Go Back   vb.org Archive > vBulletin Article Depository > Read An Article > Programming Articles
FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Implementing CSRF Protection in modifications
Marco van Herwaarden
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 25,415

 

Show Printable Version Email this Page Subscription
Marco van Herwaarden Marco van Herwaarden is offline 04-23-2008, 10:00 PM

With the new version released today for vBulletin 3.6.10 and 3.7.0 RC4, a new protection against Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) has been introduced. This new protection might influence the coding in modifications.

Scott MacVicar took the time to compile a short explanation on this new protection for the coders on vBulletin.org:

Changes for CSRF protection with third party modifications

Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) involves taking advantage of the stateless nature of HTTP, there are no ways to ensure the exact origin of a request, its also not possible to detect what was actually initiated by a user and what was forced by a third party script. A token was added to the latest version of each of the vBulletin products, with the release of 3.6.10 and 3.7.0 RC4 it is no longer possible to submit a POST request directly without passing in the known token.

The addition of a security token for each POST request removes the ability for a remote page to force a user to submit an action. At the moment this protection will only apply to vBulletin files and third party files will need to opt into this protection and add the appropriate hidden field. This was done to preserve backwards compatibility.

Adding Protection to your own files

To opt your entire file into CSRF protection the following should be added to the top of the file under the define for THIS_SCRIPT.

PHP Code:
define('CSRF_PROTECTION'true); 
With this change all POST requests to this file will check for the presence of the securitytoken field and compare it to the value for the user, if its wrong an error message will be shown and execution with halt.

If this value is set to false then all CSRF protection is removed for the file, this is appropriate for something that intentionally accepts remote POST requests.

You should always add this to your file, even if you don't think the script is ever going to receive POST requests.

An absence of this defined constant within your files will result in the old style referrer checking being performed.

Template Changes

The following should be added to all of the forms which POST back to vBulletin or a vBulletin script. This will automatically be filled out with a 40 character hash that is unique to the user.

Code:
<input type="hidden" name="securitytoken" value="$bbuserinfo[securitytoken]" />
Again it is worthwhile adding this to your templates even if it is currently not using the CSRF protection.

Exempting Certain Actions

It may be appropriate to exempt a particular action from the CSRF protection, in this case you can add the following to the file.

PHP Code:
define('CSRF_SKIP_LIST''action_one,action_two'); 
The above example would exempt both example.php?do=action_one and example.php?do=action_two from the CSRF protection, if the CSRF_SKIP_LIST constant is defined with no value then it will exempt the default action.

If the skip list needs to be changed at runtime is it available within the registry object, using the init_startup hook the following code would be used to exempt 'example.php?do=action_three'.

PHP Code:
if (THIS_SCRIPT == 'example')
{
        
$vbulletin->csrf_skip_list[] = 'action_three';

Reply With Quote
  #42  
Old 04-27-2008, 12:22 PM
Wayne Luke's Avatar
Wayne Luke Wayne Luke is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Southern California
Posts: 1,694
Благодарил(а): 0 раз(а)
Поблагодарили: 0 раз(а) в 0 сообщениях
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by rinkrat View Post
I cannot do anything, including editing templates, turning the board on or loading templates without the security error.
Then you will need to open a thread on vBulletin.com. The security changes should have absolutely no affect on the Admin CP and these changes do not apply to the Admin CP in anyway.
Reply With Quote
  #43  
Old 04-27-2008, 02:05 PM
bertwrld bertwrld is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Outside of Detroit
Posts: 33
Благодарил(а): 0 раз(а)
Поблагодарили: 0 раз(а) в 0 сообщениях
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by cmedic101 View Post
I added this line to all my custom templates and followed the instructions as listed.

No errors
No problems with any mods
casino is still working

thank you:up:

cmedic
What templates did you edit in the casino?
Reply With Quote
  #44  
Old 04-28-2008, 12:01 AM
slmoney slmoney is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 116
Благодарил(а): 0 раз(а)
Поблагодарили: 0 раз(а) в 0 сообщениях
Default

I hope I am not the only one scratching their head thinking..what?

I admit..I am not a coder..nor programmer. I've read the instructions over and over..and I still have no clue what goes where.

So far on my board the only item giving me a problem is the AJAX Latest Post Mod.

I'm probably asking too much if someone explains this so a 5th grader could understand it.

Thanks.
Reply With Quote
  #45  
Old 04-28-2008, 12:26 AM
King Kovifor's Avatar
King Kovifor King Kovifor is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: PA
Posts: 3,872
Благодарил(а): 0 раз(а)
Поблагодарили: 0 раз(а) в 0 сообщениях
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by slmoney View Post
I hope I am not the only one scratching their head thinking..what?

I admit..I am not a coder..nor programmer. I've read the instructions over and over..and I still have no clue what goes where.

So far on my board the only item giving me a problem is the AJAX Latest Post Mod.

I'm probably asking too much if someone explains this so a 5th grader could understand it.

