Critical Security Flaw Admin UI And Casa Sessions Not Revoked After Password Change Or User Deactivation

Hey guys! Today, we're diving into a critical QA test plan focused on session management within the Gluu Flex Admin UI and Casa UI. We're talking about what happens to user sessions when a password is changed or a user is deactivated. This is super important for security, so let's get into it!

Why Session Revocation Matters

Before we jump into the nitty-gritty, let’s quickly chat about why session revocation is a big deal. Imagine this: a user's password gets compromised, or an employee leaves the company. You change their password or deactivate their account, right? But what if their active sessions remain valid? That’s a huge security risk! An attacker could still access sensitive information, or the ex-employee could continue using the system. Session revocation ensures that when you make these changes, the user is immediately kicked out of the system, preventing unauthorized access.

The Importance of Immediate Session Termination

In today's digital landscape, immediate session termination upon password change or account deactivation is not just a best practice, it's a necessity. Consider the potential ramifications of a delayed or non-existent session revocation: data breaches, unauthorized access to sensitive information, and compliance violations. By ensuring that user sessions are promptly terminated, organizations can significantly mitigate these risks and maintain a robust security posture. Moreover, the principle of least privilege dictates that users should only have access to the resources they currently need, and immediate session termination aligns perfectly with this principle.

Real-World Implications of Session Persistence

To truly understand the importance of session revocation, let's consider some real-world scenarios. Imagine a healthcare professional whose credentials have been compromised. If their active sessions persist after a password change, an attacker could potentially access patient records, leading to severe privacy breaches and legal consequences. Similarly, in the financial sector, a persistent session could allow unauthorized individuals to conduct fraudulent transactions. These scenarios underscore the critical need for a robust session management system that ensures immediate termination upon credential changes or account deactivation. By prioritizing session security, organizations can safeguard their data, maintain user trust, and comply with industry regulations.

QA Test Plan Overview

Our main objective here is to verify that user sessions are properly revoked in two key scenarios:

1. Password Change: When a user's password is changed, their existing sessions should be immediately invalidated.
2. User Deactivation: When a user account is deactivated, any active sessions should be terminated.

We're focusing on Gluu Flex (specifically versions 5.5.0, 5.8.0, and testing in 5.9.0), along with the Admin UI and Casa UI. So, let’s break down the test cases.

Test Environment Setup

Before we dive into the test cases, let's quickly cover the pre-requisites. Think of this as setting the stage for our performance.

1. Gluu Flex 5.9.0 Environment: We need a deployed Gluu Flex 5.9.0 environment. This is our playground.
2. Accessible UIs: Both the Admin UI and Casa UI must be up and running.
3. User Modification Access: We need access to modify users, either through the Admin UI or directly via LDAP. This is how we'll simulate password changes and deactivations.
4. Multiple Browser Sessions: We'll use two separate browser sessions (like a normal window and an incognito window) or even different devices. This helps us simulate a user logged in from one place while an admin makes changes from another.

Creating the Perfect Testing Ground

Setting up the test environment correctly is crucial for obtaining accurate and reliable results. A properly configured environment mirrors real-world usage scenarios, ensuring that the tests are relevant and meaningful. This includes not only deploying the Gluu Flex instance but also ensuring that the network configuration, database connections, and other dependencies are correctly set up. By paying close attention to these details, we can minimize the risk of false positives or negatives and gain a true understanding of the system's behavior under different conditions.

The Importance of Isolated Sessions

Using multiple browser sessions or devices is not just a convenience; it's a key aspect of our testing methodology. By isolating user sessions, we can accurately simulate the scenario where a user remains logged in while administrative actions are taken. This isolation allows us to observe how the system responds when a password is changed or an account is deactivated while a session is active. Without this isolation, we might miss critical issues related to session revocation and potentially overlook security vulnerabilities.

User Roles and Permissions: A Critical Component

Ensuring that the test user has the necessary roles and permissions is another vital aspect of the setup. The user needs to have sufficient privileges to access both the Admin UI and Casa UI, allowing us to test the session revocation mechanisms across different interfaces. By carefully configuring user roles, we can ensure that the tests are performed in a realistic context and that the results accurately reflect the system's behavior for different types of users.

Test User Configuration

We'll create a test user, let's call them testuser01. This user needs the right roles and permissions to access the Admin UI and Casa UI. We'll also record their initial password (something like Test@1234). This gives us a baseline for our tests.

Test Case 1: Session Not Revoked After Password Change

This is where the rubber meets the road. We're going to see what happens when we change a user's password while they're still logged in.

Steps

1. Login Session: Open the Admin UI or Casa in a browser tab and log in as testuser01 using the initial credentials.
2. Password Change: In another browser session (incognito or another browser), log in as an admin and change testuser01's password (e.g., to Test@5678).
3. Refresh Active Session: Go back to the first session where testuser01 is still logged in and refresh the page.

Expected vs. Actual Result

• Expected Result: The session should be revoked, and the user should be redirected to the login screen. This is what should happen if everything is working correctly.
• Actual Result: Unfortunately, in our tests, the session remains active. This is a problem!.

Diving Deeper into Password Change Scenarios

To fully assess the session revocation process after a password change, it's essential to consider various scenarios. For instance, what happens if the password is changed through a self-service portal versus an administrator-initiated change? Each scenario might trigger different code paths and reveal subtle differences in behavior. By exploring these variations, we can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the system's resilience and identify potential edge cases that require attention. Furthermore, testing password changes with different levels of complexity and character sets can help uncover issues related to password validation and encoding, ensuring that the system handles a wide range of password types gracefully.

