openedx / openedx/openedx-platform

Sessions are cleared and users are logged out when cache is cleared

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Dominant language
Python
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Description

At this time, when the edx-platform cache (e.g. Memcached or Redis) loses its data, all user sessions are lost and everyone is logged out. This is probably a frustrating experience for users, and also hammers servers with logins until users have restored there sessions.

The solution is probably to use a db-backed cache.

See Using database-backed sessions and see cached_db details in Using cached sessions.

Question:

  • Is there any security issue with these in the DB? Could anyone with DB access take over a session? Or do the sessions get encrypted?

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First steps

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  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
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Research direction

No repository file or test is identified. Start by reading Django's linked documentation on database-backed and cached sessions, then inspect the project's session and cache configuration to determine the security implications and whether cache loss can be tolerated. Done means sessions survive cache eviction and the database-storage security question is resolved.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
django, memcached, python, redis
Domain
authentication, backend, databases
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
28/100

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