Solving the Mysterious Case of the Unwanted JSESSIONID Cookie: A Spring Boot Odyssey

Imagine a scenario where your Spring Boot application is sending a JSESSIONID cookie with every response, even when the request is not authorized and returns a 403 status code. Sounds like a mystery, doesn’t it? In this article, we’ll embark on a journey to uncover the reasons behind this phenomenon and provide a step-by-step guide to solving it.

The Problem: Unwanted JSESSIONID Cookie

When a user makes an unauthorized request to your Spring Boot application, you’d expect the response to be a simple 403 Forbidden status code. However, things take a surprising turn when the response includes a JSESSIONID cookie, even though the request wasn’t successful. This can lead to unnecessary cookie storage on the client-side, causing confusion and potential security concerns.

Why is this happening?

The root of the problem lies in the way Spring Boot handles session creation. By default, Spring Boot creates a new session for every request, regardless of the request’s outcome. This means that even when a request is not authorized, a new session is created, and the JSESSIONID cookie is sent along with the 403 response.

Understanding the Role of JSESSIONID Cookie

The JSESSIONID cookie is used to identify a user’s session in a web application. It’s created by the server and sent to the client as an HTTP cookie. The client includes this cookie in subsequent requests, allowing the server to associate the requests with the corresponding session. In a Spring Boot application, the JSESSIONID cookie is used to track user sessions.

How JSESSIONID Cookie is Sent

In a Spring Boot application, the JSESSIONID cookie is sent to the client through the `Set-Cookie` header in the HTTP response. This header is automatically added by Spring Boot when a new session is created. The `Set-Cookie` header contains the JSESSIONID value, which is used to identify the session.

HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden
Set-Cookie: JSESSIONID= ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ; Path=/; HttpOnly
Content-Type: application/json;charset=UTF-8
Content-Length: 1234

Solving the Mystery: Disabling JSESSIONID Cookie for Unauthorized Requests

To prevent the JSESSIONID cookie from being sent with unauthorized requests, we need to configure Spring Boot to avoid creating a new session for these requests. We can achieve this by implementing a custom `SecurityContextHolderAwareRequestFilter` and adjusting the `SessionCreationPolicy`.

Step 1: Create a Custom `SecurityContextHolderAwareRequestFilter`

Create a new Java class that extends the `SecurityContextHolderAwareRequestFilter` class:

import org.springframework.security.core.context.SecurityContextHolder;
import org.springframework.security.web.context.SecurityContextPersistenceFilter;

public class CustomSecurityFilter extends SecurityContextHolderAwareRequestFilter {
    @Override
    protected void doFilterInternal(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response, FilterChain filterChain) throws IOException, ServletException {
        // Disable session creation for unauthorized requests
        if (response.getStatus() == 403) {
            SecurityContextHolder.setContext(null);
        }
        super.doFilterInternal(request, response, filterChain);
    }
}

Step 2: Configure the `SessionCreationPolicy`

In your Spring Boot application configuration class, add the following bean:

import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
import org.springframework.security.web.context.SecurityContextPersistenceFilter;
import org.springframework.session.SessionCreationPolicy;

@Bean
public SecurityContextPersistenceFilter securityContextPersistenceFilter() {
    SecurityContextPersistenceFilter filter = new SecurityContextPersistenceFilter();
    filter.setSecurityContextRepository(new CustomSecurityContextRepository());
    return filter;
}

@Bean
public SessionCreationPolicy sessionCreationPolicy() {
    return SessionCreationPolicy.NEVER;
}

Step 3: Register the Custom Filter

Register the custom filter in your Spring Boot application:

import org.springframework.boot.web.servlet.FilterRegistrationBean;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;

@Bean
public FilterRegistrationBean customSecurityFilterRegistration() {
    FilterRegistrationBean registration = new FilterRegistrationBean();
    registration.setFilter(new CustomSecurityFilter());
    registration.setName("customSecurityFilter");
    registration.addUrlPatterns("/*");
    registration.setOrder(1);
    return registration;
}

Verifying the Solution

After implementing the custom filter and configuring the `SessionCreationPolicy`, verify that the JSESSIONID cookie is no longer sent with unauthorized requests. Use a tool like Postman or cURL to make an unauthorized request to your Spring Boot application. Inspect the response headers to ensure that the `Set-Cookie` header containing the JSESSIONID value is not present.

HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden
Content-Type: application/json;charset=UTF-8
Content-Length: 1234

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve unraveled the mystery of the unwanted JSESSIONID cookie being sent with unauthorized requests in a Spring Boot application. By implementing a custom `SecurityContextHolderAwareRequestFilter` and configuring the `SessionCreationPolicy`, we’ve successfully prevented the creation of a new session for unauthorized requests, thereby avoiding the unnecessary JSESSIONID cookie.

Key Takeaways

• Spring Boot creates a new session for every request, including unauthorized requests, leading to the unwanted JSESSIONID cookie.
• A custom `SecurityContextHolderAwareRequestFilter` can be used to disable session creation for unauthorized requests.
• Configuring the `SessionCreationPolicy` to `NEVER` can prevent session creation for all requests.
• Registering the custom filter in the Spring Boot application ensures that it’s executed for every request.

Additional Resources

For further reading on Spring Boot security and session management, refer to the following resources:

• OWASP: Session Management

By following the steps outlined in this article, you’ll be able to solve the mystery of the unwanted JSESSIONID cookie and ensure a more secure and efficient Spring Boot application.

HTTP Status Code	Description
403	Forbidden
200	OK

 

1. Spring Boot Documentation: Security
2. Spring Boot Documentation: Session Management
3. OWASP: Session Management

Frequently Asked Question

Get ready to spring into action and tackle those pesky Spring Boot JSESSIONID cookie conundrums!