Pima Community College has created a User Switcher tool that allows Cascade Server administrators to log in as another user without a password. Learn how the User Switcher works and how you can use it in your own CMS!

1. User Switcher
for Cascade
Server
Leah Einecker
Pima Community College

2. Why?
Verifying permissions / user setup
User support
General awesomeness

4. The easy part
<form method="POST" action="doSwitch.jsp">
Who do you want to be today?<br />
<input type="text" name="wannabe" />
<input type="submit" value="Go" />
</form>

5. Check the submitted data
if (wannabe == null)
{
response.sendRedirect("index.jsp");
}
/*
dunno what happens if you try to log in as
username “!@$#!''%%--!#”.
*/
wannabe = wannabe.replaceAll("[^-w]", "");
String wannabe = request.getParameter("wannabe");

6. Check the user
LoginInformationBean
LoginInformationBean loginInfoBean =
(LoginInformationBean)session.getAttribute("user");
String username = loginInfoBean.getUsername();
com.hannonhill.cascade.view.beans.security.

7. Dispensing beans
org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext
ApplicationContext appCtx =
WebApplicationContextUtils.getWebApplicationContext(
pageContext.getServletContext());
appCtx.getBean("myBeanName");
[cascade]/ROOT/WEB-
INF/classes/com/hannonhill/cascade/config
/spring/[xml files]

8. Dispensing services
com.hannonhill.cascade.model.service.
ServiceProviderHolderBean
ServiceProviderHolderBean.getServiceProvider().
get___Service()
[cascade]/ROOT/WEB-
INF/classes/com/hannonhill/cascade/config
/spring/applicationContextServices.xml

9. Verify role with RoleService
if (!roleService.userHasRoleByRolename(
username,"Administrator"
)){
err = "Only Administrators can do that!";
}
com.hannonhill.cascade.model.service.RoleService

10. A magical login bean
com.hannonhill.cascade.view.struts.security.
StrutsPerformLogin
StrutsPerformLogin performLoginBean =
(StrutsPerformLogin)appCtx.getBean("performLogin");

11. ...and login !
{
performLoginBean.login(request, response,
wannabe);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
err = "<p>A problem occurred logging you in! “
+ "Did you enter an incorrect username?</p>“
+ " <a href="index.jsp">Try again</a>";
}
try

12. Gotchas
Logs out the user if logged in elsewhere
No tracking or auditing of switch (yet?)
Once switched, actions attributed to new user
If you switch to non-admin, you can’t switch
back!

13. Where does the code go?
Create new directory inside Cascade install
[tomcat]/webapps/ROOT/pccCustom
https://myCMS/pccCustom/path
CMS login required!
Prevents loss during CMS upgrade / accidental overwrites
of Cascade Server code

14. Errors and logs
[tomcat]/logs/catalina.out
[tomcat]/logs/cascade.log
[tomcat]/webapps/ROOT/WEB-INF/classes/
default-logging.properties

15. Free code!
https://github.com/PimaCommunityCollege/user-switcher
MIT license

16. Questions?
Leah Einecker
Pima Community College
leinecker@pima.edu