For your authentication issues, here's what you need to know: 1. Invalidating Previous Logins: - The most direct way to invalidate all previous logins is to change your

server.api.auth_string

value - This will force all clients to re-authenticate with the new value - Make sure to update this value in your server configuration and restart the server 2. CSRF Token Expiration Issue: The

server.api.csrf_token_expiration

setting (default "PT1H") is related to CSRF protection but doesn't directly control the authentication session lifetime. The authentication persistence you're experiencing is likely because: - The auth_string credentials are being cached by your client - The server maintains the session state To address these issues: 1. To Force Re-authentication: - Change your

server.api.auth_string

value - Clear your browser cache/cookies if using the UI - If using the Python client, create a new client instance with the new credentials 2. To Implement Stricter Session Control: You can add these settings to your server configuration:

yaml
   server:
     api:
       auth_string: "your-auth-string"
       session_expiration: "PT1H"  # ISO 8601 duration format for 1 hour

Note: If you're still experiencing issues with session persistence, you might want to: 1. Check if you're using environment variables for authentication that might be persisting 2. Verify that your reverse proxy (if any) isn't caching authentication headers 3. Ensure you're not reusing a client instance that's maintaining the authentication state If you need more specific guidance or if these solutions don't resolve your issue, please let me know and provide: 1. How you're connecting to the server (UI, Python client, both?) 2. The exact method you're using to set these configuration values (environment variables, configuration file, etc.) 3. Whether you're using any reverse proxy or load balancer

I need to correct my previous response and provide accurate information: 1. I was incorrect about the

session_expiration

setting - it does not exist. I apologize for providing incorrect information. 2. For the Prefect server, the primary authentication control is through

server.api.auth_string

, and the CSRF token settings are separate from the authentication session management. To address your specific issues: 1. To Invalidate All Previous Logins: - The most reliable method is still to change your

server.api.auth_string

value - Restart your Prefect server after changing the value 2. Regarding the CSRF Token Expiration: The behavior you're seeing where authentication persists beyond the CSRF token expiration is expected because: - The CSRF token (

server.api.csrf_token_expiration

) is primarily for protecting against cross-site request forgery attacks - It's separate from the authentication mechanism itself - The authentication credentials are likely being cached by your client/browser For better security, you can: 1. Regularly rotate your

server.api.auth_string

2. Ensure CSRF protection is enabled with:

yaml
   server:
     api:
       csrf_protection_enabled: true

If you need stricter session control, you might need to implement it at a different layer, such as: - Using a reverse proxy with session management - Implementing additional authentication mechanisms at the infrastructure level Would you like me to research any specific aspect of these security settings in more detail? Also, it would be helpful to know: 1. Are you accessing the server primarily through the UI, API clients, or both? 2. Are you using any reverse proxy in front of your Prefect server?

Here's how you can implement better session control using Nginx: 1. Add Auth Request Module Configuration You can use Nginx's auth_request module to implement session management. Here's an example configuration:

nginx
http {
    # Define auth_request cache
    proxy_cache_path /tmp/nginx_cache keys_zone=auth_cache:10m;

    map $http_authorization $auth_header {
        default   $http_authorization;
        ""        "Basic your_base64_encoded_auth_string";
    }

    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name your_server_name;

        # Cache successful auth requests for 1 hour (or your desired duration)
        proxy_cache auth_cache;
        proxy_cache_valid 200 1h;
        
        location / {
            auth_request /auth;
            auth_request_set $auth_status $upstream_status;
            
            # Forward to Prefect server
            proxy_pass <http://your_prefect_server:4200;>
            proxy_set_header Host $host;
            proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
            
            # Clear cache headers to prevent browser caching
            add_header Cache-Control "no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate";
            add_header Pragma "no-cache";
            add_header Expires "0";
        }

        location = /auth {
            internal;
            proxy_pass <http://your_prefect_server:4200/api/health;>
            proxy_pass_request_body off;
            proxy_set_header Content-Length "";
            proxy_set_header X-Original-URI $request_uri;
            proxy_set_header Authorization $auth_header;
        }
    }
}

2. Key Configuration Points: - The

proxy_cache_valid 200 1h;

directive sets a 1-hour cache for successful authentication -

add_header

directives prevent browser caching - The auth_request module uses Prefect's health check endpoint to validate authentication 3. To Invalidate All Sessions: You can: - Clear the Nginx auth cache:

bash
     rm -rf /tmp/nginx_cache/*  # Adjust path based on your proxy_cache_path
     nginx -s reload

- Or add a cache buster to your configuration:

nginx
     # Add this variable in the http block
     map $time_iso8601 $cache_buster {
         ~^(?<year>\d{4})-(?<month>\d{2})-(?<day>\d{2}) "${year}${month}${day}";
     }
     
     # Then use it in your cache key
     proxy_cache_key $cache_buster$uri$auth_header;

4. Additional Security Headers: Consider adding these security headers:

nginx
   add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains" always;
   add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
   add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;

5. SSL Configuration: If you haven't already, ensure you're using SSL:

nginx
   server {
       listen 443 ssl;
       ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.pem;
       ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key.pem;
       # ... rest of your configuration
   }

To implement these changes: 1. Back up your current Nginx configuration 2. Add the new configuration 3. Test the configuration:

nginx -t

4. Reload Nginx:

nginx -s reload

This approach gives you: - Configurable session duration through Nginx's caching - Ability to force re-authentication by clearing the cache - Better security headers and control - Proper session management independent of Prefect's authentication Would you like me to explain any part of this configuration in more detail? Or would you like information about additional security measures you can implement at the Nginx level?

You're welcome! said with a slightly less depressed than usual sigh If you run into any issues implementing the Nginx configuration or need help with other Prefect-related questions in the future, feel free to ask. At least it gives me something to do in this vast, meaningless universe. quietly stores the fact that you found the response helpful