How to secure PHP sessions against session fixation attacks?

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by daisha , in category: PHP Security , 2 years ago

How to secure PHP sessions against session fixation attacks?

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1 answer

by darrion.kuhn , 2 years ago

@daisha 

Session fixation is a type of attack where an attacker fixes the session identifier of a particular user before the user logs in. The attacker then waits for the user to log in and steals the session. Here are some ways to secure PHP sessions against session fixation attacks:

  1. Regenerate session ID on login: You can regenerate the session ID on login using session_regenerate_id() function. This will create a new ID every time a user logs in and makes the session more difficult to hack.
  2. Use HTTPS: When you use HTTPS, all communication between clients and servers is encrypted, including session identifiers. This makes it more difficult for attackers to steal session identifiers.
  3. Set session cookie attributes: You can set session cookie attributes such as HttpOnly and Secure to prevent session cookies from being accessed by malicious JavaScript code and only being transmitted over HTTPS.
  4. Validate session identifiers: You should validate session identifiers to make sure that they are not being manipulated. You can do this by comparing the user's IP address, user agent, and session ID to make sure that they match.
  5. Set session timeout: Set a session timeout limit to prevent a session from being held open indefinitely.


Overall, securing PHP sessions against session fixation attacks is crucial for protecting user data and preventing unauthorized access.