Browser Fingerprinting using Combinatorial Sequence Testing

Published

April 1, 2019

Author(s)

Bernhard Garn, Dimitris Simos, Stefan Zimmer, D. Richard Kuhn, Raghu N. Kacker

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an approach for browser fingerprinting using their behavior during the TLS 1.2 handshake with a server. Using combinatorial methods, we created test sets consisting of TLS server-side messages as sequences that are sent to the client as server responses during the TLS handshake. We created an appropriate abstract model of the TLS handshake protocol and used it to map browser behavior to a feature vector and use them to derive a distinguisher. We evaluate our approach with a case study showing that combinatorial properties have an impact on browsers' behavior.

Conference Dates

April 2-3, 2019

Conference Location

Nashville, TN, US

Conference Title

Hot Topics in the Science of Security

Pub Type

Conferences

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1145/3314058.3314062

Local Download

Keywords

combinatorial testing, security testing, browser fingerprinting

Citation

Garn, B. , Simos, D. , Zimmer, S. , Kuhn, D. and Kacker, R. (2019), Browser Fingerprinting using Combinatorial Sequence Testing, Hot Topics in the Science of Security, Nashville, TN, US, [online], https://doi.org/10.1145/3314058.3314062, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=927531 (Accessed October 20, 2025)