What is the difference between default access token and json web token - asp.net

I am building a website and I am using asp.net web api 2 with Identity framework and Oauth for Authorization .
I would like to know the differences between default web token and json web token (JWT) and in which cases we use each one?

JSON Web Token (JWT) [JWT] is a JSON-based [RFC7159] security token
encoding that enables identity and security information to be shared
across security domains. A security token is generally issued by an
Identity Provider and consumed by a Relying Party that relies on its
content to identify the token's subject for security-related
purposes.
The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework [RFC6749] provides a method for
making authenticated HTTP requests to a resource using an access
token. Access tokens are issued to third-party clients by an
authorization server (AS) with the (sometimes implicit) approval of
the resource owner. In OAuth, an authorization grant is an abstract
term used to describe intermediate credentials that represent the
resource owner authorization. An authorization grant is used by the
client to obtain an access token. Several authorization grant types
are defined to support a wide range of client types and user
experiences. OAuth also allows for the definition of new extension
grant types to support additional clients or to provide a bridge
between OAuth and other trust frameworks. Finally, OAuth allows the
definition of additional authentication mechanisms to be used by
clients when interacting with the authorization server.
About default web access , i think it is only a general token.

Related

How to secure an API using OAuth Certificate Based Authentication

I have an web application made using servlet and I have an seperate API for the web application. I want to secure the API with OAuth so that when we use OAuth, a client certificate is sent instead of credentials to the authorization server for verification and after verification the access should be allowed to the API. Is there any ways to implement this authentication. If possible what are the steps should I do to achieve this?
Client certificate credentials can be used for confidential clients, in either the code flow or the client credentials flow. This type of solution is often used in financial grade setups, where high worth data is involved.
Access tokens issued then contain a cnf claim, so that every API call is bound to the strong credential used at the time of authentication. See the RFC8705 standard for further details.
For a worked end-to-end example that you can run locally, and which covers both the
backend and client behaviours, see this Curity code example. Not all authorization servers support these flows, so check for your provider.

Securing a SPA with Spring Boot, OAuth, and JWT?

I've been going through this tutorial which shows how to secure a single page application using several scenarios going from simple to our own Authorization Server that delegates authentication to a provider. The first scenario uses the Authorization Code Grant to log the user in.
Suppose we replace Facebook's OAuth Server with our own in this case and configure it to return a JWT token.
Which OAuth flow should the SPA use if it wants to use the JWT token to secure requests through an edge server that load balances between resources servers?
Also how should spring boot / spring security be configured if we want to use the JWT token to replace the replace the default JSESSION and CSRF support in spring? IIUC the JWT token can be used as a replacement to both of these features.
Update
Based on Manish's answer assuming we are using OAuth 2 implicit flow we:
Put the #EnableResourceServer annotation on the Resource Server
Use an OpenID Connect client to implement the implicity flow
So once this is done are POST request secure assuming each request includes the JWT token as a Bearer Header, or do we need to also configure CSRF?
It will depend on how much your application is sensitive to security but Implicit flow is recommended for pubic client (SPA).
Tutorial is based Authorization Code flow and if you will replace Facebook with your STS, it will still use Authorization Code flow because #EnableOAuth2Sso store the JWT token on server and send the cookie to browser and it also uses refresh token to get the new JWT token. It is a customize flow to implement the Authorization Code flow with public client (SPA) based on API gateway pattern.
To implement the implicit flow - Do not use the #EnableOAuth2Sso at server side, just expose the REST API and secure it with #EnableResourceServer. And you need to use the oidc-client to implement the implicit flow link is here https://github.com/IdentityModel/oidc-client-js
CSRF protection is only required if you will store JWT token or session identifier in the browser's cookie.

Oauth 2 token for Active Directory accounts

I have used Owin in the past to create a token endpoint in my Mvc Web Api projects to provide oauth 2.0 tokens with "Resource Owner Password Credentials" grant type where access token provider would check a database user table to verify the validity of the credentials supplied by the mobile client (multiplatform App developed with Visual studio tool for Cordova).
In this project, the Web Api will be consumed by a multiplatform Mobile app used by Active Directory Windows domain accounts
I would like to use Owin Oauth 2.0 to grant an Access Token to these users but I don't know how to check the validity of these credentials.
What I was thinking is to put the /token endpoint behind "basic authentication" and in the code of the Access Token Provider get the user from the Identity that, in case of authenticated used, should be automatically created by the Asp.net pipeline.
Is it something that could work?
Do you know any better idea to use Oauth 2.0 for AD Windows Accounts?
Note:
I'm also investigating if Active Directory is able to provide an Oauth 2.0 endpoint by itself.
Here is a pretty good walkthrough of how to use Active Directory Federation Services to obtain an OAuth2 token.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn633593.aspx.
You'll have to follow all the links at the bottom to get the entire walkthrough.
Note that it refers to using Windows Azure AD Authentication Library for .NET. But according to that documentation, that library is used for both Azure Active Directory and on premises Active Directory.
As for the workflow, once authenticated you'll be able to obtain and present a bearer token to your WebAPI. Your WebAPI then "validates the signature of the token to ensure it was issued by AD FS, checks to see if the token is still valid and hasn’t expired and may possibly also validate other claims in the token. At this point, the client is either authorized and the information they requested is sent in the response or they are unauthorized and no data will be sent." - https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn633593.aspx
You could use ADFS 3.0 on top of AD which would provide you with OAuth 2.0 Authorization Server functionality: http://blog.scottlogic.com/2015/03/09/OAUTH2-Authentication-with-ADFS-3.0.html
Putting the token endpoint behind "basic authentication" does not help you because you'd be authenticating the client on the token endpoint, not the user. You could put the authorization endpoint behind "basic authentication" though.

owin + oauth + bearer token authentication: full picture

I've read articles and seen example projects. I know owin allows to decouple application from web-server specific code, oauth allows third party clients to get access to application resources, and bearer token - client can get security token by login and password and use it as key for access to application resources.
I know that for simple cookie authentication using owin it's enough UseCookieAuthentication. But owin has this extensions: UseOAuthAuthorizationServer, UseOAuthBearerAuthentication, UseExternalCookieAuthentication, UseOAuthBearerAuthentication and I don't understand the full picture.
Could I use oauth without oauth bearer token (does it make sence)?
What are use cases for external cookie?
What are use cases for oauth (is it required only in case of client and server work in different domains using some api)?
What are use cases for oauth bearer token authentication?
Is it required oauth and bearer token authentication for web api only and for classic asp.net mvc applications it's no need?

Use claim token in ASMX WebService Request

I have an ASP.Net Web App which is secured using claims based authentication, currently the IP is Azure ACS, which in turn calls my domain's ADFS (but in theory it could be many different types, e,g, Google, Facebook etc.).
The Web App exposes an endpoint Service.asmx which is also secured using the claims authentication.
I found this blog post which shows me how to call an IP and return a Request Security Token Response containing my claims.
Once I have acquired this token, how can I use this Request Security Token Response in subsequent web-service calls to the service?
Can this be done using the proxy classes generated by adding a web-reference in VS / wsdl.exe?
No, ASMX does not have this ability. It is a legacy technology and should not be used for new development.

Resources