Session hijacking involves an attacker taking over a valid user session to gain unauthorized access to information or services in a system. By stealing or predicting a session token, attackers can impersonate users and perform actions on their behalf.
Challenges
- Session Token Theft: Attackers can capture session tokens through methods like cross-site scripting (XSS) or network sniffing.
- Inadequate Session Management: Weak session management practices, such as predictable session IDs, increase vulnerability.
- Encrypted Communication: Lack of encryption allows attackers to intercept session tokens during transmission
Protection Strategies
- Secure Session Management: Implement secure methods for session ID generation and handling, ensuring they are complex and unique.
- Use HTTPS: Encrypt all communications between clients and servers to protect session tokens from being intercepted.
- Session Expiry and Regeneration: Set appropriate session timeouts and regenerate session IDs after authentication or privilege escalation.
