Spring Social Facebook: "The OAuth2 'state' parameter doesn't match"

Question

I am using Spring Social Facebook within a Spring MVC project to support Facebook login. This is working well in almost all cases, but occasionally I see the following exception in the logs.

ERROR org.springframework.social.connect.web.ProviderSignInController - Exception while completing OAuth 2 connection:
java.lang.IllegalStateException: The OAuth2 'state' parameter doesn't match.
at org.springframework.social.connect.web.ConnectSupport.verifyStateParameter(ConnectSupport.java:173)
at org.springframework.social.connect.web.ConnectSupport.completeConnection(ConnectSupport.java:155)
at org.springframework.social.connect.web.ProviderSignInController.oauth2Callback(ProviderSignInController.java:216)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:483)
at org.springframework.web.method.support.InvocableHandlerMethod.doInvoke(InvocableHandlerMethod.java:221)
at org.springframework.web.method.support.InvocableHandlerMethod.invokeForRequest(InvocableHandlerMethod.java:137) 
at org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.method.annotation.ServletInvocableHandlerMethod.invokeAndHandle(ServletInvocableHandlerMethod.java:110) 
at org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.method.annotation.RequestMappingHandlerAdapter.invokeHandleMethod(RequestMappingHandlerAdapter.java:776) 
at org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.method.annotation.RequestMappingHandlerAdapter.handleInternal(RequestMappingHandlerAdapter.java:705) 
at org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.method.AbstractHandlerMethodAdapter.handle(AbstractHandlerMethodAdapter.java:85) 
at org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet.doDispatch(DispatcherServlet.java:959) 
at org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet.doService(DispatcherServlet.java:893) 
at org.springframework.web.servlet.FrameworkServlet.processRequest(FrameworkServlet.java:966) 
at org.springframework.web.servlet.FrameworkServlet.doGet(FrameworkServlet.java:857) 
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:618) 
at org.springframework.web.servlet.FrameworkServlet.service(FrameworkServlet.java:842) 
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:725) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:291) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206) 
at org.apache.tomcat.websocket.server.WsFilter.doFilter(WsFilter.java:52) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:239) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:316) 
at org.springframework.security.web.access.intercept.FilterSecurityInterceptor.invoke(FilterSecurityInterceptor.java:126) 
at org.springframework.security.web.access.intercept.FilterSecurityInterceptor.doFilter(FilterSecurityInterceptor.java:90) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:330) 
at org.springframework.security.web.access.ExceptionTranslationFilter.doFilter(ExceptionTranslationFilter.java:114) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:330) 
at org.springframework.security.web.session.SessionManagementFilter.doFilter(SessionManagementFilter.java:122) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:330) 
at org.springframework.security.web.authentication.AnonymousAuthenticationFilter.doFilter(AnonymousAuthenticationFilter.java:111) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:330) 
at org.springframework.security.web.servletapi.SecurityContextHolderAwareRequestFilter.doFilter(SecurityContextHolderAwareRequestFilter.java:168) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:330) 
at org.springframework.security.web.savedrequest.RequestCacheAwareFilter.doFilter(RequestCacheAwareFilter.java:48) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:330) 
at org.springframework.security.web.authentication.AbstractAuthenticationProcessingFilter.doFilter(AbstractAuthenticationProcessingFilter.java:205) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:330) 
at org.springframework.security.web.authentication.logout.LogoutFilter.doFilter(LogoutFilter.java:120) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:330) 
at org.springframework.security.web.header.HeaderWriterFilter.doFilterInternal(HeaderWriterFilter.java:64) 
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:107) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:330) 
at org.springframework.security.web.context.SecurityContextPersistenceFilter.doFilter(SecurityContextPersistenceFilter.java:91) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:330) 
at org.springframework.security.web.context.request.async.WebAsyncManagerIntegrationFilter.doFilterInternal(WebAsyncManagerIntegrationFilter.java:53) 
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:107) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy$VirtualFilterChain.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:330) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy.doFilterInternal(FilterChainProxy.java:213) 
at org.springframework.security.web.FilterChainProxy.doFilter(FilterChainProxy.java:176) 
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.invokeDelegate(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:344) 
at org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy.doFilter(DelegatingFilterProxy.java:261) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:239) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206) 
at com.example.something.CorsFilter.doFilter(CorsFilter.java:49) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:239) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206) 
at org.springframework.web.filter.CharacterEncodingFilter.doFilterInternal(CharacterEncodingFilter.java:85) 
at org.springframework.web.filter.OncePerRequestFilter.doFilter(OncePerRequestFilter.java:107) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:239) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:219) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:106) 
at org.apache.catalina.authenticator.AuthenticatorBase.invoke(AuthenticatorBase.java:501) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:142) 
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:79) 
at org.apache.catalina.valves.RemoteIpValve.invoke(RemoteIpValve.java:673) 
at org.apache.catalina.valves.AbstractAccessLogValve.invoke(AbstractAccessLogValve.java:610) 
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:88) 
at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:516) 
at org.apache.coyote.http11.AbstractHttp11Processor.process(AbstractHttp11Processor.java:1086) 
at org.apache.coyote.AbstractProtocol$AbstractConnectionHandler.process(AbstractProtocol.java:659) 
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11NioProtocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11NioProtocol.java:223) 
at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.NioEndpoint$SocketProcessor.doRun(NioEndpoint.java:1558) 
at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.NioEndpoint$SocketProcessor.run(NioEndpoint.java:1515) 
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1142) 
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:617) 
at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.TaskThread$WrappingRunnable.run(TaskThread.java:61) 
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:745)

I haven't been able to figure out when this occurs, and I haven't been able to reproduce it, but I have seen it happening for other users quite a few times. Below is my Spring Social Facebook configuration.

