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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) D. Hardt, Ed.
Request for Comments: 6749 Microsoft
Obsoletes: 5849 October 2012
Category: Standards Track
ISSN: 2070-1721
The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework
Abstract
The OAuth 2.0 authorization framework enables a third-party
application to obtain limited access to an HTTP service, either on
behalf of a resource owner by orchestrating an approval interaction
between the resource owner and the HTTP service, or by allowing the
third-party application to obtain access on its own behalf. This
specification replaces and obsoletes the OAuth 1.0 protocol described
in RFC 5849.
Status of This Memo
This is an Internet Standards Track document.
This...Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) D. Hardt, Ed.
Request for Comments: 6749 Microsoft
Obsoletes: 5849 October 2012
Category: Standards Track
ISSN: 2070-1721
The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework
Abstract
The OAuth 2.0 authorization framework enables a third-party
application to obtain limited access to an HTTP service, either on
behalf of a resource owner by orchestrating an approval interaction
between the resource owner and the HTTP service, or by allowing the
third-party application to obtain access on its own behalf. This
specification replaces and obsoletes the OAuth 1.0 protocol described
in RFC 5849.
Status of This Memo
This is an Internet Standards Track document.
This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has
received public review and has been approved for publication by the
Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Further information on
Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.
Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6749.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2012 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
(http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
publication of this document. Please review these documents
carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must
include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
described in the Simplified BSD License.
Hardt Standards Track [Page 1]
RFC 6749 OAuth 2.0 October 2012
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................4
1.1. Roles ......................................................6
1.2. Protocol Flow ..............................................7
1.3. Authorization Grant ........................................8
1.3.1. Authorization Code ..................................8
1.3.2. Implicit ............................................8
1.3.3. Resource Owner Password Credentials .................9
1.3.4. Client Credentials ..................................9
1.4. Access Token ..............................................10
1.5. Refresh Token .............................................10
1.6. TLS Version ...............................................12
1.7. HTTP Redirections .........................................12
1.8. Interoperability ..........................................12
1.9. Notational Conventions ....................................13
2. Client Registration ............................................13
2.1. Client Types ..............................................14
2.2. Client Identifier .........................................15
2.3. Client Authentication .....................................16
2.3.1. Client Password ....................................16
2.3.2. Other Authentication Methods .......................17
2.4. Unregistered Clients ......................................17
3. Protocol Endpoints .............................................18
3.1. Authorization Endpoint ....................................18
3.1.1. Response Type ......................................19
3.1.2. Redirection Endpoint ...............................19
3.2. Token Endpoint ............................................21
3.2.1. Client Authentication ..............................22
3.3. Access Token Scope ........................................23
4. Obtaining Authorization ........................................23
4.1. Authorization Code Grant ..................................24
4.1.1. Authorization Request ..............................25
4.1.2. Authorization Response .............................26
4.1.3. Access Token Request ...............................29
4.1.4. Access Token Response ..............................30
4.2. Implicit Grant ............................................31
4.2.1. Authorization Request ..............................33
4.2.2. Access Token Response ..............................35
4.3. Resource Owner Password Credentials Grant .................37
4.3.1. Authorization Request and Response .................39
4.3.2. Access Token Request ...............................39
4.3.3. Access Token Response ..............................40
4.4. Client Credentials Grant ..................................40
4.4.1. Authorization Request and Response .................41
4.4.2. Access Token Request ...............................41
4.4.3. Access Token Response ..............................42
4.5. Extension Grants ..........................................42
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RFC 6749 OAuth 2.0 October 2012
5. Issuing an Access Token ........................................43
5.1. Successful Response .......................................43
5.2. Error Response ............................................45
6. Refreshing an Access Token .....................................47
7. Accessing Protected Resources ..................................48
7.1. Access Token Types ........................................49
7.2. Error Response ............................................49
8. Extensibility ..................................................50
8.1. Defining Access Token Types ...............................50
8.2. Defining New Endpoint Parameters ..........................50
8.3. Defining New Authorization Grant Types ....................51
8.4. Defining New Authorization Endpoint Response Types ........51
8.5. Defining Additional Error Codes ...........................51
