I have an Angular.js application and I am trying to implement authentication to my PHP backend using a JWT.
I have the app setup to set the token on login and send the token with every request if it exits. I was following the information here, though it is for Node.js not PHP: https://auth0.com/blog/2014/01/07/angularjs-authentication-with-cookies-vs-token/.
The information there was extremely helpful, but I do not understand why the token should be in the Authorization header with the text 'Bearer ' before the token. Could I just put the token there without 'Bearer '? Is there a recommended method for where the token should go in the request?
My other issue is where to store the token on the front end. The website recommended using $window.sessionStorage which doesn't seem to work well for my case because it seems to prevent someone from using multiple tabs which isn't very intuitive.
My question really comes down to:
Where do I put the token in the request header?
How should I store the token on the front end?
The use of the Bearer keyword is recommended in the RFC6750 - section Authorization Request Header Field:
Clients SHOULD make authenticated requests with a bearer token using
the "Authorization" request header field with the "Bearer" HTTP
authorization scheme. Resource servers MUST support this method
The libraries I've been working with always require it before the token itself. So the request header should be as follows:
Authorization: Bearer your_token
Regarding the storage I have seen it in $window.sessionStorage too
Related
I have one basic question while porting my tool running in one environment (env1) to another one (env2). We used csrf token for authorization in env1, but as long as I know, it doesn't be used in env2. I fixed it by adding bearer token in the header every request in env2. Because we use oAuth and bearer token and add it also in mod header in chrome. So I just tried to add this bearer in the request header, and it worked.
What I'd like to know is that what is the advantages to use bearer token and add it in mod header?
I think it is quite complex.
Thanks
That is the JWT standar, you need to send Bearer Token in http header
in other case the endpoint won't find the token
about advantages:
you have many data in token, you can decode here: https://jwt.io/
is the most common way to create authentications
JWT can be secure, that depend How you configure in frontend and backend, there are many variants
I stored jwt in a http only cookie. I can access it automatically in java controller classes as it gets included in the request. However, I can't find a way to get the token for JavaScript ajax in order to post a request to the APIs. Those APIs require the token in authorization header. Am I doing it the wrong way?
The whole point to set a cookie as http-only so that it can not be assessed by client-side javascript. If you want the token to be included in the header from the client-side request
you can set the header Authorization: Bearer 'your token goes here'
In a C# API it is possible to request a token on behalf of another client by providing a 'UserAssertion' token provider. How can this be achieved in a Nodejs application using adal-node?
ADAL Node does not support the on-behalf-of flow. There's an active request to support this in ADAL Node, I'd recommend adding more information about the scenario you're trying to implement to that request.
There's nothing preventing it from being technically possible, and the token service endpoints are well-documented. You'll need to take the incoming access token, and post it to the service, here's an example.
> POST /oauth2/token HTTP/1.1 Host: login.microsoftonline.com
> Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
>
> grant_type=urn%3Aietf%3Aparams%3Aoauth%3Agrant-type%3Ajwt-bearer
> &client_id=625391af-c675-43e5-8e44-edd3e30ceb15
> &client_secret=0Y1W%2BY3yYb3d9N8vSjvm8WrGzVZaAaHbHHcGbcgG%2BoI%3D
> &resource=https%3A%2F%2Fgraph.windows.net
> &assertion=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsIng1dCI6InowMzl6ZHNGdWl6cEJmQlZLMVRuMjVRSFlPMCIsImtpZCI6InowMzl6ZHNGdWl6cEJmQlZLMVRuMjVRSFlPMCJ9.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.R-Ke-XO7lK0r5uLwxB8g5CrcPAwRln5SccJCfEjU6IUqpqcjWcDzeDdNOySiVPDU_ZU5knJmzRCF8fcjFtPsaA4R7vdIEbDuOur15FXSvE8FvVSjP_49OH6hBYqoSUAslN3FMfbO6Z8YfCIY4tSOB2I6ahQ_x4ZWFWglC3w5mK-_4iX81bqi95eV4RUKefUuHhQDXtWhrSgIEC0YiluMvA4TnaJdLq_tWXIc4_Tq_KfpkvI004ONKgU7EAMEr1wZ4aDcJV2yf22gQ1sCSig6EGSTmmzDuEPsYiyd4NhidRZJP4HiiQh-hePBQsgcSgYGvz9wC6n57ufYKh2wm_Ti3Q
> &requested_token_use=on_behalf_of &scope=openid
The app will then (on success) receive the following info back.
