Most Resource Server support is collected into `spring-security-oauth2-resource-server`.
However, the support for decoding and verifying JWTs is in `spring-security-oauth2-jose`, meaning that both are necessary in order to have a working resource server that supports JWT-encoded Bearer Tokens.
[[oauth2resourceserver-jwt-minimalconfiguration]]
== Minimal Configuration for JWTs
When using https://spring.io/projects/spring-boot[Spring Boot], configuring an application as a resource server consists of two basic steps.
First, include the needed dependencies and second, indicate the location of the authorization server.
=== Specifying the Authorization Server
In a Spring Boot application, to specify which authorization server to use, simply do:
[source,yml]
----
spring:
security:
oauth2:
resourceserver:
jwt:
issuer-uri: https://idp.example.com/issuer
----
Where `https://idp.example.com/issuer` is the value contained in the `iss` claim for JWT tokens that the authorization server will issue.
Resource Server will use this property to further self-configure, discover the authorization server's public keys, and subsequently validate incoming JWTs.
[NOTE]
To use the `issuer-uri` property, it must also be true that one of `https://idp.example.com/issuer/.well-known/openid-configuration`, `https://idp.example.com/.well-known/openid-configuration/issuer`, or `https://idp.example.com/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server/issuer` is a supported endpoint for the authorization server.
This endpoint is referred to as a https://openid.net/specs/openid-connect-discovery-1_0.html#ProviderConfig[Provider Configuration] endpoint or a https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8414#section-3[Authorization Server Metadata] endpoint.
And that's it!
=== Startup Expectations
When this property and these dependencies are used, Resource Server will automatically configure itself to validate JWT-encoded Bearer Tokens.
It achieves this through a deterministic startup process:
1. Query the Provider Configuration or Authorization Server Metadata endpoint for the `jwks_url` property
2. Query the `jwks_url` endpoint for supported algorithms
3. Configure the validation strategy to query `jwks_url` for valid public keys of the algorithms found
4. Configure the validation strategy to validate each JWTs `iss` claim against `https://idp.example.com`.
A consequence of this process is that the authorization server must be up and receiving requests in order for Resource Server to successfully start up.
[NOTE]
If the authorization server is down when Resource Server queries it (given appropriate timeouts), then startup will fail.
=== Runtime Expectations
Once the application is started up, Resource Server will attempt to process any request containing an `Authorization: Bearer` header:
[source,html]
----
GET / HTTP/1.1
Authorization: Bearer some-token-value # Resource Server will process this
----
So long as this scheme is indicated, Resource Server will attempt to process the request according to the Bearer Token specification.
Given a well-formed JWT, Resource Server will:
1. Validate its signature against a public key obtained from the `jwks_url` endpoint during startup and matched against the JWT
2. Validate the JWT's `exp` and `nbf` timestamps and the JWT's `iss` claim, and
3. Map each scope to an authority with the prefix `SCOPE_`.
[NOTE]
As the authorization server makes available new keys, Spring Security will automatically rotate the keys used to validate JWTs.
The resulting `Authentication#getPrincipal`, by default, is a Spring Security `Jwt` object, and `Authentication#getName` maps to the JWT's `sub` property, if one is present.
* <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-jwkseturi,How to Configure without tying Resource Server startup to an authorization server's availability>>
* <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-sansboot,How to Configure without Spring Boot>>
[[oauth2resourceserver-jwt-architecture]]
== How JWT Authentication Works
Next, let's see the architectural components that Spring Security uses to support https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7519[JWT] Authentication in servlet-based applications, like the one we just saw.
{security-api-url}org/springframework/security/oauth2/server/resource/authentication/JwtAuthenticationProvider.html[`JwtAuthenticationProvider`] is an xref:servlet/authentication/architecture.adoc#servlet-authentication-authenticationprovider[`AuthenticationProvider`] implementation that leverages a <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-decoder,`JwtDecoder`>> and <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-authorization-extraction,`JwtAuthenticationConverter`>> to authenticate a JWT.
