Spring & Struts & JSP Tag

HDIV 2.0.
4 ii
1. INTRODUCTION _________________________________________ 5
1.1 PARAMETER TAMPERING 6
1.2 SQL-INJECTION 7
1.3 CROSS-SITE SCRIPTING (XSS) 8
1.4 CROSS-SITE REQUEST FORGERY (CSRF) 10
1.4.1 EFFECTS 11
1.4.2 PROTECTION 11
2. STATE OF ART __________________________________________ 13
3. HDIV _________________________________________________ 14
3.1 INTRODUCTION 14
3.2 BASE CONCEPTS 15
3.2.1 STATE 15
3.3 ARCHITECTURE 17
4. OPERATION STRATEGY ___________________________________ 18
4.1 CIPHER STRATEGY 19
4.1.1 INTRODUCTION 19
4.1.2 RESPONSE GENERATION 19
4.1.3 VALIDATION 20
4.2 HASH STRATEGY 21
4.2.3 VALIDATION 22
4.3 MEMORY STRATEGY 22
4.3.3 VALIDATION 23
5. HDIV TAG LIBRARIES ____________________________________ 24
5.1 STRUTS 1.X 24
5.1.1 HDIV-HTML.TLD 24
5.1.1.1 HDIVS TAGS 25
5.1.1.2 STRUTS TAGS 26
5.1.1.3 TAG: CIPHER 26
5.1.2 HDIV-NESTED.TLD 26
5.1.3 HDIV-LOGIC.TLD 27
5.1.3.2 STRUTS TAGS 27
5.1.4 STRUTS-EL EXTENSION 27
5.2 STRUTS 2.X 28
5.2.1 HDIV-TAGS.TLD 28
5.2.1.1 STRUTS GENERIC TAGS 28

HDIV 2.0.4 iii
5.2.1.2 UI TAGS 28
5.3 SPRING MVC 29
5.3.1 HDIV-SPRING-FORM.TLD 29
5.3.1.2 SPRING MVC TAGS 30
5.3.1.3 NEW TAGS 30
5.3.1.3.1 SUBMIT 30
5.3.1.3.2 CIPHER 31
5.4 JSP STANDARD TAG LIBRARY (JSTL) 32
5.4.1 HDIV-C.TLD 32
6. LOGGER_______________________________________________ 33
6.1 HDIV LOG FORMAT 34
7. INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION _______________________ 36
7.1 STRUTS 1.X 36
7.1.1 INSTALLATION 36
7.1.1.1 LIBRARIES 36
7.1.1.2 MODIFY THE DEPLOYMENT DESCRIPTOR IN /WEB-INF/WEB.XML 36
7.1.1.3 SPRING 38
7.1.2 CONFIGURATION 39
7.1.2.1 HDIV-CONFIG.XML 39
7.1.2.2 APPLICATIONCONTEXT.XML 44
7.1.2.3 STRUTS-CONFIG.XML 46
7.1.2.3.1 MULTIPART REQUEST 46
7.1.2.3.2 EDITABLE DATA VALIDATION 47
7.1.2.4 HDIV-VALIDATIONS.XML 47
7.1.2.4.1 CONFIGURATION OF VALIDATIONS FOR EDITABLE DATA 47
7.1.2.4.2 ERROR MESSAGE 50
7.1.3 SUPPORT FOR OTHER STRUTS 1.X COMPONENTS 52
7.1.3.1 TILES 52
7.1.3.2 STRUTS-EL 52
7.1.3.2.1 LIBRARIES 52
7.1.3.2.2 MODIFY THE DEPLOYMENT DESCRIPTOR IN /WEB-INF/WEB.XML 53
7.2 STRUTS 2.X 53
7.2.1.3 SPRING 56
7.2.2.3 STRUTS-PLUGIN.XML 56
7.2.2.4 EDITABLE DATA VALIDATION 57
7.2.2.4.1 INTERCEPTOR 57
7.2.2.4.2 HDIV-VALIDATIONS.XML 57
7.3 SPRING MVC 58

HDIV 2.0.4 iv
7.3.1.3 SPRING 60
7.3.2.3 HDIV-VALIDATIONS.XML 62
7.3.2.4 [SPRINGMVC-SERVLET-NAME]-SERVLET.XML 63
7.3.3 SPRING WEB FLOW (SWF) 64
7.3.3.1 INSTALLATION 64
7.3.3.1.1 LIBRARIES 64
7.3.3.2 CONFIGURATION 65
7.3.3.2.1 SWF FILE 65
7.3.3.2.2 SPRING FILE 65
7.4 JSP STANDARD TAG LIBRARY (JSTL) 66
7.4.1.3 SPRING 67
8. EXAMPLES_____________________________________________ 69
8.1 STRUTS-EXAMPLES FOR STRUTS 1.X 69
8.1.2.1 STRATEGY 71
8.1.2.2 CONFIDENTIALITY 71
8.1.2.3 MAXIMUN SIZE OF THE HDIV STATE 72
8.1.2.4 MULTIPART REQUESTS 73
8.1.2.4.1 PARAMETER CONFIGURATION 73
8.1.2.4.2 MULTIPART REQUEST HANDLER 74
8.1.2.5 VALIDATIONS FOR EDITABLE DATA 74
8.1.2.6 LOGGER 74
8.2 SHOWCASE FOR STRUTS 2.0.X 74
8.2.1.1 VALIDATIONS FOR EDITABLE DATA 75
8.3 FORMTAGS FOR SPRING MVC AND JSTL 77
8.4 SELLITEM FOR SPRING MVC AND SPRING WEB FLOW (SWF) 78
8.4.1.1 FLOW CONTROLLER 79
8.4.1.2 HDIV LISTENER 79
9. CONCLUSIONS _________________________________________ 81
10. REFERENCES ___________________________________________ 82
APPENDIX A: EXAMPLE FILE FOR EDITABLE DATA VALIDATIONS _____ 84
APPENDIX B: COMPOSITE VALIDATOR EXAMPLE FOR SPRING MVC ____ 87

HDIV 2.0.4 5
1. INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, web application security is one of the most important issues in the information
system development process. According to Gartner [1] the 75% of the attacks performed
nowadays are aimed to web applications, because operative system security and net level
security have increased considerably. As a result, it is considered that the 95% of the web
applications are vulnerable to a certain type of attack [2]. In the following chart we can see
the list of the most important vulnerabilities published by OWASP (Open Web Application
Security Project) [3]:

Image 1.1 OWASP Top 10

In the following chapters four of the most important vulnerability types are described in
detail: Parameter Tampering, SQL-Injection, Cross-site Scripting (XSS) and Cross-site
Request Forgery (CSRF).

HDIV 2.0.4 6
1.1 Parameter tampering
Parameter tampering is a type of attack based on the modification of the data sent by the
server in the client side.
The process of data modification is very simple for the user. When a user sends a HTTP
request (GET or POST), the received HTML page may contain hidden values, which can not
be seen by the browser but are sent to the server when a submit of the page is committed.
Also, when the values of a form are pre-selected (drop-down lists, radio buttons, etc.)
these values can be manipulated by the user and thus the user can send an HTTP request
containing the parameter values he wants.
Example: We have a web application of a bank, where its clients can check their accounts
information by typing this url (XX= account number):

When a client logs in, the application creates a link of this type for each account of this
client. So, by clicking in the links, the client can only access to its accounts. However, it
would be very easy for this user to access another user account, by typing directly in a
browser the bank url with the desired account number.
For this reason the application (server side) must verify that the user has access to the
account he asks for.
The same occurs with the rest of non editable html elements that exist in web applications,
such as, selectionable lists, hidden fields, checkboxes, radio buttons, destiny pages, etc.
This vulnerability is based on the lack of any verification in the server side about the created
data and it must be kept in mind by the programmers when they are developing a new web
application.
Despite being a link the modified element in this example, we must not forget that it is
possible to modify any type of element in a web page (selects, hidden fields, radio
buttons). This vulnerability does not only affect to GET requests (links) because POST
request (forms) can also be modificated using appropriate audit tools [4], which are very
easy to use by anyone who knows how to use a web browser.
http://www.mybank.com?account=XX

HDIV 2.0.4 7
1.2 SQL-Injection
In this case the problem is based in a bad programming of the data access layer.
Example: We have a web page that requires user identification. The user must fill in a form
with its username and password. This information is sent to the server to check if it is
correct:

As we can see in the example, the executed sql is formed by concatenating directly the
values typed by the user.
In a normal request where the expected values are sent the sql works correctly. But we can
have a security problem if the sent values are the following ones:

user = john
password = mypassword
public void doPost(HttpServletRequest request, ) {

String user = request.getParameter("user");
String password = request.getParameter("password");

String sql = "select * from user where username='" + user + "' and
password ='" + password + "'";
}

select * from user where username = 'john' and password = 'mypassword'
user = john
password = mypassword' or '1'='1
public void doPost(HttpServletRequest request, ) {

String user = request.getParameter("user");
String password = request.getParameter("password");

String sql = "select * from user where username='" + user + "' and
password ='" + password + "'";
}

select * from user where username = 'john' and password = 'mypassword' or '1'='1'

HDIV 2.0.4 8
In this case, the generated sql returns all the users of the table, without having typed any
valid combination of username and password. As a result, if the program doesnt control the
number of returned results, it might gain access to the private zone of the application
without having permission for that.
The consequences of the exploitation of this vulnerability can be mitigated by limiting the
database permissions of the user used by the application. For example, if the application
user can delete rows in the table the consequences can be very severe.
1.3 Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
This attack technique is based in the injection of code (javascript or html) in the pages
visualized by the application user.
Example: We have a web page where we can type a text, as is shown in the image below:

Image 1.2 XSS Vulnerability Example

The html code of the page is:

Typing the following text in the textbox:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head><title>XSS Vulnerability Sample</title></head>
<body>
<h1>XSS Vulnerability Sample</h1>

<form method="GET" action="XSS.jsp">
Enter string here:
<input type="text" name="userInput" size=50/>
<input type="submit" value="Submit" />
</form>
<br><hr><br>
Output from last command: <%= request.getParameter("userInput")%>
</body>
</html>
<script>
alert("If you see this you have a potential XSS vulnerability!");
</script>

HDIV 2.0.4 9
This is the result:

Image 1.3 XSS Vulnerability Example result

What can an attacker get when our application is vulnerable to a XSS?
There is a large variety of attacks to exploit this vulnerability. A well known attack is a
massive email sending that we see in the picture below, attaching a trusted url (in this
example, happy banking) where the final result is the execution of a JavaScript function
that can redirect us to another website (a fake website which apparently is the same as
original) or can obtain the cookies of our browser and send them to the attacker.

Image 1.4 XSS Mail Attack

The rob of cookies can give the attacker access to the web applications where the user is
authenticated in that moment (online bank, personal email account, etc.). This is because

HDIV 2.0.4 10
most of the web applications use cookies to maintain sessions. When the server
authenticates a user, it creates an identifier that is stored in the user browser as a cookie.
In the successive requests, this identifier is used to identify the user, avoiding having to
type the username and password for each request. All this process is managed
automatically by the browser itself.
This vulnerability (XSS) can be solved using generic validation politics (where certain
characters are not allowed) or using libraries like Struts [5] which avoids this kind of
problems.
1.4 Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Cross-site request forgery, also known as one click attack or session riding and abbreviated
as CSRF (Sea-Surf) or XSRF, is a type of malicious exploit of websites. Although this type of
attack has similarities to cross-site scripting (XSS), cross-site scripting requires the attacker
to inject unauthorized code into a website, while cross-site request forgery merely transmits
unauthorized commands from a user the website trusts.
The attack works by including a link or script in a page that accesses a site to which the
user is known (or is supposed) to have authenticated.
Example: One user, Bob, might be browsing a chat forum where another user, Mallory, has
posted a message. Suppose that Mallory has crafted an HTML image element that
references a script on Bob's bank's website (rather than an image file), e.g.,

If Bob's bank keeps his authentication information in a cookie, and if the cookie hasn't
expired, then Bob's browser's attempt to load the image will submit the withdrawal form
with his cookie, thus authorizing a transaction without Bob's approval.
A cross-site request forgery is a confused deputy attack against a Web browser. The deputy
in the bank example is Bob's Web browser which is confused into misusing Bob's authority
at Mallory's direction.
The following characteristics are common to CSRF:
Involve sites that rely on a user's identity
Exploit the site's trust in that identity
Trick the user's browser into sending HTTP requests to a target site
<img
src="http://bank.example/withdraw?account=bob&amount=1000000&for=mallory
">

HDIV 2.0.4 11
Involve HTTP requests that have side effects

At risk are web applications that perform actions based on input from trusted and
authenticated users without requiring the user to authorize the specific action. A user that is
authenticated by a cookie saved in his web browser could unknowingly send an HTTP
request to a site that trusts him and thereby cause an unwanted action.
CSRF attacks using images are often made from Internet forums, where users are allowed
to post images but not JavaScript.
1.4.1 Effects
This attack relies on a few assumptions:
The attacker has knowledge of sites the victim has current authentication on (more
common on web forums, where this attack is most common)
The attacker's "target site" has persistent authentication cookies, or the victim has
a current session cookie with the target site
The "target site" doesn't have secondary authentication for actions (such as form
tokens)

While having potential for harm, the effect is mitigated by the attacker's need to "know his
audience" such that he attacks a small familiar community of victims, or a more common
"target site" has poorly implemented authentication systems (for instance, if a common
book reseller offers 'instant' purchases without re-authentication).
1.4.2 Protection
Applications must ensure that they are not relying on credentials or tokens that are
automatically submitted by browsers. The only solution is to use a custom token that the
browser will not remember and then automatically include with a CSRF attack.
The following strategies should be inherent in all web applications:
Ensure that there are no XSS vulnerabilities in your application.
Insert custom random tokens into every form and URL that will not be
automatically submitted by the browser. For example,

<form action="/transfer.do" method="post">
<input type="hidden" name="8438927730" value="43847384383">

</form>

HDIV 2.0.4 12
and then verify that the submitted token is correct for the current user. Such
tokens can be unique to that particular function or page for that user, or simply
unique to the overall session. The more focused the token is to a particular
function and/or particular set of data, the stronger the protection will be, but the
more complicated it will be to construct and maintain.
For sensitive data or value transactions, re-authenticate or use transaction signing
to ensure that the request is genuine. Set up external mechanisms such as e-mail
or phone contact in order to verify requests or notify the user of the request.
Do not use GET requests (URLs) for sensitive data or to perform value
transactions. Use only POST methods when processing sensitive data from the
user. However, the URL may contain the random token as this creates a unique
URL, which makes CSRF almost impossible to perform.
POST alone is insufficient a protection. You must also combine it with random
tokens, out of band authentication or re-authentication to properly protect against
CSRF.

