cross origin servlet theoretical question - java

I have a theoretical doubt on CORS implementation.
A way to enable cross-origin requests is to set a specific Header on the response:
private void setAccessControlHeaders(HttpServletResponse resp) {
resp.setHeader("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", "http://www.allowed.domain.com");
resp.setHeader("Access-Control-Allow-Methods", "POST");
}
My question is: if I set the header in the response (which is at the end of the request-response chain), it means the request I receive is already processed, side effects are caused, and then the program decides if the response must be sent back or not, based on the presence of this header in the response.
For example:
public class MyServlet extends HttpServlet {
//...
public void doPost(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp) throws Exception{
Order order = (Order) parseBodyRequest(req);
orderRepository.save(order); //if I check the allowed domains later, I can get serious side effects!
resp.setHeader("Access-Control-Allow-Origin","http://www.allowed.domain.com");
resp.getWriter().println("Order n."+ order.getId()+ "has been saved successfully!");
}
}
In the example above, the order is parsed and saved into the database before even checking if the domain from which the request comes is allowed or not.
This thing seems absurd, so how does it work in reality?

Try this article: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/CORS
In short: For requests that are able to alter user data, CORS specifies a preflight request that asks the destination server whether it would accept a request with a given method and set of headers. (eg POST and Content-type) without actually sending the request. The browser implements this transparently.

Related

How to return Jersey MVC Viewable after authentication redirect?

TLDR: My method requires 2 redirects/forwards to work (1 for authentication and 1 to serve the jsp page). How can I resolve both redirects/forwards (or make it a non-requirement) so as to not run into the error, java.lang.IllegalStateException: Cannot forward after response has been committed.
For more context:
I have a java servlet with a method that looks something like the following:
#GET
#Path("/test")
#Authenticate
public Viewable test(#Context HttpServletRequest request, #Context HttpServletResponse response) {
Map<String, Object> model = createModel();
return new Viewable("/somePath/jspFile", model);
}
The #Authenticate annotation intercepts the call to do some Open ID Connect type authentication which results in the user being forwarded to a different server for all authentication needs. If the user is authenticated, they are redirected back to my application.
However, when hitting the url for this method, I am getting java.lang.IllegalStateException: Cannot forward after response has been committed. I don't know too much about using this Viewable class, but based on the fact that I don't run into that error when returning String/void/whatever else, I assume returning a new Viewable needs to do some forwarding that results in the user seeing the jsp page.
I've read the main SO post about this error, but I am unsure how to apply the fixes to my current problem. For example, I don't know how I would apply something like the following fix:
protected void doPost() {
if (someCondition) {
sendRedirect();
} else {
forward();
}
}
The fix assumes that I can I can either redirect OR forward, but my current method needs a redirect for authentication AND a forward/redirect to serve the jsp page. Maybe there's an obvious fix I'm missing that doesn't require a complete rehaul of the current code?
Edit: It would be nice if I could check if the user was authenticated first, but I assume using this annotation at all automatically entails an initial redirect
Edit: It looks like the user is redirected for the initial login authentication, but does not need to be redirected again after being authenticated once due to SSO
Ok based on some preliminary testing, it seems like the following solution has worked for me:
Check if the user has already been authenticated
Return a Response rather than a Viewable.
Since the user only needs to be redirected the first time for authentication, I can return an empty/meaningless response as a placeholder. And then once the user has been authenticated and is returned to my app, I can return a Viewable wrapped in a Response object.
So the code would look something like the following:
#GET
#Path("/test")
#Authenticate
public Response test(#Context HttpServletRequest request, #Context HttpServletResponse
response) {
Map<String, Object> model = createModel();
if (userIsAuthenticated()) {
return Response.status(401).build();
} else {
return Response.ok(new Viewable("/somePath/jspFile", model)).build();
}
}

