Adapting Kerberos for a browser-based environment
Name
870307860-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
1.15 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
dcbbda94e433be66da4bd2453ecdeefc
Author(s)
Benjamin, David (David A.)
Advisor(s)
Nickolai Zeldovich.
Date Issued
2013
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This thesis presents Webathena, a browser-centric implementation of the Kerberos network authentication protocol. It consists of a JavaScript Kerberos client, paired with a simple, untrusted, server-side proxy to wrap the protocol in HTTP. This is used to implement a trusted credential manager with a cross-origin protocol to delegate credentials to untrusted Web applications. To evaluate Webathena, we present Roost, a Web-based client for the Zephyr messaging and notification in use at MIT, along with a host of proof-of-concept applications. We find that it is possible to build Web-based clients for Kerberized services similar to or better than existing native ones with no modifications to either the Kerberos KDCs or the services themselves. Finally, we discuss possible modifications to Kerberos to better support this kind of credential delegation.
Description
Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2013.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 63-65).
Subjects
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Terms of Use
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