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43 lines
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Plaintext
43 lines
2.0 KiB
Plaintext
== Password Erasure
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After successful authentication, it is a security best practice to erase credentials from memory to prevent them from being exposed to potential memory dump attacks.
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`ProviderManager` in Spring Security supports this practice through the `eraseCredentials` method, which should be invoked after the authentication process is complete.
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=== Best Practices
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* *Immediate Erasure*: Credentials should be erased immediately after they are no longer needed, which minimizes the window during which the credentials are exposed in memory.
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* *Automatic Erasure*: Configure `ProviderManager` to automatically erase credentials post-authentication by setting `eraseCredentialsAfterAuthentication` to `true` (the default).
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* *Custom Erasure Strategies*: Implement custom erasure strategies in custom `AuthenticationManager` implementations if the default erasure behavior does not meet specific security requirements.
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=== Risk Assessment
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Failure to properly erase credentials can lead to several risks:
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* *Memory Access Attacks*: Attackers can access raw credentials from memory through exploits like buffer overflow attacks or memory dumps.
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* *Insider Threats*: Malicious insiders with access to systems could potentially extract credentials from application memory.
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* *Accidental Exposure*: In multi-tenant environments, lingering credentials in memory could accidentally be exposed to other tenants.
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=== Implementation
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[source,java]
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----
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public class CustomAuthenticationManager implements AuthenticationManager {
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@Override
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public Authentication authenticate(Authentication authenticationRequest)
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throws AuthenticationException {
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Authentication authenticationResult;
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// TODO: Perform authentication checks...
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// Erase credentials post-check
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if (authenticationResult instanceof CredentialsContainer container) {
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container.eraseCredentials();
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}
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}
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}
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----
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By implementing these practices, organizations can significantly enhance the security of their authentication systems by ensuring that credentials are not left exposed in system memory.
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