Fix Broken User Authentication in Meteor
Meteor's DDP protocol is a double-edged sword. If you're rolling custom auth methods or ignoring the Accounts package's security defaults, you're handing over the keys to your DB. Broken Auth here usually means bypassing SRP (Secure Remote Password) or failing to rate-limit the login method, making brute-force and credential stuffing trivial.
The Vulnerable Pattern
Meteor.methods({
'manualLogin'(username, password) {
const user = Meteor.users.findOne({ username });
// CRITICAL: Plaintext password comparison and custom auth logic
// This bypasses Meteor's built-in SRP and session management
if (user && user.customPasswordStore === password) {
this.setUserId(user._id);
return true;
}
throw new Meteor.Error('403', 'Access Denied');
}
});The Secure Implementation
The vulnerable code ignores Meteor's native SRP implementation, which is designed to prevent sending passwords in plaintext over the wire. By manually checking passwords, you lose built-in hashing and salt protections. The secure approach utilizes the 'accounts-password' package for authentication and 'ddp-rate-limiter' to stop automated brute-force attacks. Always leverage 'this.userId' inside Meteor methods rather than passing user identifiers as arguments to prevent ID spoofing.
// 1. Use the core 'accounts-password' package and SRP // 2. Implement Server-side Rate Limiting (server/main.js): import { DDPRateLimiter } from 'meteor/ddp-rate-limiter'; import { Accounts } from 'meteor/accounts-base';const loginRule = { type: ‘method’, name: ‘login’, clientAddress() { return true; }, connectionId() { return true; } };
// Limit login attempts to 5 per 10 seconds per connection DDPRateLimiter.addRule(loginRule, 5, 10000);
// 3. Enforce 2FA for sensitive accounts Accounts.setConfig({ twoFactorAttempts: 5, sendVerificationEmail: true });
Your Meteor API
might be exposed to Broken User Authentication
74% of Meteor apps fail this check. Hackers use automated scanners to find this specific flaw. Check your codebase before they do.
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