Dynamic Session Cookie Authentication via PRNG Encryption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current web authentication systems using HTTP cookies are vulnerable to malicious third-party impersonation, as session cookies remain valid for extended periods, allowing attackers to steal and reuse them, both at rest and in transit, despite encryption.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a pseudorandom number generator (PRNG) to dynamically encrypt session IDs with changing cryptographic keys, ensuring cookies are valid for brief periods and require synchronized PRNG outputs for decryption, thereby limiting their reuse and validity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If session cookies are used for authentication, then user login is simplified and authentication is fast, but cookies remain valid for extended periods allowing attackers to steal and reuse them
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the session cookie value change over time through a counter mechanism. Instead of static session cookies, the system generates dynamic cookie values that increment with each request, ensuring that even if a cookie is stolen, it becomes invalid after use. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining authentication simplicity while dramatically improving session security through dynamic value regeneration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of the session cookie from static to dynamic by incorporating a counter that increments with each request. The cookie value is no longer a fixed identifier but a changing parameter that includes the counter value, making stolen cookies useless after a single use. This parameter change resolves the security vulnerability while preserving the ease of authentication.
2Reliability
If cookies are transmitted over secure encrypted channels, then cookie theft in transit is prevented, but cookies can still be stolen at rest from the user's computing device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements disposable session cookies that are valid for only a single request. Each cookie contains an incrementing counter value that is discarded after use, making the cookie analogous to a single-use disposable object. This approach prevents reuse of stolen cookies while maintaining secure transmission, effectively neutralizing the threat of cookie theft at rest since stolen cookies become immediately invalid.
3Reliability
If two-factor authentication is used to fortify passwords, then account security is improved, but session cookies still bypass these measures and remain vulnerable to theft
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the session authentication into multiple components: the session identifier, a counter value, and a hash of these elements. By dividing the cookie into segmented components that are collectively validated, the system ensures that even if traditional two-factor authentication protects the account, the session cookie itself cannot be stolen and reused. The segmentation creates a multi-layered defense where each component is necessary for valid authentication.
Data Source
AI summary
A server sends information to a client that allows the client to establish a first key at the client. The server then receives a session ID that has been encrypted using the first key. The first key is then established at the server, which can then decrypt the session ID using the first key. After the server validates the session ID, it determines a second key that is different from the first key. The server then receives the session ID encrypted with the second key, and decrypts the session ID encrypted with the second key.