cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/12744832
As I updated the version to 1.4.0 , adding the ‘import’ feature I am sharing this here.
I made this extension because I couldn’t find one that wouldn’t ask for too much permissions (such as accessing all websites data).
Eventually I found it nice to have a TOTP that can really be audited, the code is 649 lines of JS, 214 CSS and 52 HTML. Feel free to fork, copy part of it, contribute or just request fix/features.
I have used it for more than a year every day and it works nicely.
I struggle to think of a situation where I would willingly undermine TOTP security by storing the secrets in my web browser.
Before using this for anything you can’t afford to lose, I suggest thinking twice. And then twice again.
It’s also an extension with 1 review, by a no-name developer, with only 12 installs… definitely would trust that…
Well this is 600 lines of code, if you cannot audit that you can indeed ignore it for now. Once again this is the only auditable code out there and not asking for unrelated permissions.
With all due respect, it doesnt matter what the code is right now. This is an extension that you can update at any point in the future to replace with something malicious.
Trust is near impossible to build in todays internet.
https://www.kaspersky.com.au/blog/dangerous-chrome-extensions-87-million/32170/
Note that a plugin’s malicious functionality can evolve over time in line with its owners’ goals. And the owners themselves may change: there have been cases when malicious features appeared in a previously safe extension after its creators sold the plugin to someone else.
It might be safe, it might work well and all, but it does defeat the point of 2FA, so I wouldn’t want people to even know about it before they explored undeniably better and safer options, like Authenticator apps for their phones.
But to be fair, many people around the world only have one single device, so 2FA becomes a difficulty. But that’s the point where I’m not knowledgable enough anymore to see what the best way of going about it is.
From my gut feeling, I’d rather put a dedicated TOTP App on a device than to use a browser extension.
Thank you for your constructive comment.
Indeed many people thinks 2FA as 2 devices. I am not sure where that came from and what specifically make people think that way. Despite all my research and experience using 2 devices solve no specific security problem. I think there is a whole topic to be argued on this (should I make a blog post on this?).
As for me I have Aegis on my smartphone (really perfect nothing to say). But I have many unwanted/unnecessary 2FA to go through every day (for the last 3 years). I am cleaning my cookie/connection every time I close my web browser and I am not keeping my computer on all the time. Therefore those 2FA needs to be done a lot (I mean at least 3 time a day). I do not interact much with my smartphone, also this is the least secure device I own so web browser extension is an OK way. I used to have a python script I could have run from one of my IoT through ssh. So far I don’t see any vector of attack this would prevent compared to browser extension.
I see hundreds of thousands of users using other extensions that I wouldn’t run on my system and I am sharing a better solution, nothing perfect, nothing that requires mass adoption.
2FA being on a separate device is simply the most secure way of doing it. An attacker who gets access to some passwords for my accounts can’t do a whole lot without also physically stealing my phone.
It’s simply an extra hurdle for malicious actors to go through.
Though I guess in most cases, having any 2FA at all will probably already turn off a majority of attackers.
Every software started with 0 reviews, by a no-name developer, with only 1 installs.
This is a privacy community. Half the posters here think their toaster is listening to their thoughts. Browser extensions are a serious and known vector for malware, installing one from a no-name developer and handing it your tfa codes is a high level of blind trust.
So basically… completely remove the purpose of 2FA?
Does it, tho? It’s like “smth you know + smth you have” (although knowing or being able to remember most paswords is also quite often a bad idea, but I digress); so you have a device and know [the password for the password manager which knows] the password.
Besides, given that logic, to not defeat the purpose of 2fa you’ll have to have another smartphone just to run aegis or something
There is an irony in password managers that stores your password but need a password (passphrase would be better). A password for your passwords. Fundamentally this is because the only secured space, only you can get in and no one else, is your own brain.
Most password leaks are usually caused by bad implementations on the server side. I have an authentication protocol to avoid many password leakages I’d like to share one day (double salt, one from client, one on server so password is never shared to the server).
No it doesnt, it is a password and a secret stored on that device. A password might get stolen on the database, or entered on a fishing website, but with 2FA that would be useless.
It goes against ONE idea of 2FA, that phones are more secure (thanks Android) and your Browser might get hacked.
If your computer gets compromised and you store your passwords on it (as most do) then you are also storing your 2fa on it, then there is no 2fa.
If your computer is compromised whatever token/cookie you will get from the authentication will be also compromised.
Assuming the computer is compromised also open a lot more issues, privilege escalation can be done in a lot of ways depending of what is being installed (even sudo was hit by such issues https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-3156 )
Really cool! How is the database stored, can it be encrypted using the masterpassword, or a different one? Can it be only loaded into RAM?
On traditional desktops like any app can read your browser data, which would be very problematic.
Database is encrypted in the local storage of the extension. So far Firefox is secure enough so this is not accessible from outside (it is encrypted anyway). The encryption is using the crypto web API (native from web browser) to use PBKDF2 key. It is decrypted with your password so the database is in RAM (not saved anywhere unencrypted) as long as the browser is open or you click to “logout”.
You can export/import all the entries with a simple JSON format (for now, simple “name”+“secret” for each entry). You should encrypt this export file or save it in a encrypted volume yourself.
