Session Management and State Handling Threats

Web applications' stateless nature necessitates complex session management that introduces numerous security challenges. Session hijacking through various means—XSS cookie theft, session fixation, or network sniffing—remains a primary threat. Secure session management requires proper cookie attributes (HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite), appropriate timeouts, and regeneration after privilege changes.

Token-based authentication, while solving some traditional session problems, introduces new threats. JWT tokens might contain sensitive information readable by clients. Token storage in local storage exposes them to XSS attacks. Lack of server-side revocation makes stolen tokens particularly dangerous. Refresh token rotation and proper scope limitation become critical design decisions that threat modeling must evaluate.

Cross-site request forgery (CSRF) exploits the automatic inclusion of cookies in requests, allowing attackers to perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. While framework-level CSRF protections exist, they must be properly implemented and can be bypassed through various techniques. Modern SameSite cookie attributes provide additional protection but aren't universally supported. Threat modeling must ensure comprehensive CSRF protection across all state-changing operations.

Distributed session management in microservices architectures compounds these challenges. Session synchronization between services, token propagation across service boundaries, and consistent timeout handling all create potential vulnerabilities. Single sign-on (SSO) implementations centralize authentication but create high-value targets. Each architectural decision affecting session management requires careful threat analysis.