HTTPS redirection for all routes node.js/express - Security concerns HTTPS redirection for all routes node.js/express - Security concerns express express

HTTPS redirection for all routes node.js/express - Security concerns


function requireHTTPS(req, res, next) {    if (!req.secure) {        //FYI this should work for local development as well        return res.redirect('https://' + req.get('host') + req.url);    }    next();}app.use(requireHTTPS);app.get('/', routeHandlerHome);

The middleware approach will work because express will run the middleware in the order added, before it runs the router, and in general this kind of site-wide policy is cleaner as middleware vs. a wildcard route.

Regarding question 2 about sniffing session cookies, that must be addressed by marking the cookies as secure when you set them. If they haven't been marked secure, the browser will transmit them with HTTP requests as well, thus exposing them to sniffing.


You can simply use your https_redirect function (though a bit modified) as a to automatically redirect all of your secure requests:

// force https redirectvar https_redirect = function () {  return function(req, res, next) {    if (req.secure) {      if(env === 'development') {        return res.redirect('https://localhost:3000' + req.url);      } else {        return res.redirect('https://' + req.headers.host + req.url);      }    } else {      return next();    }  };};app.use(https_redirect());app.get('/', routeHandlerHome);


I use this simple code to redirect requests depending on whether the application is in development or production.

// force https redirectvar forceHTTPS = function () {  return function(req, res, next) {    if (!req.secure) {      if (app.get('env') === 'development') {         return res.redirect('https://localhost:3001' + req.url);      } else {        return res.redirect('https://' + req.headers.host + req.url);      }    } else {      return next();    }  };};