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Proxy Interception: fix or stop focus stealing on Linux

Jon | Last updated: May 29, 2018 07:15PM UTC

On Windows this doesn't work horribly, although in general, I really dislike windows stealing focus unexpectedly. On Linux, though, this is handled extremely poorly. What ends up happening is that the focus gets stolen, but the Burp window doesn't get raised to the foreground. You have to click on another foreground window, then back to Burp in order for the window to come to the foreground; you can't even just click on Burp directly. Please fix this so that the focus is properly stolen and the window is raised to the foreground, or, preferably, stop trying to steal the focus in the first place (or add a program option so it can be turned off). Ubuntu 18.04 (+ all previous I've tried) on the default window manager.

PortSwigger Agent | Last updated: May 31, 2018 08:19AM UTC

Hi Jon, Thanks for getting in touch. I do understand your concerns with focus stealing in general, although I think Intercept is one example where its use is reasonable: an action in the browser causes another application (Burp) to immediately need attention. Personally I use Intercept very little; I prefer to review the Proxy History, and use Repeater to issue modified requests. I just tried on Ubuntu 17 (didn't have 18 to hand) and I don't see the same behavior. If I request something in the browser while intercept is on, Burp is highlighted in the task switcher, then I can switch to it without problems. Making this configurable sounds quite sensible. Just now you're the only person who's asked for it, but if a few people ask for the same we'll look into it. Please let us know if you need any further assistance.

Burp User | Last updated: Dec 12, 2018 05:42PM UTC

I have the exact same problem. I have intercept turned off, and use burp during development. As I'm programming, the burp window steals focus, but does not come to the foreground, and steals all the input meant for my text editor. Usually this means I'm messing up the data in the repeater that I'm testing with. Usually it takes me a few seconds to realize what is going on. It is extremely annoying. I'm using Ubuntu 18.04 and Burp Pro 2.0.13 beta.

PortSwigger Agent | Last updated: Dec 13, 2018 10:32AM UTC

Thanks for following up on this. I now understand your issue - stealing of keyboard focus. I can't see a way we can avoid this using Swing, but we could offer an option to disable this behavior. I've added this to the development plan; we'll let you know when we make progress.

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