Let's take a look at how `JwtAuthenticationProvider` works within Spring Security.
The figure explains details of how the xref:servlet/authentication/architecture.adoc#servlet-authentication-authenticationmanager[`AuthenticationManager`] in figures from <<oauth2resourceserver-authentication-bearertokenauthenticationfilter,Reading the Bearer Token>> works.
.`JwtAuthenticationProvider` Usage
image::{figures}/jwtauthenticationprovider.png[]
image:{icondir}/number_1.png[] The authentication `Filter` from <<oauth2resourceserver-authentication-bearertokenauthenticationfilter,Reading the Bearer Token>> passes a `BearerTokenAuthenticationToken` to the `AuthenticationManager` which is implemented by xref:servlet/authentication/architecture.adoc#servlet-authentication-providermanager[`ProviderManager`].
image:{icondir}/number_2.png[] The `ProviderManager` is configured to use an xref:servlet/authentication/architecture.adoc#servlet-authentication-authenticationprovider[AuthenticationProvider] of type `JwtAuthenticationProvider`.
image:{icondir}/number_3.png[] `JwtAuthenticationProvider` decodes, verifies, and validates the `Jwt` using a <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-decoder,`JwtDecoder`>>.
image:{icondir}/number_4.png[] `JwtAuthenticationProvider` then uses the <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-authorization-extraction,`JwtAuthenticationConverter`>> to convert the `Jwt` into a `Collection` of granted authorities.
image:{icondir}/number_5.png[] When authentication is successful, the xref:servlet/authentication/architecture.adoc#servlet-authentication-authentication[`Authentication`] that is returned is of type `JwtAuthenticationToken` and has a principal that is the `Jwt` returned by the configured `JwtDecoder`.
Ultimately, the returned `JwtAuthenticationToken` will be set on the xref:servlet/authentication/architecture.adoc#servlet-authentication-securitycontextholder[`SecurityContextHolder`] by the authentication `Filter`.
[[oauth2resourceserver-jwt-jwkseturi]]
== Specifying the Authorization Server JWK Set Uri Directly
If the authorization server doesn't support any configuration endpoints, or if Resource Server must be able to start up independently from the authorization server, then the `jwk-set-uri` can be supplied as well:
The first is a `SecurityFilterChain` that configures the app as a resource server. When including `spring-security-oauth2-jose`, this `SecurityFilterChain` looks like:
The above requires the scope of `message:read` for any URL that starts with `/messages/`.
Methods on the `oauth2ResourceServer` DSL will also override or replace auto configuration.
[[oauth2resourceserver-jwt-decoder]]
For example, the second `@Bean` Spring Boot creates is a `JwtDecoder`, which <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-architecture-jwtdecoder,decodes `String` tokens into validated instances of `Jwt`>>:
.JWT Decoder
====
.Java
[source,java,role="primary"]
----
@Bean
public JwtDecoder jwtDecoder() {
return JwtDecoders.fromIssuerLocation(issuerUri);
}
----
.Kotlin
[source,kotlin,role="secondary"]
----
@Bean
fun jwtDecoder(): JwtDecoder {
return JwtDecoders.fromIssuerLocation(issuerUri)
}
----
====
[NOTE]
Calling `{security-api-url}org/springframework/security/oauth2/jwt/JwtDecoders.html#fromIssuerLocation-java.lang.String-[JwtDecoders#fromIssuerLocation]` is what invokes the Provider Configuration or Authorization Server Metadata endpoint in order to derive the JWK Set Uri.
If the application doesn't expose a `JwtDecoder` bean, then Spring Boot will expose the above default one.
And its configuration can be overridden using `jwkSetUri()` or replaced using `decoder()`.
Or, if you're not using Spring Boot at all, then both of these components - the filter chain and a `JwtDecoder` can be specified in XML.
An authorization server's JWK Set Uri can be configured <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-jwkseturi,as a configuration property>> or it can be supplied in the DSL:
Using `jwkSetUri()` takes precedence over any configuration property.
