Re: [OAUTH-WG] best practices for implicit grant / token storage

> Since SPA is a new normal now, it becomes extremely difficult to
enforce HTTPOnly flag, because JS needs access to secrets including
those stored in cookies.

In a browser environment, this is only true when you need to make cross
domain requests or are using cookie data for something other than
session state.

If your current page origin and the page you are requesting are the
same, then your cookies can be HTTPOnly without impacting functionality.
If you need additional cookies for other things that need to be accessed
via JS, use a separate cookie.

So sure, there are a few workflows in OAuth where you need to access
"cookie data" from JS and HTTPOnly is not viable. But there are a few
where it is viable. I don't think it's as simple as "we need to talk to
cookie data via JS all the time.".

Aloha, Jim

On 9/8/16 8:15 AM, Oleg Gryb wrote:
> Jim,
>
> It's outdated a bit. Since SPA is a new normal now, it becomes
> extremely difficult to enforce HTTPOnly flag, because JS needs access
> to secrets including those stored in cookies. 5-10 years ago I would
> always enforce HTTPOnly and now - I can't.
>
> Thanks,
> Oleg.
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     *From:* Jim Manico <jim@manicode.com>
>     *To:* Adam Lewis <adam.lewis@motorolasolutions.com>
>     *Cc:* OAuth WG <oauth@ietf.org>
>     *Sent:* Thursday, September 8, 2016 10:45 AM
>     *Subject:* Re: [OAUTH-WG] best practices for implicit grant /
>     token storage
>
>     In the web world, cookies for session identifiers are much safer -
>     since we can use HTTPOnly cookies to protect them from theft via
>     XSS. The same mechanism is not possible for localStorage. Overall,
>     security folk say •keep sensitive data out of localStorage• since
>     one XSS and it's stolen. There is also a huge body of work
>     underway to make secure cookies even more so.
>
>     I'm not sure how this translates to native apps.
>
>     --
>     Jim Manico
>     @Manicode
>
>     On Sep 8, 2016, at 3:02 AM, Adam Lewis
>     <adam.lewis@motorolasolutions.com
>     <mailto:adam.lewis@motorolasolutions.com>> wrote:
>
>>     Hi,
>>
>>     The WG is currently putting together best practices for native
>>     apps.  I would like to better understand the best practices
>>     around ua-based-apps, especially as it relates to token storage. 
>>     I've read various blog posts about the preference between storing
>>     tokens in cookies vs.  Web Storage
>>     (localStorage/sessionStorage).  The current set of specs are
>>     rather silent on the matter, as it is more of an implementation
>>     issue (but that is where most mistakes are made).
>>
>>     What is the WG's guidance on this?
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     OAuth mailing list
>>     OAuth@ietf.org <mailto:OAuth@ietf.org>
>>     https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/oauth
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     OAuth mailing list
>     OAuth@ietf.org <mailto:OAuth@ietf.org>
>     https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/oauth
>
>

-- 
Jim Manico
Manicode Security
https://www.manicode.com