OSSN/OSSN-0036

Horizon does not set Secure Attribute in cookies

Summary

Horizon does not, by default, set the Secure Attribute in cookies.

Affected Services / Software

Horizon, Django, SSL, TLS

Discussion

When used in production, Horizon should have the Secure Attribute for cookies set. When this flag is set, browsers will only transfer the cookie over secure channels. Without it set, browsers may transfer the cookie over plain-text channels, potentially exposing the contents to an attacker who can then use the cookie to authenticate with the Horizon server as the original user.

Recommended Actions

Enable secure cookie by setting the SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE config flag to true as described in the Django documentation:

• https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/ref/settings/#std:setting-SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE

Contacts / References

• Author: Robert Clark, HP
• This OSSN : https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/OSSN/OSSN-0036
• Related OSSN : https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/OSSN/OSSN-0035
• Original LaunchPad Bug : https://bugs.launchpad.net/horizon/+bug/1191051
• OpenStack Security ML : openstack-security@lists.openstack.org
• OpenStack Security Group : https://launchpad.net/~openstack-ossg