9. Native Applications ............................................52
10. Security Considerations .......................................53
10.1. Client Authentication ....................................53
10.2. Client Impersonation .....................................54
10.3. Access Tokens ............................................55
10.4. Refresh Tokens ...........................................55
10.5. Authorization Codes ......................................56
10.6. Authorization Code Redirection URI Manipulation ..........56
10.7. Resource Owner Password Credentials ......................57
10.8. Request Confidentiality ..................................58
10.9. Ensuring Endpoint Authenticity ...........................58
10.10. Credentials-Guessing Attacks ............................58
10.11. Phishing Attacks ........................................58
10.12. Cross-Site Request Forgery ..............................59
10.13. Clickjacking ............................................60
10.14. Code Injection and Input Validation .....................60
10.15. Open Redirectors ........................................60
10.16. Misuse of Access Token to Impersonate Resource
Owner in Implicit Flow ..................................61
11. IANA Considerations ...........................................62
11.1. OAuth Access Token Types Registry ........................62
11.1.1. Registration Template .............................62
11.2. OAuth Parameters Registry ................................63
11.2.1. Registration Template .............................63
11.2.2. Initial Registry Contents .........................64
11.3. OAuth Authorization Endpoint Response Types Registry .....66
11.3.1. Registration Template .............................66
11.3.2. Initial Registry Contents .........................67
11.4. OAuth Extensions Error Registry ..........................67
11.4.1. Registration Template .............................68
12. References ....................................................68
12.1. Normative References .....................................68
12.2. Informative References ...................................70
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RFC 6749 OAuth 2.0 October 2012
Appendix A. Augmented Backus-Naur Form (ABNF) Syntax ..............71
A.1. "client_id" Syntax ........................................71
A.2. "client_secret" Syntax ....................................71
A.3. "response_type" Syntax ....................................71
A.4. "scope" Syntax ............................................72
A.5. "state" Syntax ............................................72
A.6. "redirect_uri" Syntax .....................................72
A.7. "error" Syntax ............................................72
A.8. "error_description" Syntax ................................72
A.9. "error_uri" Syntax ........................................72
A.10. "grant_type" Syntax .......................................73
A.11. "code" Syntax .............................................73
A.12. "access_token" Syntax .....................................73
A.13. "token_type" Syntax .......................................73
A.14. "expires_in" Syntax .......................................73
A.15. "username" Syntax .........................................73
A.16. "password" Syntax .........................................73
A.17. "refresh_token" Syntax ....................................74
A.18. Endpoint Parameter Syntax .................................74
Appendix B. Use of application/x-www-form-urlencoded Media Type ...74
Appendix C. Acknowledgements ......................................75
1. Introduction
In the traditional client-server authentication model, the client
requests an access-restricted resource (protected resource) on the
server by authenticating with the server using the resource owner's
credentials. In order to provide third-party applications access to
restricted resources, the resource owner shares its credentials with
the third party. This creates several problems and limitations:
o Third-party applications are required to store the resource
owner's credentials for future use, typically a password in
clear-text.
o Servers are required to support password authentication, despite
the security weaknesses inherent in passwords.
o Third-party applications gain overly broad access to the resource
owner's protected resources, leaving resource owners without any
ability to restrict duration or access to a limited subset of
resources.
o Resource owners cannot revoke access to an individual third party
without revoking access to all third parties, and must do so by
changing the third party's password.
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RFC 6749 OAuth 2.0 October 2012
o Compromise of any third-party application results in compromise of
the end-user's password and all of the data protected by that
password.
OAuth addresses these issues by introducing an authorization layer
and separating the role of the client from that of the resource
owner. In OAuth, the client requests access to resources controlled
by the resource owner and hosted by the resource server, and is
issued a different set of credentials than those of the resource
owner.
Instead of using the resource owner's credentials to access protected
resources, the client obtains an access token -- a string denoting a
specific scope, lifetime, and other access attributes. Access tokens
are issued to third-party clients by an authorization server with the
approval of the resource owner. The client uses the access token to
access the protected resources hosted by the resource server.
For example, an end-user (resource owner) can grant a printing
service (client) access to her protected photos stored at a photo-
sharing service (resource server), without sharing her username and
password with the printing service. Instead, she authenticates
directly with a server trusted by the photo-sharing service
(authorization server), which issues the printing service delegation-
specific credentials (access token).
This specification is designed for use with HTTP ([RFC2616]). The
use of OAuth over any protocol other than HTTP is out of scope.
