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Securing Jitsi Meet Against Unauthorized WebRTC Meeting Access Through Real-Time Session and Access-Control Monitoring

Description

Modern organizations increasingly use WebRTC-based real-time communication for video conferencing, audio communication, screen sharing, and collaborative meetings. WebRTC enables real-time communication between participants through browser-based applications. These applications depend on authentication, meeting access controls, session management, signaling services, and network communication to establish and maintain secure sessions.

Improper meeting-access controls can create a security risk when unauthorized users are able to access protected real-time communication sessions.

In this use case, Jitsi Meet is deployed as the controlled real-time communication application on an Ubuntu Linux virtual machine inside an isolated VirtualBox laboratory. A controlled meeting is created using laboratory test accounts. An authorized participant is allowed to access the meeting, while an unauthorized test account is used to perform a controlled meeting-access assessment.

OWASP ZAP is used to inspect the web application and session-related traffic. Wireshark is used to analyze network communication associated with the controlled WebRTC sessions. Wazuh is used for security monitoring, while OpenSearch is used for centralized investigation.

The security assessment determines whether Jitsi Meet correctly enforces meeting-access controls and prevents unauthorized users from accessing protected real-time communication sessions.

After identifying the access-control weakness, the meeting configuration is remediated and the same controlled access test is repeated to verify that unauthorized access is prevented while legitimate users continue to access the meeting.

Existing Security Problem

Application: Jitsi Meet

Jitsi Meet is the real open-source WebRTC application used in this project. The application is deployed locally on Ubuntu Linux.

Existing Problem:

A WebRTC-based meeting should be accessible only to authorized participants. If meeting-access controls are incorrectly configured, an unauthorized user may attempt to enter a protected meeting or interact with an active communication session.

The security problem is therefore:

Protected Jitsi Meet Session → Meeting Access Control → Improper Configuration → Unauthorized User → Meeting Access Attempt → Unauthorized Session Access

Attack

Specific Attack: Unauthorized WebRTC Meeting Access

The controlled attack scenario evaluates whether an unauthorized laboratory user can access a protected Jitsi Meet meeting. The assessment is performed only against the locally deployed Jitsi Meet environment.

Attack Behavior:
Jitsi Meet
→
Protected Test Meeting
→
Authorized Participant
→
Active WebRTC Session
→
Unauthorized Test User
→
Controlled Meeting-Access Attempt
→
Access-Control Decision
→
Unauthorized Access
→
Security Monitoring
→
Investigation
→
Access-Control Remediation
→
Retesting
→
Unauthorized Access Prevented

Security Concept

WebRTC Session Security and Access Control:

The primary security concept is secure real-time communication session management.

Jitsi Meet meetings containing sensitive business discussions or information should be protected against unauthorized participants. The security mechanism evaluates authentication, meeting-access requests, authorization decisions, session establishment, and real-time communication activity.

The secure processing flow is:

User
→
Authentication
→
Meeting Access Request
→
Authorization Validation
→
WebRTC Session Establishment
→
Real-Time Communication

Defensive Mechanism

Meeting Authentication

Require appropriate authentication before allowing access to protected meetings.

Purpose

Prevent unidentified users from entering protected sessions.

Meeting Access Control

Restrict meeting participation to authorized users.

Purpose

Prevent unauthorized participants from joining protected meetings.

Secure Meeting Configuration

Configure Jitsi Meet meetings with appropriate access restrictions.

Purpose

Reduce accidental exposure of real-time communication sessions.

Session Management

Monitor participant and meeting-session activity.

Purpose

Identify unexpected session behavior.

Secure WebRTC Communication

Ensure WebRTC communication uses the secure communication mechanisms supported by the Jitsi Meet deployment.

Purpose

Protect real-time communication sessions.

Security Monitoring

Monitor relevant Jitsi Meet and Ubuntu activity.

Purpose

Detect suspicious meeting-access behavior.

Network Traffic Analysis

Analyze controlled WebRTC network traffic.

Purpose

Understand normal and abnormal communication behavior.

Centralized Investigation

Use Wazuh and OpenSearch to investigate security events.

Purpose

Establish the activity timeline and support incident analysis.

Access-Control Remediation

Strengthen meeting-access restrictions when weaknesses are identified.

Purpose

Prevent unauthorized meeting participation.

Post-Remediation Validation

Repeat the original controlled access test after remediation.

Purpose

Confirm that the implemented controls are effective.

Security Tools

Target Application: Jitsi Meet

Jitsi Meet is the real open-source WebRTC application used in the project.

Purpose
  • Create real-time meetings.
  • Establish WebRTC sessions.
  • Manage participants.
  • Provide video and audio communication.
  • Demonstrate real-time communication security.

