Im using jQuery validate plugin and every form has multiple validation levels.
level is by validate plugin
level is:
data is submitted to site
I get a reply
if everything is ok -> JS redirects to url
if there is an error, it shows warnings
Now I wonder, is it safe to send login info via ajax? I know that with addons like firebug, I am also able to get all POST parameters with normal submit. But can somebody else interfere with ajax login request and steal precious data?
is it safe to send login info via ajax
You do use HTTPS, do you? If you do it's as safe as form submit.
Are you issuing requests over HTTPS?
If you mean someone else on the network, then see the earlier comments about HTTPs.
If you mean "can someone inject something into a page and steal the data", the answer is yes. As you've observed, the user can install plugins which could do this; it's also possible that your page could be inadvertently be the target of injection via cross-site scripting or some other flaw.
Related
I am making one website in which the form is submitted using jQuery ajax. I have taken care of most of the security majors like HTTPS, session cookie, encryption etc.
Hence I have minimised the possibility of outside person sniffing or modify my data transfer.
But there can be a valid registered user who wants to play havoc by using Chrome inspect element. He can for example create a for loop in which is calls my jQuery ajax post call.
Can this be possible? How can I avoid this? I am unable to find a better alternative & resort once again to basic form post instead of ajax.
Thanks.
Anything you present client side can be messed with. A user will always be able to modify your front end code, and do what they want with it. This is why you need server side validation.
If you are worried about a repeating post call, it sounds like you are worried about a DOS attack I guess?
Your server configuration should be set up to detect frequent requests from the same user and deny service to it.
I know all about SQL injections, and peeking into javascript files that a website uses, and also that GET requests contain all of the information in a URL.
Is there any security concern that is special to AJAX and only pertains to using AJAX?
For example, sending post requests via AJAX seems completely safe to me. Barring SQL injections, I can't think of one thing that could go wrong... is this the correct case?
Also, are "requests" of any kind that a user's browser sends or any information it receives available to be viewed by a third party who should not be viewing? And can that happen to AJAX post requests ('post' requests specifically; not 'get')?
It's like any other form of data input: validate your values, check the referrer, authenticate the session, use SSL.
Firstly, I have to admit I am new to Magento and PHP. I am writing the configuration for my custom module. I would like to allow entry of some information, then send that information to a servlet on my web server where it is processed and a response returned and displayed in the configuration gui in a read-only field.
I am getting my guidance from various web articles and by looking at other modules' code. A module that does something similar is the PayPal module. However, it brings up a new browser window where the user logs in and enters their details. I just want to send the data gathered and wait for the response.
In my system.xml file I specify a frontend_model. In that frontend_model, the _prepareLayout method sets the template to my template, and in that template I have an HTML button. I added an onClick event handler to that button which makes an AJAX call to my web site. Unsurprisingly (because of the same origin policy I assume) the AJAX call fails with a code of 0.
I guess what I should be doing is when the user clicks the button, the request including the data they have entered in the other fields, is sent to the Magento server, and the AJAX call to my web site is made from there? Or perhaps my approach is completely wrong and there is a more appropriate way to achieve this?
Thank you.
You're right about the same origin policy. The best approach here would be to have the button trigger an ajax call to a local magento based controller, which itself uses curl or some other http request library to forward on a request to your remote servlet and process the feedback.
Try searching here "JSONP" or google the same thing. Dependent of javascript library you are using there are pre-made components/plugins to achieve what you are after.
As the title may possibly suggest, I'm wondering what's more secure for AJAX requests: POST or GET. I can't work out which is better because they're both hidden from the user due to the URI being sent via. AJAX, not in the URL bar.
Thanks,
James
Neither add any security against either man-in-the-middle attacks or the end user. Both can be intercepted and tampered with using Wireshark, Firebug, or other tools.
If you want security against interception, you can use HTTPS. That does not prevent the user from sending requests manually, though.
It's almost trivially easy to inspect the contents of both post and get values. Your best bet, if you do not want the user to be able to get at that data directly, is to encrypt it, and / or send it over ssl.
There are no security differences between POST and GET used in AJAX. They are not hidden from the user - a simple tool like Fiddler would allow the user to see those requests. the payload in both is in plain text (ie, as your script created it). The only difference is that POST payload is in the body of the request and GET payload is in the query params of the URL.
They are not hidden from the user at all; install FireBug on FireFox and they are able to see the URI. Your choice of using GET and POST depends on the data sent; and if you going by REST standards, depending on the operation.
Treat an AJAX call as you would with information coming from the client through a form and through the address bar : Verify and sanctify.
They can view the page source and see where your target URL is and what parameters are being passed either way.
Lets consider next scenario: assume I have a web app, and authentication of users is performed through a modal dialog window (lets say, that when a user clicks login button, ajax request is sent and depending on the callback I either close the window or display an error), and I use only HTTP protocol. Why is it considered to be not secure way to do things?
Also, please make sure that a modal dialog window is taken into account, because this is vital info. There may be some data displayed underneath the dialog window and can be accessible if modality is broken.
The question includes both:
How can you break an app security by
utilizing ajax call?
Is Ajax HTTP less secure than a
regular form HTTP?
Whoever told you - he is wrong. The ajax through post is not less secure than post with regular forms. Just because it is the same thing.
Update 1 according to the last edit:
You cannot
No
Argument: the AJAX request is the same http request as any other (such as request sent by html form). Absolutely the same. So by definition it cannot be less or more secure.
I don't know how to explain more and what to say else: ajax is a http request. the same request as your browser does when you open SO page or when you post the SO question form.
I can rephrase your question to something like "Why A is less secure than A". Answer to it: A is not less secure than A, because A is A :-S
Any sensitive data should be channeled through HTTPS. GET data is sent in the querystring. POST data is sent in the HTTP Request header. Ajax can do both. BOTH are not secure. You need a channel level encryption to really secure it.
HTTP isn't secure for private data because the data is transmitted in plaintext. This can be intercepted anywhere between the client and server (eg. wifi.) Ajax over HTTPS would be much better.
I think the issue is that you are using http. No matter how you look at it it wont be secure. If you use https the ajax request will be just as secure as a html form.
Somy answer would be to use https and you will be all set.
I'm no security expert, but I think it might be more secure sending it over HTTPS. Just googling learns me that it can be done securely though:
http://www.indicthreads.com/1524/secure-ajax-based-user-authentication/
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc793961.aspx (focused on ASP.NET)
etc.
Since browsers use the same network stack for HTTP and HTTPS, be it AJAX or not, there is no difference. All the headers, cookies, authentication, etc work exactly the same.