Passport.js cookie not persist so login auth doesn't work even though session has the passport - passport.js

Question

I'm using the passport.js local strategy.
I was testing it under proxy setting, localhost.
Things worked fine until I prepare to deploy.
I changed the API address to include dotenv and set CORS settings on the server-side.
When trying to login, CORS works fine, OPTIONS and the POST get 200 ok. The client receives the success data. cookie saved in client.
But when auth checking process runs right after Redux "isLoggedin" state is updated(useEffect), req.session doesn't
t have the passport object. So deserializeUser not be called. The session contains other cookie info except for Passport.
This one is only on Firefox(not Chrome): Page will be redirected if the login auth succeeded(it checks right after login redux state changed), but since it's failed, the user stays on the login page still. But if I try to login on the same page again, the cookie start to show the passport object.(in other words, it shows from 2nd attempt). But it doesn't persist because the Redux login state has been changed to true at the first login attempt already.(so Auth checking doesn't occur.)
client:
Axios.post(
`${process.env.REACT_APP_API_URI}/api/users/login`,
loginData,
{ withCredentials: true, }
).then((res) => res.data){
//save isLoggedin to true in Redux
}
// auth check logic starts right after changing isLoggedin. Axios Get to authenticateCheck
server.js
app.use(helmet());
// app.use(express.static('public'));
app.use("/uploads", express.static("uploads"));
// Passport configuration.
require("./utils/passport");
// connect to mongoDB
mongoose
.connect(db.mongoURI, {
useNewUrlParser: true,
useUnifiedTopology: true,
useCreateIndex: true,
useFindAndModify: false,
})
.then(() => console.log("mongoDB is connected."))
.catch((err) => console.log(err));
// CORS Middleware
const corsOptions = {
origin: "http://localhost:8000",
optionsSuccessStatus: 200, // some legacy browsers (IE11, various SmartTVs) choke on 204
credentials: true,
methods: ["POST", "GET", "DELETE", "PUT", "PATCH", "OPTIONS"],
allowedHeaders:
"Origin, X-Requested-With, X-AUTHENTICATION, X-IP, Content-Type, Accept, x-access-token",
};
// app.use(cors(corsOptions));
app.options(/\.*/, cors(corsOptions), function (req, res) {
return res.sendStatus(200);
});
app.all("*", cors(corsOptions), function (req, res, next) {
next();
});
// to get json data
// support parsing of application/json type post data
app.use(express.json());
app.use((req, res, next) => {
req.requestTime = new Date().toISOString();
next();
});
//support parsing of application/x-www-form-urlencoded post data
app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: true }));
app.use(cookieParser());
// db session store
const sessionStore = new MongoStore({
mongoUrl: db.mongoURI,
collection: "sessions",
});
// tell app to use cookie
app.use(
session({
secret: process.env.SESSION_SECRET_KEY,
resave: false,
saveUninitialized: false,
store: sessionStore,
cookie: {
httpOnly: true,
secure: false,
sameSite:"none",
maxAge: 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000, // 24 hours
//keys: [process.env.COOKIE_ENCRYPTION_KEY]
},
name: "pm-user",
})
);
// tell passport to make use of cookies to handle authentication
app.use(passport.initialize());
app.use(passport.session());
app.use(compression());
app.use(flash());
app.use((req, res, next) => {
console.log("req.session:", req.session);
// console.log('/////// req: ///////', req);
console.log("////// req.user: ", req.user, " //////");
next();
});
//---------------- END OF MIDDLEWARE ---------------------//
authController:
exports.authenticateCheck = (req, res, next) => {
console.log("req.isAuthenticated():", req.isAuthenticated());
if (req.isAuthenticated()) {
return next();
} else {
return res.json({
isAuth: false,
error: true,
});
}
};
It would be a really big help if you can advise me where to look to fix it.
Thanks.

Answer 1

I found the solution finally.
It was because the session was renewed every time when a new request starts other than a login request.
The solution was, I had to add { withCredentials: true } to every Axios option in my frontend.