JWT
A ruby implementation of the RFC 7519 OAuth JSON Web Token (JWT) standard.
If you have further questions related to development or usage, join us: ruby-jwt google group.
Announcements
- Ruby 2.4 support was dropped in version 2.4.0
- Ruby 1.9.3 support was dropped at December 31st, 2016.
- Version 1.5.3 yanked. See: #132 and #133
See CHANGELOG.md for a complete set of changes.
Logo | Message |
---|
| If you want to quickly add secure token-based authentication to Ruby projects, feel free to check Auth0's Ruby SDK and free plan at auth0.com/developers |
Installing
Using Rubygems:
gem install jwt
Using Bundler:
Add the following to your Gemfile
gem 'jwt'
And run bundle install
Algorithms and Usage
The JWT spec supports NONE, HMAC, RSASSA, ECDSA and RSASSA-PSS algorithms for cryptographic signing. Currently the jwt gem supports NONE, HMAC, RSASSA and ECDSA. If you are using cryptographic signing, you need to specify the algorithm in the options hash whenever you call JWT.decode to ensure that an attacker cannot bypass the algorithm verification step. It is strongly recommended that you hard code the algorithm, as you may leave yourself vulnerable by dynamically picking the algorithm
See: JSON Web Algorithms (JWA) 3.1. "alg" (Algorithm) Header Parameter Values for JWS
Deprecation warnings
Deprecation warnings are logged once (:once
option) by default to avoid spam in logs. Other options are :silent
to completely silence warnings and :warn
to log every time a deprecated path is executed.
JWT.configuration.deprecation_warnings = :warn
Base64 decoding
In the past the gem has been supporting the Base64 decoding specified in RFC2045 allowing newlines and blanks in the base64 encoded payload. In future versions base64 decoding will be stricter and only comply to RFC4648.
The stricter base64 decoding when processing tokens can be done via the strict_base64_decoding
configuration accessor.
JWT.configuration.strict_base64_decoding = true
NONE
require 'jwt'
payload = { data: 'test' }
token = JWT.encode payload, nil, 'none'
puts token
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, nil, false
puts decoded_token
HMAC
- HS256 - HMAC using SHA-256 hash algorithm
- HS384 - HMAC using SHA-384 hash algorithm
- HS512 - HMAC using SHA-512 hash algorithm
hmac_secret = 'my$ecretK3y'
token = JWT.encode payload, hmac_secret, 'HS256'
puts token
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { algorithm: 'HS256' }
puts decoded_token
RSA
- RS256 - RSA using SHA-256 hash algorithm
- RS384 - RSA using SHA-384 hash algorithm
- RS512 - RSA using SHA-512 hash algorithm
rsa_private = OpenSSL::PKey::RSA.generate 2048
rsa_public = rsa_private.public_key
token = JWT.encode payload, rsa_private, 'RS256'
puts token
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, rsa_public, true, { algorithm: 'RS256' }
puts decoded_token
ECDSA
- ES256 - ECDSA using P-256 and SHA-256
- ES384 - ECDSA using P-384 and SHA-384
- ES512 - ECDSA using P-521 and SHA-512
- ES256K - ECDSA using P-256K and SHA-256
ecdsa_key = OpenSSL::PKey::EC.generate('prime256v1')
token = JWT.encode payload, ecdsa_key, 'ES256'
puts token
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, ecdsa_key, true, { algorithm: 'ES256' }
puts decoded_token
EDDSA
In order to use this algorithm you need to add the RbNaCl
gem to you Gemfile
.
gem 'rbnacl'
For more detailed installation instruction check the official repository on GitHub.
private_key = RbNaCl::Signatures::Ed25519::SigningKey.new('abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEF')
public_key = private_key.verify_key
token = JWT.encode payload, private_key, 'ED25519'
puts token
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, public_key, true, { algorithm: 'ED25519' }
RSASSA-PSS
In order to use this algorithm you need to add the openssl
gem to your Gemfile
with a version greater or equal to 2.1
.