The OAuth 1.0 protocol ([RFC5849]), published as an informational
document, was the result of a small ad hoc community effort. This
Standards Track specification builds on the OAuth 1.0 deployment
experience, as well as additional use cases and extensibility
requirements gathered from the wider IETF community. The OAuth 2.0
protocol is not backward compatible with OAuth 1.0. The two versions
may co-exist on the network, and implementations may choose to
support both. However, it is the intention of this specification
that new implementations support OAuth 2.0 as specified in this
document and that OAuth 1.0 is used only to support existing
deployments. The OAuth 2.0 protocol shares very few implementation
details with the OAuth 1.0 protocol. Implementers familiar with
OAuth 1.0 should approach this document without any assumptions as to
its structure and details.
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1.1. Roles
OAuth defines four roles:
resource owner
An entity capable of granting access to a protected resource.
When the resource owner is a person, it is referred to as an
end-user.
resource server
The server hosting the protected resources, capable of accepting
and responding to protected resource requests using access tokens.
client
An application making protected resource requests on behalf of the
resource owner and with its authorization. The term "client" does
not imply any particular implementation characteristics (e.g.,
whether the application executes on a server, a desktop, or other
devices).
authorization server
The server issuing access tokens to the client after successfully
authenticating the resource owner and obtaining authorization.
The interaction between the authorization server and resource server
is beyond the scope of this specification. The authorization server
may be the same server as the resource server or a separate entity.
A single authorization server may issue access tokens accepted by
multiple resource servers.
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1.2. Protocol Flow
+--------+ +---------------+
| |--(A)- Authorization Request ->| Resource |
| | | Owner |
| |<-(B)-- Authorization Grant ---| |
| | +---------------+
| |
| | +---------------+
| |--(C)-- Authorization Grant -->| Authorization |
| Client | | Server |
| |<-(D)----- Access Token -------| |
| | +---------------+
| |
| | +---------------+
| |--(E)----- Access Token ------>| Resource |
| | | Server |
| |<-(F)--- Protected Resource ---| |
+--------+ +---------------+
Figure 1: Abstract Protocol Flow
The abstract OAuth 2.0 flow illustrated in Figure 1 describes the
interaction between the four roles and includes the following steps:
(A) The client requests authorization from the resource owner. The
authorization request can be made directly to the resource owner
(as shown), or preferably indirectly via the authorization
server as an intermediary.
(B) The client receives an authorization grant, which is a
credential representing the resource owner's authorization,
expressed using one of four grant types defined in this
specification or using an extension grant type. The
authorization grant type depends on the method used by the
client to request authorization and the types supported by the
authorization server.
(C) The client requests an access token by authenticating with the
authorization server and presenting the authorization grant.
(D) The authorization server authenticates the client and validates
the authorization grant, and if valid, issues an access token.
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(E) The client requests the protected resource from the resource
server and authenticates by presenting the access token.
(F) The resource server validates the access token, and if valid,
serves the request.
The preferred method for the client to obtain an authorization grant
from the resource owner (depicted in steps (A) and (B)) is to use the
authorization server as an intermediary, which is illustrated in
Figure 3 in Section 4.1.
1.3. Authorization Grant
An authorization grant is a credential representing the resource
owner's authorization (to access its protected resources) used by the
client to obtain an access token. This specification defines four
grant types -- authorization code, implicit, resource owner password
credentials, and client credentials -- as well as an extensibility
mechanism for defining additional types.
1.3.1. Authorization Code
The authorization code is obtained by using an authorization server
as an intermediary between the client and resource owner. Instead of
requesting authorization directly from the resource owner, the client
directs the resource owner to an authorization server (via its
user-agent as defined in [RFC2616]), which in turn directs the
resource owner back to the client with the authorization code.
Before directing the resource owner back to the client with the
authorization code, the authorization server authenticates the
resource owner and obtains authorization. Because the resource owner
only authenticates with the authorization server, the resource
owner's credentials are never shared with the client.
The authorization code provides a few important security benefits,
such as the ability to authenticate the client, as well as the
transmission of the access token directly to the client without
passing it through the resource owner's user-agent and potentially
exposing it to others, including the resource owner.