Thanks.
It would be within the javascript. What needs added would be found in the second post. That is about as far as I can explain it as I haven't taught myself AJAX yet.
Reply With Quote
  #46  
Old 04-28-2008, 03:37 PM
yaoren's Avatar
yaoren yaoren is offline
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 133
Благодарил(а): 0 раз(а)
Поблагодарили: 0 раз(а) в 0 сообщениях
Default

Ok I'm at a loss since I've manually gone in and did the search in templates and added the line of code to each template that was missing the sercurity token and well, I'm still having the message pop up. I honestly don't know what mod is causing the issues since it pops up only in certain areas. Any other ideas?
Reply With Quote
  #47  
Old 04-28-2008, 04:08 PM
Boofo's Avatar
Boofo Boofo is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Des Moines, IA (USA)
Posts: 15,776
Благодарил(а): 0 раз(а)
Поблагодарили: 0 раз(а) в 0 сообщениях
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by yaoren View Post
Ok I'm at a loss since I've manually gone in and did the search in templates and added the line of code to each template that was missing the sercurity token and well, I'm still having the message pop up. I honestly don't know what mod is causing the issues since it pops up only in certain areas. Any other ideas?
Check Andreas' profile as he just released a hack that will send an email upon any token errors.
Reply With Quote
  #48  
Old 04-28-2008, 07:06 PM
yaoren's Avatar
yaoren yaoren is offline
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 133
Благодарил(а): 0 раз(а)
Поблагодарили: 0 раз(а) в 0 сообщениях
Default

Oh man, thank you so much for this. Still having some problems but getting closer
Reply With Quote
  #49  
Old 04-28-2008, 10:35 PM
ringleader's Avatar
ringleader ringleader is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Posts: 192
Благодарил(а): 0 раз(а)
Поблагодарили: 0 раз(а) в 0 сообщениях
Default

Quick, random, and possibly letting everyone know the stupidity I try to keep hidden like a mental problem...

Does this token need to be placed in every form that passes a hidden value, or just the ones that use the sessionhash?
Reply With Quote
  #50  
Old 04-28-2008, 10:45 PM
Boofo's Avatar
Boofo Boofo is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Des Moines, IA (USA)
Posts: 15,776
Благодарил(а): 0 раз(а)
Поблагодарили: 0 раз(а) в 0 сообщениях
Default

Every form that uses post.
Reply With Quote
  #51  
Old 04-28-2008, 10:52 PM
ringleader's Avatar
ringleader ringleader is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Posts: 192
Благодарил(а): 0 раз(а)
Поблагодарили: 0 раз(а) в 0 сообщениях
Default

Excellent. Thanks for responding!
Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 01:05 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.12 by vBS
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
X vBulletin 3.8.12 by vBS Debug Information
  • Page Generation 0.05128 seconds
  • Memory Usage 2,330KB
  • Queries Executed 26 (?)
More Information
Template Usage:
  • (1)SHOWTHREAD
  • (1)ad_footer_end
  • (1)ad_footer_start
  • (1)ad_header_end
  • (1)ad_header_logo
  • (1)ad_navbar_below
  • (1)ad_showthread_beforeqr
  • (1)bbcode_code
  • (3)bbcode_php
  • (4)bbcode_quote
  • (1)footer
  • (1)forumjump
  • (1)forumrules
  • (1)gobutton
  • (1)header
  • (1)headinclude
  • (1)modsystem_article
  • (1)navbar
  • (4)navbar_link
  • (120)option
  • (1)pagenav
  • (1)pagenav_curpage
  • (4)pagenav_pagelink
  • (1)pagenav_pagelinkrel
  • (11)post_thanks_box
  • (1)post_thanks_box_bit
  • (11)post_thanks_button
  • (1)post_thanks_javascript
  • (1)post_thanks_navbar_search
  • (1)post_thanks_postbit
  • (11)post_thanks_postbit_info
  • (10)postbit
  • (11)postbit_onlinestatus
  • (11)postbit_wrapper
  • (1)spacer_close
  • (1)spacer_open
  • (1)tagbit_wrapper 

Phrase Groups Available:
  • global
  • inlinemod
  • postbit
  • posting
  • reputationlevel
  • showthread
Included Files:
  • ./showthread.php
  • ./global.php
  • ./includes/init.php
  • ./includes/class_core.php
  • ./includes/config.php
  • ./includes/functions.php
  • ./includes/class_hook.php
  • ./includes/modsystem_functions.php
  • ./includes/functions_bigthree.php
  • ./includes/class_postbit.php
  • ./includes/class_bbcode.php
  • ./includes/functions_reputation.php
  • ./includes/functions_post_thanks.php 

Hooks Called:
  • init_startup
  • init_startup_session_setup_start
  • init_startup_session_setup_complete
  • cache_permissions
  • fetch_threadinfo_query
  • fetch_threadinfo
  • fetch_foruminfo
  • style_fetch
  • cache_templates
  • global_start
  • parse_templates
  • global_setup_complete
  • showthread_start
  • showthread_getinfo
  • forumjump
  • showthread_post_start
  • showthread_query_postids
  • showthread_query
  • bbcode_fetch_tags
  • bbcode_create
  • showthread_postbit_create
  • postbit_factory
  • postbit_display_start
  • post_thanks_function_post_thanks_off_start
  • post_thanks_function_post_thanks_off_end
  • post_thanks_function_fetch_thanks_start
  • fetch_musername
  • post_thanks_function_fetch_thanks_end
  • post_thanks_function_thanked_already_start
  • post_thanks_function_thanked_already_end
  • post_thanks_function_fetch_thanks_bit_start
  • post_thanks_function_show_thanks_date_start
  • post_thanks_function_show_thanks_date_end
  • post_thanks_function_fetch_thanks_bit_end
  • post_thanks_function_fetch_post_thanks_template_start
  • post_thanks_function_fetch_post_thanks_template_end
  • postbit_imicons
  • bbcode_parse_start
  • bbcode_parse_complete_precache
  • bbcode_parse_complete
  • postbit_display_complete
  • post_thanks_function_can_thank_this_post_start
  • pagenav_page
  • pagenav_complete
  • tag_fetchbit_complete
  • forumrules
  • navbits
  • navbits_complete
  • showthread_complete