While these suggestions will diminish your exposure dramatically, advanced CSRF attacks
can bypass many of these restrictions. The strongest technique is the use of unique tokens,
and eliminating all XSS vulnerabilities in your application.
It should be noted that preventing CSRF requires that all XSS problems are removed
first. An XSS flaw can be used to retrieve the form, then grab the random tokens before
submitting the CSRF request. XSS may also be able to spoof the user into entering their
credentials, which would allow the CSRF to bypass re-authentication as well.
CSRF has been called the "sleeping giant" of web application security flaws, because it has
yet to be exploited widely. It is only a matter of time, web programmers should be making
the changes needed to ensure that their sites are not vulnerable.

HDIV 2.0.4 13
2. STATE OF ART
All the vulnerabilities presented before can be solved through a proper input validation.
There are solutions for this but most of them are custom solutions and developers have to
create a new solution for each use case. Also we must add that its highly probable that
developers forget a validation in some points of the web application.
In order to solve this problem there are some global solutions. Web application framework
validators can be useful to solve problems like SQL Injection or XSS but its limited to type
validation. We cant solve parameter tampering through Struts validator.
With these validators we can assure that a parameter its an integer but we cant know if
the value its the same that the server sent to the client. In other words, we cant assure
server data integrity. Avoiding this vulnerability manually implies a great development effort
and it is likely to fail in some pages because it is very difficult to test the correct
programming of each page.

HDIV 2.0.4 14
3. HDIV
3.1 Introduction
In order to solve web application vulnerabilities we have created HDIV (HTTP Data
Integrity Validator) open-source project.
We can briefly define HDIV as a Java Web Application Security Framework. HDIV
extends web applications behaviour by adding Security functionalities, maintaining the API
and the framework specification. This implies that we can use HDIV in applications
developed in Struts 1.x, Struts 2.x, Spring MVC or/and JSTL in a transparent way to the
programmer and without adding any complexity to the application development. It is
possible to use HDIV in applications that dont use Struts 1.x, Struts 2.x, Spring MVC or
JSTL, but in this case it is necessary to modify the application (JSP pages).
The security functionalities added to the web applications are these:
Integrity: HDIV guarantees integrity (no data modification) of all the data
generated by the server which should not be modified by the client (links, hidden
fields, combo values, radio buttons, destiny pages, cookies, headers, etc.). Thanks
to this property we avoid all the vulnerabilities based on the parameter tampering.

Editable data validation: HDIV eliminates to a large extent the risk originated by
attacks of type Cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL Injection using generic
validations of the editable data (text and textarea).
As there isn't any base in editable data to validate the information, the user will
have to configurate generic validations through rules in XML format, reducing or
eliminating the risk against attacks based on the defined restrictions. See chapter
7.1.2.4 - hdiv-validations.xml.
Unlike the traditional solution where validations are applied to each field through
the Commons Validator [11], and where the probability of a human error is very
high, HDIV allows to apply generic rules that avoid to a large extent the risk within
these data types. Anyway, it is advisable to use existing solutions such as the
Struts validator and Struts tag libraries to avoid Cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks
and to use prepared statements to avoid SQL injection in the data access layer.
The responsability of showing error messages on the user screen, if the HDIV
validator detects not allowed values in editable fields, is delegated to the errors
handler and this handler will show them in the input form.

HDIV 2.0.4 15
Check the following address [5.1] for example to obtain more information about
the Struts validator. You must consider your Struts version to check the correct
user guide.

Confidentiality: HDIV guarantees the confidentiality of the data as well. Usually
lots of the data sent to the client has key information for the attackers such as
database registry identifiers, column or table names, web directories, etc.
All these values are hidden by HDIV to avoid a malicious use of them. For example
a link of this type, http://www.host.com?data1=12&data2=24 is replaced by
http://www.host.com?data1=0&data2=1, guaranteeing confidentiality of the
values representing database identifiers.
Anti-CSRF token: Random string called a token is placed in each form and link of
the HTML response, ensuring that this value will be submitted with the next
request. This random string provides protection because not only does the
compromised site need to know the URL of the target site and a valid request
format for the target site, it also must know the random string which changes for
each visited page.

Therefore, HDIV helps to eliminate most of the web vulnerabilities based on non
editable data and it can also avoid vulnerabilities related with editable data through
generic validations, which is easier to apply than traditional input validation with the
Commons Validator [11]. In addition to that, HDIV hides all critical information to the
client to avoid a malicious use of them.
3.2 Base concepts
Before detailing the way HDIV guarantees data integrity and confidentiality it is necessary
to explain some base concepts.
3.2.1 State
For HDIV a State represents all the data that composes a possible request to a web
application, that is, the parameters of a request, its values and its types and the destiny or
page request.
For example, having this type of link,
http://www.host.com/page1.do?data1=20&data2=35
a state that represents this link is as follows:

HDIV 2.0.4 16

We may have more than one state (possible request) for a page which represents the links
and forms existing in the page. When a page (JSP) is processed in the server, HDIV
generates an object of type state for each existing link o form in the page (JSP).
Generated state can be stored in two locations:
Server: States are stored inside de session (HttpSession) of the user.
Client: State objects are sent to the client as parameters. For each possible
request (link or form) an object that represents the state of the request is added.

These states make it possible the later verification of the requests sent by the clients,
comparing the data sent by the client with the state.

Image 3.1 Validation process

By default, the name of the parameter that contains the HDIV state included in all the
requests is _HDIV_STATE_ but it is possible to configure it in the randomName bean to get
Action: page1.do
Parameters:
data1:
values: 20
type: link
data2:
values: 35
type: link
STATE

HDIV 2.0.4 17
a random name for each session user, which decreases the risk of suffering a Cross Site
Request Forgery (CSRF) attack (see chapter 7.1.2.1 hdiv-config.xml).

3.3 Architecture
HDIV has two main modules:
Tag Library: Tag Library is responsible for modifying the html content sent to the
client that then will be checked by the security filter. HDIV Tags in the 3.2 image.
Security Filter: it validates the editable and non editable information of the
requests, using the generic validations defined by the user for editable data and
the state received in the requests for the non editable information. HDIV Validation
Filter in the 3.2 image.

Image 3.2 HDIV Architecture

HDIV 2.0.4 18
4. OPERATION STRATEGY
Having the same objectives, HDIV has different operation strategies:
Cipher: for each possible request of each page (link or form) an extra parameter
(_HDIV_STATE_) is added which represents the state of the request.
To guarantee the integrity of the state itself, which is the base of the validation, it
is ciphered using a symmetrical algorithm. Beside adding the extra parameter all
the non editable values are replaced by relative values (0,1,2,) to guarantee data
confidentiality.

Hash: This strategy is very similar to the Cipher strategy but in this case the state
sent to the client is coded in Base64.
To be able to check this parameter integrity, a hash of the state is generated
before being sent to the client and it is stored in the user session. This strategy
does not guarantee confidentiality because the state can be decoded if we have a
high technical knowledge.

Memory: All the states of the page are stored in the user session. To be able to
associate user requests with the state stored in the session, an extra parameter
(_HDIV_STATE_) is added to each request. This parameter contains the identifier
that makes possible to get the state from session. In this strategy non editable
values are hidden as well guaranteeing confidentiality.

Lets see the html code generated by HDIV using different strategies and configurations as
well as the steps of the validation process.
Suppose that we have a page that generates the following html code, where shaded text
represents non editable data that we must protect.

HDIV 2.0.4 19

4.1 Cipher strategy
4.1.1 Introduction
The state is sent to the client as a hidden field or a parameter if it is a link. In order to
guarantee integrity, the state is ciphered using a symmetrical algorithm.
In order to guarantee confidentiality, non editable data is replaced by relative values.
4.1.2 Response generation
First of all HDIV gathers all the request data and it generates an object of type
org.hdiv.state.IState for each request of the page (forms + links). This State object is what
the client receives as a serialized object.
Then, HDIV replaces non editable real values by relative values. For instance, if we have a
selection list with the following values: 150, 133, 22 they are replaced by these: 0, 1, 2.
This way HDIV guarantees confidentiality of non editable data. Once IState object is
created, it will be sent to the client as a hidden field for the forms and as a extra parameter
for the links.
These are the steps to get the value of this parameter:
<html>
<body>
<a href=/struts-examples/action1.do?data=22>LinkRequest</a>

<form method="post" action="/struts-examples/processSimple.do">
<input type="text" name="name" value=""/>

<input type="password" name="secret" value="" />
<select name="color">
<option value="10">Red</option>
<option value="11">Green</option>
<option value="21">Blue</option>
</select>

<input type="radio" name="rating" value="10" />Actually, I hate
it.<br />
<input type="radio" name="rating" value="20" />Not so much.<br />
<input type="radio" name="rating" value="22" />I'm indifferent<br
/>
<textarea name="message" cols="40" rows="6"></textarea>
<input type="hidden" name="hidden" value="15" />
</form>
</body>
</html>

HDIV 2.0.4 20
An array of bytes of the IState object is obtained (the object must be serializable).
It is compressed.
It is ciphered
It is coded to Base64.

The result of a page using the Chiper strategy and which has activated confidentiality flag
will be like this:

4.1.3 Validation
The first step in the validation process is to decrypt the value of the _HDIV_STATE_
parameter, which has the state of the request.
If there is no error decrypting the state, it means that the value hasnt been modified and
so we must continue with the validation process.
The next step is to decompress the parameter value and to create a new IState object from
the obtained bytes.
<html>
<body>
<a href=/struts-
examples/action1.do?data=0&_HDIV_STATE=6347dfhdfd84r73e9483494734837487>
LinkRequest</a>

</select>

it.<br />
/>
<input type="hidden" name="_HDIV_STATE_"
value="jkfhdfhgdf948dkfhdhfdkhffjfdf" />
</form>
<body>
</html>

HDIV 2.0.4 21
Once we have the IState object we are ready to validate the client request. HDIV will check
each of the parameters of the request and all the values of each parameter.

First of all, HDIV verifies that the parameter value is between the possible relative values
for the parameter.
If it is correct HDIV returns the real value of the option selected by the client. For example,
if the relative value of the account parameter is 0, HDIV replaces it by the value in the 0
position on the list of values for this parameter.
If the request is correct it is redirected to the Struts controller to generate the
corresponding page. Otherwise, if a security error is detected the user is redirected to an
error page and the incident is logged on a file.
4.2 Hash strategy
4.2.1 Introduction
The state is coded in Base64 and sent to the client as a hidden field or as a parameter
if it is a link.
In order to guarantee integrity, before sending the state to the client a hash of the state is
generated and it is stored in the user session. Later, this will be use to check that the value
hasnt been modified.
The main difference between this strategy and Chiper strategy is that here the state
integrity is guaranteeing using a hash, instead of ciphering the state object.
It is worth mentioning that in this case data confidentiality cant be guaranteed, as the data
is not ciphered. On the other hand, no real values are sent inside each component in order
to make it more difficult to know the real values.
While (parameters) {
While (values)
{
DataValidator.validate(value);
}
}

HDIV 2.0.4 22
Visually the result of a page using this strategy is the same as the previous one.

