Matt Schwager
Summary: Trail of Bits' Matt Schwager writes that SAML, the XML-based authentication protocol that birthed the SSO industry, is fundamentally flawed by XML complexity, canonicalization issues, enveloped signatures, and design ossification, leaving it open to signature wrapping attacks and parser differentials that persist despite decades of awareness. He recommends organizations migrate to OpenID Connect, which he says avoids these pitfalls through simpler JSON-based design, detached signatures, and agile evolution.
What's compelling: The authentication protocol underneath much of enterprise single sign-on carries signature wrapping and parser differential flaws that have been known for decades and remain unpatched by design, so the exposure sits in the identity layer your access decisions depend on.
Read the original at Trail of Bits Blog ↗
- Topics
- Vulnerabilities & Patching
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