@Configuration
public class SocialConfig {
    @Bean
    public ProviderSignInController providerSignInController() {
        ProviderSignInController controller = new ProviderSignInController(this.connectionFactoryLocator(), this.usersConnectionRepository(), new SpringSecuritySignInAdapter(this.accountRepository));
        controller.addSignInInterceptor(new RedirectToPreviousPageInterceptor(controller, this.analyticsService));

        return controller;
    }

    @Bean
    public ConnectionFactoryRegistry connectionFactoryLocator() {
        ConnectionFactoryRegistry connectionFactoryRegistry = new ConnectionFactoryRegistry();
        List<ConnectionFactory<?>> connectionFactories = new ArrayList<ConnectionFactory<?>>();
        connectionFactories.add(this.facebookConnectionFactory());
        connectionFactoryRegistry.setConnectionFactories(connectionFactories);

        return connectionFactoryRegistry;
    }

    @Bean
    public FacebookConnectionFactory facebookConnectionFactory() {
        FacebookConnectionFactory connectionFactory = new FacebookConnectionFactory(this.facebookAppId, this.facebookAppSecret);
        connectionFactory.setScope(this.scope);

        return connectionFactory;
    }

    @Bean
    @Scope(value = "request", proxyMode = ScopedProxyMode.INTERFACES)
    public Facebook facebook(ConnectionRepository repository) {
        Connection<Facebook> connection = repository.findPrimaryConnection(Facebook.class);
        return (connection != null ? connection.getApi() : null);
    }

    @Bean
    @Scope(value = "request", proxyMode = ScopedProxyMode.INTERFACES)
    public ConnectionRepository connectionRepository() {
        Authentication authentication = SecurityContextHolder.getContext().getAuthentication();

        if (authentication == null) {
            throw new IllegalStateException("Unable to get a ConnectionRepository: no user signed in");
        }

        Account account = (Account) authentication.getPrincipal();
        return this.usersConnectionRepository().createConnectionRepository(String.valueOf(account.getId()));
    }

    @Bean
    public JdbcUsersConnectionRepository usersConnectionRepository() {
        JdbcUsersConnectionRepository repository = new JdbcUsersConnectionRepository(this.dataSource, this.connectionFactoryLocator(), this.textEncryptor);
        repository.setConnectionSignUp(this.accountService);

        return repository;
    }
}

Why does this occur, and what can I do to prevent this? Thanks.

Joceline

Answer 1

The state parameter prevents CSRF attacks in OAuth2.

The idea being:

• Your app adds a state parameter to the request that it makes to the authentication server (in this case, Facebook)
• The authentication server echoes the exact value of that state parameter back to you in the response
• You then check to see if they match up

It sounds pointless... but it prevents attackers from making your client app action requests that it didn't initiate.

This covers it in great detail:

http://www.twobotechnologies.com/blog/2014/02/importance-of-state-in-oauth2.html

Spring Social handles all this for you: generating a new random state for every request, and automatically attempting to match it to the value in the response.

So you can't prevent it:, and you don't want to: these might be genuine failed attack attempts - and in those cases, you want this error to happen.

For the cases you've posted, it could just be buggy handling of the state parameter by Spring Social, or by Facebook's authentication servers.

But, for your part, you should handle the exception as if it were a genuine attack attempt: log warnings / alert people / etc.

Trusty

Thank you for the explanation. I understand the purpose of the state parameter, and as you say, I am indeed not interested in removing it. I will try to investigate this further. Thanks again. – Joceline

Answer 2

This function simply generates a state value String (by default UUID.randomUUID().toString() ), places it in the session and passes it to the provider as a "state" parameter in the authorization request. The provider is expected to pass it back on the callback. If the stored state matches the one in the callback, then we are good. If they don`t match, that is when you see the exception that you mentioned there.

This is just supposed to work, but yes I see that you are having problems here. I also found this link that might be worth a look : https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-social-facebook/issues/103

Deedeeann

Thank you for your explanation. I still don't know in which scenarios the values don't match. I had previously looked at that issue, but it seemed as if Facebook had fixed it, so I didn't think more of it. – Joceline

I am running into an issue with a null state parameter. I use Spring Social. There must me something wrong with my configuration. I have opened a thread here: https://mcmap.net/q/742221/-what-could-cause-the-original-39-oauth2-39-state-parameter-to-be-null-in-org-springframework-social-connect-web-connectsupport/536299 Can someone please help? – Aguiar