gem 'openssl', '~> 2.1'
- PS256 - RSASSA-PSS using SHA-256 hash algorithm
- PS384 - RSASSA-PSS using SHA-384 hash algorithm
- PS512 - RSASSA-PSS using SHA-512 hash algorithm
rsa_private = OpenSSL::PKey::RSA.generate 2048
rsa_public = rsa_private.public_key
token = JWT.encode payload, rsa_private, 'PS256'
puts token
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, rsa_public, true, { algorithm: 'PS256' }
puts decoded_token
Custom algorithms
When encoding or decoding a token, you can pass in a custom object through the algorithm
option to handle signing or verification. This custom object must include or extend the JWT::JWA::SigningAlgorithm
module and implement certain methods:
- For decoding/verifying: The object must implement the methods
alg
and verify
. - For encoding/signing: The object must implement the methods
alg
and sign
.
For customization options check the details from JWT::JWA::SigningAlgorithm
.
module CustomHS512Algorithm
extend JWT::JWA::SigningAlgorithm
def self.alg
'HS512'
end
def self.sign(data:, signing_key:)
OpenSSL::HMAC.digest(OpenSSL::Digest.new('sha512'), signing_key, data)
end
def self.verify(data:, signature:, verification_key:)
::OpenSSL.secure_compare(sign(data: data, signing_key: verification_key), signature)
end
end
token = ::JWT.encode({'pay' => 'load'}, 'secret', CustomHS512Algorithm)
payload, header = ::JWT.decode(token, 'secret', true, algorithm: CustomHS512Algorithm)
Support for reserved claim names
JSON Web Token defines some reserved claim names and defines how they should be
used. JWT supports these reserved claim names:
- 'exp' (Expiration Time) Claim
- 'nbf' (Not Before Time) Claim
- 'iss' (Issuer) Claim
- 'aud' (Audience) Claim
- 'jti' (JWT ID) Claim
- 'iat' (Issued At) Claim
- 'sub' (Subject) Claim
Ruby-jwt gem supports custom header fields
To add custom header fields you need to pass header_fields
parameter
token = JWT.encode payload, key, algorithm='HS256', header_fields={}
Example:
require 'jwt'
payload = { data: 'test' }
token = JWT.encode payload, nil, 'none', { typ: 'JWT' }
puts token
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, nil, false
puts decoded_token
Expiration Time Claim
From Oauth JSON Web Token 4.1.4. "exp" (Expiration Time) Claim:
The exp
(expiration time) claim identifies the expiration time on or after which the JWT MUST NOT be accepted for processing. The processing of the exp
claim requires that the current date/time MUST be before the expiration date/time listed in the exp
claim. Implementers MAY provide for some small leeway
, usually no more than a few minutes, to account for clock skew. Its value MUST be a number containing a NumericDate value. Use of this claim is OPTIONAL.
Handle Expiration Claim
exp = Time.now.to_i + 4 * 3600
exp_payload = { data: 'data', exp: exp }
token = JWT.encode exp_payload, hmac_secret, 'HS256'
begin
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { algorithm: 'HS256' }
rescue JWT::ExpiredSignature
end
The Expiration Claim verification can be disabled.
JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { verify_expiration: false, algorithm: 'HS256' }
Adding Leeway
exp = Time.now.to_i - 10
leeway = 30
exp_payload = { data: 'data', exp: exp }
token = JWT.encode exp_payload, hmac_secret, 'HS256'
begin
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { exp_leeway: leeway, algorithm: 'HS256' }
rescue JWT::ExpiredSignature
end
Not Before Time Claim
From Oauth JSON Web Token 4.1.5. "nbf" (Not Before) Claim:
The nbf
(not before) claim identifies the time before which the JWT MUST NOT be accepted for processing. The processing of the nbf
claim requires that the current date/time MUST be after or equal to the not-before date/time listed in the nbf
claim. Implementers MAY provide for some small leeway
, usually no more than a few minutes, to account for clock skew. Its value MUST be a number containing a NumericDate value. Use of this claim is OPTIONAL.
