Re: False (?) 401 errors messages

[Chris Ess <securityfocus () cae tokimi net>]

On Wed, 17 Dec 2003, Jon Mark Allen wrote:

> I've written a custom 401 error page (using php) to notify me (via
> email) when someone fails to authenticate to a secure website I'm
> managing.  The only problem is that I get an email for _every_ access
> not just the ones that fail.

[snip]

If I remember correctly...  And I may not...

Whenever a web browser hits a password-protected page and it does not have
a username and password for the page presented in the request header, it
will receive a 401 response.  It is this 401 response that prompts the web
browser to ask the user to enter the username and password for this site.

I don't know if you can do this, but...  In your error document for 401's,
query the username supplied.  If the username is blank or undefined then
it was an initial visit by a web browser and probably does not need to be
logged if you're trying to log attempts to log in with a username/password
pair.  So, if it does not need to be logged, you should not need to send
an email.

This may be of some use to you:
http://www.php.net/manual/en/features.http-auth.php

Sincerely,


Chris Ess
System Administrator / CDTT (Certified Duct Tape Technician)

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