Fix Broken User Authentication in Revel
Revel developers often fall into the trap of rolling their own authentication logic or relying on insecure defaults. Broken User Authentication in Revel typically occurs due to plaintext password storage, improper session invalidation, or weak session signing keys. To secure a Revel app, we must implement cryptographic hashing and leverage the framework's session signing capabilities correctly.
The Vulnerable Pattern
func (c App) Login(username, password string) revel.Result {
var user models.User
// VULNERABILITY: Plaintext password comparison and insecure session assignment
err := c.Txn.Where("username = ? AND password = ?", username, password).First(&user).Error
if err != nil {
c.Flash.Error("Login failed")
return c.Redirect(App.Index)
}
c.Session["user"] = username
return c.Redirect(App.Dashboard)
}The Secure Implementation
The vulnerable code performs a direct database lookup using a plaintext password, which is a critical failure. If the database is compromised, all user accounts are exposed. The secure version uses bcrypt for constant-time password verification against a salted hash. Furthermore, ensure that 'app.secret' in your 'app.conf' is set to a 64-byte random string; Revel uses this to sign session cookies. If 'app.secret' is default or weak, an attacker can forge session cookies to impersonate any user.
import "golang.org/x/crypto/bcrypt"
func (c App) Login(username, password string) revel.Result { var user models.User if err := c.Txn.Where(“username = ?”, username).First(&user).Error; err != nil { return c.Forbidden(“Invalid credentials”) } // SECURE: Use bcrypt to verify the hashed password if err := bcrypt.CompareHashAndPassword([]byte(user.HashedPassword), []byte(password)); err != nil { return c.Forbidden(“Invalid credentials”) } c.Session[“uid”] = strconv.Itoa(user.Id) c.Session.SetNoExpiration() return c.Redirect(App.Dashboard) }
Your Revel API
might be exposed to Broken User Authentication
74% of Revel apps fail this check. Hackers use automated scanners to find this specific flaw. Check your codebase before they do.
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