thing, I will), what about the
following scenario? I use directory security (such as .htaccess with Apache,
or IIS equivalent) to put a "login" page in a protected directory. The login
page sets the cookie  (such as "authlevel=1"), and only server-side code
checks for it. This way, the cookie is still only available to those who
enter a password. I think I'm basically shifting the authentication off on
the web server itself, rather than including it in my application. If I set
the cookie in client-side JavaScript, as long as it's behind that protected
directory, then I also don't need another server-side script to worry about
anyone running. Does this sound like it would pass the test?

I realize it would not be as flexible, unless there is some way to get from
the web server what username was entered. I know in IIS you get an AUTH_USER
or some such variable. Does Apache also set such a thing as a result of
passing .htaccess protection?

- John
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