Browser Message Interceptor for Full-Duplex Security Auditing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing security auditing techniques are inadequate for identifying security vulnerabilities in modern web applications that use persistent, full-duplex communication channel protocols like WebSocket, as they struggle to intercept and analyze incoming and outgoing messages effectively.
Innovation Solution
Implementing replacement code within web browser software to intercept and store incoming and outgoing messages on full-duplex communication channels, allowing for parsing of message formatting and probing for security vulnerabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional HTTP-based security auditing techniques are used, then the auditing process is simple and well-established, but they cannot effectively intercept and analyze messages on full-duplex communication channels like WebSocket
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a message interceptor as an intermediary component that sits between the application and the full-duplex communication channel. This interceptor captures outgoing messages before they are sent and intercepts incoming messages after they are received, allowing security auditing without requiring modifications to the communication protocol itself. The intermediary approach enables traditional security tools to work with modern full-duplex protocols by translating WebSocket message flows into a format suitable for analysis.
2Reliability
If replacement code is implemented to intercept messages on full-duplex channels, then security vulnerability detection is enabled, but the complexity of the browser software increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the message handling process into distinct components: the original full-duplex communication channel, the message interceptor that captures messages, and the security auditing system that analyzes them. By dividing the system into separate functional modules, the complexity is localized to the interceptor component rather than being distributed throughout the entire browser software. This segmentation allows the core browser functionality to remain unchanged while adding security capabilities in a isolated, manageable layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The message interceptor serves as an intermediary layer that adds security functionality without modifying the core browser software or the full-duplex communication channel. This intermediary approach allows security auditing to be implemented as an add-on component rather than requiring fundamental changes to the browser architecture, thereby minimizing the increase in overall system complexity.
3Loss of information
If message interception is implemented on persistent full-duplex channels, then incoming and outgoing messages can be analyzed, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring message formatting increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by capturing and storing messages in their raw form immediately when they are intercepted, before any processing or formatting analysis is attempted. The message interceptor saves both outgoing messages (before they leave the application) and incoming messages (after they arrive), preserving the complete message content including formatting. This preliminary capture ensures that all message information is available for later analysis without loss, and the stored messages can be examined at leisure to determine formatting patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The security auditing system uses feedback from analyzing intercepted messages to automatically determine message formatting patterns. By examining the captured messages and identifying recurring structures, the system adapts to the specific protocol being used and adjusts its analysis accordingly. This feedback mechanism reduces the difficulty of formatting analysis by allowing the system to learn the message structure from the intercepted traffic itself rather than requiring pre-programmed knowledge of every possible format.
Data Source
AI summary
Code implementing a full-duplex communication channel protocol within web browser software on a client computing device is replaced with replacement code. The replacement code intercepts incoming and outgoing messages on a channel opened at the web browser software between the client computing device and a server computing device running a web application. Responsive to the channel being opened at the web browser software, the replacement code intercepts and stores the incoming and outgoing messages.