4.2.3 Validation
The only difference with the Cipher strategy is that the decrypting process is replaced by
the integrity verification using the hash. In order to check the integrity HDIV calculates the
hash of the value that represents the state and it is compared with the one stored in
session.
From this point, the request verification is exactly the same as on the previous strategy.
4.3 Memory strategy
4.3.1 Introduction
The state of each request is stored in the user session, being this the main difference
with the other two strategies.
<html>
<body>
<a href=/struts-
examples/action1.do?data=0&_HDIV_STATE=wJTAwJTAwbVAlQzFKJUMzJTQwJTE>
LinkRequest</a>

</select>

it.<br />
/>

<input type="hidden" name="_HDIV_STATE_"
value="lRUMlQCUwM0YlMUYlRMUCwMRQlQzFj" />

</form>
</body>
</html>

HDIV 2.0.4 23
In order to guarantee confidentiality, non editable data are replaced by relative
values.
The difference with the other two strategies is that here the state is not sent to the client.
Only the request identifier is sent in order to be able to recover the request state later.

As we can see there are not visual differences in the generated html code between state in
client or state in server versions. The only difference is the length of the parameter that
represents the state (_HDIV_STATE_), which is much shorter in this case because it only
contains the request identifier.
4.3.3 Validation
Before initializing validation, HDIV obtains the request identifier and thus the object of type
org.hdiv.state.IState is obtained from user session.
From this point, the validation process is exactly the same as the previous strategies.
<html>
<body>
<a href=/struts-examples/action1.do?data=0&_HDIV_STATE=0-1-5E26F18AD9E>
LinkRequest</a>
</select>
it.<br />
<input type="radio" name="rating" value="2" />I'm indifferent<br />
<input type="hidden" name="_HDIV_STATE_" value="0-2-5E26F18AD9E" />
</form>
</body>
</html>

HDIV 2.0.4 24
5. HDIV TAG LIBRARIES
HDIV adds security functionalities to different versions of Struts 1.x, Struts 2.x, Spring
MVC, Jakarta Taglibs (JSTL) by extending its behaviour and manitaining the API and
the specification.
5.1 Struts 1.x
Nowadays, the versions supported by HDIV for Struts 1.x are the following ones:

Besides, HDIV offers support for the Struts' 1.x subproyect Struts-EL (chapter 5.1.4). For
more information about Struts-EL visit http://struts.apache.org/1.x/struts-el/index.html.
The libraries distribuited by HDIV for Struts 1.x are the following ones:
5.1.1 hdiv-html.tld
The hdiv-html.tld library extends Struts HTML tags behaviour and syntaxes (see chapter
5.1.1.1) in order to achieve data integrity and confidentiality.
The tags in the Struts HTML library form a bridge between a JSP view and
the other components of a Web application. Since a dynamic Web application
often depends on gathering data from a user, input forms play an important
role in the Struts framework. Consequently, the majority of the HTML tags
involve HTML forms.
The HTML taglib contains tags used to create Struts input forms, as well as
other tags generally useful in the creation of HTML-based user interfaces. The
output is HTML 4.01 compliant or XHTML 1.0 when in XHTML mode.

HDIV 2.0.4 25
The HTML result obtained by the use of hdiv-html.tld tag library is the same as using struts-
html.tld TLD, except for the features detailed in chapter 5.1.1.1.
For all this, having fulfilled the syntaxes and definition of Struts HTML tags, jsp pages dont
need to be reprogrammated in order to use HDIV.
5.1.1.1 HDIVs tags
In HDIV form, link and frame are the only tags that return a different html from the struts-
html.tld library. In the form tag a new hidden field is added, containing HDIVs state (see
chapter 3.2.1). However, in the link and frame tags HDIVs state is added as a new
parameter.
When the confidentiality is activated, the value obtained from the value property in the tags
hidden, multibox, optionsCollection, options, option and radio is a coded value only
understandable by HDIV.
button: render a button input field.
cancel: render a cancel button.
checkbox: render a checkbox input field.
file: render a file input field.
form: render an input form.
frame: render an HTML frame element
hidden: render a hidden field.
link: render an HTML anchor or hyperlink.
multibox: render a checkbox input field
option: render a select option
options: render a collection of select options
optionsCollection: render a collection of select options
password: render a password input field
radio: render a radio button input field
rewrite: render an URI
select: render a select element
submit: render a submit button
text: render an input field of type text
textarea: render a textarea

Tag properties and definitions can be checked at Struts [5] user guide. You must consider
your Struts version to check the correct user guide, as the tag specification changes from
version to version.

HDIV 2.0.4 26
5.1.1.2 Struts Tags
The rest of tags defined in the hdiv-html.tld library (base, errors, html, javascript, reset,
rewrite, xhtml and messages) have not been modified by HDIV and so they are the same
tags as in Struts.
5.1.1.3 Tag: cipher
HDIV adds the new tag cipher, which makes possible to cipher any wanted value. This tag
needs the following properties to be set with a value: parameter, action and value. Lets see
an example:
Suppose that we want to cipher a value of a hidden tag without using the hidden tag
provided by hdiv-html.tld.

The result will be:

5.1.2 hdiv-nested.tld
The hdiv-nested.tld library extends Struts nested tags behaviour and syntaxes.
This tag library brings a nested context to the functionality of the Struts
custom tag library.
It's written in a layer that extends the current Struts tags, building on their
logic and functionality. The layer enables the tags to be aware of the tags
which surround them so they can correctly provide the nesting property
reference to the Struts system.
The HTML result obtained by the use of hdiv-nested.tld tag library is the same as using
struts-nested.tld TLD, except from the tags form and link where HDIV state is attached.
hidden, multibox, optionsCollection, options and radio is a coded value only understandable
by HDIV.
<%@ taglib uri="/WEB-INF/hdiv-html.tld" prefix="html" %>

<input type="hidden" name="p1" value="<html:cipher parameter="p1"
value="v1" />" />
<input type="hidden" name="p1" value="0" />

HDIV 2.0.4 27
version to version.
5.1.3 hdiv-logic.tld
The hdiv-logic.tld library extends Struts LOGIC tags behaviour and syntaxes (see chapter
5.1.3.1) in order to achieve data integrity and confidentiality.
For all this, having fulfilled the syntaxes and definition of Struts LOGIC tags, jsp pages dont
5.1.3.1 HDIVs tags
In HDIV forward and redirect are the only tags that extends HDIV behaviour containing
HDIVs state.
forward: forward control to the page specified by the specified ActionForward entry
redirect: render an HTTP redirect

version to version.
5.1.3.2 Struts Tags
The rest of tags defined in the hdiv-logic.tld library (empty, equal, greaterEqual,
greaterThan, iterate, lessEqual, lessThan, match, messagesNotPresent, messagesPresent,
notEmpty, notEqual, notMatch, notPresent, present) have not been modified by HDIV and
so they are the same tags as in Struts.
5.1.4 Struts-EL extension
HDIV supports Struts-EL subproject extension where each JSP custom tag in this library is a
JSTL-aware subclass of an associated tag in the Struts tag library. This means that the tags
HDIV extends from the struts-html-el.tld and struts-logic-el.tld libraries are the same that
extends from hdiv-html.tld (button, cancel, checkbox, file, frame, form, hidden, link,
multibox, option, options, optionsCollection, password, radio, rewrite, select, submit, text
and textarea) and from hdiv-logic.tld (forward and redirect).
See chapter 7.1.3.2 for instructions about the installation and configuration of Struts-EL in
HDIV.

HDIV 2.0.4 28
5.2 Struts 2.x
Nowadays, the versions supported by HDIV for Struts 2.x are the following ones:

5.2.1 hdiv-tags.tld
The hdiv-tags.tld library extends Struts Generics Tags and HTML tags behaviour and
syntaxes in order to achieve data integrity and confidentiality.
5.2.1.1 Struts Generic Tags
In HDIV a and url are the only tags that extends HDIV behaviour containing HDIVs state.
a: A tag that creates a HTML <a href='' /> that when clicked calls a URL remote
XMLHttpRequest call via the dojo framework.
url: used to create a URL.

The rest of generics tags defined in the hdiv-tags.tld library (if, elseif, else, append,
generator, iterator, merge, sort, subset, action, bean, date, debug, i18n, include, param,
push, set, property) have not been modified by HDIV and so they are the same tags as in
Struts.
5.2.1.2 UI Tags
In HDIV form is the only tag that return a different html from the struts-tags.tld library. A
new hidden field is added, containing HDIVs state (see chapter 3.2.1).
checkboxlist: creates a series of checkboxes from a list.
combobox: render a select option.
datetimepicker: render a date/time picker in a dropdown container.

HDIV 2.0.4 29
doubleselect: render two HTML select elements with second one changing
displayed values depending on selected entry of first one.
file: render a file input field.
inputtransferselect: create a input transfer select component which is basically an
text input and <select ...> tag with buttons in the middle of them allowing text to
be added to the transfer select.
optiontransferselect: create a option transfer select component which is basically
two select tag with buttons in the middle of them allowing options in each of the
select to be moved between themselves. Will auto-select all its elements upon its
containing form submision.
optgroup: create a optgroup component which needs to resides within a select tag.
password: render a password input field.
radio: render a radio button input field.
select: render a select element.
submit: render a submit button.
textarea: render a textarea.
textfield: render a text.
token: stop double-submission of forms.
updownselect: create a select component with buttons to move the elements in the
select component up and down.

hidden, combobox, doubleselect, optiontransferselect, optgroup, radio, select and
updownselect is a coded value only understandable by HDIV.
5.3 Spring MVC
5.3.1 hdiv-spring-form.tld
The hdiv-spring-form.tld library extends Spring MVC HTML tags behaviour and syntaxes
(see chapter 5.3.1.1) in order to achieve data integrity and confidentiality.
One of the view technologies you can use with the Spring Framework is
Java Server Pages (JSPs). To help you implement views using Java Server
Pages the Spring Framework provides you with some tags for evaluating
errors, setting themes and outputting internationalized messages.

HDIV 2.0.4 30
The HTML result obtained by the use of hdiv-spring-form.tld tag library is the same as using
spring-form.tld TLD, except for the features detailed in chapter 5.3.1.1.
For all this, having fulfilled the syntaxes and definition of Spring MVC tags, jsp pages dont
5.3.1.1 HDIVs Tags
The only tag that generates a different HTML output from the spring-form.tld library is the
form tag, because it has a new hidden field containing HDIV state (see chapter 3.2.1).
input: render a input field.
option: render a select option
options: render a collection of select options
password: render a password input field
radiobutton: render a radio button input field
select: render a select element
textarea: render a textarea.

hidden, option, options, radiobutton and select is a coded value only understandable by
HDIV.
5.3.1.2 Spring MVC Tags
The rest of tags defined in the hdiv-spring-form.tld library (errors and label) have not been
modified by HDIV and so they are the same tags as in Spring MVC.
5.3.1.3 New Tags
HDIV implements two new tags (submit and cipher).
5.3.1.3.1 submit
HDIV adds the new tag submit for rendering an HTML input element with a type of submit.
This tag has the following properties:

HDIV 2.0.4 31
Attribute
Name
Required? Runtime
Expression?
Description
accesskey false true HTML Standard Attribute
cssClass false true Equivalent to "class"
cssErrorClass false true
Equivalent to "class" - Used
when the bound field has errors.
cssStyle Equivalent to "style"
dir false true HTML Standard Attribute
disabled false true
Setting the value of this
attribute to 'true' (without the
quotes) will disable the HTML
element.
id false true HTML Standard Attribute
lang false true HTML Standard Attribute
name false true HTML Standard Attribute
onblur false true HTML Event Attribute
onchange false true HTML Event Attribute
onfocus false true HTML Event Attribute
onkeydown false true HTML Event Attribute
onkeypress false true HTML Event Attribute
onkeyup false true HTML Event Attribute
onclick false true HTML Event Attribute
ondblclick false true HTML Event Attribute
onmousedown false true HTML Event Attribute
onmouseup false true HTML Event Attribute
onmouseover false true HTML Event Attribute
onmousemove false true HTML Event Attribute
onmouseout False true HTML Event Attribute
tabindex false true HTML Standard Attribute
title false true HTML Standard Attribute
value false true HTML Optional Attribute
Table 5.1 submit tag attributes

5.3.1.3.2 cipher
HDIV adds the new tag cipher, which makes possible to cipher any wanted value. This tag
needs the following properties to be set with a value: parameter, action and value. Lets see
an example:

HDIV 2.0.4 32
Suppose that we want to cipher a value of a hidden tag without using the hidden tag
provided by hdiv-spring-form.tld.

