This document describes the secure session management implementation for the wallet authentication system.

The application now includes a comprehensive secure session management system with the following features:

1. Secure Session Configuration

   • HttpOnly cookies to prevent JavaScript access
   • SameSite=Lax for CSRF protection
   • Strict session mode to reject uninitialized session IDs
   • Session cookie lifetime of 1 hour
   • Session timeout after 30 minutes of inactivity

2. Session Validation

   • Session timeout checking (30 minutes of inactivity)
   • User-Agent validation to detect session hijacking
   • Optional IP address validation (commented out by default due to mobile user issues)

3. CSRF Protection

   • CSRF tokens generated on login
   • Token validation helpers available

4. Session Regeneration

   • Session ID regenerated on login to prevent session fixation attacks

5. Secure Token Generation

   • Uses random_bytes(32) for cryptographically secure token generation

Enhanced wallet login handler with secure session configuration:

• Secure session settings
• Session regeneration on login
• CSRF token generation
• Improved logging with session ID

Session management utility library with functions:

• startSecureSession() - Initialize secure session
• isAuthenticated() - Check if user is authenticated
• checkSessionTimeout() - Validate session hasn't expired
• validateSessionSecurity() - Check for session hijacking
• requireAuthentication($loginUrl) - Require auth or redirect
• getUserWalletInfo() - Get current user's wallet info
• destroySession() - Destroy session completely
• logout($redirectUrl) - Log out user
• validateCsrfToken($token) - Validate CSRF token
• getCsrfToken() - Get current CSRF token

Example protected page that demonstrates:

• Authentication requirement
• Automatic redirect to login for unauthenticated users
• Display of wallet and session information
• Logout functionality

Logout endpoint that:

• Destroys the session
• Clears session cookies
• Returns JSON response

Session status endpoint for frontend:

• Returns authentication status
• Returns user wallet info if authenticated
• Used for client-side session validation

Enhanced Apache configuration:

• Security headers (X-Frame-Options, X-XSS-Protection, etc.)
• Denies direct access to session.php
• Denies access to log files
• Prevents directory listing

<?php
require_once 'session.php';

// Require authentication - redirects to /index.html if not authenticated
requireAuthentication('/index.html');

// Get user info
$walletInfo = getUserWalletInfo();
echo "Welcome, " . $walletInfo['address'];
?>

async function checkSession() {
    const response = await fetch('/check-session.php', {
        credentials: 'include'
    });
    const data = await response.json();
    return data.authenticated;
}

async function logout() {
    await fetch('/logout.php', {
        method: 'POST',
        credentials: 'include'
    });
    window.location.href = '/index.html';
}

Edit SESSION_TIMEOUT in /public/session.php (default: 1800 seconds = 30 minutes)

For production with HTTPS, update in both files:

ini_set('session.cookie_secure', 1);  // Require HTTPS

Update the Access-Control-Allow-Origin header in all PHP files:

header('Access-Control-Allow-Origin: https://yourdomain.com');

To enable IP checking (may cause issues with mobile users), uncomment in session.php:

if (isset($_SESSION['ip_address'])) {
    $currentIp = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] ?? 'unknown';
    if ($_SESSION['ip_address'] !== $currentIp) {
        return false;
    }
}

1. Test Login Flow

   • Visit the app at http://localhost:3000
   • Connect your wallet
   • Visit http://localhost:3000/dashboard.php
   • Verify you can see your wallet info

2. Test Authentication Requirement

   • Clear cookies/use incognito mode
   • Try to access http://localhost:3000/dashboard.php directly
   • Verify you're redirected to login

3. Test Session Timeout

   • Log in and wait 30 minutes
   • Try to access dashboard
   • Verify you're redirected to login

4. Test Logout

   • Log in and access dashboard
   • Click logout button
   • Try to access dashboard again
   • Verify you're redirected to login

1. HTTPS in Production: Always use HTTPS in production and set session.cookie_secure = 1

2. CORS Configuration: Update Access-Control-Allow-Origin from * to your specific domain

3. Database Integration: For production, store sessions in a database instead of file system

4. Rate Limiting: Implement rate limiting on login.php to prevent brute force attacks

5. Logging: Store logs outside the web root (e.g., /var/log/app/)

6. Error Handling: Don't expose sensitive information in error messages

7. Input Validation: All user inputs are validated before processing

1. Add remember me functionality with long-lived tokens
2. Implement multi-factor authentication
3. Add session activity logging
4. Implement account lockout after failed attempts
5. Add email notifications for new logins
6. Store sessions in Redis/Memcached for scalability
7. Add JWT tokens for API authentication
8. Implement refresh token mechanism