The problem is that your model does not seem to be based on a "secret" and site names don't have a lot of entropy. I don't know enough about your model to give you examples of possible attacks, but it seems to be similar to an access control model where you ask to people to enter their user ID but no password. Saying "Oh, the client has to know a valid user name to get in" would not be enough to make this a secure model. If you store the remote site information in the Session, this information is stored-server side and a client never even gets the chance to have a go at circumventing it.
The role model can be made to work. You have a list of clients, or sites, and you assign them roles. You create a table of role-to-permissions or simply declare the required roles in your JSP. Then in your pages make the following access check: // This gives "MyApp/saveEditedPage.action" in your original example; you may also use // getServletPath() to give you "saveEditedPage.action" String requestURI = request.getRequestURI(); // Implement this method yourself String[] permittedRoles = getPermittedRoles(requestURI); boolean accessAllowed = false; for (int i = 0; i < permittedRoles.length; i++) { if (request.isUserInRole(permittedRoles[i])) { accessAllowed = true; break; } } This is simply an example, of course, and I don't know whether such a scheme would work for you. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Morten Andersen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Tomcat Users List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, September 26, 2003 10:33 AM Subject: Re: Authentication - based on request parameters > Why is that a security-issue? > I wan't the user to enter the site by cliking on a link or whatever, so > that the user enters the site using that request. It should be OK, that the > user tryes to go to a restricted page by writing > blabla:8080/MyApp/restrictedRequest.action?site=JustAGuess > > But if that is done and the user has not got rights to do it, then he is > being rejected... > > Regards > > Morten Andersen > > PS: I did consider the role-based model form tomcat, but that is > coarse-grained, in the sense that it is based on 1 role for one web-app, > and that is not suficient. > > > >Something else that occurs to me is that your security model appears to > >depend on a GET parameter in the request ("?site=MySite"). A client could > >easily change this value to circumvent your security. A better model is > >that your logon page sets a value in the Session object to identify the > >user. Then the security depends on a very long, random session ID and it is > >vanishingly unlikely that a client will be able to change this ID (either in > >a URL or a cookie) and, by chance, hit on a valid session ID belonging to > >another user. > > > > > > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Morten Andersen > Master of applied mathematics and computer science > Amanuensis (in e-learning) > > The Maersk Institute of Production technology at Southern Danish University > www.mip.sdu.dk > Campusvej 55 > DK-5230 Odense M > Denmark > +45 6550-3654 > +45 6171-1103 > Jabber id: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]