[[oauth2resourceserver-jwt-decoder-dsl]]
=== Using `decoder()`
More powerful than `jwkSetUri()` is `decoder()`, which will completely replace any Boot auto configuration of <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-architecture-jwtdecoder,`JwtDecoder`>>:
This is handy when deeper configuration, like <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-validation,validation>>, <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-claimsetmapping,mapping>>, or <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-timeouts,request timeouts>>, is necessary.
[[oauth2resourceserver-jwt-decoder-bean]]
=== Exposing a `JwtDecoder` `@Bean`
Or, exposing a <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-architecture-jwtdecoder,`JwtDecoder`>> `@Bean` has the same effect as `decoder()`:
By default, `NimbusJwtDecoder`, and hence Resource Server, will only trust and verify tokens using `RS256`.
You can customize this via <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-boot-algorithm,Spring Boot>>, <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-decoder-builder,the NimbusJwtDecoder builder>>, or from the <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-decoder-jwk-response,JWK Set response>>.
[[oauth2resourceserver-jwt-boot-algorithm]]
=== Via Spring Boot
The simplest way to set the algorithm is as a property:
val jwsKeySelector: JWSKeySelector<SecurityContext> = JWSAlgorithmFamilyJWSKeySelector.fromJWKSetURL<SecurityContext>(this.jwkSetUrl)
val jwtProcessor: DefaultJWTProcessor<SecurityContext> = DefaultJWTProcessor()
jwtProcessor.jwsKeySelector = jwsKeySelector
return NimbusJwtDecoder(jwtProcessor)
}
----
====
[[oauth2resourceserver-jwt-decoder-public-key]]
== Trusting a Single Asymmetric Key
Simpler than backing a Resource Server with a JWK Set endpoint is to hard-code an RSA public key.
The public key can be provided via <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-decoder-public-key-boot,Spring Boot>> or by <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-decoder-public-key-builder,Using a Builder>>.
A JWT that is issued from an OAuth 2.0 Authorization Server will typically either have a `scope` or `scp` attribute, indicating the scopes (or authorities) it's been granted, for example:
`{ ..., "scope" : "messages contacts"}`
When this is the case, Resource Server will attempt to coerce these scopes into a list of granted authorities, prefixing each scope with the string "SCOPE_".
This means that to protect an endpoint or method with a scope derived from a JWT, the corresponding expressions should include this prefix:
However, there are a number of circumstances where this default is insufficient.
For example, some authorization servers don't use the `scope` attribute, but instead have their own custom attribute.
Or, at other times, the resource server may need to adapt the attribute or a composition of attributes into internalized authorities.
To this end, Spring Security ships with `JwtAuthenticationConverter`, which is responsible for <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-architecture-jwtauthenticationconverter,converting a `Jwt` into an `Authentication`>>.
By default, Spring Security will wire the `JwtAuthenticationProvider` with a default instance of `JwtAuthenticationConverter`.
As part of configuring a `JwtAuthenticationConverter`, you can supply a subsidiary converter to go from `Jwt` to a `Collection` of granted authorities.
Let's say that that your authorization server communicates authorities in a custom claim called `authorities`.
In that case, you can configure the claim that <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-architecture-jwtauthenticationconverter,`JwtAuthenticationConverter`>> should inspect, like so:
.Authorities Claim Configuration
====
.Java
[source,java,role="primary"]
----
@Bean
public JwtAuthenticationConverter jwtAuthenticationConverter() {
JwtGrantedAuthoritiesConverter grantedAuthoritiesConverter = new JwtGrantedAuthoritiesConverter();
Using <<oauth2resourceserver-jwt-minimalconfiguration,minimal Spring Boot configuration>>, indicating the authorization server's issuer uri, Resource Server will default to verifying the `iss` claim as well as the `exp` and `nbf` timestamp claims.
In circumstances where validation needs to be customized, Resource Server ships with two standard validators and also accepts custom `OAuth2TokenValidator` instances.