1.3.2. Implicit
The implicit grant is a simplified authorization code flow optimized
for clients implemented in a browser using a scripting language such
as JavaScript. In the implicit flow, instead of issuing the client
an authorization code, the client is issued an access token directly
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(as the result of the resource owner authorization). The grant type
is implicit, as no intermediate credentials (such as an authorization
code) are issued (and later used to obtain an access token).
When issuing an access token during the implicit grant flow, the
authorization server does not authenticate the client. In some
cases, the client identity can be verified via the redirection URI
used to deliver the access token to the client. The access token may
be exposed to the resource owner or other applications with access to
the resource owner's user-agent.
Implicit grants improve the responsiveness and efficiency of some
clients (such as a client implemented as an in-browser application),
since it reduces the number of round trips required to obtain an
access token. However, this convenience should be weighed against
the security implications of using implicit grants, such as those
described in Sections 10.3 and 10.16, especially when the
authorization code grant type is available.
1.3.3. Resource Owner Password Credentials
The resource owner password credentials (i.e., username and password)
can be used directly as an authorization grant to obtain an access
token. The credentials should only be used when there is a high
degree of trust between the resource owner and the client (e.g., the
client is part of the device operating system or a highly privileged
application), and when other authorization grant types are not
available (such as an authorization code).
Even though this grant type requires direct client access to the
resource owner credentials, the resource owner credentials are used
for a single request and are exchanged for an access token. This
grant type can eliminate the need for the client to store the
resource owner credentials for future use, by exchanging the
credentials with a long-lived access token or refresh token.
1.3.4. Client Credentials
The client credentials (or other forms of client authentication) can
be used as an authorization grant when the authorization scope is
limited to the protected resources under the control of the client,
or to protected resources previously arranged with the authorization
server. Client credentials are used as an authorization grant
typically when the client is acting on its own behalf (the client is
also the resource owner) or is requesting access to protected
resources based on an authorization previously arranged with the
authorization server.
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1.4. Access Token
Access tokens are credentials used to access protected resources. An
access token is a string representing an authorization issued to the
client. The string is usually opaque to the client. Tokens
represent specific scopes and durations of access, granted by the
resource owner, and enforced by the resource server and authorization
server.
The token may denote an identifier used to retrieve the authorization
information or may self-contain the authorization information in a
verifiable manner (i.e., a token string consisting of some data and a
signature). Additional authentication credentials, which are beyond
the scope of this specification, may be required in order for the
client to use a token.
The access token provides an abstraction layer, replacing different
authorization constructs (e.g., username and password) with a single
token understood by the resource server. This abstraction enables
issuing access tokens more restrictive than the authorization grant
used to obtain them, as well as removing the resource server's need
to understand a wide range of authentication methods.
Access tokens can have different formats, structures, and methods of
utilization (e.g., cryptographic properties) based on the resource
server security requirements. Access token attributes and the
methods used to access protected resources are beyond the scope of
this specification and are defined by companion specifications such
as [RFC6750].
1.5. Refresh Token
Refresh tokens are credentials used to obtain access tokens. Refresh
tokens are issued to the client by the authorization server and are
used to obtain a new access token when the current access token
becomes invalid or expires, or to obtain additional access tokens
with identical or narrower scope (access tokens may have a shorter
lifetime and fewer permissions than authorized by the resource
owner). Issuing a refresh token is optional at the discretion of the
authorization server. If the authorization server issues a refresh
token, it is included when issuing an access token (i.e., step (D) in
Figure 1).
A refresh token is a string representing the authorization granted to
the client by the resource owner. The string is usually opaque to
the client. The token denotes an identifier used to retrieve the
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authorization information. Unlike access tokens, refresh tokens are
intended for use only with authorization servers and are never sent
to resource servers.
+--------+ +---------------+
| |--(A)------- Authorization Grant --------->| |
| | | |
| |<-(B)----------- Access Token -------------| |
| | & Refresh Token | |
| | | |
| | +----------+ | |
| |--(C)---- Access Token ---->| | | |
| | | | | |
| |<-(D)- Protected Resource --| Resource | | Authorization |
| Client | | Server | | Server |
| |--(E)---- Access Token ---->| | | |
| | | | | |
| |<-(F)- Invalid Token Error -| | | |
| | +----------+ | |
| | | |
| |--(G)----------- Refresh Token ----------->| |
| | | |
| |<-(H)----------- Access Token -------------| |
+--------+ & Optional Refresh Token +---------------+
Figure 2: Refreshing an Expired Access Token
The flow illustrated in Figure 2 includes the following steps:
(A) The client requests an access token by authenticating with the
authorization server and presenting an authorization grant.
