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Session Token Remains Valid After Logout in IBM Lotus Domino Web Access
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SUMMARY
In Lotus Domino Web Access (DWA) 7.0.1, the session token used to identify
the user (called "LtpaToken") is not invalidated on the server upon user
logout. The cookie is removed from the browser, but the token continues
to be recognized by the server until a configurable expiration time is
reached.
DETAILS
Attack Overview:
The most likely attack scenario is session hijacking or session stealing.
Knowing a valid session token would allow a malicious person to access all
functionality of the web application (except changing password, which
requires knowledge of the current password). Lotus DWA is a personal
information management application that includes e-mail, calendar, and
task management. By hijacking (or stealing) a session, an attacker is
able to impersonate a legitimate user, and can read the user's e-mail,
send e-mail as the user, or change the user's preference settings.
Vulnerability Details:
When a Lotus DWA user logs in, a cookie called "LtpaToken" is set into the
browser and is used throughout the session to uniquely identify the user.
When a user logs out of DWA, the cookie is cleared from the browser, but
this action has no effect on the server. The token eventually expires on
the server after some configurable amount of time. A user who explicitly
logs out of DWA may have a false sense of security. The LtpaToken cookie
in his browser is deleted, but the token is still valid from the server's
perspective and can be used by an attacker if he can discover it. Best
practices in web application security would call for the LtpaToken to be
invalidated/destroyed at logout time. Note that the vulnerability
described here was observed with Session authentication under the Domino
Web Engine tab set to "Multiple Servers (SSO)". The same behavior may
occur with the "Single Server" configuration as well, but this was not
tested.
The "LtpaToken" described here is a component in IBM's Lightweight
Third-Party Authentication (LTPA) technology. The LTPA technology was
designed to be a defacto standard across the IBM product family. LTPA is
used in both IBM WebSphere and Lotus Domino products and allows for single
sign-on across physical servers. For example, Domino can recognize and
accept LTPA tokens created by WebSphere. For more information, please see
the IBM redpaper at
<http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/pdfs/redp4104.pdf>
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/pdfs/redp4104.pdf
Mitigating Factors:
Keeping the LtpaToken confidential is critical to mitigating this issue.
An attacker must be able to discover a valid LtpaToken before it expires.
Because the LtpaToken is sent with each request, Lotus DWA should be
deployed as a secure application. This means an SSL certificate should be
installed on the server so that encrypted (https) communication between
the browser and the server occurs.
Cross-site scripting (XSS) is a common application-level attack that can
be used to steal cookies such as LtpaToken. Running the application under
SSL does not hinder XSS attacks. Fortunately, Lotus Domino includes a
module called Active Content Filter that is highly effective at removing
potentially harmful scripts in e-mail messages. Active Content Filtering
should be turned on.
Finally, the overall risk level can be lowered by enabling an idle session
timeout in addition to the absolute expiration time. Ideally, from an
application security perspective, the idle (inactivity) timeout would be
much smaller than the absolute expiration. Be aware that the increased
security from having small timeout values may negatively affect end-user
satisfaction in the application.
Recommendations:
IBM recommends running Lotus DWA run under SSL and using a token
expiration time of 30 minutes.
Please see IBM technote #1245589:
<http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=463&uid=swg21245589>
http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=463&uid=swg21245589
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The information has been provided by
<mailto:dave.ferguson@fishnetsecurity.com> Dave Ferguson.
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