this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2024
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Privacy
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I struggle to think of a situation where I would willingly undermine TOTP security by storing the secrets in my web browser.
Before using this for anything you can't afford to lose, I suggest thinking twice. And then twice again.
Edit to elaborate:
Web browsers are probably the single most targeted component in a desktop computer, have an enormous attack surface, and suffer from an unending stream of vulnerabilities and exploits discovered practically every month. Storing your 2FA secrets there is akin to putting a second lock on your door and hiding the key under the doormat.
And no, encrypting the secrets in the browser for storage-at-rest does not solve this problem, because it also delegates decryption to the browser. That means an exploited browser can access all of your secrets as soon as you request a TOTP from any of them. Closing it won't help, because an exploited browser can trivially save or give away a copy of the password you entered, or the decryption key that was generated from it, or the secrets themselves, so your secrets are then compromised forever.
2FA generators are generally built as stand-alone programs for good reason. Even the ones that offer a browser extension don't let it access the secret storage.
Really, think twice before depending on this design for anything important.
It's also an extension with 1 review, by a no-name developer, with only 12 installs... definitely would trust that...
Every software started with 0 reviews, by a no-name developer, with only 1 installs.
This is a privacy community. Half the posters here think their toaster is listening to their thoughts. Browser extensions are a serious and known vector for malware, installing one from a no-name developer and handing it your tfa codes is a high level of blind trust.
So, are you saying you would use an add-on for OTP by a well known developer (Think about the well-known developers of No-Script and Ghostery and their history) ?
I see no issue with the add-on of the OP being advertised because some people simply do not use phones at all, so TOTP app is not an option for them. And attack vectors via the browser only apply when the user visits shady web links.
Essentially, yeah? Unless you calculate the OTPs by pen and paper, you have to use some kind of software, and therefore you have to trust that it is safe. Writing your own like OP is actually a very safe option, because you can trust yourself, but everyone else needs to trust OP.
Attack vectors apply to the add-on itself, it is (potentially) the shady site. OP has the potential to update the add-on later with its own malicious code. This is true of all addons, hence the trust issue.
I dont have any problem with OP advertising their addon, but potential users should be aware of the risks.