HTTP Session Authentication via Hash Chain Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Stateless protocols, such as HTTP, are vulnerable to unauthorized access due to the susceptibility of session identifiers to interception, which can lead to compromised user sessions and security breaches in e-commerce and browsing activities.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a hash chain system where a one-way hashing algorithm is repeatedly applied to an initial value to generate a chain of hash values, with the last value used as a session identifier, allowing the server to authenticate the client device by working backwards through the chain, preventing unauthorized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional session identifiers are used in stateless protocols, then communication simplicity and speed are maintained, but security is compromised due to susceptibility to interception and unauthorized access
Solution Approach 1:
The session authentication mechanism is segmented into multiple independent hash values forming a chain. Each hash value serves as a discrete authentication token that can be individually validated, allowing the system to maintain security through distributed authentication states rather than a single vulnerable session identifier.
Solution Approach 2:
The server pre-generates a chain of hash values and provides the client with the entire sequence beforehand. This preliminary action allows the client to use subsequent hash values in the chain for future communications without needing to request new authentication tokens, enabling stateless communication with stateful authentication.
2Reliability
If session identifiers remain the same value over the life of a session, then communication consistency is maintained, but vulnerability to interception and unauthorized access increases
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication mechanism transitions from static session identifiers to dynamic hash values that change with each communication round. The client progresses through the pre-provided hash chain, using different hash values for different requests, making each authentication token unique and time-limited while maintaining automated operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The hash chain acts as an intermediary mechanism between the server and client authentication states. It provides a mathematical bridge that allows the server to verify client identity without maintaining session state, and allows the client to progress through authentication without direct server intervention for each step.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a hash chain authentication system is implemented, then security against interception is significantly improved, but the complexity of the authentication mechanism increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical session management systems with cryptographic hash functions. Instead of relying on server-side session state tracking and complex session management protocols, the system uses mathematical one-way functions to provide authentication, substituting cryptographic mechanisms for traditional session management infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the fundamental parameter of authentication from static session identifiers to a sequence of dynamic hash values. This parameter change transforms the authentication model from state-based to mathematics-based security, where the security property emerges from the cryptographic properties of the hash function rather than from session state management.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for performing authentication of a client device using a hash chain includes: receiving a first data request from a client device, the first data request including at least a user identifier and a first hash value; transmitting a first data response message to the client device; receiving a second data request from the client device, the second data request including at least the user identifier and a second hash value; generating a validating hash value by applying a hashing algorithm to the second hash value; validating the first hash value as being equal to the generated validating hash value; and transmitting a second data response message to the client device upon successful validation of the first hash value, wherein the second data response message includes one or more data values associated with the user identifier.