The result will be:

5.4 JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL)
Standard Taglibs [10] library's behaviour has been extended by adding security
functionalities for these tags: url and redirect.
This implementation completes some frameworks, such as Spring MVC, whose own tags
don't support link generation and use url and redirect tags from JSTL.
Nowadays, HDIV has compatible tag libraries with the following versions of Standard Taglibs
[10]:

So it is highly recommended to use the hdiv-jstl-taglibs-1.1.x-2.0.4.jar library in Spring
MVC in order to protect links generated by the url and redirect tags.
5.4.1 hdiv-c.tld
The hdiv-c.tld library extends Jakarta Taglibs tags behaviour and syntaxes in order to
achieve data integrity and confidentiality.
url: url creation.
redirect: redirects the browser to a new URL.
<input type="hidden" name="p1" value="0" />
<%@ taglib uri="http://www.hdiv.org/spring/tags/form" prefix="form" %>

<input type="hidden" name="p1" value="<form:cipher parameter="p1"
value="v1" />" />

HDIV 2.0.4 33
6. LOGGER
HDIV has a logger that will print in a file all the attacks detected, which helps system
administrators checking the attacks the web application has suffered.
HDIV uses the Commons Logging [7] API, which can use Log4j [8] as the underlying log
system. If the Log4j library is available for the context library directory, Commoms Logging
will use the library and the configuration of the log4j.properties placed in the context
classpath.
HDIV provides an example property file (log4j.properties) for Log4j placed in the /hdiv-web-
struts-1.1/src/main/resources/ directory. With this setting we can log the attacks detected
by HDIV in a file:

With this setting attack message logs will be written in the c:/hdiv.log file, following the
format defined in the log4j.appender.R.layout.ConversionPattern property:
%d : Date of the log event
[%t]: Name of the thread that generated the log event
%-5p: Priority of the event that generated the logging
%m: Message associated with the logging event
%n: New line character

We can check Log4j [8] documentation for different configurations of the log message.
#
# Configuration for a rolling log file ("hdiv.log").
#
log4j.appender.R=org.apache.log4j.DailyRollingFileAppender
log4j.appender.R.DatePattern='.'yyyy-MM-dd
#
# Edit the next line to point to your logs directory.
# The last part of the name is the log file name.
#
log4j.appender.R.File=C://hdiv.log
log4j.appender.R.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
#
# Print the date in ISO 8601 format
#
log4j.appender.R.layout.ConversionPattern=%d [%t] %-5p - %m%n
#
# Application logging options
#
log4j.logger.org.hdiv=INFO,R

HDIV 2.0.4 34
6.1 HDIV log format
Log messages written by HDIV, due to %m conversion character defined in the conversion
pattern declared in log4j.properties, have the following format:

[type of attack]: Type of attack detected by HDIV. Its possible values are:
INVALID_ACTION: The action received in the request does not match the
state action.
INVALID_PARAMETER_NAME: The parameter received in the request does not
exist in the request state.
NOT_RECEIVED_ALL_REQUIRED_PARAMETERS: All the required parameters
for the request have not been received.
INVALID_PARAMETER_VALUE: Incorrect parameter value.
NOT_RECEIVED_ALL_PARAMETER_VALUES: For a certain parameter not the
expected number of values has been receiced.
REPEATED_VALUES_FOR_PARAMETER: Repeated values have been received
for the same parameter.
INVALID_CONFIDENTIAL_VALUE: Incorrect value. Confidentiality activated.
HDIV_PARAMETER_NOT_EXISTS: The HDIV parameter has not been received
in the request.
INVALID_HDIV_PARAMETER_VALUE: The HDIV parameter has incorrect
value.
INVALID_PAGE_ID: HDIV parameter has an incorrect page identifier.
INVALID_EDITABLE_VALUE: Error in the editable parameter validation.
INVALID_COOKIE: The cookie received in the request has an incorrect value.

[action]: url or action name the HTTP request was directed to.
[parameter]: the parameter in the HTTP request.
[value]: parameter value.
[userLocalIP]: IP address if the request has been made through a Proxy.
[IP]: IP address the request was made from.
[type of attack];[action];[parameter];[value];[userLocalIP];[IP];[userId]

HDIV 2.0.4 35
[userId]: User identifier. The way each web application gets the user may vary from
application to application and thats why the interface (IUserData) has been defined.
This interface makes possible to implement getting the user identity in different ways
allowing the use of HDIV to any web application.
Lets see examples of an attacks detected by HDIV:

2006-09-22 10:56:07,214 [http-80-Processor25] INFO
ACINVALID_TION;action1;param1;value1;188.15.1.25;201.166.24.12;45652146M
INVALID_CONFIDENTIAL_VALUE;action3;param2;value3;188.15.1.25;201.166.24.12;1523
5687G
NOT_RECEIVED_ALL_REQUIRED_PARAMETERS;action5;param1;value1;188.15.1.25;201.166.
24.12;15235687G
INVALID_PARAMETER_NAME;action1;param5;value2;188.15.1.25;201.166.24.12;45652146
M

HDIV 2.0.4 36
7. INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION
Almost all the configuration is defined using Spring. Only the HDIV filter definition and
Spring and HDIV listeners are defined in the deployment descriptor.
These are the steps to follow to install and configurate HDIV in a web application.
7.1 Struts 1.x
7.1.1 Installation
The HDIV installation process has 3 steps:
7.1.1.1 Libraries
Include the following libraries in the web application classpath (in WEB-INF/lib or in
the server level classpath):
- HDIV: core library (hdiv-core-2.x.jar) and tags library (there are different
versions for Struts different versions. See chapter 5)
- Spring: spring-2.0.1.jar or higher
- Commons codec: commons-codec-1.3.jar
- Commons fileupload: commons-fileupload-1.1.1.jar
- Commons io: commons-io-1.1.jar

Tag libraries: add the following libraries in the WEB-INF directory of the web
application.
- hdiv-html.tld
- hdiv-nested.tld
- hdiv-logic.tld

7.1.1.2 Modify the deployment descriptor in /WEB-INF/web.xml
This configuration must be added in the deployment descriptor:
Springs configuration file location:

<context-param>
<param-name>contextConfigLocation</param-name>
<param-value>
/WEB-INF/applicationContext.xml,/WEB-INF/hdiv-config.xml
</param-value>
</context-param>

HDIV 2.0.4 37
If validations for editable data have been defined, add the hdiv-validations.xml as
well.

Add HDIV and Spring initialization listeners.
o Spring Listener:

o HDIV Listener:
- WebSphere environment:

- Not WebSphere environment:

<listener>
<listener-class>
org.hdiv.listener.InitWebSphereListener
</listener-class>
</listener>
<listener>
<listener-class>
org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoaderListener
</listener-class>
</listener>
<listener>
<listener-class>
org.hdiv.listener.InitListener
</listener-class>
</listener>
<context-param>
<param-value>
/WEB-INF/applicationContext.xml,/WEB-INF/hdiv-
config.xml, /WEB-INF/hdiv-validations.xml
</param-value>
</context-param>

HDIV 2.0.4 38
Validation filter (the only filter without initialization parameters).

Replacement of the references to Struts HTML, Struts Nested and Struts Logic
TLDs: modify references to Struts HTML, Nested and Logic libraries so that they
reference HDIV libraries.

Only the implementation of the LOGIC and HTML TLDs are modified and, as Nested
TLD extends HTML library, it is also modified. The rest of Struts TLDs are left as
they are because they dont affect application security.

7.1.1.3 Spring
Add applicationContext.xml and hdiv-config.xml files in the WEB-INF directory of the web
application. If validations for editable data have been defined, add the hdiv-validations.xml
as well.
<filter>
<filter-name>ValidatorFilter</filter-name>
<filter-class>org.hdiv.filter.ValidatorFilter</filter-
class>
</filter>

<filter-mapping>
<url-pattern>*.do</url-pattern>
</filter-mapping>

<filter-mapping>
<url-pattern>*.jsp</url-pattern>
</filter-mapping>

<taglib>
<taglib-uri>/WEB-INF/struts-html.tld</taglib-uri>
<taglib-location>/WEB-INF/hdiv-html.tld</taglib-location>
</taglib>
<taglib>
<taglib-uri>/WEB-INF/struts-nested.tld</taglib-uri>
<taglib-location>/WEB-INF/hdiv-nested.tld</taglib-location>
</taglib>
<taglib>
<taglib-uri>/WEB-INF/struts-logic.tld</taglib-uri>
<taglib-location>/WEB-INF/hdiv-logic.tld</taglib-location>
</taglib>

HDIV 2.0.4 39
7.1.2 Configuration
HDIV configuration is defined in four files:
hdiv-config.xml: HDIV basic configuration for beginner users which will be
consumed by Spring [6].
applicationContext.xml: Springs bean definitions configurables by advanced users
with some web application knowledge. This file will be consumed by Spring [6].
struts-config.xml: Struts controller configuration to make it use the HDIV handler
when there is a multipart request.
hdiv-validations.xml: configuration of editable data validations: text and textarea.

7.1.2.1 hdiv-config.xml
HDIV strategy: In the tag value of the strategy bean we must set the HDIV
strategy for data integrity. Possible values: memory, cipher or hash.

For example, for the memory strategy configuration will be like this:

Confidentiality: Set the tag value to true to activate confidentiality tag, or set it to
false to deactivate.

For example, in order to activate confidentiality flag configuration will be like this:
<bean id="strategy" class="java.lang.String">
<constructor-arg>
<value>memory</value>
</constructor-arg>
</bean>
<constructor-arg>
<value>user defined strategy</value>
</constructor-arg>
</bean>
<bean id="confidentiality" class="java.lang.Boolean">
<constructor-arg>
<value>user defined configuration</value>
</constructor-arg>
</bean>

HDIV 2.0.4 40

Cookie integrity: It is possible to deactivate cookie integrity by setting the
avoidCookiesIntergity bean to true. In this case HDIV will guarantee the integrity
of the rest of the data generated by the server that can not be modified by the
client.

Cookie confidentiality: It is possible to deactivate cookie confidentiality by setting
the avoidCookiesConfidentiality bean to true. In this case, despite having the
confidentiality bean set to true before, cookie confidentiality will not be applied.

HDIV Parameter Name: The name of the parameter that contains the HDIV state
included in all the requests. By default, its name is _HDIV_STATE_ but it is
possible to configure it in the randomName bean to get a random name for each
session user, which decreases the risk of suffering a Cross Site Request Forgery
(CSRF) attack. The configuration of the randomName bean will be this:

Otherwise, if its value is set to false, the name of the parameter containing the
HDIV state will be constant.

<bean id="confidentiality" class="java.lang.Boolean">
<constructor-arg>
<value>true</value>
</constructor-arg>
</bean>
<bean id="randomName" class="java.lang.Boolean">
<constructor-arg>
<value>true</value>
</constructor-arg>
</bean>

<bean id="avoidCookiesConfidentiality"
class="java.lang.Boolean">
<constructor-arg>
<value>true</value>
</constructor-arg>
</bean>
<bean id="avoidCookiesIntegrity" class="java.lang.Boolean">
<constructor-arg>
<value>true</value>
</constructor-arg>
</bean>

HDIV 2.0.4 41
Init Parameters: Configurable parameters for the user to initialize HDIV in the
config bean.

o Error page: define JSP file path (without context path name) where the
request will be redirect to when it does not pass validation. Accepts regular
expressions to define the error page.

o Start pages: by default HDIV only accept requests to actions that have been
sent to the client before (within html code). If you try to access an action
directly (writing in the browser) you will be redirected to the error page.
All web applications have a start page or home page that a client has to
access directly. This pages are known as userStartPages in HDIV and you
must declare them within userStartPages init-param (without context path
name). Accepts regular expressions to define start pages.
For example, if your web application home page url is
http://www.host.com/webapp-name?home.do, you have to declare home
parameter on the value:

o Start parameters: As we have explained before HDIV assures servers data
and parameters integrity. Consequently, if you make a request with a new
parameter that doesnt exist in the html page sent by the server this request
will be redirected to the error page.
In some cases Struts creates new parameters in order to ensure for example
two submits with the same form. To avoid that problem Struts automatically
creates new parameters (org.apache.struts.taglib.html.TOKEN,
org.apache.struts.action.TOKEN) that arent created by the developer.
In consecuence if you dont define them like userStartParameters the request
will be stopped. As far as we know its enough if you define this two
parameters:
<bean id="config" class="org.hdiv.config.HDIVConfig">
<property name="userStartPages">
<list>
<value>/home.do</value>
</list>
</property>
<property name="errorPage">
<value>/error.jsp</value>
</property>

HDIV 2.0.4 42

Accepts regular expressions to define init parameters, which can be defined
as follows:

o Parameters that dont require validation: it is possible to define parameters
associated to an action that dont require HDIV validation. A clear example
where this type of parameters are needed are javascript functions.
Suppose that we want to add param1 and param2 parameters associated to
action1 action, and param1 parameter associated to action2 action.
Configuration will be like this:

As we can see, for each parameter we must add the associated action in the
tag entry and the name of the parameter in the tag value as a part of the list.
Action names and parameter names can be defined using regular
expressions, which allows, for example, not to validate any parameter
beginning with jsParam for any action which ends with actionJS.do:

<property name="paramsWithoutValidation">
<map>
<entry key="/action1.do">
<list>
<value>param1</value>
</list>
</entry>
<entry key="/action2.do">
<list>
</list>
</entry>

</map>
</property>
<property name="userStartParameters">
<list>
<value>org.apache.struts.action.TOKEN</value>
<value>org.apache.struts.taglib.html.TOKEN</value>
</list>
</property>

<property name="userStartParameters">
<list>
<value>org.apache.struts.*</value>
</list>
</property>

HDIV 2.0.4 43

o Protected extensions: we must define in the protectedExtensions property the
url extensions we want to protect. We can use regular expressions to define
them.
Suppose that our Struts servlet configuration is as this:

We should configure the protectedExtensions property of the hdiv-config.xml
file with the following value:

o Validations for editable fields (text/textarea): only when we define generic
validations for editable data in HDIV we must define the validations bean.

