How can I implement protection against brute force login attacks using Node js and Redis to temporarily block users after repeated failed attempts

Question

For my application, I want to set up a mechanism that uses Node.js and Redis to prevent brute force login attacks by temporarily blocking users after several failed attempts. I’ve heard that Redis can be helpful for handling temporary data storage for this purpose, but I’m unsure of the best approach.

Could someone guide me on how to integrate Redis for this? I’m looking for a solution that limits login attempts within a given time frame and locks out users who exceed this limit.

Answer 1

To implement protection against brute force login attacks using Node.js and Redis, you can create a simple middleware that tracks login attempts and temporarily blocks users after a specified number of failed attempts.

Step 1: Set Up Your Project

First, we'll create a new project and install the required dependencies:

mkdir myapp
cd myapp
npm init -y
npm install express redis connect-redis express-session

Step 2: Create Your Express Application

I've designed a basic structure for a Express application with Redis integration for tracking failed login attempts.

const express = require('express');
const session = require('express-session');
const RedisStore = require('connect-redis')(session);
const redis = require('redis');

const app = express();
const PORT = 3000;

const redisClient = redis.createClient();

app.use(session({
  store: new RedisStore({ client: redisClient }),
  secret: 'yourSecretKey',
  resave: false,
  saveUninitialized: false,
  cookie: { maxAge: 60000 }
}));

app.use(express.json());

const MAX_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS = 3;
const LOCK_TIME = 60000;

const loginAttempts = (req, res, next) => {
  const { username } = req.body;

  redisClient.hget(`loginAttempts:${username}`, (err, attempts) => {
    if (err) return res.status(500).send("Redis error");

    if (attempts && attempts >= MAX_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS) {
      return res.status(429).send("Too many login attempts. Try again later.");
    }

    next();
  });
};

app.post('/login', loginAttempts, (req, res) => {
  const { username, password } = req.body;

  if (username !== 'admin' || password !== 'password') {
    redisClient.hincrby(`loginAttempts:${username}`, 'attempts', 1, (err) => {
      if (err) return res.status(500).send("Redis error");
      
      redisClient.expire(`loginAttempts:${username}`, LOCK_TIME / 1000);
    });
    
    return res.status(401).send("Invalid credentials.");
  }

  redisClient.del(`loginAttempts:${username}`);
  res.send("Login successful!");
});

app.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on http://localhost:${PORT}`);
});

This setup will effectively limit login attempts for each user and temporarily block them if they exceed the defined number of attempts. It's an efficient way to use Redis for this kind of protection against brute force attacks. Make sure to adjust the configurations to suit your specific application requirements

Related post :Ruby script for brute-forcing login

Comments

This is a fantastic solution! I just integrated Redis for tracking login attempts and it’s working seamlessly. The hincrby and expire commands in Redis are super helpful for managing attempts. Thanks for the clear example!