[[oauth2resourceserver-jwt-validation-clockskew]]
=== Customizing Timestamp Validation
JWT's typically have a window of validity, with the start of the window indicated in the `nbf` claim and the end indicated in the `exp` claim.
However, every server can experience clock drift, which can cause tokens to appear expired to one server, but not to another.
This can cause some implementation heartburn as the number of collaborating servers increases in a distributed system.
Resource Server uses `JwtTimestampValidator` to verify a token's validity window, and it can be configured with a `clockSkew` to alleviate the above problem:
====
.Java
[source,java,role="primary"]
----
@Bean
JwtDecoder jwtDecoder() {
NimbusJwtDecoder jwtDecoder = (NimbusJwtDecoder)
JwtDecoders.fromIssuerLocation(issuerUri);
OAuth2TokenValidator<Jwt> withClockSkew = new DelegatingOAuth2TokenValidator<>(
new JwtTimestampValidator(Duration.ofSeconds(60)),
new JwtIssuerValidator(issuerUri));
jwtDecoder.setJwtValidator(withClockSkew);
return jwtDecoder;
}
----
.Kotlin
[source,kotlin,role="secondary"]
----
@Bean
fun jwtDecoder(): JwtDecoder {
val jwtDecoder: NimbusJwtDecoder = JwtDecoders.fromIssuerLocation(issuerUri) as NimbusJwtDecoder
val withClockSkew: OAuth2TokenValidator<Jwt> = DelegatingOAuth2TokenValidator(
JwtTimestampValidator(Duration.ofSeconds(60)),
JwtIssuerValidator(issuerUri))
jwtDecoder.setJwtValidator(withClockSkew)
return jwtDecoder
}
----
====
[NOTE]
By default, Resource Server configures a clock skew of 60 seconds.
[[oauth2resourceserver-jwt-validation-custom]]
=== Configuring a Custom Validator
Adding a check for the `aud` claim is simple with the `OAuth2TokenValidator` API:
====
.Java
[source,java,role="primary"]
----
OAuth2TokenValidator<Jwt> audienceValidator() {
return new JwtClaimValidator<List<String>>(AUD, aud -> aud.contains("messaging"));
}
----
.Kotlin
[source,kotlin,role="secondary"]
----
fun audienceValidator(): OAuth2TokenValidator<Jwt?> {
In more sophisticated scenarios, like consulting multiple claims at once or renaming a claim, Resource Server accepts any class that implements `Converter<Map<String, Object>, Map<String,Object>>`:
====
.Java
[source,java,role="primary"]
----
public class UsernameSubClaimAdapter implements Converter<Map<String, Object>, Map<String, Object>> {
private final MappedJwtClaimSetConverter delegate =
Also by default, Resource Server caches in-memory the authorization server's JWK set for 5 minutes, which you may want to adjust.
Further, it doesn't take into account more sophisticated caching patterns like eviction or using a shared cache.
To adjust the way in which Resource Server caches the JWK set, `NimbusJwtDecoder` accepts an instance of `Cache`:
====
.Java
[source,java,role="primary"]
----
@Bean
public JwtDecoder jwtDecoder(CacheManager cacheManager) {
return NimbusJwtDecoder.withJwkSetUri(jwkSetUri)
.cache(cacheManager.getCache("jwks"))
.build();
}
----
.Kotlin
[source,kotlin,role="secondary"]
----
@Bean
fun jwtDecoder(cacheManager: CacheManager): JwtDecoder {
return NimbusJwtDecoder.withJwkSetUri(jwkSetUri)
.cache(cacheManager.getCache("jwks"))
.build()
}
----
====
When given a `Cache`, Resource Server will use the JWK Set Uri as the key and the JWK Set JSON as the value.
NOTE: Spring isn't a cache provider, so you'll need to make sure to include the appropriate dependencies, like `spring-boot-starter-cache` and your favorite caching provider.
NOTE: Whether it's socket or cache timeouts, you may instead want to work with Nimbus directly.
To do so, remember that `NimbusJwtDecoder` ships with a constructor that takes Nimbus's `JWTProcessor`.