(B) The authorization server authenticates the client and validates
the authorization grant, and if valid, issues an access token
and a refresh token.
(C) The client makes a protected resource request to the resource
server by presenting the access token.
(D) The resource server validates the access token, and if valid,
serves the request.
(E) Steps (C) and (D) repeat until the access token expires. If the
client knows the access token expired, it skips to step (G);
otherwise, it makes another protected resource request.
(F) Since the access token is invalid, the resource server returns
an invalid token error.
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RFC 6749 OAuth 2.0 October 2012
(G) The client requests a new access token by authenticating with
the authorization server and presenting the refresh token. The
client authentication requirements are based on the client type
and on the authorization server policies.
(H) The authorization server authenticates the client and validates
the refresh token, and if valid, issues a new access token (and,
optionally, a new refresh token).
Steps (C), (D), (E), and (F) are outside the scope of this
specification, as described in Section 7.
1.6. TLS Version
Whenever Transport Layer Security (TLS) is used by this
specification, the appropriate version (or versions) of TLS will vary
over time, based on the widespread deployment and known security
vulnerabilities. At the time of this writing, TLS version 1.2
[RFC5246] is the most recent version, but has a very limited
deployment base and might not be readily available for
implementation. TLS version 1.0 [RFC2246] is the most widely
deployed version and will provide the broadest interoperability.
Implementations MAY also support additional transport-layer security
mechanisms that meet their security requirements.
1.7. HTTP Redirections
This specification makes extensive use of HTTP redirections, in which
the client or the authorization server directs the resource owner's
user-agent to another destination. While the examples in this
specification show the use of the HTTP 302 status code, any other
method available via the user-agent to accomplish this redirection is
allowed and is considered to be an implementation detail.
1.8. Interoperability
OAuth 2.0 provides a rich authorization framework with well-defined
security properties. However, as a rich and highly extensible
framework with many optional components, on its own, this
specification is likely to produce a wide range of non-interoperable
implementations.
In addition, this specification leaves a few required components
partially or fully undefined (e.g., client registration,
authorization server capabilities, endpoint discovery). Without
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these components, clients must be manually and specifically
configured against a specific authorization server and resource
server in order to interoperate.
This framework was designed with the clear expectation that future
work will define prescriptive profiles and extensions necessary to
achieve full web-scale interoperability.
1.9. Notational Conventions
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
specification are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].
This specification uses the Augmented Backus-Naur Form (ABNF)
notation of [RFC5234]. Additionally, the rule URI-reference is
included from "Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax"
[RFC3986].
Certain security-related terms are to be understood in the sense
defined in [RFC4949]. These terms include, but are not limited to,
"attack", "authentication", "authorization", "certificate",
"confidentiality", "credential", "encryption", "identity", "sign",
"signature", "trust", "validate", and "verify".
Unless otherwise noted, all the protocol parameter names and values
are case sensitive.
2. Client Registration
Before initiating the protocol, the client registers with the
authorization server. The means through which the client registers
with the authorization server are beyond the scope of this
specification but typically involve end-user interaction with an HTML
registration form.
Client registration does not require a direct interaction between the
client and the authorization server. When supported by the
authorization server, registration can rely on other means for
establishing trust and obtaining the required client properties
(e.g., redirection URI, client type). For example, registration can
be accomplished using a self-issued or third-party-issued assertion,
or by the authorization server performing client discovery using a
trusted channel.
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When registering a client, the client developer SHALL:
o specify the client type as described in Section 2.1,
o provide its client redirection URIs as described in Section 3.1.2,
and
o include any other information required by the authorization server
(e.g., application name, website, description, logo image, the
acceptance of legal terms).
2.1. Client Types
OAuth defines two client types, based on their ability to
authenticate securely with the authorization server (i.e., ability to
maintain the confidentiality of their client credentials):
confidential
Clients capable of maintaining the confidentiality of their
credentials (e.g., client implemented on a secure server with
restricted access to the client credentials), or capable of secure
client authentication using other means.
public
Clients incapable of maintaining the confidentiality of their
credentials (e.g., clients executing on the device used by the
resource owner, such as an installed native application or a web
browser-based application), and incapable of secure client
authentication via any other means.