{
"token_type":"Bearer",
"scope":"User.Read",
"expires_in":"43482",
"ext_expires_in":"302683",
"expires_on":"1493466951",
"not_before":"1493423168",
"resource":"https://graph.windows.net",
"access_token":"eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsIng1dCI6InowMzl6ZHNGdWl6cEJmQlZLMVRuMjVRSFlPMCIsImtpZCI6InowMzl6ZHNGdWl6cEJmQlZLMVRuMjVRSFlPMCJ9.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.cqmUVjfVbqWsxJLUI1Z4FRx1mNQAHP-L0F4EMN09r8FY9bIKeO-0q1eTdP11Nkj_k4BmtaZsTcK_mUygdMqEp9AfyVyA1HYvokcgGCW_Z6DMlVGqlIU4ssEkL9abgl1REHElPhpwBFFBBenOk9iHddD1GddTn6vJbKC3qAaNM5VarjSPu50bVvCrqKNvFixTb5bbdnSz-Qr6n6ACiEimiI1aNOPR2DeKUyWBPaQcU5EAK0ef5IsVJC1yaYDlAcUYIILMDLCD9ebjsy0t9pj_7lvjzUSrbMdSCCdzCqez_MSNxrk1Nu9AecugkBYp3UVUZOIyythVrj6-sVvLZKUutQ",
"refresh_token":"AQABAAAAAABnfiG-mA6NTae7CdWW7QfdjKGu9-t1scy_TDEmLi4eLQMjJGt_nAoVu6A4oSu1KsRiz8XyQIPKQxSGfbf2FoSK-hm2K8TYzbJuswYusQpJaHUQnSqEvdaCeFuqXHBv84wjFhuanzF9dQZB_Ng5za9xKlUENrNtlq9XuLNVKzxEyeUM7JyxzdY7JiEphWImwgOYf6II316d0Z6-H3oYsFezf4Xsjz-MOBYEov0P64UaB5nJMvDyApV-NWpgklLASfNoSPGb67Bc02aFRZrm4kLk-xTl6eKE6hSo0XU2z2t70stFJDxvNQobnvNHrAmBaHWPAcC3FGwFnBOojpZB2tzG1gLEbmdROVDp8kHEYAwnRK947Py12fJNKExUdN0njmXrKxNZ_fEM33LHW1Tf4kMX_GvNmbWHtBnIyG0w5emb-b54ef5AwV5_tGUeivTCCysgucEc-S7G8Cz0xNJ_BOiM_4bAv9iFmrm9STkltpz0-Tftg8WKmaJiC0xXj6uTf4ZkX79mJJIuuM7XP4ARIcLpkktyg2Iym9jcZqymRkGH2Rm9sxBwC4eeZXM7M5a7TJ-5CqOdfuE3sBPq40RdEWMFLcrAzFvP0VDR8NKHIrPR1AcUruat9DETmTNJukdlJN3O41nWdZOVoJM-uKN3uz2wQ2Ld1z0Mb9_6YfMox9KTJNzRzcL52r4V_y3kB6ekaOZ9wQ3HxGBQ4zFt-2U0mSszIAA",
"id_token":"eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJub25lIn0.eyJhdWQiOiI2MjUzOTFhZi1jNjc1LTQzZTUtOGU0NC1lZGQzZTMwY2ViMTUiLCJpc3MiOiJodHRwczovL3N0cy53aW5kb3dzLm5ldC8yNjAzOWNjZS00ODlkLTQwMDItODI5My01YjBjNTEzNGVhY2IvIiwiaWF0IjoxNDkzNDIzMTY4LCJuYmYiOjE0OTM0MjMxNjgsImV4cCI6MTQ5MzQ2Njk1MSwiYW1yIjpbInB3ZCJdLCJmYW1pbHlfbmFtZSI6IlRlc3QiLCJnaXZlbl9uYW1lIjoiTmF2eWEiLCJpcGFkZHIiOiIxNjcuMjIwLjEuMTc3IiwibmFtZSI6Ik5hdnlhIFRlc3QiLCJvaWQiOiIxY2Q0YmNhYy1iODA4LTQyM2EtOWUyZi04MjdmYmIxYmI3MzkiLCJwbGF0ZiI6IjMiLCJzdWIiOiJEVXpYbkdKMDJIUk0zRW5pbDFxdjZCakxTNUllQy0tQ2ZpbzRxS1MzNEc4IiwidGlkIjoiMjYwMzljY2UtNDg5ZC00MDAyLTgyOTMtNWIwYzUxMzRlYWNiIiwidW5pcXVlX25hbWUiOiJuYXZ5YUBkZG9iYWxpYW5vdXRsb29rLm9ubWljcm9zb2Z0LmNvbSIsInVwbiI6Im5hdnlhQGRkb2JhbGlhbm91dGxvb2sub25taWNyb3NvZnQuY29tIiwidXRpIjoieEN3ZnpoYS1QMFdKUU9MeENHZ0tBQSIsInZlciI6IjEuMCJ9."
