Apache HTTP Server Version 2.5

Apache > HTTP Server > Documentation > Version 2.5 > Modules

# Apache Module mod_session_cookie

Description: | Cookie based session support
Status: | Extension
Module Identifier: | session_cookie_module
Source File: | mod_session_cookie.c
Compatibility: | Available in Apache 2.3 and later

### Summary

### Warning

The session modules make use of HTTP cookies, and as such can fall victim to Cross Site Scripting attacks, or expose potentially private information to clients. Please ensure that the relevant risks have been taken into account before enabling the session functionality on your server.

This submodule of `mod_session` provides support for the storage of user sessions on the remote browser within HTTP cookies.

Using cookies to store a session removes the need for the server or a group of servers to store the session locally, or collaborate to share a session, and can be useful for high traffic environments where a server based session might be too resource intensive.

If session privacy is required, the `mod_session_crypto` module can be used to encrypt the contents of the session before writing the session to the client.

For more details on the session interface, see the documentation for the `mod_session` module.

### Topics

- Basic Examples

### Directives

### Bugfix checklist

- httpd changelog
- Known issues
- Report a bug

### See also

- `mod_session`
- `mod_session_crypto`
- `mod_session_dbd`

## Basic Examples ¶

To create a simple session and store it in a cookie called session, configure the session as follows:

### Browser based session

    Session On
    SessionCookieName session path=/

For more examples on how the session can be configured to be read from and written to by a CGI application, see the `mod_session` examples section.

For documentation on how the session can be used to store username and password details, see the `mod_auth_form` module.

## SessionCookieMaxAge Directive ¶

Description: | Control whether session cookies have Max-Age transmitted to the client
Syntax: | `SessionCookieMaxAge On|Off`
Default: | `SessionCookieMaxAge On`
Context: | server config, virtual host, directory, .htaccess
Override: | AuthConfig
Status: | Extension
Module: | mod_session_cookie

The `SessionCookieMaxAge` flag controls whether the session expiration will be specified in the Max-Age attribute on the cookie sent to the client. When set to 'Off', the attribute will not be added and clients will only return the cookie until "the current session is over". This often means until the browser is closed.

The expiration of the session is still validated on the server by the `SessionMaxAge` directive.

## SessionCookieName Directive ¶

Description: | Name and attributes for the RFC2109 cookie storing the session
Syntax: | `SessionCookieName name attributes`
Default: | `none`
Context: | server config, virtual host, directory, .htaccess
Override: | AuthConfig
Status: | Extension
Module: | mod_session_cookie

The `SessionCookieName` directive specifies the name and optional attributes of an RFC2109 compliant cookie inside which the session will be stored. RFC2109 cookies are set using the `Set-Cookie` HTTP header.

An optional list of cookie attributes can be specified, as per the example below. These attributes are inserted into the cookie as is, and are not interpreted by Apache. Ensure that your attributes are defined correctly as per the cookie specification.

### Cookie with attributes

    Session On
    SessionCookieName session path=/private;domain=example.com;httponly;secure;version=1;

## SessionCookieName2 Directive ¶

Description: | Name and attributes for the RFC2965 cookie storing the session
Syntax: | `SessionCookieName2 name attributes`
Default: | `none`
Context: | server config, virtual host, directory, .htaccess
Override: | AuthConfig
Status: | Extension
Module: | mod_session_cookie

The `SessionCookieName2` directive specifies the name and optional attributes of an RFC2965 compliant cookie inside which the session will be stored. RFC2965 cookies are set using the `Set-Cookie2` HTTP header.

An optional list of cookie attributes can be specified, as per the example below. These attributes are inserted into the cookie as is, and are not interpreted by Apache. Ensure that your attributes are defined correctly as per the cookie specification.

### Cookie2 with attributes

    Session On
    SessionCookieName2 session path=/private;domain=example.com;httponly;secure;version=1;

## SessionCookieRemove Directive ¶

Description: | Control for whether session cookies should be removed from incoming HTTP headers
Syntax: | `SessionCookieRemove On|Off`
Default: | `SessionCookieRemove Off`
Context: | server config, virtual host, directory, .htaccess
Override: | AuthConfig
Status: | Extension
Module: | mod_session_cookie

The `SessionCookieRemove` flag controls whether the cookies containing the session will be removed from the headers during request processing.

In a reverse proxy situation where the Apache server acts as a server frontend for a backend origin server, revealing the contents of the session cookie to the backend could be a potential privacy violation. When set to on, the session cookie will be removed from the incoming HTTP headers.