How to handle a POST request with a Servlet API

I am trying to make an API with Jetty Server, and I have this simple GET request:
#GET
public String helloWorld(){
return "Hello world";
}
In order to make a POST request, I assume that one must save the input to the Jetty server. I have tried to research for quite a while, but found nothing.
I imagine something like this:
#POST
public void Save(String stringToSave) {
// Save to DB?
}
You could likely google this but let me give you a quick overview. A Servlet is a chunk of code that is normally run during an HTTP action - GET, POST, etc. It is the original technology of the JavaEE world, having been released in the late 1990's.
A simple Java servlet, using modern annotations, would look something like:
#WebServlet(name = "SampleServlet", urlPatterns = "/sampleServlet")
public class SampleServlet extends HttpServlet {
protected void doPost(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException {
// called when an HTTP POST is sent
}
protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException {
// called when an HTTP GET is sent
}
}
The important parts to note are that the class extends HttpServlet and that you have to write code to pull data out of the request and push it into the response. This isn't bad to do but it does have to be done.
JAX-RS is a newer standard, aimed simplifying the creation of REST services. It too is a chunk of code that runs during an HTTP interaction.
A simple example of this would be:
#Path("/sampleService")
public class SampleService{
#Consumes({MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON, MediaType.APPLICATION_XML})
#Produces({MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON, MediaType.APPLICATION_XML})
#POST
#Path("/v1/hello")
public Response sayHello( SomeObject someobject ) {
The code here is both simpler and a bit more complex. The use of annotations helps determine the path that the service exists on a URL (in this case /sampleService/v1/hello), the HTTP method, and the Content-Type for both the request and response. Additionally, if the SomeObject object is defined correctly, the JAX-RS framework will automatically deserialize the incoming JSON or XML payload into an object for you.
The Response object contains the HTTP response code (perhaps a teapot) and a response body. In this example, the body will be automatically serialized back to the requestor in a way that matches the Accept header of the HTTP request (i.e., JSON for an application/json Accept header and XML for application/xml).
Note that while not directly related the JAX-RS framework takes advantage of the Servlet framework. Indeed in JAX-RS you can access the HttpServletRequest and HttpServletResponse object in your methods.
Which way is "better"? In general I would recommend using JAX-RS where possible as it is the newer standard and is a bit easier to implement. However, if you do any work in the JavaEE world you're very likely to run into Servlet code so it's important to understand it too.
Note that both Servlets and JAX-RS require an application server of some sort. Jetty is one of those. Another very common one is Tomcat. The application server sets up the environment for your code and listens for incoming HTTP messages. When it gets one it looks to see if it knows how to handle the URL and routes to the appropriate place. In the servlet world the server routes solely on the URL. In the JAX-RS world the server routes on the URL and, if specified by the #Consumes annotation, the HTTP Content-Type header too.
There is much more but let's start there and see if it answers what you're after.

Spring security - customizing response status according to UserDetails

Intro
I have just asked another question which answered might lead to a solution, however there might be a better way to do that. The security is provided by spring-security.
Problem description
I store Users in DynamoDB. By following a certain flow - which isn't a case here - might be awarded with a special veryImportantUser=true parameter. I'd like to return custom status code 202 in this case, so front-end can show to such user certain view.
What I have:
I have MyAuthenticationSuccessHandler with the following onAuthentcationSuccess:
#Override
public void onAuthenticationSuccess(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response, Authentication authentication) throws IOException, ServletException {
super.onAuthenticationSuccess(request, response, authentication);
MyUserDetails userDetails = (MyUserDetails)SecurityContexHolder.getContext().getAuthentication().getPrincipal();
if (userDetails.isVIP())
response.setStatus(HttpServletResponse.SC_ACCEPTED);
}
Problem:
I put a breakpoint in that method and it gets triggered. The response status is set to 202 but in my Postman I receive status 200. Can I handle it in other way then RequestHeaderAuthenticationFilter? I'd love to do that without struggling with xml configuration.

Code to get a Java servlet to act as a proxy?