}
You can then extract the access_token and use it against resource in a bearer request. You'll also want to track the access_token expiration so you can use the refresh_token for renewal.
If you do want to implement in manually, here's the on-behalf-of reference documentation. I recommend checking out the possible errors as well so the app can handle multi-factor auth and conditional access challenges.
I'm a bit frustrated with managing my JWT token during login, submits and redirects. Before I get started here's my technology stack just in case:
JQuery/Html -> Node.Js -> Java Restful Services -> MySQL.
My java Restful services manages creating the JWT Token returning it to the Node.js layer which decides what to do with it and pass it on the the client. This all works wonderfully.
To get the JWT token I'm making an ajax based authentication request to the Node middle tier, which authenticates and returns the token which is summarily crammed into localstorage on the client.
Now I have no desire what so ever to make the entire site load off a single page through ajax, it's a complex site and doing that is just dumb! I need to forward and navigate to sub pages while carrying along the JWT token.
Here's the question (finally)... How do send along the JWT token to the middle tier (node.js) without attaching it as a request or post parameter because that's a big no no? I can't seem to find a way to stuff it in the header associated with Bearer.
You need to store the token at client side using for example a cookie or localStorage
Ajax requests
Cookies: A cookie is sent automatically when making a request to the server, so you do not need to add a specific header
LocalStorage:It is needed to provide the token in each request using an HTTP header.
For example
POST /authenticatedService
Host: example.com
Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiIxMjM0NTY3ODkwIiwibmFtZSI6IkpvaG4gRG9lIiwiYWRtaW4iOnRydWV9.TJVA95OrM7E2cBab30RMHrHDcEfxjoYZgeFONFh7HgQ
This is an example code to show how to execute an ajax POST request using jquery
$.ajax({
type: "POST", //GET, POST, PUT
url: '/authenticatedService' //the url to call
data: yourData, //Data sent to server
contentType: contentType,
beforeSend: function (xhr) { //Include the bearer token in header
xhr.setRequestHeader("Authorization", 'Bearer '+ jwt);
}
}).done(function (response) {
//Response ok. process reuslt
}).fail(function (err) {
//Error during request
});
Form submit
With a form submission you can not control the headers set by browser, so it is not possible to set the Authorization header with a Bearer token. In this case you can
Cookie: store the JWT in a cookie that will be sent with the form data. You will need to add extra security to avoid CSRF attachs
Form param: The JWT is stored in a hidden field of the form.
Use always POST (not GET) to avoid cache of JWT
Link
A link executes a GET request. You could build the link adding the JWT as a query param url?jwt=...
But, consider in this case the security risks. Browser can cache the url and it will be present in logs. An attacker could potentially obtain them if he has access. Also the user could copy the link and use it outside your web application (e.g send it by email...)
If you use cookies, the token will be automatically sent to the server by clicking on the link, but this will only work if the user is authenticated. In this case be aware of CSRF vulnerabilities
Your only option is to store the token in a cookie if you don't want to do anything suggested above. You can't set http headers in links.
I am working on a simple website using jwt. (node.js, koa.js)
Most example codes including expressjs, I cannot find the client-side example
about how to deal with jwt sent from a server.
Only one example (https://github.com/auth0-blog/cookie-jwt-auth) showed me that
[index.html]
... script src="app.js...
[app.js]
$.ajax({
type: 'POST',
url: 'http://localhost:3001/secured/authorize-cookie',
data: {
token: token
},
headers: {
'Authorization' : 'Bearer ' + token
}
After I read this example, I felt that I should have some scripts for users to send an authorization header with jwt. Is it right?
Or are there some front-end frameworks that deal with authorization header?
Thank you for reading newbie'q question.
Yes, you will need to define a mechanism for sending the user's JWT back to the server. It's up to you to decide where the JWT will live in the request -- the most common places are in the Authorization header, or by setting a cookie on the browser (which will be sent along with every HTTP request). You should also consider whether you want the JWT to persist across sessions / page reloads (using for example document.cookie or localStorage).
If you choose not to use the cookie approach, you can configure all $.ajax requests to set your Authorization header "pre-flight" using $.ajaxSetup({...}) (but this is a bit of a sledge-hammer approach). Manually setting the Authorization header on each individual $.ajax request, as you've demonstrated above, is a good option too.
If you want to skip headers all together, you can send the JWT inside the body of your request (as JSON, for example).