Although there are other properties (confidentiality, cookiesIntegrity and
cookiesConfidentiality) defined in the config bean, we wont explain them because
<property name="validations">
<ref bean="editableParemetersValidations" />
</property>
<property name="paramsWithoutValidation">
<map>
<entry key="/.*actionJS.do">
<list>
<value>jsParam.*</value>
</list>
</entry>
</map>
</property>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>action</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>
org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet
</servlet-class>

</servlet>

<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>action</servlet-name>
</servlet-mapping>
<property name="protectedExtensions"
<list>
<value>.*.do</value>
</list>
</property>

HDIV 2.0.4 44
they should not be modified by the user. So, we finish the configuration of the
config bean here.

7.1.2.2 applicationContext.xml
Caches maximum size: the user can set the maximum number of cacheable states
in memory.
When the maximum cache size is reached, the states that have been in memory
for longer are deleted and replaced by the new states of the last visited pages. This
can affect to the pages accesed via back button in a browser, because some of
them may not work as they have been deleted from the cache. So, it is
recommended to set a high value for applications where the back button is
frecuently used.
Although it is used in all HDIV strategies, it is specially important in Memory and
Hash strategies as the states are always stored in the user session.
It is important to mention that a users high consume of memory can affect directly
the application performance. So it is highly important to measure application
performance with different maximum values for the cache.

Characters maximun size: There is a limitation in GET http requests that doesnt
allow requests to have more than a fixed number of bytes. This number limits the
HDIV state size that is stored in the client side in the Cipher and Hash strategies.
In order to avoid this problem, HDIV has a configurable property by the user
(allowedLength) which indicates the maximum size of characters a state can have
to be able to be stored in clients side. If the state size exceeds this number it will
be stored in memory using the user session, whatever the strategy is.
Lets see how to set this property in the applicationContext.xml configuration file
for cipher and hash strategies.
</bean>
<bean id="cache" class="org.hdiv.session.StateCache"
singleton="false" init-method="init">

<propertyname="maxSize">
<value>500</value>
</property>
</bean>

HDIV 2.0.4 45

Multipart requests configuration: it is necessary to set the following parameters
correctly for the multipart requests.
o maxFileSize: The maximum size (in bytes) of a file to be accepted as a file
upload. Can be expressed as a number followed by a "K", "M", or "G", which
are interpreted to mean kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes, respectively. By
default value is 250M.

<!-CIPHER STRATEGY ->
<bean id="dataComposerCipher"
class="org.hdiv.dataComposer.DataComposerCipher"

<property name="application">
<ref bean="application"/>
</property>
<property name="page">
<ref bean="page"/>
</property>
<property name="encodingUtil">
<ref bean="encoding"/>
</property>
<property name="allowedLength">
<value>2000</value>
</property>
<property name="confidentiality">
<ref bean="confidentiality"/>
</property>
</bean>

<!-HASH STRATEGY ->
<bean id="dataComposerHash"
class="org.hdiv.dataComposer.DataComposerHash"

</property>
<ref bean="page"/>
</property>
</property>
<value>2000</value>
</property>
</property>
</bean>

HDIV 2.0.4 46
o memFileSize: The maximum size (in bytes) of a file whose contents will be
retained in memory after uploading. Files larger than this threshold will be
written to some alternative storage medium, typically a hard disk. Can be
expressed as a number followed by a "K", "M", or "G", which are interpreted
to mean kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes, respectively. By default value is
256K.

o tempDir: Temporary working directory to use when processing file uploads.

7.1.2.3 struts-config.xml
If we define generic validations for editable data using the hdiv-validations.xml file (see
chapter 7.1.2.4 hdiv-validations.xml) or if our web application makes multipart requests, we
must configure the Struts controller to make it use the HDIV request processor and the
HDIV request handler.
7.1.2.3.1 Multipart request
Configure the multipartClass property with the following value:

With this configuration we will make it possible for multipart request to use HDIV, taking as
configuration parameters the ones defined in the chapter 7.1.2.2.
If our web application has several modules, we must modify the struts-config.xml file
corresponding to the module where the file upload is made.
<bean id="multipartConfig"
class="org.hdiv.config.MultipartConfig">

<property name="maxFileSize">
<value>250M</value>
</property>
<property name="memFileSize">
<value>256K</value>
</property>
<property name="tempDir">
<value>c:\tmp</value>
</property>
</bean>
<controller multipartClass="org.hdiv.upload.HDIVMultipartRequestHandler"
/>

HDIV 2.0.4 47
7.1.2.3.2 Editable data validation
Configure the processorClass property with the following value:

So, if we make editable data validations and our web application contains forms to upload
files, the Struts controller configuration will be like this:

7.1.2.4 hdiv-validations.xml
As we have seen in chapter 3.1 HDIV Introduction we can define generic validations for
the editable data to avoid Cross-site scripting (XSS) or SQL Injection attacks.
This kind of validations are optional in HDIV. If they are not defined, the responsability of
validating editable data is delegated to the Struts validator. In this case, it is not necessary
to add the hdiv-validations.xml file to our web application.
7.1.2.4.1 Configuration of validations for editable data
Editable data validations are configured using Spring [6], by setting the urls property of the
editableParametersValidations bean:

We must define (using regular expressions) which validations are applied to which URLs.
Validations are defined in a list inside the list tag of Spring because it is posible to apply
more than one validation to each request.


<bean id="editableParemetersValidations"
class="org.hdiv.config.HDIVValidations">

<property name="urls">
<map>

</map>
</property>
</bean>
<entry key=".*">
<list>

<list>
</entry>
<controller processorClass="org.hdiv.action.HDIVRequestProcessor" />

processorClass="org.hdiv.action.HDIVRequestProcessor" />

HDIV 2.0.4 48
There are two types of validations:
Must fulfill: the values of the editable parameters must fulfill the defined validation.
Otherwise HDIV validation process will not allow the execution of the URL. This type
of validations are defined in the acceptedPattern property of the validation.
Must not fulfill: the values of the editable parameters must not fulfill the defined
validation. This type of validations are defined in the rejectedPattern property of the
validation.
Each validation is defined in a Spring bean by setting any identifier as the id property and
org.hdiv.validator.Validation as the class property.


Validation properties are as follows:
o acceptedPattern: it is mandatory if the rejectedPattern property has not been
defined.
o rejectedPattern: it is mandatory if the acceptedPattern property has not been
defined. It is possible to define both acceptedPattern and rejectedPattern properties
for the same validation.
o ignoreParameters: optional.
o componentType: optional.
Lets see an example to understand each property:
o acceptedPattern: if the values of the editable parameters of the request dont fulfill
the regular expression defined in the value tag, HDIV will reject the request.

In this example, only numbers and not capital characters between a and z will be
accepted. If the value of the editable parameter doesnt fulfill this regular expression
the request will be rejected by HDIV.
o rejectedPattern: if the values of the editable parameters of the request fulfill the
regular expresin defined in the value tag, HDIV will reject the request.
<property name="acceptedPattern">
<value>[0-9a-z]*</value>
</property>
<bean id="userDefinedName" class="org.hdiv.validator.Validation">

HDIV 2.0.4 49

In this example, if the value of the editable parameter contains the javascript word,
the request will be rejected by HDIV.
o ignoreParameters: list of parameters that will not be validated.

In this example, the editable parameters firstName and lastName will not be
validated, which means they will be accepted no matter they value. Lets suppose
that we receive a request from this form:

Image 7.1 Simple Form using POST method

<property name="rejectedPattern">
<value><![CDATA[.*javascript.*]]></value>
</property>
<property name="ignoreParameters">
<list>
<value>firstName</value>
<value>lastName</value>
</list>
</property>

HDIV 2.0.4 50
This request will be accepted because although we have defined in the
acceptedPattern that only numbers and not capital letters will be accepted, firstName
and lastName parameters have been configured to be ignored in the validation
process. Thus, the only parameter that will be validated is message, which fulfills the
regular expression defined in the acceptedPattern property and so the request is
valid.
o componentType: data type to which the validation will apply to. Posible values are
text or textarea.

In this example, validation will be applied only to parameters of type text (textbox)
received in the request, but not to parameters of type textarea.

7.1.2.4.2 Error message
If our web application doesnt have any message resource file we must configure the
struts-config.xml file indicating the name and localization of the
MessagesProperties.properties file that is distributed in the HDIVs hdiv-core-2.x.jar library.
Configuration will be like this:

Otherwise, if our web application already uses message resource files, we must add
hdiv.editable.error and hdiv.editable.password.error properties with the following format to
all our files:

As it has been mentioned in the 3.1 chapter HDIV Introduction when the HDIVs editable
data validator, using the validations defined in hdiv-validations.xml, detects an incorrect
value for a parameter, it generates an error that will be managed by the Struts validator.
This validator will show the error message in the entry form where the not allowed value
has been typed.
<property name="componentType">
<value>text</value>
</property>
</bean>
hdiv.editable.error={0} has not allowed characters
hdiv.editable.password.error=password input text has not allowed
characters

<message-resources parameter="MessageResources.properties" />

HDIV 2.0.4 51
The HDIV error handler generates a new object of type ActionMessage, or ActionError in
Struts 1.1, for each validation error. This object contains the key
hdiv.editable.parameterName where parameterName is the name of the parameter that
doesnt pass the validation defined in the hdiv-validations.xml file. For example, let's
suppose that an error happens in the validation process of the message data in the request
made by the form shown in the 7.1. image; where the HTML code is as follows:

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="es" xml:lang="es">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<title>Simple form using ActionForm</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../css/example.css" />
</head>
<body>

<form name="simpleForm" method="post" action="/struts-examples-
1.1/processSimple.do">
<p>* What's your first name?:<br/>
<input type="text" name="firstName" maxlength="50" size="40" value="" /></p>

<p>* Enter your last name:<br/>
<input type="text" name="lastName" maxlength="50" size="40" value="" /></p>

<p>What is your favorite color?:<br/>
</select>
</p>

<p><input type="checkbox" name="confirm" value="on" />Is that really your
favorite color?</p>
<p>How much do you like your chosen color?:<br />
<input type="radio" name="rating" value="0" />Actually, I hate it.<br />
<input type="radio" name="rating" value="2" />I'm indifferent<br />
<input type="radio" name="rating" value="3" />It's pretty neat<br />
<input type="radio" name="rating" value="4" />I painted my whole house with
it.
</p>

<p>Enter a message (you may use html tags):<br />
</p>

<hr noshade="noshade" />
<p>
<input type="submit" name="org.apache.struts.taglib.html.CANCEL"
value="Cancel" onclick="bCancel=true;" />
</p>
<input type="hidden" name="_HDIV_STATE_" value="10-2-1173976031875">
</form>
</body>
</html>

HDIV 2.0.4 52
HDIV will generate a new type of ActionMessage (or ActionError in Struts 1.1) object with
the hdiv.editable.message key.
Due to this implementation, the HDIV validator for editable fields is not only suitable to be
used by the error tag of the Struts HTML library. For example, the messagesPresent tag of
the Struts LOGIC library can use as well the hdiv.editable.[dataName] property.

7.1.3 Support for other Struts 1.x components
Beside extending the Struts' basic tag's behaviour, HDIV also provides support for other
Struts components.
7.1.3.1 Tiles
The only difference that exists in the integration of Tiles in HDIV, comparing with the Tiles
basic configuration, is the controller definition described in the struts-config.xml file.