Handle Not Before Claim
nbf = Time.now.to_i - 3600
nbf_payload = { data: 'data', nbf: nbf }
token = JWT.encode nbf_payload, hmac_secret, 'HS256'
begin
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { algorithm: 'HS256' }
rescue JWT::ImmatureSignature
end
The Not Before Claim verification can be disabled.
JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { verify_not_before: false, algorithm: 'HS256' }
Adding Leeway
nbf = Time.now.to_i + 10
leeway = 30
nbf_payload = { data: 'data', nbf: nbf }
token = JWT.encode nbf_payload, hmac_secret, 'HS256'
begin
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { nbf_leeway: leeway, algorithm: 'HS256' }
rescue JWT::ImmatureSignature
end
Issuer Claim
From Oauth JSON Web Token 4.1.1. "iss" (Issuer) Claim:
The iss
(issuer) claim identifies the principal that issued the JWT. The processing of this claim is generally application specific. The iss
value is a case-sensitive string containing a StringOrURI value. Use of this claim is OPTIONAL.
You can pass multiple allowed issuers as an Array, verification will pass if one of them matches the iss
value in the payload.
iss = 'My Awesome Company Inc. or https://my.awesome.website/'
iss_payload = { data: 'data', iss: iss }
token = JWT.encode iss_payload, hmac_secret, 'HS256'
begin
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { iss: iss, verify_iss: true, algorithm: 'HS256' }
rescue JWT::InvalidIssuerError
end
You can also pass a Regexp or Proc (with arity 1), verification will pass if the regexp matches or the proc returns truthy.
On supported ruby versions (>= 2.5) you can also delegate to methods, on older versions you will have
to convert them to proc (using to_proc
)
JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true,
iss: %r'https://my.awesome.website/',
verify_iss: true,
algorithm: 'HS256'
JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true,
iss: ->(issuer) { issuer.start_with?('My Awesome Company Inc') },
verify_iss: true,
algorithm: 'HS256'
JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true,
iss: method(:valid_issuer?),
verify_iss: true,
algorithm: 'HS256'
def valid_issuer?(issuer)
end
Audience Claim
From Oauth JSON Web Token 4.1.3. "aud" (Audience) Claim:
The aud
(audience) claim identifies the recipients that the JWT is intended for. Each principal intended to process the JWT MUST identify itself with a value in the audience claim. If the principal processing the claim does not identify itself with a value in the aud
claim when this claim is present, then the JWT MUST be rejected. In the general case, the aud
value is an array of case-sensitive strings, each containing a StringOrURI value. In the special case when the JWT has one audience, the aud
value MAY be a single case-sensitive string containing a StringOrURI value. The interpretation of audience values is generally application specific. Use of this claim is OPTIONAL.
aud = ['Young', 'Old']
aud_payload = { data: 'data', aud: aud }
token = JWT.encode aud_payload, hmac_secret, 'HS256'
begin
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { aud: aud, verify_aud: true, algorithm: 'HS256' }
rescue JWT::InvalidAudError
puts 'Audience Error'
end
JWT ID Claim
From Oauth JSON Web Token 4.1.7. "jti" (JWT ID) Claim:
The jti
(JWT ID) claim provides a unique identifier for the JWT. The identifier value MUST be assigned in a manner that ensures that there is a negligible probability that the same value will be accidentally assigned to a different data object; if the application uses multiple issuers, collisions MUST be prevented among values produced by different issuers as well. The jti
claim can be used to prevent the JWT from being replayed. The jti
value is a case-sensitive string. Use of this claim is OPTIONAL.
jti_raw = [hmac_secret, iat].join(':').to_s
jti = Digest::MD5.hexdigest(jti_raw)
jti_payload = { data: 'data', iat: iat, jti: jti }
token = JWT.encode jti_payload, hmac_secret, 'HS256'
begin
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { verify_jti: proc { |jti| my_validation_method(jti) }, algorithm: 'HS256' }
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { verify_jti: proc { |jti, payload| my_validation_method(jti, payload) }, algorithm: 'HS256' }
rescue JWT::InvalidJtiError
puts 'Error'
end
Issued At Claim
From Oauth JSON Web Token 4.1.6. "iat" (Issued At) Claim:
The iat
(issued at) claim identifies the time at which the JWT was issued. This claim can be used to determine the age of the JWT. The leeway
option is not taken into account when verifying this claim. The iat_leeway
option was removed in version 2.2.0. Its value MUST be a number containing a NumericDate value. Use of this claim is OPTIONAL.
