Catalyst-Plugin-HashedCookies
view release on metacpan or search on metacpan
NAME
Catalyst::Plugin::HashedCookies - Tamper-resistant HTTP Cookies
VERSION
version 1.131710
SYNOPSIS
use Catalyst qw/HashedCookies/;
MyApp->config->{hashedcookies} = {
key => $secret_key,
algorithm => 'SHA1', # optional
required => 1, # optional
};
MyApp->setup;
# later, in another part of MyApp...
print "this cookie tastes good!\n"
if $c->request->valid_cookie('my_cookie_name');
DESCRIPTION
Overview
When HTTP cookies are used to store a user's state or identity it's
important that your application is able to distinguish legitimate
cookies from those that have been edited or created by a malicious user.
This module allows you to determine whether a cookie presented by a
client was created in its current state by your own application.
Implementation
HashedCookies adds a keyed cryptographic hash to each cookie that your
application creates, and checks every client-provided cookie for a valid
hash.
This is done in a transparent way such that you do not need to change
any application code that handles cookies when using this plugin. A
cookie that fails to contain a valid hash will still be available to
your application through "$c->request->cookie()".
Two additional methods within the Catalyst request object allow you to
check the status (in other words, the vailidity) of your cookies.
METHODS
Catalyst Request Object Methods
"$c->request->valid_cookie($cookie_name)"
If a cookie was successfully authenticated then this method will
return True, otherwise it will return False.
"$c->request->invalid_cookie($cookie_name)"
If a cookie failed its authentication, then this method will return
True, otherwise it will return False. Please read the
"CONFIGURATION" section below to understand what 'failed
authentication' really means.
CONFIGURATION
key
MyApp->config->{hashedcookies}->{key} = $secret_key;
This parameter is required, and sets the secret key that is used to
generate a message authentication hash. Clearly, for a returned
cookie to be authenticated the same key must be used both when
setting the cookie and retrieving it.
algorithm
MyApp->config->{hashedcookies}->{algorithm} = 'SHA1';
# or
MyApp->config->{hashedcookies}->{algorithm} = 'MD5';
This parameter is optional, and will default to "SHA1" if not set.
It instructs the module to use the given message digest algorithm.
required
MyApp->config->{hashedcookies}->{required} = 0;
# or
MyApp->config->{hashedcookies}->{required} = 1;
This parameter is optional, and will default to 1 if not set.
If a cookie is read from the client but does not contain a
HashedCookies hash (i.e. this module was not running when the cookie
was set), then this parameter controls whether the cookie is
ignored.
Setting this parameter to True means that a cookie without a hash is
treated as if it did have a hash, and therefore the authentication
will fail. Setting this parameter to False means that the cookie
will be ignored.
When a cookie is ignored, neither "$c->request->valid_cookie()" nor
"$c->request->invalid_cookie()" will return True, but you can of
course still access the cookie through "$c->request->cookie()".
DIAGNOSTICS
'Request for unknown digest algorithm to ...'
You have attempted to configure this module with an unrecognized
( run in 1.023 second using v1.01-cache-2.11-cpan-39bf76dae61 )