Issue with OTP when passwords being copied to clipboard

armz
armz
Community Member

Hey there,

I've recently migrated all my one time passwords to 1Password, and have noticed a pretty big issue when using copied passwords.

Here's an example use case that illustrates the problem : say I'm going to log into Origin, which is an application on my computer. I open up 1Password and copy my password to the clipboard, then paste it into Origin's password field. Then I go back to 1Password and copy the OTP and paste that into Origin's OTP field. I'm all logged into Origin, great. Except if I wait for 1Password to clear the clipboard, it ends up putting my password back into the clipboard. Clearly this is not ideal.

It's not a bug, because 1Password is doing what it's programmed to do. If I recall correctly, the way clearing the clipboard works is that 1Password actually saves what was in the clipboard just before copying anything into it, then replaces that same data into the clipboard to effectively erase one's username/password/OTP/etc. The problem with that implementation when using 1Password for OTPs, however, is that the thing that was in the clipboard immediately before copying the OTP was a password. So, when clearing clipboard kicks in, that password gets put back into the clipboard.

Perhaps you could change the way clearing clipboard functionality works? Maybe generate a junk random string and put that in there instead of replacing the previous information.

Hope this all makes sense to you. In case you're wondering, this issue only occurs when manually copying the password and then the OTP from 1Password, and doesn't happen when autofilling in a browser.


1Password Version: 7.1.567
Extension Version: 4.7.2.90
OS Version: Windows 10 Home with all latest updates
Sync Type: 1Password
Referrer: forum-search:otp copies password onto clipboard

Comments

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @armz: Thanks for getting in touch. Indeed, we've identified a similar edge case with clipboard restoration as well. The problem is that we don't want to be destroying what people have in their clipboards 99% of the time (give or take). That would cause a lot of trouble for users, so there's a way to workaround things like this now, and also other improvements looking to make in the future. For example, you could potentially use the "Type in window" feature (select the field you want to fill in the app, open 1Password mini, and right click to select the field and the app to fill it in), and in the future we'll be adding a full Auto-Type feature to make it possible to use 1Password to fill in apps in even more situations.

    However, what you're describing is not quite that. Technically, this is a bug: 1Password should only be restoring the clipboard contents after automatic TOTP copy. It sounds like you're copying it manually (but let me know if I'm mistaken). In that case, since you're knowingly overwriting what's in the clipboard, 1Password should leave it alone. The clipboard restoration is a failsafe when 1Password is doing so on its own. We don't yet have separate logic for handling TOTP copy differently depending on the context, but it's definitely on our radar. For now, setting a shorter time interval for 1Password to clear the clipboard may be helpful for you; that way you can let it clear first before copying again when you want that (e.g restoring the already-cleared clipboard). Thanks for bringing this up!

    ref: OPW-2051

  • armz
    armz
    Community Member

    Thanks for pointing out the "type in window" feature! I never even knew it existed, and it feels so much better/secure to use that than copying/pasting my password manually to the clipboard. I also followed your advice and lowered the clearing interval, and it's a good workaround for the issue.

    Thanks again!

  • Greg
    Greg
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @armz,

    On behalf of Brenty you are very welcome! :+1:

    Type in Window is only the beginning. We have plans to implement Auto-Type, the feature that would allow you to fill the credentials in Windows apps. No ETA at this point, I hope for your understanding.

    Please let us know if you have any other questions, we are always here for you.

    Have a great day!

    ++
    Greg

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