Web Application Security Testing Tool: OWASP ZAP

OWASP ZAP is used to inspect the Jitsi Meet web application and relevant application traffic.

Purpose
  • Inspect HTTP/HTTPS traffic.
  • Analyze authentication-related behavior.
  • Review session-related requests.
  • Analyze application behavior.
  • Support controlled access-control testing.

Network Analysis Tool: Wireshark

Wireshark is used to analyze controlled WebRTC network communication.

Purpose
  • Capture laboratory traffic.
  • Analyze WebRTC-related communication.
  • Observe connection behavior.
  • Compare authorized and unauthorized activity.
  • Support post-remediation validation.

Security Monitoring Tool: Wazuh

Wazuh is used for centralized security monitoring.

Purpose
  • Monitor Ubuntu activity.
  • Monitor relevant Jitsi Meet logs.
  • Collect security events.
  • Generate security alerts.
  • Support detection.

Investigation Platform: OpenSearch

OpenSearch is used to investigate security events collected through Wazuh.

Purpose
  • Search security events.
  • Review timestamps.
  • Correlate activity.
  • Investigate access attempts.
  • Establish an incident timeline.

Security Testing Platform: Kali Linux

Kali Linux is used as the authorized security-testing environment.

Purpose
  • Access the laboratory Jitsi Meet deployment.
  • Perform controlled meeting-access testing.
  • Run OWASP ZAP.
  • Capture traffic using Wireshark.
  • Validate remediation.

Target Platform: Ubuntu Linux

Ubuntu hosts the Jitsi Meet environment.

Purpose
  • Run Jitsi Meet.
  • Host supporting services.
  • Maintain application configuration.
  • Generate application and system activity.
  • Support security monitoring.

Virtualization Platform: VirtualBox

VirtualBox provides the isolated cybersecurity laboratory.

Purpose
  • Host Ubuntu.
  • Host Kali Linux.
  • Provide isolated networking.
  • Prevent interaction with production systems.

Process

STEP 01

Prepare the Isolated Laboratory

  • Install VirtualBox.
  • Create an Ubuntu virtual machine.
  • Create a Kali Linux virtual machine.
  • Configure an isolated virtual network.
  • Assign laboratory IP addresses.
  • Verify connectivity between the virtual machines.
  • Ensure the environment is isolated from production systems.
Tools: VirtualBox + Ubuntu + Kali Linux
STEP 02

Deploy Jitsi Meet

  • Install Jitsi Meet on Ubuntu.
  • Configure the required Jitsi components.
  • Start the Jitsi Meet services.
  • Verify that the web interface is accessible.
  • Access Jitsi Meet from Kali Linux.
  • Confirm that normal meeting functionality works.
Tools: Jitsi Meet
STEP 03

Establish the Normal WebRTC Session

  • Create a controlled test meeting.
  • Join the meeting using an authorized test account.
  • Verify audio communication.
  • Verify video communication.
  • Verify participant functionality.
  • Record the normal meeting behavior.
Tools: Jitsi Meet
STEP 04

Configure Controlled Test Users

  • Create an authorized laboratory test identity.
  • Create an unauthorized laboratory test identity.
  • Assign appropriate access conditions.
  • Verify authorized meeting access.
  • Verify unauthorized access restrictions.
Tools: Jitsi Meet
STEP 05

Configure the Protected Meeting

  • Create a protected test meeting.
  • Apply the required meeting-access restrictions.
  • Verify that the authorized user can access the meeting.
  • Verify that the unauthorized test user cannot access the meeting.
  • Record the baseline configuration.
Tools: Jitsi Meet
STEP 06

Capture Normal WebRTC Traffic

  • Start Wireshark on the controlled laboratory interface.
  • Join the meeting using the authorized account.
  • Generate normal WebRTC activity.
  • Capture the communication traffic.
  • Stop the packet capture.
  • Save the laboratory capture for comparison.
Tools: Wireshark + Jitsi Meet
STEP 07

Inspect Application Traffic

  • Configure OWASP ZAP for the laboratory Jitsi Meet traffic.
  • Access the Jitsi Meet application.
  • Capture relevant HTTP/HTTPS requests.
  • Identify session-related requests.
  • Review authentication-related behavior.
  • Establish the normal application traffic baseline.
Tools: OWASP ZAP
STEP 08

Introduce the Controlled Access-Control Weakness

  • Temporarily weaken the meeting-access configuration.
  • Record the original secure configuration.
  • Record the intentionally weakened configuration.
  • Verify the changed configuration.
  • Keep the environment isolated.
Tools: Jitsi Meet
STEP 09

Perform the Controlled Unauthorized Access Test

  • Attempt to access the protected meeting.
  • Record the access result.
  • Record the timestamp.
  • Observe the participant/session behavior.
  • Stop the test after sufficient evidence is collected.
Tools: Kali Linux + Jitsi Meet
STEP 10