I have two Java web applications that have a single servlet that gets mapped to a specific URL:
red.war/
WEB-INF/classes
com.me.myorg.red.RedServlet (maps to http://red.example.com/doStuff)
blue.war/
WEB-INF/classes
com.me.myorg.blue.BlueServlet (maps to http://blue.example.com/doStuff)
I want to put these application (I'm calling them my "backend apps") behind a "proxy app" (servlet) that will decide which of these two apps will ultimately service a client-side request.
This proxy web app would take an incoming HTTP request, and determines which of the 2 "backend apps" (red or blue) to forward the request onto. The request would then be forwarded on to either http://red.example.com/doStuff (and then processed by RedServlet#doGet(...)) or http://blue.example.com/doStuff (and then processed by BlueServlet#doGet(...)). The returned response from the backend app (again, either RedServlet#doGet(...) or BlueServlet#doGet(...)) would then be returned to the proxy servlet, and ultimately returned to the client.
In other words, in pseudo-code:
public class ProxyServlet extends HttpServlet {
#Override
public doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) {
String forwardingAddress;
if(shouldBeRed(request))
forwardingAddress = "http://red.example.com/doStuff";
else
forwardingAddress = "http://blue.example.com/doStuff";
PrintWriter writer = response.getWriter();
writer.write(getResponseFromBackend(forwardingAddress, request));
}
private String getResponseFromBackend(String addr, HttpServletRequest req) {
// Somehow forward req to addr and get HTML response...
}
}
Is this possible? If so, how and what code would I need to write to make it work?
You could use a RequestDispatcher to forward your request in the following way:
RequestDispatcher dispatcher = httpRequest.getRequestDispatcher(forwardingAddress);
// here you have the choice whether to use include(..) or forward(..) see below
if(useInclude)
dispatcher.include(httpRequest, httpResponse);
else
dispatcher.forward(httpRequest, httpResponse);
... where useInlcude is set to your choice with the following options:
includeThis is probably what you want to do: Load the content from the forwardingAdress into your response.
This means you could even include multiple targets into a single response.
The client will not even realize this procedure nor does he need to be able to see the target document.
forwardSend a forward to the forwardingAddress. This will tell the client to submit a new request to the specified URL.
If you do it in a browser with developer tools, you will see a second request.
The client must be able to see and load the target URL.
You can only forward to a single target.
See, the following links, too:
RequestDispatcher javadoc, especially for the notes:
forward should be called before the response has been committed to the client (before response body output has been flushed). If the response already has been committed, this method throws an IllegalStateException. Uncommitted output in the response buffer is automatically cleared before the forward.
include: The request and response parameters must be either the same objects as were passed to the calling servlet's service method or be subclasses of the ServletRequestWrapper or ServletResponseWrapper classes that wrap them.
URLRewriteFilter examplealthough this example is implemented using a Filter instead of a Servlet the behavior is the same (Note: this example is part of a framework of mine and hence contains some overhead in the parent classes. Just have a look at the relevant section...)
Since there is not yet an approved answer I try to write how I see the solution to this request use apache-http-commons library. In addition I suggest to add a flush on writer.
public class ProxyServlet extends HttpServlet {
#Override
public doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) {
String forwardingAddress;
if(shouldBeRed(request))
forwardingAddress = "http://red.example.com/doStuff";
else
forwardingAddress = "http://blue.example.com/doStuff";
PrintWriter writer = response.getWriter();
writer.write(getResponseFromBackend(forwardingAddress, request));
**writer.flush();**
}
private String getResponseFromBackend(String addr, HttpServletRequest req) {
HttpClient client = new HttpClient();
HttpMethod method = new GetMethod(url);
client.executeMethod(method);
String body=method.getResponseBodyAsString();
return body;
}
}

How to preserve request body on performing HTTP redirect from servlet filter

I have a Java web application deployed on 2 host machines, fronted by a servlet filter. I sent a POST request to the application on one host, which is intercepted by the filter and redirected to the other host:
public void doFilter (ServletRequest request, ServletResponse response,
FilterChain filterChain)
{
...
if(shouldRedirect) {
httpResponse.sendRedirect(redirectLocation);
}
}
On the second machine, the request passes the filter and is handled by a REST API in a Resource class.
#POST
public Response handleRequest(InputStream stream)
{
...
}
The stream object is sent as part of the POST request body. After the redirection, the request body is not sent over and stream is empty. How do I preserve the request body (or at least this part of it) after the redirect?
Thanks.
Another method I found could work is a 307 (Temporary redirect). This preserves the body of the original request, so it works in this case. The 307 redirect has some security implications as detailed here, but there is the benefit of not having the original host acting as a proxy for a blocking HTTP request.
public void doFilter(...)
{
...
httpResponse.setStatus(TEMPORARY_REDIRECT);
httpResponse.setHeader("Location", redirectLocation);
return;
}
I would perform a post to the redirectLocation instead. sendRedirect is telling the client to change its location so you are starting a new HTTP request at that point.
When you perform the redirect you could have the client initiate the original POST request to the new URL.
sendRedirect() re-visits the user's browser and from browser makes a visit to the re-directed url.
having said that, the POST data is available only at the initial host where the first request has been recievied. i.e. filter in this case.
What you can do :
modify your redirect url to include POST data as Request Parameters in GET url
e.g. host2\servlet?param=one&param2=two
Read more about URL Redirection

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