Reverse Proxy Credential Vault Encryption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Web applications in enterprise environments face security and governance challenges due to the complexity of implementing Single Sign On (SSO) and managing credentials securely, particularly in reverse proxy systems where administrative users can decrypt all passwords if they know the encryption method.
Innovation Solution
A reverse proxy system that encrypts secondary passwords with a primary password, using a hash function, and stores them in a credential vault, ensuring only the user can decrypt them, and implements a method to detect password changes, preventing administrative access to all credentials if the primary password is altered.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a reverse proxy system stores all user credentials with a single encryption method accessible by administrators, then credential management is simplified, but security is compromised as administrators can access all passwords
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the credential storage system by creating separate encrypted credential stores for different users. Each user's credentials are encrypted with their own unique encryption key derived from their password, rather than using a single master key accessible by administrators. This segmentation ensures that administrators cannot access user credentials even though they can manage the system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by making each user's credential store have unique security properties. Each user's credentials are protected by their own encryption key, creating localized security zones where only the authenticated user can access their own credentials. This is achieved through user-specific encryption key derivation and separate credential vaults for each user.
2Ease of operation
If administrators have access to decryption keys for all credentials, then system maintenance and user support is easier, but security is compromised as all passwords become accessible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring the system with user-specific encryption key derivation mechanisms and separate credential vaults before any credentials are stored. The system is designed from the outset to prevent administrator access to user credentials through architectural choices like using user passwords to derive encryption keys, rather than relying on post-deployment security measures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism where user passwords themselves serve as the encryption keys, acting as a mediator between the user's authentication and their credential protection. This eliminates the need for separate administrator-held decryption keys, as the user's own password becomes the security barrier that prevents unauthorized access including by administrators.
3Device complexity
If a single primary password is used to encrypt all secondary passwords, then the encryption system is simpler to implement, but the system becomes vulnerable if the primary password is compromised or changed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the encryption system by creating separate encryption key derivation processes for each user. Instead of using a single primary password to encrypt all secondary passwords, each user's password is used to derive a unique encryption key for their specific credential vault. This segmentation maintains relative simplicity while dramatically improving security resilience.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by transforming the encryption approach from using a static primary password to dynamically deriving encryption keys from each user's password through a key derivation function. This changes the fundamental parameter of what serves as the encryption key, making the system more resilient to password changes and compromises while maintaining cryptographic simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
Roles and policies are used to provide display and access to data in a flexible manner. Users and/or web applications can be mapped to user roles that dictate which displays or other application resources are available to the user or application. Roles are assigned to web applications individually, allowing for user roles to be used without requiring an independent mapping of users to roles. In some cases, application roles can be centrally managed, so that presentation systems also avoid the need for an independent mapping of user or application roles.