7.1.3.2 Struts-EL
These are the steps to follow for the Struts-EL installation in HDIV:
7.1.3.2.1 Libraries
Besides the libraries added in chapter 7.1.1, include the following libraries in the
web application classpath (in WEB-INF/lib or in the server level classpath):
- Struts-EL: struts-el.jar
- Java Server Pages Standard Tag Library: jstl.jar

Tag libraries: add the following libraries in the WEB-INF directory of the web
application.
- hdiv-html-el.tld
- hdiv-logic-el.tld

<logic:messagesPresent property="hdiv.editable.message">
The input message has not allowed characters
</logic:messagesPresent>
<controller processorClass="org.hdiv.tiles.HDIVTilesRequestProcessor" />

HDIV 2.0.4 53
7.1.3.2.2 Modify the deployment descriptor in /WEB-INF/web.xml
Replacement of the references to Struts-EL HTML and Struts-EL Logic TLDs: modify
references to Struts-EL HTML and Logic libraries so that they reference HDIV
libraries.

7.2 Struts 2.x
7.2.1 Installation
7.2.1.1 Libraries
- HDIV: core library (hdiv-core-2.x.jar) and tags library (hdiv-struts-2.0.x-
2.0.x.jar).

Tag library: the Struts 2.x tag library comes bundled in hdiv-struts-2.0.x.jar. The
library descriptor is called hdiv-tags.tld.
To use the tags from this library, add the following directive to the top of your JSP
page:

where form is the tag name prefix you want to use for the tags from this library.
<taglib>
<taglib-uri>/WEB-INF/struts-html-el.tld</taglib-uri>
<taglib-location>/WEB-INF/hdiv-html-el.tld</taglib-
location>
</taglib>
<taglib>
<taglib-uri>/WEB-INF/struts-logic-el.tld</taglib-uri>
<taglib-location>/WEB-INF/hdiv-logic-el.tld</taglib-
location>
<%@ taglib prefix="form" uri="http://www.hdiv.org/struts2/tags" %>

HDIV 2.0.4 54

well.

o Spring Listener:

o HDIV Listener:


<context-param>
<param-value>
</param-value>
</context-param>
<listener>
<listener-class>
</listener-class>
</listener>
<listener>
<listener-class>
</listener-class>
</listener>
<listener>
<listener-class>
</listener-class>
</listener>
<context-param>
<param-value>
</param-value>
</context-param>

HDIV 2.0.4 55
Validation filter: define HDIV's validation filter for the extensions of all possible
actions and for the JSP pages.
It is important to define the HDIV filter before the struts2 filter and the
org.apache.struts2.dispatcher.FilterDispatcher class in order to guarantee
that it is executed before any Struts2 operation.

In Struts2 the extension defined by default is ".action". If there are extra
extensions added in the struts.properties file, they must be added in the
ValidatorFilter as well. Suppose that we modify the struts.properties file to accept
the ".do" extension:

So we modify the web.xml file adding the following value:

Struts2 filter: Add the config init parameter to the Struts2 filter with the following
value:
<filter>
<filter-class>org.hdiv.filter.ValidatorFilter
</filter-class>
</filter>

<filter-mapping>
<url-pattern>*.action</url-pattern>
</filter-mapping>

<filter-mapping>
</filter-mapping>

### You may provide a comma separated list
struts.action.extension=action,do
<filter-mapping>
</filter-mapping>

HDIV 2.0.4 56

7.2.1.3 Spring
as well.
7.2.2 Configuration
struts-plugin.xml: Struts 2 base configuration. In this file there are defined the new
classes to use by the Struts 2 core, the new library for Velocity and Freemarker
and a new interceptor for the validation of editable data.
hdiv-validations.xml: configuration of editable data validations (text and textarea).

The configuration of the hdiv-config.xml file doesn't depend on the Struts version, so we can
check the configuration in the 7.1.2.1 chapter - hdiv-config.xml.

The configuration of the applicationcontext.xml file doesn't depend on the Struts version, so
we can check the configuration in the 7.1.2.2 chapter applicationcontext.xml.

7.2.2.3 struts-plugin.xml
<filter>
<filter-name>struts2</filter-name>
<filter-class>
org.apache.struts2.dispatcher.FilterDispatcher
</filter-class>
<init-param>
<param-name>config</param-name>
<param-value>
hdiv-default.xml,struts-plugin.xml,struts.xml
</param-value>
</init-param>
</filter>

HDIV 2.0.4 57
struts-default.xml file's extension [5.2] with the HDIV's base configuration. This file is
distributed in the HDIVs hdiv-struts-2.0.x-2.0.x.jar library, therefore, including the library
in the web application classpath, HDIVs new classes to use by the Struts 2 core, the new
library for Velocity and Freemarker and a new interceptor for the validation of editable data
will be configured.
Result Types redirect and redirect-action defined by default in struts-default.xml have been
overwritten in struts-plugin.xml, in case we use these type of results (redirect, redirect-
action) by dependency injection. For example:

we must modify the class defined in the type attribute and declare the following types
depending on the result type we want to use:
redirect: type=HDIVServletRedirectResult.class
redirect-action: type=HDIVServletActionRedirectResult.class

7.2.2.4 Editable Data Validation
7.2.2.4.1 Interceptor
To be able to see the errors generated by the HDIV's generic validation for editable data, it
is necessary to use the validation interceptor provided by HDIV. It has been added to
package struts-default defined in struts-config.xml file bundled in hdiv-struts-2.0.x-
2.0.4.jar.

So, if our forms require generic validations, we must add the HDIV interceptor -
editableValidation - to the form action or package. See chapter 8.2.1.1 - Validations
for editable data.

7.2.2.4.2 hdiv-validations.xml
The configuration of editable data validations doesn't depend on the Struts version, so we
can check the configuration in the 7.1.2.4 chapter hdiv-validations.xml.

@Result(name="list", value="listPeople.action",
type=ServletRedirectResult.class)
public class EditPersonAction extends ActionSupport {

}
<interceptor name="editableValidation"
class="org.hdiv.interceptor.EditableValidatorInterceptor"
/>

HDIV 2.0.4 58
7.3 Spring MVC
7.3.1 Installation
7.3.1.1 Libraries
- HDIV: core library (hdiv-core-2.x.jar) and tags library (hdiv-spring-mvc-2.x-
2.0.4.jar).

Tag library: the Spring MVC tag library comes bundled in hdiv-spring-2.x-2.0.x.jar.
The library descriptor is called hdiv-spring-form.tld.
To use the tags from this library, add the following directive to the top of your JSP
page:


well.

<context-param>
<param-value>
</param-value>
</context-param>
<%@ taglib prefix="form"
uri="http://www.hdiv.org/spring/tags/form" %>

HDIV 2.0.4 59

o Spring Listener:

o HDIV Listener:


Validation filter: define HDIV's validation filter for the extensions of all possible
actions and for the JSP pages.

<listener>
<listener-class>
</listener-class>
</listener>
<filter>
<filter-class>
org.hdiv.filter.ValidatorFilter
</filter-class>
</filter>

<filter-mapping>
<url-pattern>*.htm</url-pattern>
</filter-mapping>

<filter-mapping>
</filter-mapping>

<listener>
<listener-class>
</listener-class>
</listener>
<listener>
<listener-class>
</listener-class>
</listener>
<context-param>
<param-value>
</param-value>
</context-param>

HDIV 2.0.4 60
Keep in mind that the same pattern must be defined in the url-pattern attribute of
the HDIV's ValidatorFilter as in the Spring MVC servlet, which class is
org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet. This way any request
directed to the Spring MVC servlet will be preprocessed by the HDIV validation
filter.

7.3.1.3 Spring
as well.
7.3.2 Configuration
hdiv-validations.xml: configuration of editable data validations (text and textarea).
[springMVC-servlet-name]-servlet.xml: file located in the WEB-INF directory of web
application.

The configuration of the hdiv-config.xml we can check in the 7.1.2.1 chapter - hdiv-
config.xml - because doesn't depend on the framework, except the protectedExtensions
property of the config bean. If our Spring MVC application uses the HDIV library for JSTL
(hdiv-jstl-taglibs-1.1.x-2.0.4.jar), we must define in the protectedExtensions property the
url extensions we want to protect. We can use regular expressions to define them.
<servlet>
<servlet-name>hdiv-web-spring-mvc</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>
org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet
</servlet-class>
</servlet>

<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>hdiv-web-spring-mvc</servlet-name>
</servlet-mapping>

HDIV 2.0.4 61
Suppose that our application uses the url and redirect tags of the hdiv-jstl-taglibs-1.1.x-
2.0.4.jar and that the Spring MVC servlet configuration for our application is as this:

We should configure the protectedExtensions property of the hdiv-config.xml file with the
following value:

If the web application uses multipart requests, we must configure the HDIV resolver for
multipart request. For example:

HDIV's resolver extends CommonsMultipartResolver's behaviour defined in the Spring MVC
by using Commons FileUpload [10].

The bean multipartResolver provides maxUploadSize, maxInMemorySize, defaultEncoding
and resolveLazily (to resolve the multipart request lazily at the time of file or parameter
access) optional properties as bean properties (inherited from CommonsFileUploadSupport).
See respective ServletFileUpload/DiskFileItemFactory properties (sizeMax, sizeThreshold,
headerEncoding) for details in terms of defaults and accepted values [10].

The rest of the configuration defined in the applicationContext.xml doesn't depend on the
framework, so we can check the configuration in the 7.1.2.2 chapter -
applicationContext.xml.

<bean id="multipartResolver"
class="org.hdiv.web.multipart.HDIVMultipartResolver">

<property name="maxUploadSize" value="100000"/>
</bean>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>formtags</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet
</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>formtags</servlet-name>
</servlet-mapping>
<property name="protectedExtensions"
<list>
<value>.*.htm</value>
</list>
</property>

HDIV 2.0.4 62
7.3.2.3 hdiv-validations.xml
To be able to see the errors generated by the HDIV's generic validation for editable data, it
is necessary to use the validation provided by HDIV:
org.hdiv.web.validator.EditableParameterValidator.

So, if our forms require generic validations, we must add the HDIV validator -
EditableParameterValidator - to the list validators for the form.

Let's see an example obtained from the formtags application, mentioned in the chapter 8.3
- formtags for Spring MVC and JSTL.

The configuration of editable data validations in hdiv-validations.xml file doesn't depend on
the framework, so we can check the configuration in the 7.1.2.4 chapter hdiv-
validations.xml. But it differs from the Struts' error handler because the
EditableParameterValidator for Spring MVC generates a new error with the key
parameterName (the name of the parameter that doesnt pass the validation defined in the
hdiv-validations.xml file) for each error detected in the generic validation process.
For example, let's suppose that an error happens in the validation process of the firstName
data in the request made by the form where the HTML code is as follows:
<bean name="/form.htm"
class="org.springframework.showcase.formtags.web.FormController">

<property name="formView" value="form"/>
<property name="successView" value="redirect:list.htm"/>
<property name="userManager" ref="userManager"/>
<property name="validators">
<list>
<bean id="editableParameterValidator"
class="org.hdiv.web.validator.EditableParameterValidat
or"/>
<bean id="userValidator"
class="org.springframework.showcase.formtags.validatio
n.UserValidator"/>
</list>
</property>
</bean>

HDIV 2.0.4 63

HDIV will generate a new error that will be added to the object of type BindException with
the firstName key.

7.3.2.4 [springMVC-servlet-name]-servlet.xml
We must configure the HDIV resolvers in [springMVC-servlet-name]-servlet.xml* file
instead of InternalResourceViewResolver, wich resolves logical view names into view
objects that are rendered using template file resources (such as JSPs and Velocity
templates); and UrlBasedViewResolver, wich allow direct resolution of symbolic view
names to URLs, without explicit mapping definition.

The new resolvers defined in HDIV InternalResourceViewResolverHDIV and
UrlBasedViewResolverHDIV - add automatically HDIV state (_HDIV_STATE_) as a new
parameter to all the requests that perform a redirect using redirect: prefix.

Configuration would be this where InternalResourceViewResolver prefixes the view name
returned in the ModelAndView with the value of its prefix property and suffixed it with the
value from its suffix property:

<%@ page contentType="text/html;charset=UTF-8" language="java" %>
<%@ taglib prefix="form" uri="http://www.springframework.org/tags/form"
%>
<%@ taglib prefix="spring" uri="http://www.springframework.org/tags" %>
<head>Title</head>
<body>
<div id="main">
<div id="header">
<span class="title">The Spring Framework
<span class="darktitle">2.0</span> form tags</span><br/>
</div>
<div id="content">
<form:form enctype="multipart/form-data">
<form:errors path="*" cssClass="errorBox" />

<form:hidden path="house" />
<div class="first">
<form:label path="firstName">First Name:</form:label>
<form:input path="firstName" />
<form:errors path="firstName" cssClass="error" />
</div>
...
<div>
</body>
</html>
<bean id="viewResolver"
class="org.hdiv.web.servlet.view.InternalResourceViewResolverHDIV">

<property name="prefix" value="/WEB-INF/jsp/" />
<property name="suffix" value=".jsp" />
</bean>

HDIV 2.0.4 64
* The Spring MVC framework will, on initialization of a DispatcherServlet, look for a file
named [servlet-name]-servlet.xml in the WEB-INF directory of web application and create
the beans defined there (overriding the definitions of any beans defined with the same
name in the global scope).

