SecAppDev 2022 Lecture Details
Securing OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect in Frontends
Philippe De Ryck
Monday June 13, 16:00 - 17:30
Short description
Learn why SPAs as OAuth 2.0 clients are inherently insecure, and how moving responsibilities to a lightweight backend with the BFF pattern can offer a solution.
Abstract
Since a few years, Single Page Applications (SPAs) have become first-class citizens in the world of OAuth 2.0 clients. Unfortunately, web frontends still suffer from XSS issues, which may not only compromise the security of the frontend, but also of the entire OAuth 2.0 configuration.
In this session, we take an in-depth look at the consequences of XSS on the security of OAuth 2.0 tokens. Advanced attack scenarios will focus on bypassing OAuth 2.0-specific features, such as Refresh Token Rotation. Towards the end, we elaborate on the Backend-For-Frontend pattern, which offers the best security guarantees for SPAs.
Key takeaway
The best approach to secure a Single Page Application with OAuth 2.0 is by using a Backend-For-Frontend
Content level
Advanced
Target audience
Anyone designing or building sensitive Single Page Applications that rely on OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect
Prerequisites
An understanding of OAuth 2.0 and the concepts of JavaScript frontends
Philippe De Ryck
Web Security Expert, Pragmatic Web Security
Philippe De Ryck helps developers protect companies through better web security. His Ph.D. in web security from KU Leuven lies at the basis of his exceptional knowledge of the security landscape. As the founder of Pragmatic Web Security, Philippe delivers security training and security consulting to companies worldwide. His online course platform allows anyone to learn complex security topics at their own pace. Philippe is a Google Developer Expert and an Auth0 Ambassador for his community contributions on the security of web applications and APIs.
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