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[www/ikiwiki.git] / doc / bugs / ssl_certificates_not_checked_with_openid.mdwn

diff --git a/doc/bugs/ssl_certificates_not_checked_with_openid.mdwn b/doc/bugs/ssl_certificates_not_checked_with_openid.mdwn
index 802ab16a7314a85ea02954b4232c64213e4f3e59..e3bd56cfdf81bb0e369911d607600e7a1a0e8626 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/bugs/ssl_certificates_not_checked_with_openid.mdwn
+++ b/doc/bugs/ssl_certificates_not_checked_with_openid.mdwn
@@ -7,3 +7,46 @@ Test #2: Download net\_ssl\_test from dodgy source (it uses the same SSL perl li
 For now, I want to try and resolve the issues with net\_ssl\_test, and run more tests. However, in the meantime, I thought I would document the issue here.
 
 -- Brian May
+
+> Openid's security model does not rely on the openid consumer (ie,
+> ikiwiki) performing any sanity checking of the openid server. All the
+> security authentication goes on between your web browser and the openid
+> server. This may involve ssl, or not.
+>
+>> Note that I'm not an openid expert, and the above may need to be taken
+>> with a grain of salt. I also can make no general statements about openid
+>> being secure. ;-) --[[Joey]]
+> 
+> For example, my openid is "http://joey.kitenet.net/". If I log in with
+> this openid, ikiwiki connects to that http url to determine what openid
+> server it uses, and then redirects my browser to the server
+> (https://www.myopenid.com/server), which validates the user and redirects
+> the browser back to ikiwiki with a flag set indicating that the openid
+> was validated. At no point does ikiwiki need to verify that the https url
+> is good.
+> --[[Joey]]
+
+>> Ok, so I guess the worst that could happen when ikiwiki talks to the http
+>> address is that it gets intercepted, and ikiwiki gets the wrong address.
+>> ikiwiki will then redirect the browser to the wrong address. An attacker could
+>> trick ikiwiki to redirect to their site which always validates the user
+>> and then redirects back to ikiwiki. The legitimate user may not even notice.
+>> That doesn't so seem secure to me...
+
+>> All the attacker needs is access to the network somewhere between ikiwiki
+>> and http://joey.kitenet.net/ or the ability to inject false DNS host names
+>> for use by ikiwiki and the rest is simple.
+
+>> -- Brian May
+
+>>> I guess that the place to add SSL cert checking would be in either
+>>> [[cpan LWPx::ParanoidAgent]] or [[cpan Net::OpenID::Consumer]]. Adding
+>>> it to ikiwiki itself, which is just a user of those libraries, doesn't
+>>> seem right.
+>>> 
+>>> It's not particularly clear to me how a SSL cert can usefully be
+>>> checked at this level, where there is no way to do anything but
+>>> succeed, or fail; and where the extent of the check that can be done is
+>>> that the SSL cert is issued by a trusted party and matches the domain name
+>>> of the site being connected to. I also don't personally think that SSL
+>>> certs are the right fix for DNS poisoning issues. --[[Joey]]