Cross-application authentication on a content management system

• US 10,282,522 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2018
• Issued: 05/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Inventors: Tian, Sang, Kaplan, Joshua, Akhawe, Devdatta
• Primary Examiner(s): Getachew, Abiy
• Application Number:
  US16/031,363
• Publication Number:
  US 20180322258A1
• Time in Patent Office: 301 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/30 Types of network names
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1483 service impersonation, e.g. phishing, pharming or web spoofing detection of rogue wireless access points H04W12/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for cross-application authentication on a content management system. A client application running at a client device that is not authenticated with a content management system can receive, from a website associated with the content management system, a request to authenticate with the content management system under a user account used to authenticate a current session between a browser application at the client device and the website with the content management system. The client application can then obtain a uniform resource locator (URL) with a nonce associated with the client application, and send a command to the browser application including the URL and nonce. The command can trigger the browser application to use the URL and nonce to authenticate the client application with the content management system under the user account with which the current session between the browser application and the website is currently authenticated.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

establishing a communication channel through a content management system, between a client application at a client device and a website associated with the content management system, wherein establishing the communication channel comprises;

sending, from the client application to the content management system, a message comprising a nonce that identifies an association between the client application and at least one of a browser application at the client device or a user account used by the client application to authenticate with the content management system, wherein the association enables the content management system to relay one or more communications between the client application and the website;

when the browser application at the client device is not authenticated with the content management system, receiving, by the client application from the content management system via the communication channel, a request for the user account used by the client application to authenticate with the content management system;

receiving, by the client application, an instruction to authenticate the browser application with the content management system under the user account; and

sending, from the client application to the browser application, a command instructing the browser application to open a web page to verify the browser application is associated with the client device at the content management system, wherein the browser application is authenticated with the content management system under the user account via a communication session between the browser application and the website.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after sending the message to the content management system, obtaining, by the client application from the content management system, a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with the web page, wherein the command triggers the browser application to use the URL and the nonce to authenticate with the content management system.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the command triggers a script associated with the web page, wherein the script is configured to instruct the content management system to authenticate the browser application based on the nonce and validate a session associated with the browser application under the user account based on credentials used to authenticate a current session between the client application and the content management system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the command comprises an operating system (OS) command.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the nonce is associated with a client identifier at the content management system, the client identifier being associated with at least one of the client application or the browser application.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for the user account used by the client application to authenticate with the content management system is received by the client application from the website via the communication channel.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the web page comprises a local web page file on the client device generated by the client application.

8. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

at least one computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to;

establish a communication channel through a content management system, between a client application at a client device and a website associated with the content management system, wherein establishing the communication channel comprises;

sending, from the client application to the content management system, a message comprising a nonce that identifies an association between the client application and at least one of a browser application at the client device or a user account used by the client application to authenticate with the content management system, wherein the association enables the content management system to relay one or more communications between the client application and the website;

when the browser application at the client device is not authenticated with the content management system, receive, by the client application from the content management system via the communication channel, a request for the user account used by the client application to authenticate with the content management system;

receive, by the client application, an instruction to authenticate the browser application with the content management system under the user account; and

send, from the client application to the browser application, a command instructing the browser application to open a web page to verify the browser application is associated with the client device at the content management system, wherein the browser application is authenticated with the content management system under the user account via a communication session between the browser application and the website.

9. The system of claim 8, the at least one computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:

obtain, by the client application from the content management system, a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with the web page, wherein the command triggers the browser application to use the URL and the nonce to authenticate with the content management system.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the command triggers a script associated with the web page, wherein the script is configured to instruct the content management system to authenticate the browser application based on the nonce and validate a session associated with the browser application under the user account based on credentials used to authenticate a current session between the client application and the content management system.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the nonce is associated with a client identifier at the content management system, the client identifier being associated with the client application.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the command comprises an operating system (OS) command.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the request for the user account used by the client application to authenticate with the content management system is received by the client application from the website via the communication channel.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the web page comprises a local web page file on the client device generated by the client application.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising:

computer-readable instructions stored thereon, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to;

establish a communication channel through a content management system, between a client application at a client device and a website associated with the content management system, wherein establishing the communication channel comprises;

sending, from the client application to the content management system, a message comprising a nonce that identifies an association between the client application and at least one of a browser application at the client device or a user account used by the client application to authenticate with the content management system, wherein the association enables the content management system to relay one or more communications between the client application and the website;

when the browser application at the client device is not authenticated with the content management system, receive, by the client application from the content management system via the communication channel, a request for the user account used by the client application to authenticate with the content management system;

receive, by the client application, an instruction to authenticate the browser application with the content management system under the user account; and

send, from the client application to the browser application, a command instructing the browser application to open a web page to verify the browser application is associated with the client device at the content management system, wherein the browser application is authenticated with the content management system under the user account via a communication session between the browser application and the website.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, storing additional computer-readable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

obtain, by the client application from the content management system, a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with the web page, wherein the command triggers the browser application to use the URL and the nonce to authenticate with the content management system.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the command triggers a script associated with the web page, wherein the script is configured to instruct the content management system to authenticate the browser application based on the nonce and validate a session associated with the browser application under the user account based on credentials used to authenticate a current session between the client application and the content management system.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the nonce is associated with a client identifier at the content management system, the client identifier being associated with the client application.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the web page comprises a local web page file on the client device generated by the client application.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the request for the user account used by the client application to authenticate with the content management system is received by the client application from the website via the communication channel.