Credential Security Support Provider for Secure Delegation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for delegating user credentials from a client to a server lack sufficient security, making them vulnerable to attacks, and there is no policy-driven control over the delegation of various types of credentials.
Innovation Solution
A credential security support provider (Cred SSP) is introduced, which uses a set of policies to securely delegate user credentials from the client to the server, ensuring only a trusted subsystem has access to clear text credentials, thus preventing unauthorized access and mitigating a range of attacks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If user credentials are delegated from client to server to enable server application functionality, then the server application can access user capabilities, but the credentials become vulnerable to attacks and unauthorized access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a security support provider (SSP) as an intermediary component that sits between the calling application and the credential delegation process. The SSP acts as a trusted mediator that encrypts credentials before they leave the client and decrypts them only within the trusted subsystem on the server, preventing direct exposure to applications. This resolves the contradiction by enabling credential delegation while protecting against attacks through the intermediary security layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the credential delegation process into distinct trusted and untrusted zones. The client-side SSP, communication channel, and server-side trusted subsystem form secure segments, while application code is explicitly excluded from the trusted segment. This segmentation allows credentials to be delegated across network boundaries while maintaining security boundaries that prevent unauthorized access, resolving the vulnerability issue.
2Ease of operation
If clear text credentials are made accessible to calling applications for credential delegation, then applications can use credentials directly, but security protection is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The SSP intermediary manages credential encryption and decryption, allowing applications to request credentials without directly handling clear text. The SSP mediates between application needs and security requirements by providing encrypted credential storage and controlled decryption only within the trusted subsystem, maintaining both ease of operation and security protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different security qualities to different parts of the system: the trusted subsystem has high security protection for clear text credentials, while applications operate in an untrusted environment with encrypted credentials only. This local quality differentiation allows each component to have appropriate access levels, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and security protection.
3Adaptability or versatility
If no policy-driven control is implemented for credential delegation, then any application can delegate any credentials, but security control and restriction are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic policy-driven control where the trusted subsystem evaluates delegation requests against configurable security policies before allowing credential delegation. Policies can be adjusted based on trust relationships, user roles, and delegation contexts, providing flexible control that adapts to different scenarios while preventing unauthorized access. This resolves the contradiction by making security control dynamic rather than static.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the trusted subsystem monitors credential delegation attempts and enforces policies based on evaluated trust relationships. The policy evaluation process provides feedback on whether delegation should be allowed, creating a controlled loop that maintains security while enabling legitimate delegation scenarios. This feedback control resolves the contradiction between flexibility and security.
Data Source
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AI summary
A credential security support provider (Cred SSP) enables any application to securely delegate a user's credentials from the client, via client side Security Support Provider (SSP) software, to a target server, via server side SSP software. The Cred SSP provides a secure solution based in part upon a set of policies. The policies can be for any type of user credentials and the different policies are designed to mitigate a broad range of attacks so that appropriate delegation can occur for given delegation circumstances, network conditions, trust levels, etc. Additionally, only a trusted subsystem, e.g., a trusted subsystem of the Local Security Authority (LSA), has access to the clear text credentials such that neither the calling application of the Cred SSP APIs on the server side nor the calling application of the Cred SSP APIs on the client side have access to clear text credentials.