Protection of business credentials and prevention of unauthorized access to sensitive information
import play.api.mvc._
import scala.concurrent.ExecutionContext.Implicits.global
class HomeController @Inject()(val controllerComponents: ControllerComponents) extends BaseController {
def login = Action.async { implicit request: Request[AnyContent] =>
val username = request.body.asFormUrlEncoded.get("username").head
val password = request.body.asFormUrlEncoded.get("password").head
Account.authenticate(username, password) match {
case Some(user) => Ok("Logged in successfully").withSession("username" -> user.username)
case None => Unauthorized("Invalid credentials")
}
}
}
The above code is a basic login function in a Scala backend application using the Play framework. The function
login
extracts the
username
and
password
from the request body and then authenticates these credentials with the
Account.authenticate
function. If the authentication is successful, it starts a new session with the username stored in it.
This code is vulnerable to business information leak
- credentials. The vulnerability lies in the way the application handles user sessions. The application stores the username directly in the session after successful authentication. If an attacker is able to intercept the session data, they can impersonate the user by using the leaked username.
Furthermore, the password is being sent in plaintext within the request body. If the connection is not secured (e.g., no HTTPS), an attacker could potentially intercept the network traffic and retrieve the plaintext password.
This vulnerability could be exploited to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data or internal systems, compromise customer and employee data, financial records, intellectual property, and other sensitive information.
import play.api.mvc._
import play.api.libs.crypto.CookieSigner
import scala.concurrent.ExecutionContext.Implicits.global
import org.mindrot.jbcrypt.BCrypt
class HomeController @Inject()(val controllerComponents: ControllerComponents, cookieSigner: CookieSigner) extends BaseController {
def login = Action.async { implicit request: Request[AnyContent] =>
val username = request.body.asFormUrlEncoded.get("username").head
val password = request.body.asFormUrlEncoded.get("password").head
Account.authenticate(username, BCrypt.hashpw(password, BCrypt.gensalt())) match {
case Some(user) => Ok("Logged in successfully").withSession("username" -> cookieSigner.sign(user.username))
case None => Unauthorized("Invalid credentials")
}
}
}
The updated code includes several security improvements to address the identified vulnerability:
1. Password Hashing: The password provided by the user is hashed using the BCrypt algorithm before it is used to authenticate the user. This ensures that the actual password is never stored or transmitted in plain text, reducing the risk of it being intercepted or leaked.
2. Secure Session Handling: The username stored in the session is now signed using a
CookieSigner
. This ensures that the username cannot be tampered with once it is stored in the session, providing an additional layer of security.
Please note that this code assumes that the
Account.authenticate
method has been updated to compare the hashed password with the hashed password stored in the database, rather than the plain text password.
In addition to these code changes, it is recommended to implement secure communication protocols (such as HTTPS), input validation and sanitization, rate limiting, account lockout mechanisms, regular updates and patches, proper access controls, and logging and monitoring mechanisms as part of a comprehensive approach to secure the application.