CakePhp sessions clear almost instantly, but only sometimes - php

Question

I have adopted a CakePhp 2 project. We get to the project from another project, linking to the CakePhp project with a "token" and a conference ID as a parameter in the URL. Using that token, we authorize the user, and using the conference ID get the information from the database. The session value "auth" is set to true.
We have it running on 2 "platforms" locally on my system using a vagrant machine, and on a production server. Locally the session value dies really quick and at random times. On the production server not as often, but the issues we have where Ajax calls don't seem to do what are expected, we believe are being caused by a similar issue. We have many different projects, all Laravel, with zero issues where the session values clear. This issue is strictly with the CakePhp project.
All the authentication magic happens in the beforeFilter method. The code:
public function beforeFilter() {
$session = new CakeSession();
/**
*
* We will check if the current user is authorized here!
*
*/
// If the visitor is coming for the first time, there should be a parameter in
// the URL that is the auth code to check against the database.
if ( ( isset($_GET['conf']) && is_numeric($_GET['conf']) ) && isset($_GET['token']) ) {
$getConference = ClassRegistry::init('Conference')->find('first', ["conditions" => ["conference_id"=>$_GET['conf'] ]]);
$checkToken = ClassRegistry::init('User')->find('first', ["conditions" => ["remember_token"=>$_GET['token'] ]]);
if ($getConference && $checkToken) {
$checkToken['User']['remember_token'] = $this->generateToken();
if ( ClassRegistry::init('User')->save( $checkToken ) ) {
$session->write('auth', true);
$session->write('conferenceId', $_GET['conf']);
$this->redirect('/');
}
}
else {
$session->write('auth', false);
$session->write('conferenceId', null);
}
}
if (! $session->read('auth') || $session->read('conferenceId') == null ) {
echo "No permission!";
exit;
}
}
At the top of the controller:
App::uses('CakeSession', 'Model/Datasource');
When the URL parameters are present, it traps them, does the work, and redirects to the home route without the parameters.
$this->generateToken();
Creates a new token, and overwrites the old one in the database.
There are 2 main controllers. The controller with this code is the main projects controller. The only time it is really hit is the first time you go to the project, and we hit the index method. From there everything else is AJAX calls to the other controller. There is one link, a "home" type link that will hit that index method.
Sometimes these Ajax calls stop working, and clicking that home link will output "No Permission" instead of the expected html in the container the Ajax call outputs too.
Steps to troubleshoot led me to putting this beforeFilter method on the top of the second controller. Now, randomly I'll get no permission. Sometimes, when I'm on the main project that links to this CakePhp project, I click that link, I get no permission right off the bat.
I found this page: cakephp takes me to login page on multiple request and have tried to set the session details like this:
Configure::write('Session', array(
'defaults' => 'php',
'timeout' => '300' // <- added this element
));
And I have tried:
Configure::write('Session.timeout', '300');
Additionally, I have tried cookieTimeout in both of those cases.
I've also tried
Configure::write('Security.level', 'low');
and included
Configure::write('Session.autoRegenerate', true);
In any order, any of these cause the session to bomb out immediately. I get "No permission on page load, and never get anywhere.
The code for this project is honestly crap. The developer who wrote it had mistakes and errors all over the place. On top of that, we are a Laravel shop. We are just trying to keep the project limping along until sometime in the future when we can nuke it from orbit. So we just need to get this working. Any thoughts on what could be causing this? Any other details I am forgetting to include that would help troubleshoot this issue?
Thanks

Answer 1

Reading & writing session data
You can read values from the session using Set::classicExtract() compatible syntax:
CakeSession::read('Config.language');
$key should be the dot separated path you wish to write $value to:
CakeSession::write('Config.language', 'eng');
When you need to delete data from the session, you can use delete:
CakeSession::delete('Config.language');
You should also see the documentation on Sessions and SessionHelper for how to access Session data in the controller and view.