Analyze the Network Activity

  • Capture the unauthorized access attempt using Wireshark.
  • Identify relevant network communication.
  • Compare the activity with the normal authorized session.
  • Document the observed behavior.
  • Preserve the laboratory evidence.
Tools: Wireshark
STEP 11

Analyze the Application Behavior

  • Review traffic generated during the unauthorized access attempt.
  • Identify relevant session-related requests.
  • Compare authorized and unauthorized application behavior.
  • Determine whether meeting access is correctly enforced.
  • Document the security finding.
Tools: OWASP ZAP
STEP 12

Configure Security Monitoring

  • Identify relevant Jitsi Meet and Ubuntu logs.
  • Configure Wazuh monitoring.
  • Generate controlled meeting activity.
  • Generate the controlled unauthorized access attempt.
  • Verify that Wazuh receives relevant security telemetry.
  • Review the collected events.
Tools: Wazuh
STEP 13

Detect the Security Event

  • Review Wazuh events.
  • Identify relevant unauthorized test activity where observable.
  • Review the event timestamp.
  • Identify the affected Ubuntu system.
  • Correlate related security events.
  • Preserve the evidence.
Tools: Wazuh
STEP 14

Investigate the Activity

  • Open the relevant Wazuh events in OpenSearch.
  • Search for Jitsi Meet-related activity.
  • Review timestamps.
  • Correlate application and system events.
  • Establish the sequence of the access attempt.
  • Document the incident timeline.
Tools: Wazuh + OpenSearch
STEP 15

Assess the Security Risk

  • Evaluate meeting-access configuration.
  • Evaluate authentication requirements.
  • Evaluate participant authorization.
  • Evaluate unauthorized access behavior.
  • Evaluate session activity.
  • Evaluate potential confidentiality impact.
  • Evaluate monitoring visibility.
  • Evaluate remediation requirements.
  • Document the security finding and assign an appropriate risk level.
Tools: Jitsi Meet + OWASP ZAP + Wireshark + Wazuh + OpenSearch
STEP 16

Remediate Meeting Access Controls

  • Restore the protected meeting configuration.
  • Apply the required authentication/access restrictions.
  • Restrict access to authorized participants.
  • Remove the intentionally weakened configuration.
  • Verify the corrected configuration.
  • Record the remediation.
Tools: Jitsi Meet
STEP 17

Retest Unauthorized and Authorized Access

  • Unauthorized Access Retest: Use the unauthorized test account.
  • Attempt to access the protected meeting.
  • Verify that access is denied.
  • Record the result.
  • Authorized Access Retest: Use the authorized test account.
  • Access the protected meeting.
  • Verify that the legitimate participant can join.
  • Verify normal WebRTC functionality.
Tools: Kali Linux + Jitsi Meet
STEP 18

Perform Final Security Validation

  • Review the original meeting configuration.
  • Review the controlled access-test evidence.
  • Review OWASP ZAP results.
  • Review Wireshark traffic analysis.
  • Review Wazuh security events.
  • Review OpenSearch investigation results.
  • Verify the corrected meeting-access configuration.
  • Confirm unauthorized access is prevented.
  • Confirm authorized WebRTC communication continues to function.
  • Document the final Emerging Technology Security assessment.
Tools: Jitsi Meet + OWASP ZAP + Wireshark + Wazuh + OpenSearch + Kali Linux

Outcome

  1. Jitsi Meet is successfully deployed as a real open-source WebRTC application on Ubuntu Linux within an isolated VirtualBox environment.
  2. A controlled WebRTC meeting environment is successfully established using authorized and unauthorized laboratory test users.
  3. A controlled unauthorized WebRTC meeting-access scenario is successfully simulated against the protected Jitsi Meet environment.
  4. OWASP ZAP successfully provides application-layer visibility into relevant Jitsi Meet web and session-related traffic during the security assessment.
  5. Wireshark successfully captures and analyzes WebRTC-related network communication during authorized and unauthorized access testing.
  6. Wazuh successfully monitors relevant Jitsi Meet and Ubuntu security activity and provides security-event visibility.
  7. OpenSearch successfully supports centralized investigation and correlation of monitored security events to establish the access-attempt timeline.
  8. The identified meeting-access weakness is remediated by strengthening Jitsi Meet authentication and access-control configuration.
  9. Post-remediation testing confirms that unauthorized users are prevented from accessing the protected meeting, while authorized users can continue to access legitimate WebRTC sessions.
  10. The complete WebRTC security assessment, unauthorized access simulation, detection, investigation, access-control remediation, and post-remediation validation is successfully demonstrated as an Emerging Technology Security use case.
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