The Role of Timing in Session Revocation

Timing is another critical factor to consider when evaluating session revocation after a password change. How quickly does the system invalidate existing sessions once the password is changed? A delay in session revocation could provide a window of opportunity for unauthorized access, especially if the compromised credentials have been used maliciously. Therefore, it's crucial to measure the time it takes for the system to revoke sessions and ensure that it aligns with security requirements. This might involve using automated testing tools to precisely measure the time elapsed between the password change and the session termination. By quantifying the session revocation time, we can establish a baseline for performance and identify any deviations that warrant further investigation.

Test Case 2: Session Not Revoked After User Deactivation

Next up, we're testing what happens when we deactivate a user account while they're logged in. This is just as critical as password changes.

Steps

1. Login Session: Open Admin UI or Casa in a browser tab and log in as testuser01.
2. Deactivate User: From another session (admin user), deactivate testuser01. This can be done via the Admin UI or directly in LDAP (by setting jansStatus to inactive).
3. Refresh Active Session: Return to the active user session and refresh the page.

Expected vs. Actual Result

• Expected Result: The session should be revoked. The user should see an error message or be redirected to the login page. Again, this is the ideal outcome.
• Actual Result: The session remains active. Uh oh, another issue!.

Deactivation Methods and Their Impact

Similar to password changes, user deactivation can be performed through various methods, and it's crucial to test each one. For instance, deactivating a user through the Admin UI might involve different steps than deactivating them directly in LDAP. Understanding these differences and testing each scenario ensures comprehensive coverage. Additionally, it's important to consider the impact of deactivation on other related services or systems. Does the deactivation cascade to other applications or services that rely on the same user directory? By considering these dependencies, we can ensure that user deactivation is handled consistently and effectively across the entire organization.

Monitoring System Logs for Deactivation Events

When testing user deactivation, monitoring system logs is a valuable technique for verifying the process. System logs can provide insights into the actions performed during deactivation, such as the timestamp, the user involved, and any errors or warnings encountered. By analyzing these logs, we can confirm that the deactivation process was initiated correctly and that the system responded as expected. Furthermore, log analysis can help identify any potential issues or delays in the deactivation process, allowing us to fine-tune the system and ensure timely session revocation. Integrating log monitoring into the testing process adds an extra layer of validation and helps build confidence in the system's reliability.

Key Findings: A Security Risk

Here’s the bottom line: this behavior is a security risk. Allowing sessions to remain active after a password change or user deactivation opens the door to potential unauthorized access. This is something we need to address ASAP!.

The Breadth of the Security Implications

The security implications of persistent sessions after password changes or deactivations extend far beyond a single user account. They can potentially compromise the entire system and the data it contains. Imagine a scenario where an attacker gains access to a privileged account and is able to maintain that access even after the account owner has changed their password or been deactivated. This could allow the attacker to escalate privileges, access sensitive information, and even disrupt critical business operations. Therefore, addressing this vulnerability is paramount to maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of the system.

Compliance and Regulatory Considerations

In addition to the immediate security risks, persistent sessions can also lead to compliance and regulatory issues. Many industries and jurisdictions have specific requirements for access control and data protection. Failure to properly revoke sessions can be a violation of these requirements, leading to fines, legal action, and reputational damage. For instance, regulations like GDPR and HIPAA mandate strict controls over access to personal data and protected health information. A system that fails to revoke sessions promptly may not meet these requirements and could expose the organization to significant penalties.

Recommendations for a Fix

The solution is clear: we need to revoke user sessions and associated tokens immediately upon password update or deactivation. This should happen in both the Admin UI and Casa UI session validators.

Implementing Robust Session Validation

A robust session validation mechanism is the cornerstone of any effective session revocation strategy. This mechanism should continuously monitor the validity of active sessions and ensure that they are terminated when necessary. This might involve periodic checks against a central session store or the implementation of session timeouts. By actively validating sessions, the system can quickly detect and respond to changes in user status, such as password changes or deactivations. Furthermore, a well-designed session validation mechanism should be resilient to attacks and prevent session hijacking or other forms of unauthorized access.

Leveraging Token Revocation Mechanisms

In modern web applications, tokens (such as JWTs) are commonly used to represent user sessions. These tokens typically have a limited lifespan, but it's also crucial to have a mechanism for explicitly revoking them. This might involve maintaining a list of revoked tokens or using a more sophisticated token revocation protocol. By ensuring that tokens are properly revoked, the system can effectively prevent unauthorized access even if the tokens are intercepted or stolen. Integrating token revocation into the session management process adds an extra layer of security and helps protect against potential vulnerabilities.

Enhancing User Experience with Clear Feedback

While security is the primary driver for session revocation, it's also essential to consider the user experience. When a session is revoked, users should receive clear and informative feedback about why they have been logged out. This might involve displaying a message explaining that their password has been changed or their account has been deactivated. By providing clear feedback, we can help users understand the situation and take appropriate action, such as logging back in with their new credentials or contacting support. A user-friendly approach to session revocation enhances the overall user experience and promotes trust in the system.

Additional Tweaks for a Seamless Logout

Optionally, we can trigger a logout via browser redirect or refresh token expiration. This adds an extra layer of polish to the process.

Attachments and References

For more details, there's a reference video (talk to Zico for that) and the original ticket (again, Zico's your guy for that info).

Conclusion

So, there you have it! Our QA test plan revealed a critical issue with session revocation. We've got a clear path forward to fix it and make our system more secure. Let's get those sessions revoked!

I hope this deep dive into QA testing for session revocation was helpful! Remember, security is a team sport, and every test we run makes our systems stronger. Keep testing, keep learning, and stay secure, folks!