Request.host

[Sparticuz]

Is Request.host a valid (secure) way of verifying the request comes from localhost? It returns localhost when run from localhost, so that seems to work. I basically need to restrict access to a certain page from only localhost and no where else.

[Lenny Forziati]

Re: Request.host

"Secure", no. But it may still be "good enough" depending on your level of concern.

Request.Host will contain whatever is used in the host portion of the URL to access the server. To access the local machine, you can use localhost, 127.0.0.1, the local machine name, any other IP address that belongs to the local machine, or any other partial or fully qualified host name that resolves to the local host.

You can alternatively look at Request.Remote_Addr, which will contain the IP address that the request came from. This too will vary depending on what URL was used to access the server, but it will always be 127.0.0.1 or an IP address belonging to the local machine if it is a local request and save you from dealing with host names.

[Sparticuz]

Re: Request.host

Remote_addr is probably what I'm looking for. I have an a5w page that runs some xbasic code as a 'nightly' routine using the task scheduler and powershell to open the page in Windows. Right now I am using an 'access key' as a request variable, but I was thinking checking against 127.0.0.1 might be better.

[Lenny Forziati]

Re: Request.host

I wasn't quite thinking clearly when I answered yesterday. What you want is Request.IsLocal. This operates at the socket level and is always able to correctly determine if the request is coming from the local machine.

[Steve Wood]

Re: Request.host

On V12 it is important to use Request.IsLocal rather than determining if request.remote_addr = "127.0.0.1".

Here is some sample code from an app that is designed to work in V10, 11 and 12:

dim is_local as l = .f.
a5ver = floor(val(version("v"))) ' get the Alpha Five version
select
case a5ver < 12
is_local = if(request.remote_addr = "127.0.0.1",.t.,.f.)
case a5ver > 11
is_local = Request.IsLocal
end select
if is_local = .f.
...