The client type designation is based on the authorization server's
definition of secure authentication and its acceptable exposure
levels of client credentials. The authorization server SHOULD NOT
make assumptions about the client type.
A client may be implemented as a distributed set of components, each
with a different client type and security context (e.g., a
distributed client with both a confidential server-based component
and a public browser-based component). If the authorization server
does not provide support for such clients or does not provide
guidance with regard to their registration, the client SHOULD
register each component as a separate client.
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This specification has been designed around the following client
profiles:
web application
A web application is a confidential client running on a web
server. Resource owners access the client via an HTML user
interface rendered in a user-agent on the device used by the
resource owner. The client credentials as well as any access
token issued to the client are stored on the web server and are
not exposed to or accessible by the resource owner.
user-agent-based application
A user-agent-based application is a public client in which the
client code is downloaded from a web server and executes within a
user-agent (e.g., web browser) on the device used by the resource
owner. Protocol data and credentials are easily accessible (and
often visible) to the resource owner. Since such applications
reside within the user-agent, they can make seamless use of the
user-agent capabilities when requesting authorization.
native application
A native application is a public client installed and executed on
the device used by the resource owner. Protocol data and
credentials are accessible to the resource owner. It is assumed
that any client authentication credentials included in the
application can be extracted. On the other hand, dynamically
issued credentials such as access tokens or refresh tokens can
receive an acceptable level of protection. At a minimum, these
credentials are protected from hostile servers with which the
application may interact. On some platforms, these credentials
might be protected from other applications residing on the same
device.
2.2. Client Identifier
The authorization server issues the registered client a client
identifier -- a unique string representing the registration
information provided by the client. The client identifier is not a
secret; it is exposed to the resource owner and MUST NOT be used
alone for client authentication. The client identifier is unique to
the authorization server.
The client identifier string size is left undefined by this
specification. The client should avoid making assumptions about the
identifier size. The authorization server SHOULD document the size
of any identifier it issues.
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2.3. Client Authentication
If the client type is confidential, the client and authorization
server establish a client authentication method suitable for the
security requirements of the authorization server. The authorization
server MAY accept any form of client authentication meeting its
security requirements.
Confidential clients are typically issued (or establish) a set of
client credentials used for authenticating with the authorization
server (e.g., password, public/private key pair).
The authorization server MAY establish a client authentication method
with public clients. However, the authorization server MUST NOT rely
on public client authentication for the purpose of identifying the
client.
The client MUST NOT use more than one authentication method in each
request.
2.3.1. Client Password
Clients in possession of a client password MAY use the HTTP Basic
authentication scheme as defined in [RFC2617] to authenticate with
the authorization server. The client identifier is encoded using the
"application/x-www-form-urlencoded" encoding algorithm per
Appendix B, and the encoded value is used as the username; the client
password is encoded using the same algorithm and used as the
password. The authorization server MUST support the HTTP Basic
authentication scheme for authenticating clients that were issued a
client password.
For example (with extra line breaks for display purposes only):
Authorization: Basic czZCaGRSa3F0Mzo3RmpmcDBaQnIxS3REUmJuZlZkbUl3
Alternatively, the authorization server MAY support including the
client credentials in the request-body using the following
parameters:
client_id
REQUIRED. The client identifier issued to the client during
the registration process described by Section 2.2.
client_secret
REQUIRED. The client secret. The client MAY omit the
parameter if the client secret is an empty string.
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Including the client credentials in the request-body using the two
parameters is NOT RECOMMENDED and SHOULD be limited to clients unable
to directly utilize the HTTP Basic authentication scheme (or other
password-based HTTP authentication schemes). The parameters can only
be transmitted in the request-body and MUST NOT be included in the
request URI.
For example, a request to refresh an access token (Section 6) using
the body parameters (with extra line breaks for display purposes
only):
POST /token HTTP/1.1
Host: server.example.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
grant_type=refresh_token&refresh_token=tGzv3JOkF0XG5Qx2TlKWIA
&client_id=s6BhdRkqt3&client_secret=7Fjfp0ZBr1KtDRbnfVdmIw
The authorization server MUST require the use of TLS as described in
Section 1.6 when sending requests using password authentication.