7.3.3 Spring Web Flow (SWF)
For Spring MVC + Spring Web Flow (SWF) [12] applications, HDIV inserts automatically the
flow id (_flowExecutionKey) into the forms so that we don't have to add it manually as a
hidden field to all JSP pages. Also, if we use the hdiv-jstl-taglibs-1.x-2.0.x.jar library for url
generation, HDIV will add the _flowExecutionKey parameter automatically, avoiding having
to do that manually.
Besides, HDIV optimizes memory consumption for SWF applications because it deletes from
session HDIV data from finished flows, avoiding expired data in memory.
7.3.3.1 Installation
These are the steps to follow for using HDIV with SWF applications:

7.3.3.1.1 Libraries
Include the following library in the web application classpath (in WEB-INF/lib or in
- hdiv-webflow-1.0.5-2.0.x.jar

Tag library: the form tag library comes bundled in hdiv-webflow-1.0.5-2.0.x.jar.
There are two compatible library descriptors with 2.0.x and 2.5 version of Spring
MVC. The library descriptors are called hdiv-webflow-spring-form-2_0.tld and hdiv-
webflow-spring-form-2_5.tld.
So, we must define the corresponding directive in our JSP page depending on
which Spring MVC version we use:
- Spring 2.0.x:

- Spring 2.5:

uri=" http://www.hdiv.org/webflow/spring-2.0/tags/form " %>
uri=" http://www.hdiv.org/webflow/spring-2.5/tags/form " %>

HDIV 2.0.4 65
7.3.3.2 Configuration
Let's see the configuration for Spring Web MVC + SWF applications:
7.3.3.2.1 SWF File
HDIV flow controller: it adds the HDIV state to requests that perform a redirect.
We must configure the web application to make it use the HDIV flow controller -
HDIVFlowController - instead of SWF's controller.

Listener for optimization of memory consumption: HDIV listener must be added for
each flow in order to delete expired data from memory.
Let's see an example obtained from the formtags application, mentioned in the
chapter 8.4 - sellitem for Spring MVC and Spring Web Flow (SWF).

7.3.3.2.2 Spring File
Generic validation for editable data: as for Spring Web MVC without SWF
applications, HDIV's generic validator for editable data must be declaratively added
to the forms, being configuration as follows:

*NOTES:
i. The validator is not the same as the one defined in chapter 7.3.2.3 - hdiv-
validations.xml - because this one is defined in the package
org.hdiv.webflow.
<bean id="hdivListener"
class="org.hdiv.webflow.listener.HDIVFlowExecutionListener"
/>

<flow:executor id="flowExecutor" registry-ref="flowRegistry">
<flow:execution-listeners>
<flow:listener ref="hdivListener" criteria="sellitem-flow" />
</flow:execution-listeners>
</flow:executor>
<bean name="/pos.htm"
class="org.hdiv.webflow.executor.mvc.HDIVFlowController">

<property name="flowExecutor" ref="flowExecutor" />
</bean>
class="org.hdiv.webflow.validator.EditableParameterValidator"/>

HDIV 2.0.4 66
ii. SWF doesn't allow to define various validators for the forms declaratively.
So, in order to use multiple validators, we can create a complex validator
which invoques diferent validators,. See example in Appendix B.

7.4 JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL)
It is recommended to use this library only with the frameworks supported by HDIV and
those which doesn't offer tags for url generation. For example, in Spring MVC web
applications.

It is possible to use this secure version of standard JSTL in Struts 1.x and Struts 2.x but it
doesnt make sense since these frameworks already have tags for url generation.

7.4.1 Installation
7.4.1.1 Libraries
- HDIV: core library (hdiv-core-2.x.jar) and tags library (hdiv-jstl-taglibs-
1.1.x-2.0.4.jar).

Tag library: the JSTL tag library comes bundled in hdiv-jstl-taglibs-1.1.x-2.0.4.jar.
The library descriptor are called hdiv-c.tld, hdiv-c-1_0.tld and hdiv-c-1_0-rt.tld
where:
- hdiv-c.tld: JSTL 1.1 core library.
- hdiv-c-1_0.tld: JSTL 1.0 core library.
- hdiv-c-1_0-rt.tld: JSTL 1.0 core RT library.

To use these libraries, add the following directives to the top of your JSP page
depending on which JSTL version we use:
- JSTL 1.1

<%@ taglib prefix="c"
uri="http://www.hdiv.org/jsp/jstl/core" %>

HDIV 2.0.4 67
- JSTL 1.0

where c and c_rt are the tag names prefixes you want to use for the tags from this
library; or add the library descriptor in the WEB-INF directory of the web
application.

This configuration must be added in the deployment descriptor only if JSTL version is 1.0.
Replacement reference to JSTL Tags: modify reference to Standard JSTL Tags
library so that they reference HDIV library.

The rest of web.xml configuration we can check in the 7.3.1.2 chapter.

7.4.1.3 Spring
as well.
7.4.2 Configuration
Being the HDIV library for JSTL (hdiv-jstl-taglibs-1.1.x-2.0.4.jar) a complement for
frameworks (Struts 1.x, Struts 2.x or Spring MVC), the configuration for it can be checked
in the Configuration chapter of each framework.
Keep in mind that in order to protect the urls defined using the url and redirect tags of the
hdiv-jstl-taglibs-1.1.x-2.0.4.jar library, we must define the extensions we want to protect in
the protectedExtensions property of the config bean in the hdiv-config.xml file. Check
chapter 7.3.2.1 - hdiv-config.xml - for more information.
<taglib>
<taglib-uri>http://www.hdiv.org/jstl/core</taglib-uri>
<taglib-location>/WEB-INF/tld/hdiv-c-1_0.tld</taglib-location>
</taglib>
<taglib>
<taglib-uri>http://www.hdiv.org/jstl/core_rt</taglib-uri>
<taglib-location>/WEB-INF/tld/hdiv-c-1_0-rt.tld</taglib-
location>
</taglib>
<%@ taglib prefix="c"
uri="http://www.hdiv.org/jstl/core" %>
<%@ taglib prefix="c_rt"
uri="http://www.hdiv.org/jstl/core_rt" %>

HDIV 2.0.4 68
IMPORTANT:
Before applying HDIV to our web application, we must eliminate manually JSP pages
compiled in the server. Thus, we guarantee that there arent previous JSP executions that
dont use HDIV.
Here are the directories where compiled JSPs must be removed from. The examples are for
Tomcat and Websphere, being example-app our application and localhost the name of the
server:
Tomcat:
C:\<tomcat-installation-dir>\work\Catalina\domain\app\
Websphere:
o v5.1:
C:\<websphere-installation-
dir>\wsappdev51\workspace\.metadata\.plugins\com.ibm.etools.server.core\
tmp0\cache\domain\server1\app\app.war
o v6.0.1:
C:\<websphere-installation-
dir>\runtimes\base_v6\profiles\default\temp\domain\server1\appEAR\appWE
B.war

HDIV 2.0.4 69
8. EXAMPLES
There are three examples in the HDIV's distribution (struts-examples, showcase,
formtags and sellitem-webflow) to show how to apply the different strategies offered by
HDIV. struts-examples application is distributed for the 1.1, 1.2.4, 1.2.7, 1.2.9 and
1.3.8 versions of Struts 1.x, showcase application for the 2.0.6, 2.0.9 and 2.0.11
versions of Struts 2.x, formtags application for the 2.0.x and 2.5 versions of Spring MVC
and sellitem-webflow application for the 1.0.5 version of Spring Web Flow and Spring
2.0.6.
These are the steps to follow (download, installation and configuration) for each sample
application:
8.1 struts-examples for Struts 1.x
1. Download struts-examples application from Sourceforge:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=139104
Depending on our Struts version we will have to download one file or other.
2. Deploy struts-examples application (war or ear) in our web server.
In some J2EE application servers such as Tomcat, we must copy struts-
examples.war in the webapps directory of the server installation directory. In other
cases, such as IBM WebSphere, we must add struts-examples-websphere-x.x.ear as
a new application using the Manager Console.
3. Start up the database for the vulnerable section (see chapter 8.1.1).
4. Start up the web server.
5. Execute struts-examples init URL. We must know the domain and the port where the
web server is running: http://<domain:port>/struts-examples-1.x/

HDIV 2.0.4 70

Image 8.1 struts-examples home page (Struts 1.2.9)

8.1.1 Installation
In the struts-examples application there is a section to test SQL Injection, Cross-site
Scripting and Parameter Tampering attacks, which shows how easily can these types of
attack be performed. In order to solve the vulnerable section of the struts-examples
application, there is another section in the application that is the result of applying HDIV to
the vulnerable section (Vulnerable section resolved by HDIV).
So, in order to run the application, we must start up the database for the demostration in
the vulnerable section. To do this, we must follow the steps defined in the INSTALL.txt file
distributed in hdiv-2.0.1-struts-1.x-examples.zip.
8.1.2 Configuration
struts-examples is configured with the Memory strategy by default and it has the
confidentiality flag activated. We can modify this configuration as follows:

HDIV 2.0.4 71
8.1.2.1 Strategy
As we have seen in the chapter 4 - Operation Strategy there are three different strategies
in HDIV: memory, cipher and hash. We have to follow this step to change it:
1. Configure in the hdiv-config.xml file the strategy bean. Possible values are:
memory, cipher or hash.
a. Memory strategy (configured by default in struts-examples):

b. Cipher strategy:

c. Hash strategy:

8.1.2.2 Confidentiality
As we have seen in the chapter 3.1 HDIV Introduction it is possible to activate or
deactivate data confidentiality. This flag is configured in the hdiv-config.xml file in this way:
a. Confidentiality activation (configured by default in struts-examples):

<constructor-arg>
<value>memory</value>
</constructor-arg>
</bean>
<bean id="confidentiality" class="java.lang.String">
<constructor-arg>
<value>true</value>
</constructor-arg>
</bean>
<constructor-arg>
<value>cipher</value>
</constructor-arg>
</bean>
<constructor-arg>
<value>hash</value>
</constructor-arg>
</bean>

HDIV 2.0.4 72
b. Confidentiality desactivation:

8.1.2.3 Maximun size of the HDIV State
As we have seen in the chapter 7.1.2.2 applicationContext it is possible to define the
maximun size of the state that is stored in the client in the cipher and hash strategies.
When the state exceeds this size, it is stored in the server side.
An appropiate value for this parameter in the struts-examples application to see this
behaviour (storing states in both client and server sides) is 1000. Thus, configuration would
be:
a. Cipher Strategy:

<bean id="confidentiality" class="java.lang.String">
<constructor-arg>
<value>false</value>
</constructor-arg>
</bean>
<bean id="dataComposerCipher"

</property>
<ref bean="page"/>
</property>
</property>
<value>1000</value>
</property>
</property>
</bean>

HDIV 2.0.4 73
b. Hash Strategy:

8.1.2.4 Multipart requests
8.1.2.4.1 Parameter configuration
As the struts-examples application for the Struts 1.2.4, 1.2.7, 1.2.9 and 1.3.8 versions
(struts-examples-1.2.4, struts-examples-1.2.7, struts-examples-1.2.9 and struts-examples-
1.3.8) have a form where a file upload is made, the values of the multipartConfig bean
must be set (see chapter 7.1.2.2). By default the values are the following:

<bean id="dataComposerHash"

</property>
<ref bean="page"/>
</property>
</property>
<value>1000</value>
</property>
</property>
</bean>
<bean id="multipartConfig"
class="org.hdiv.config.multipart.StrutsMultipartConfig">

<property name="maxFileSize">
<value>250M</value>
</property>
<property name="memFileSize">
<value>256K</value>
</property>
<property name="tempDir">
<value>c:\tmp</value>
</property>
</bean>

HDIV 2.0.4 74
8.1.2.4.2 Multipart request handler
We must configure the Struts controller to make it use the HDIV handler when there is a
multipart request. To do that, we must add multipartClass property to the Struts controller
in the struts-config.xml file with the following value:

With this configuration we will make it possible for multipart request to use HDIV, taking as
configuration parameters the ones defined in the chapter 8.1.2.4.1.
If our web application has several modules, we must modify the struts-config.xml file
corresponding to the module where the file upload is made.
8.1.2.5 Validations for editable data
As we have seen in the chapter 7.1.2.4 - hdiv-validations.xml we can define validations
for editable data. By default struts-examples is distributed without any validation of this
type. So, we will have to create a new hdiv-validations.xml file if we want validate editable
data. View the example in Appendix A.
8.1.2.6 Logger
As we have seen in the chapter 6 Logger it is possible to log the attacks detected by
HDIV in a log file. We must add the Log4j library [8] and log4j.properties property file to
the application classpath. These two files are distributed in struts-examples by default. The
Log4j library (log4j-1.2.9.jar) is in the /WEB-INF/lib/ directory and the log4j.properties
property file in /WEB-INF/classes/.
We must configure the log4j.appender.R.File property of the log4j.properties file to set the
file where the attacks detected by HDIV are logged. By default, messages logged to the
console.
8.2 showcase for Struts 2.0.x
1. Download showcase application from Sourceforge:
2. Deploy showcase application in our web server.
3. In some J2EE application servers such as Tomcat, we must copy showcase.war in
the webapps directory of the server installation directory.
/>

HDIV 2.0.4 75
5. Execute showcase init URL. We must know the domain and the port where the web
server is running: http://<domain:port>/struts2-showcase-2.0.x/

Image 8.2 showcase home page

8.2.1 Configuration
It can be used as a guide the configuration defined for the struts-examples application in
the 8.1.2 chapter, except from the 8.1.2.4.2 chapter - Multipart request handler - which is
unnecessary for the 2.0.x version of Struts.
8.2.1.1 Validations for editable data
As we have seen in the chapter 7.1.2.4 - hdiv-validations.xml we can define validations
for editable data. By default showcase is distributed with validations for all the urls
containing the string /validation/. Let's see the configuration:

HDIV 2.0.4 76

As it is mentioned in chapter 7.2.2.4.1 - Interceptor - we must add the HDIV interceptor -
editableValidation - to the form action or package. In this example a stack of
interceptors has been defined at the same level as validationExamples package and this
stack has been added to submitFieldValidatorsExamples action. It is important to keep in
mind that HDIV interceptor - editableValidation - must always be applied after Struts 2's
validation interceptor and always before workflow's interceptor.