Handle Issued At Claim
iat = Time.now.to_i
iat_payload = { data: 'data', iat: iat }
token = JWT.encode iat_payload, hmac_secret, 'HS256'
begin
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { verify_iat: true, algorithm: 'HS256' }
rescue JWT::InvalidIatError
end
Subject Claim
From Oauth JSON Web Token 4.1.2. "sub" (Subject) Claim:
The sub
(subject) claim identifies the principal that is the subject of the JWT. The Claims in a JWT are normally statements about the subject. The subject value MUST either be scoped to be locally unique in the context of the issuer or be globally unique. The processing of this claim is generally application specific. The sub value is a case-sensitive string containing a StringOrURI value. Use of this claim is OPTIONAL.
sub = 'Subject'
sub_payload = { data: 'data', sub: sub }
token = JWT.encode sub_payload, hmac_secret, 'HS256'
begin
decoded_token = JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { sub: sub, verify_sub: true, algorithm: 'HS256' }
rescue JWT::InvalidSubError
end
Standalone claim verification
The JWT claim verifications can be used to verify any Hash to include expected keys and values.
A few example on verifying the claims for a payload:
JWT::Claims.verify_payload!({"exp" => Time.now.to_i + 10}, :numeric, :exp)
JWT::Claims.valid_payload?({"exp" => Time.now.to_i + 10}, :exp)
JWT::Claims.payload_errors({"exp" => Time.now.to_i - 10}, :exp)
JWT::Claims.verify_payload!({"exp" => Time.now.to_i - 10}, exp: { leeway: 11})
JWT::Claims.verify_payload!({"exp" => Time.now.to_i + 10, "sub" => "subject"}, :exp, sub: "subject")
Finding a Key
To dynamically find the key for verifying the JWT signature, pass a block to the decode block. The block receives headers and the original payload as parameters. It should return with the key to verify the signature that was used to sign the JWT.
issuers = %w[My_Awesome_Company1 My_Awesome_Company2]
iss_payload = { data: 'data', iss: issuers.first }
secrets = { issuers.first => hmac_secret, issuers.last => 'hmac_secret2' }
token = JWT.encode iss_payload, hmac_secret, 'HS256'
begin
decoded_token = JWT.decode(token, nil, true, { iss: issuers, verify_iss: true, algorithm: 'HS256' }) do |_headers, payload|
secrets[payload['iss']]
end
rescue JWT::InvalidIssuerError
end
Required Claims
You can specify claims that must be present for decoding to be successful. JWT::MissingRequiredClaim will be raised if any are missing
JWT.decode token, hmac_secret, true, { required_claims: ['exp'], algorithm: 'HS256' }
A JWT signature can be verified using certificate(s) given in the x5c
header. Before doing that, the trustworthiness of these certificate(s) must be established. This is done in accordance with RFC 5280 which (among other things) verifies the certificate(s) are issued by a trusted root certificate, the timestamps are valid, and none of the certificate(s) are revoked (i.e. being present in the root certificate's Certificate Revocation List).
root_certificates = []
crl_uris = root_certificates.map(&:crl_uris)
crls = crl_uris.map do |uri|
crl = Net::HTTP.get(uri)
crl = OpenSSL::X509::CRL.new(crl)
end
begin
JWT.decode(token, nil, true, { x5c: { root_certificates: root_certificates, crls: crls } })
rescue JWT::DecodeError
end
JSON Web Key (JWK)
JWK is a JSON structure representing a cryptographic key. This gem currently supports RSA, EC, OKP and HMAC keys. OKP support requires RbNaCl and currently only supports the Ed25519 curve.