Since this client authentication method involves a password, the
authorization server MUST protect any endpoint utilizing it against
brute force attacks.
2.3.2. Other Authentication Methods
The authorization server MAY support any suitable HTTP authentication
scheme matching its security requirements. When using other
authentication methods, the authorization server MUST define a
mapping between the client identifier (registration record) and
authentication scheme.
2.4. Unregistered Clients
This specification does not exclude the use of unregistered clients.
However, the use of such clients is beyond the scope of this
specification and requires additional security analysis and review of
its interoperability impact.
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3. Protocol Endpoints
The authorization process utilizes two authorization server endpoints
(HTTP resources):
o Authorization endpoint - used by the client to obtain
authorization from the resource owner via user-agent redirection.
o Token endpoint - used by the client to exchange an authorization
grant for an access token, typically with client authentication.
As well as one client endpoint:
o Redirection endpoint - used by the authorization server to return
responses containing authorization credentials to the client via
the resource owner user-agent.
Not every authorization grant type utilizes both endpoints.
Extension grant types MAY define additional endpoints as needed.
3.1. Authorization Endpoint
The authorization endpoint is used to interact with the resource
owner and obtain an authorization grant. The authorization server
MUST first verify the identity of the resource owner. The way in
which the authorization server authenticates the resource owner
(e.g., username and password login, session cookies) is beyond the
scope of this specification.
The means through which the client obtains the location of the
authorization endpoint are beyond the scope of this specification,
but the location is typically provided in the service documentation.
The endpoint URI MAY include an "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
formatted (per Appendix B) query component ([RFC3986] Section 3.4),
which MUST be retained when adding additional query parameters. The
endpoint URI MUST NOT include a fragment component.
Since requests to the authorization endpoint result in user
authentication and the transmission of clear-text credentials (in the
HTTP response), the authorization server MUST require the use of TLS
as described in Section 1.6 when sending requests to the
authorization endpoint.
The authorization server MUST support the use of the HTTP "GET"
method [RFC2616] for the authorization endpoint and MAY support the
use of the "POST" method as well.
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Parameters sent without a value MUST be treated as if they were
omitted from the request. The authorization server MUST ignore
unrecognized request parameters. Request and response parameters
MUST NOT be included more than once.
3.1.1. Response Type
The authorization endpoint is used by the authorization code grant
type and implicit grant type flows. The client informs the
authorization server of the desired grant type using the following
parameter:
response_type
REQUIRED. The value MUST be one of "code" for requesting an
authorization code as described by Section 4.1.1, "token" for
requesting an access token (implicit grant) as described by
Section 4.2.1, or a registered extension value as described by
Section 8.4.
Extension response types MAY contain a space-delimited (%x20) list of
values, where the order of values does not matter (e.g., response
type "a b" is the same as "b a"). The meaning of such composite
response types is defined by their respective specifications.
If an authorization request is missing the "response_type" parameter,
or if the response type is not understood, the authorization server
MUST return an error response as described in Section 4.1.2.1.
3.1.2. Redirection Endpoint
After completing its interaction with the resource owner, the
authorization server directs the resource owner's user-agent back to
the client. The authorization server redirects the user-agent to the
client's redirection endpoint previously established with the
authorization server during the client registration process or when
making the authorization request.
The redirection endpoint URI MUST be an absolute URI as defined by
[RFC3986] Section 4.3. The endpoint URI MAY include an
"application/x-www-form-urlencoded" formatted (per Appendix B) query
component ([RFC3986] Section 3.4), which MUST be retained when adding
additional query parameters. The endpoint URI MUST NOT include a
fragment component.
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3.1.2.1. Endpoint Request Confidentiality
The redirection endpoint SHOULD require the use of TLS as described
in Section 1.6 when the requested response type is "code" or "token",
or when the redirection request will result in the transmission of
sensitive credentials over an open network. This specification does
not mandate the use of TLS because at the time of this writing,
requiring clients to deploy TLS is a significant hurdle for many
client developers. If TLS is not available, the authorization server
SHOULD warn the resource owner about the insecure endpoint prior to
redirection (e.g., display a message during the authorization
request).