/>


<map>
<entry key=".*/validation/.*.action">
<list>
<ref bean="safeText" />

<ref bean="SQLInjection" />
</list>
</entry>
</map>
</property>
</bean>
<package name="validationExamples" extends="struts-default"
namespace="/validation" >

<interceptors>
<interceptor-stack name="editableValidationWorkflowStack">
<interceptor-ref name="basicStack"/>
<interceptor-ref name="validation"/>
<interceptor-ref name="editableValidation" />
<interceptor-ref name="workflow"/>
</interceptor-stack>
</interceptors>

<action name="submitFieldValidatorsExamples"
class="org.apache.struts2.showcase.validation.FieldValidators
ExampleAction"
method="submit">

<interceptor-ref name="editableValidationWorkflowStack" />

<result name="input" type="dispatcher">
/validation/fieldValidatorsExample.jsp
</result>
<result type="dispatcher">
/validation/successFieldValidatorsExample.jsp
</result>
</action>
...
</package>

HDIV 2.0.4 77
8.3 formtags for Spring MVC and JSTL
1. Download formtags application from Sourceforge:
2. Deploy formtags application in our web server.
3. In some J2EE application servers such as Tomcat, we must copy formtags.war in the
webapps directory of the server installation directory.
5. Execute formtags init URL. We must know the domain and the port where the web
server is running: http://<domain:port>/formtags/

Image 8.3 formtags web application

8.3.1 Configuration
The example application formtags has been implemented using the tags from the Spring
MVC, see chapter 5.3 - Spring MVC -, and the HDIV library for JSTL to protect urls, see
chapter 5.4 - JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL).

HDIV 2.0.4 78
In order to get more details about the configuration we can use as a guide the configuration
defined for the struts-examples application in the 8.1.2 chapter, except from the 8.1.2.4
chapter - Multipart requests - which is unnecessary for the Spring MVC.
The configuration for multipart requests in Spring MVC is defined in the multipartResolver
bean, which is defined in the hdiv-applicationContext.xml file of the example application
(formtags).

The bean multipartResolver provides maxUploadSize, maxInMemorySize, and
defaultEncoding optional properties as bean properties (inherited from
CommonsFileUploadSupport). See respective ServletFileUpload/DiskFileItemFactory
properties (sizeMax, sizeThreshold, headerEncoding) for details in terms of defaults and
accepted values [10].

8.4 sellitem for Spring MVC and Spring Web Flow (SWF)
1. Download hdiv-2.0.4-spring-mvc-2.x-examples.zip application from Sourceforge:
2. Deploy sellitem-webflow.war application in our web server.
3. In some J2EE application servers such as Tomcat, we must copy sellitem-
webflow.war in the webapps directory of the server installation directory.
5. Execute sellitem-webflow init URL. We must know the domain and the port where
the web server is running: http://<domain:port>/sellitem-webflow/
<bean id="multipartResolver"
class="org.hdiv.web.multipart.HDIVMultipartResolver">

<property name="maxUploadSize" value="10000"/>
</bean>

HDIV 2.0.4 79

Image 8.3 sellitem-webflow web application

8.4.1 Configuration
The example application sellitem-webflow has been implemented using the tags from the
Spring MVC and Spring Web Flow, see chapter 7.3.3 - Spring Web Flow (SWF) -, and the
HDIV library for JSTL to protect urls, see chapter 5.4 - JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL).
8.4.1.1 Flow Controller
We must configure the web application to make it use the HDIV flow controller -
HDIVFlowController - instead of SWF's controller.

8.4.1.2 HDIV Listener
HDIV listener must be added for each flow in order to delete expired data from memory.

<bean name="/pos.htm"
class="org.hdiv.webflow.executor.mvc.HDIVFlowController">

<property name="flowExecutor" ref="flowExecutor" />
</bean>

HDIV 2.0.4 80

<bean id="hdivListener"
class="org.hdiv.webflow.listener.HDIVFlowExecutionListener"
/>

<flow:executor id="flowExecutor" registry-ref="flowRegistry">
<flow:execution-listeners>
<flow:listener ref="hdivListener" criteria="sellitem-flow" />
</flow:execution-listeners>
</flow:executor>

HDIV 2.0.4 81
9. CONCLUSIONS
Most of the application level vulnerabilities can be avoided with a correct programming of
applications.
There are problems that can be solved using existing libraries and functionalities while
others need a proprietary solution for them. HDIV solves the lack of standard or uniform
solutions that guarantee web application security, avoiding a great amount of
vulnerabilities.

In short, the advantages offered by HDIV comparing with existing solutions are the
following:
It solves in a transparent way to the programmer client data integrity
verification, eliminating vulnerabilities derived from data modification
(parameter tampering).

HDIV eliminates to a large extent the risk originated by attacks of type
Cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL Injection using generic validations
of the editable data (text and textarea).
HDIV guarantees confidentiality of all non editable data for the client (non
editable parameter values, addresses or destiny pages). This property avoids
providing key information (DDBB identifiers, etc.) that are very useful for many
types of attack.
It is applied via configuration (web.xml), without modifying the source
code of the application.
It generates logs of real attacks, providing vital information to measure the
risk of different applications. It includes the user identifier and the IP addressof
the attacker as well.

HDIV 2.0.4 82
10. REFERENCES
[1]. Gartner, Nov 2005
http://gartner.com
[2]. Studies from numerous penetration tests by Imperva
http://www.imperva.com/application_defense_center/papers/how_safe_is_it.html
[3]. Open Web Application Security Project
http://www.owasp.org/

[4]. Examples of Basic tools of web audit:
For Firefox (Tamper Data): https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/966/
For Explorer: (TamperIE): http://www.bayden.com/Other/
[5]. Struts
http://struts.apache.org/
[5.1]. Validator
Struts 1.x: http://struts.apache.org/1.2.9/userGuide/dev_validator.html
Struts 2: http://struts.apache.org/2.x/docs/validation.html
[5.2]. struts-default.xml
http://struts.apache.org/2.x/docs/struts-defaultxml.html
[6]. Spring Framework
http://www.springframework.org

[7]. Commons Logging
http://jakarta.apache.org/commons/logging/

[8]. Logging Services: Log4j
http://logging.apache.org/log4j/docs/index.html
[9] Jakarta Taglibs
http://jakarta.apache.org/taglibs/doc/standard-doc/intro.html
[10] Commons FileUpload
http://jakarta.apache.org/commons/fileupload

HDIV 2.0.4 83
[11] Commons Validator
http://commons.apache.org/validator/
[12] Spring Web Flow
http://www.springframework.org/webflow

HDIV 2.0.4 84
Appendix A: Example file for editable data validations
The validations defined in the following example should not be considered as the only
validations to apply. The web application administrator will have to define any necessary
validation, depending on the business logic of the application, to avoid any possible attack.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE beans PUBLIC "-//SPRING//DTD BEAN//EN"
"http://www.springframework.org/dtd/spring-beans.dtd">

<beans>
<map>
<entry key=".*/processActions.*">
<list>
<ref bean="safeText" />

<ref bean="SQLInjection" />

<ref bean="execCommand" />
<ref bean="unauthorizedChars" />

<ref bean="simpleXSS" />

<ref bean="imageXSS" />

<ref bean="scriptXSS" />

<ref bean="evalXSS" />
</list>
</entry>
<entry key=".*/action1.*">
<list>
<ref bean="safeText8" />
</list>
</entry>
</map>
</property>
</bean>

<bean id="safeText" class="org.hdiv.validator.Validation">
<value>text</value>
</property>
<value><![CDATA[^[a-zA-Z0-9@.\-_]*$]]></value>
</property>
<value><![CDATA[(\s|\S)*(--)(\s|\S)*]]></value>
</property>
</bean>

HDIV 2.0.4 85
<bean id="SQLInjection" class="org.hdiv.validator.Validation">
<value>textarea</value>
</property>
<value><![CDATA[(\s|\S)*((%27)|(')|(%3D)|(=)|(/)|(%2F)|(")|((%22)|(-
|%2D){2})|(%23)|(%3B)|(;))+(\s|\S)*]]></value>
</property>
</bean>

<bean id="execCommand" class="org.hdiv.validator.Validation">
</property>
<value><![CDATA[(\s|\S)*(exec(\s|\+)+(s|x)p\w+)(\s|\S)*]]></value>
</property>
</bean>

<bean id="unauthorizedChars"
class="org.hdiv.validator.Validation">
</property>
<value><![CDATA[(\s|\S)*((%23)|#|&|(%26))(\s|\S)*]]></value>
</property>
</bean>

<bean id="simpleXSS" class="org.hdiv.validator.Validation">
</property>
<value><![CDATA[(\s|\S)*((%3C)|<)((%2F)|/)*[a-z0-
9%]+((%3E)|>)(\s|\S)*]]></value>
</property>
</bean>

<bean id="imageXSS" class="org.hdiv.validator.Validation">
</property>
<value><![CDATA[(\s|\S)*((%3C)|<)((%69)|i|I|(%49))((%6D)|m|M|(%4D))((
%67)|g|G|(%47))[^\n]+((%3E)|>)(\s|\S)*]]></value>
</property>
</bean>

<bean id="scriptXSS" class="org.hdiv.validator.Validation">
</property>
<value><![CDATA[(\s|\S)*((%73)|s)(\s)*((%63)|c)(\s)*((%72)|r)(\s)*((%
69)|i)(\s)*((%70)|p)(\s)*((%74)|t)(\s|\S)*]]></value>
</property>
</bean>

HDIV 2.0.4 86
<bean id="evalXSS" class="org.hdiv.validator.Validation">
</property>
<value><![CDATA[(\s|\S)*((%65)|e)(\s)*((%76)|v)(\s)*((%61)|a)(\s)*((%
6C)|l)(\s|\S)*]]></value>
</property>
</bean>

<bean id="safeText8" class="org.hdiv.validator.Validation">
<value>text</value>
</property>
<value><![CDATA[^[a-zA-Z0-9]{1,8}$]]></value>
</property>
</bean>

</beans>

HDIV 2.0.4 87
Appendix B: Composite validator example for Spring MVC
CompositeValidator.java:
import org.springframework.validation.Errors;
import org.springframework.validation.Validator;

/**
* This validator will delegate each of it's child validators.
*/
public class CompositeValidator implements Validator {

private Validator[] validators;

/**
* Will return true if this class is in the specified map.
*/
public boolean supports(final Class clazz) {
for (Validator v : validators) {
if (v.supports(clazz)) {
return true;
}
}
return false;
}

/**
* Validate the specified object using the validator registered for the
* object's class.
*/
public void validate(final Object obj, final Errors errors) {

for (Validator v : validators) {
if (v.supports(obj.getClass())) {
v.validate(obj, errors);
}
}
}

public void setValidators(Validator[] validators) {
this.validators = validators;
}
}

Spring configuration file:

<bean id="saleValidator"
class="org.springframework.webflow.samples.sellitem.SaleValidator"/>


class="org.hdiv.webflow.validator.EditableParameterValidator" />

HDIV 2.0.4 88

<bean id="compositeValidator"
class="org.springframework.webflow.samples.sellitem.CompositeValidator">

<property name="validators">
<list>
<ref bean="saleValidator"/>
<ref bean="editableParameterValidator"/>
</list>
</property>
</bean>


<bean id="formAction" class="org.springframework.webflow.action.FormAction">
...
<property name="validator">
<ref bean="compositeValidator"/>
</property>
</bean>

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