To encode a JWT using your JWK:
optional_parameters = { kid: 'my-kid', use: 'sig', alg: 'RS512' }
jwk = JWT::JWK.new(OpenSSL::PKey::RSA.new(2048), optional_parameters)
payload = { data: 'data' }
token = JWT.encode(payload, jwk.signing_key, jwk[:alg], kid: jwk[:kid])
jwks_hash = JWT::JWK::Set.new(jwk).export
To decode a JWT using a trusted entity's JSON Web Key Set (JWKS):
jwks = JWT::JWK::Set.new(jwks_hash)
jwks.filter! {|key| key[:use] == 'sig' }
algorithms = jwks.map { |key| key[:alg] }.compact.uniq
JWT.decode(token, nil, true, algorithms: algorithms, jwks: jwks)
The jwks
option can also be given as a lambda that evaluates every time a kid is resolved.
This can be used to implement caching of remotely fetched JWK Sets.
If the requested kid
is not found from the given set the loader will be called a second time with the kid_not_found
option set to true
.
The application can choose to implement some kind of JWK cache invalidation or other mechanism to handle such cases.
Tokens without a specified kid
are rejected by default.
This behaviour may be overwritten by setting the allow_nil_kid
option for decode
to true
.
jwks_loader = ->(options) do
if options[:kid_not_found] && @cache_last_update < Time.now.to_i - 300
logger.info("Invalidating JWK cache. #{options[:kid]} not found from previous cache")
@cached_keys = nil
end
@cached_keys ||= begin
@cache_last_update = Time.now.to_i
jwks = JWT::JWK::Set.new(jwks_hash)
jwks.select! { |key| key[:use] == 'sig' }
jwks
end
end
begin
JWT.decode(token, nil, true, { algorithms: ['RS512'], jwks: jwks_loader })
rescue JWT::JWKError
rescue JWT::DecodeError
end
Importing and exporting JSON Web Keys
The ::JWT::JWK class can be used to import both JSON Web Keys and OpenSSL keys
and export to either format with and without the private key included.
To include the private key in the export pass the include_private
parameter to the export method.
jwk = JWT::JWK.new({ kty: 'oct', k: 'my-secret', kid: 'my-kid' })
desc_params = { kid: 'my-kid', use: 'sig' }
jwk = JWT::JWK.new(OpenSSL::PKey::RSA.new(2048), desc_params)
jwk_hash = jwk.export
jwk_hash_with_private_key = jwk.export(include_private: true)
public_key = jwk.verify_key
private_key = jwk.signing_key if jwk.private?
jwks_hash = { keys: [{ kty: 'oct', k: 'my-secret', kid: 'my-kid' }] }
jwks = JWT::JWK::Set.new(jwks_hash)
jwks_hash = jwks.export
Key ID (kid) and JWKs
The key id (kid) generation in the gem is a custom algorithm and not based on any standards.
To use a standardized JWK thumbprint (RFC 7638) as the kid for JWKs a generator type can be specified in the global configuration
or can be given to the JWK instance on initialization.
JWT.configuration.jwk.kid_generator_type = :rfc7638_thumbprint
JWT.configuration.jwk.kid_generator = ::JWT::JWK::Thumbprint
jwk = JWT::JWK.new(OpenSSL::PKey::RSA.new(2048), nil, kid_generator: ::JWT::JWK::Thumbprint)
jwk_hash = jwk.export
thumbprint_as_the_kid = jwk_hash[:kid]
Development and testing
The tests are written with rspec. Appraisal is used to ensure compatibility with 3rd party dependencies providing cryptographic features.
bundle install
bundle exec appraisal rake test
Releasing
To cut a new release adjust the version.rb and CHANGELOG with desired version numbers and dates and commit the changes. Tag the release with the version number using the following command:
rake release:source_control_push
This will tag a new version an trigger a GitHub action that eventually will push the gem to rubygems.org.
How to contribute
See CONTRIBUTING.
Contributors
See AUTHORS.
License
See LICENSE.