Lack of transport-layer security can have a severe impact on the
security of the client and the protected resources it is authorized
to access. The use of transport-layer security is particularly
critical when the authorization process is used as a form of
delegated end-user authentication by the client (e.g., third-party
sign-in service).
3.1.2.2. Registration Requirements
The authorization server MUST require the following clients to
register their redirection endpoint:
o Public clients.
o Confidential clients utilizing the implicit grant type.
The authorization server SHOULD require all clients to register their
redirection endpoint prior to utilizing the authorization endpoint.
The authorization server SHOULD require the client to provide the
complete redirection URI (the client MAY use the "state" request
parameter to achieve per-request customization). If requiring the
registration of the complete redirection URI is not possible, the
authorization server SHOULD require the registration of the URI
scheme, authority, and path (allowing the client to dynamically vary
only the query component of the redirection URI when requesting
authorization).
The authorization server MAY allow the client to register multiple
redirection endpoints.
Lack of a redirection URI registration requirement can enable an
attacker to use the authorization endpoint as an open redirector as
described in Section 10.15.
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3.1.2.3. Dynamic Configuration
If multiple redirection URIs have been registered, if only part of
the redirection URI has been registered, or if no redirection URI has
been registered, the client MUST include a redirection URI with the
authorization request using the "redirect_uri" request parameter.
When a redirection URI is included in an authorization request, the
authorization server MUST compare and match the value received
against at least one of the registered redirection URIs (or URI
components) as defined in [RFC3986] Section 6, if any redirection
URIs were registered. If the client registration included the full
redirection URI, the authorization server MUST compare the two URIs
using simple string comparison as defined in [RFC3986] Section 6.2.1.
3.1.2.4. Invalid Endpoint
If an authorization request fails validation due to a missing,
invalid, or mismatching redirection URI, the authorization server
SHOULD inform the resource owner of the error and MUST NOT
automatically redirect the user-agent to the invalid redirection URI.
3.1.2.5. Endpoint Content
The redirection request to the client's endpoint typically results in
an HTML document response, processed by the user-agent. If the HTML
response is served directly as the result of the redirection request,
any script included in the HTML document will execute with full
access to the redirection URI and the credentials it contains.
The client SHOULD NOT include any third-party scripts (e.g., third-
party analytics, social plug-ins, ad networks) in the redirection
endpoint response. Instead, it SHOULD extract the credentials from
the URI and redirect the user-agent again to another endpoint without
exposing the credentials (in the URI or elsewhere). If third-party
scripts are included, the client MUST ensure that its own scripts
(used to extract and remove the credentials from the URI) will
execute first.
3.2. Token Endpoint
The token endpoint is used by the client to obtain an access token by
presenting its authorization grant or refresh token. The token
endpoint is used with every authorization grant except for the
implicit grant type (since an access token is issued directly).
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The means through which the client obtains the location of the token
endpoint are beyond the scope of this specification, but the location
is typically provided in the service documentation.
The endpoint URI MAY include an "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
formatted (per Appendix B) query component ([RFC3986] Section 3.4),
which MUST be retained when adding additional query parameters. The
endpoint URI MUST NOT include a fragment component.
Since requests to the token endpoint result in the transmission of
clear-text credentials (in the HTTP request and response), the
authorization server MUST require the use of TLS as described in
Section 1.6 when sending requests to the token endpoint.
The client MUST use the HTTP "POST" method when making access token
requests.
Parameters sent without a value MUST be treated as if they were
omitted from the request. The authorization server MUST ignore
unrecognized request parameters. Request and response parameters
MUST NOT be included more than once.
3.2.1. Client Authentication
Confidential clients or other clients issued client credentials MUST
authenticate with the authorization server as described in
Section 2.3 when making requests to the token endpoint. Client
authentication is used for:
o Enforcing the binding of refresh tokens and authorization codes to
the client they were issued to. Client authentication is critical
when an authorization code is transmitted to the redirection
endpoint over an insecure channel or when the redirection URI has
not been registered in full.
o Recovering from a compromised client by disabling the client or
changing its credentials, thus preventing an attacker from abusing
stolen refresh tokens. Changing a single set of client
credentials is significantly faster than revoking an entire set of
refresh tokens.
o Implementing authentication management best practices, which
require periodic credential rotation. Rotation of an entire set
of refresh tokens can