Yesterday, I started looking a site compatibility bug where a page’s layout is intermittently busted. Popping open the F12 Tools on the failing page, we see that a stylesheet is getting blocked because it lacks a CORS Access-Control-Allow-Origin response header: We see that the client demands the header because the LINK element that references itContinue reading “CORS and Vary”
Category Archives: security
Edge EV UI Requires SmartScreen
A user recently noticed that when loading Paypal.com in Microsoft Edge, the UI shown was the default HTTPS UI (a gray lock): Instead of the fancier “green” UI shown for servers that present Extended Validation (EV) certificates: The user observed this on some Windows 10 machines but not others. The variable that differed between those machines wasContinue reading “Edge EV UI Requires SmartScreen”
Stop Spilling the Beans
I’ve written about Same Origin Policy a bunch over the years, with a blog series mapping it to the Read/Write/Execute mental model. More recently, I wrote about why Content-Type headers matter for same-origin-policy enforcement. I’ve just read a great paper on cross-origin infoleaks and current/future mitigations. If you’re interested in browser security, it’s definitely worth a read.
Building your .APP website with NameCheap and GitHub Pages–A Visual Guide
I recently bought a few new domain names under the brand new .app top-level-domain (TLD). The .app TLD is awesome because it’s on the HSTSPreload list, meaning that browsers will automatically use only HTTPS for every request on every domain under .app, keeping connections secure and improving performance. I’m not doing anything terribly exciting withContinue reading “Building your .APP website with NameCheap and GitHub Pages–A Visual Guide”
Fight Phish with Facebook (and Certificate Transparency)
As of April 30th, Chrome now requires that all certificates issued by a public certificate authority be logged in multiple public Certificate Transparency (CT) logs, ensuring that anyone can audit all certificates that have been issued. CT logs allow site owners and security researchers to much more easily detect if a sloppy or compromised Certificate Authority hasContinue reading “Fight Phish with Facebook (and Certificate Transparency)”
SSLVersionMin Policy returns to Chrome 66
Chrome 66, releasing to stable this week, again supports the SSLVersionMin policy that enables administrators to control the minimum version of TLS that Chrome is willing to negotiate with a server. If this policy is in effect and configured to permit, say, only TLS/1.2+ connections, attempting to connect to a site that only supports TLS/1.0Continue reading “SSLVersionMin Policy returns to Chrome 66”
HSTS Preload and Subdomains
In order to be eligible for the HSTS Preload list, your site must usually serve a Strict-Transport-Security header with a includeSubdomains directive. Unfortunately, some sites do not follow the best practices recommended and instead just set a one-year preload header with includeSubdomains and then immediately request addition to the HSTS Preload list. The result is that any problemsContinue reading “HSTS Preload and Subdomains”
NET::ERR_CERT_INVALID error
Some users report that after updating their Operating System or Chrome browser to a more recent version, they have problems accessing some sites (often internal sites with self-signed certificates) and the browser shows an error of NET::ERR_CERT_INVALID. NET::ERR_CERT_INVALID means that a certificate was itself is so malformed that it’s not accepted at all– sometimes rejected byContinue reading “NET::ERR_CERT_INVALID error”
Understanding the Limitations of HTTPS
A colleague recently forwarded me an article about the hazards of browsing on public WiFi with the question: “Doesn’t HTTPS fix this?” And the answer is, “Yes, generally.” As with most interesting questions, however, the complete answer is a bit more complicated. HTTPS is a powerful technology for helping secure the web; all websites should beContinue reading “Understanding the Limitations of HTTPS”
Content-Types Matter More Than You Think
Every non-empty response from a web server should contain a Content-Type response header that declares the type of content contained in the response. This declaration helps the browser understand how to process the response and can help prevent a number of serious security vulnerabilities. Setting this header properly is more important than ever. The Old DaysContinue reading “Content-Types Matter More Than You Think”
