Creating Secure JWT Tokens

Question

Creating Secure JWT Tokens

Hello there! I'm currently in need of assistance with generating JWT tokens that include three headers: alg, kid, and typ. The format I am looking for is as follows:

{
  "alg": "RS256",
  "kid": "vpaas-magic-cookie-1fc542a3e4414a44b2611668195e2bfe/4f4910",
  "typ": "JWT"
}

You can find more detailed information about this process on this page.

It's important to note that JWT tokens have an expiration time frame of a few hours. Due to this, I am exploring ways to generate these tokens directly within my code.

Below is a snippet of my JavaScript code where I insert the JWT token into the options list for authentication purposes:

var options = {
                roomName: "vpaas-magic-cookie-secretKey/Room123",
                jwt: 'JWTTOKEN',
                ,

Based on my research on jwt.io, it seems that generating tokens involves using the HS256 algorithm. Could someone guide me through the steps to achieve this using JavaScript?

In response to another user's answer, I made some adjustments to their code and now I am able to generate part of the JWT token. I am comparing this generated token with one obtained from the Jaas.8x8 server.

<script>
    const HMACSHA256 = (stringToSign, secret) => "not_implemented"

    // The header typically consists of two parts: 
    // the type of the token, which is JWT, and the signing algorithm being used, 
    // such as HMAC SHA256 or RSA.
    const header = {
        "kid": "vpaas-magic-cookie-07fabede3674457a84c95fsecretcode/myroom001",
        "alg": "RS256",
        "typ": "JWT"
    }
    const encodedHeaders = btoa(JSON.stringify(header))


    // create the signature part you have to take the encoded header, 
    // the encoded payload, a secret, the algorithm specified in the header, 
    // and sign that.
    const signature = HMACSHA256(`${encodedHeaders}`, "mysecret")


    console.log(`${encodedHeaders}.${signature}`)
</script>

The token generated from the above code snippet looks like this:

eyJraWQiOiJ2cGFhcy1tYWdpYy1jb29raWUtMDdmYWJlZGUzNjc0NDU3YTg0Yzk1ZmE4MGIxNGY1ZDcvVGVzdFJhdW0wMDEiLCJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.not_implemented

When compared to a sample token obtained online, it seems that only a portion of the token matches up. Could this discrepancy be related to the 'mysecret' parameter? What exactly does 'mysecret' signify?

https://i.stack.imgur.com/KK8hw.png

javascript jwt jitsi jitsi-meet

Answer 1

Answer №1

All the necessary instructions can be found on this page: .

To simplify things, I opted not to include HMACSHA256 or utilize a library for it. You will need to implement this function yourself.

If you prefer doing it from the browser (though it's not recommended), check out this guide: How to get HMAC with Crypto Web API.
For those looking to do it from node.js (backend), which is a more logical choice, refer to this link: .

const HMACSHA256 = (stringToSign, secret) => "not_implemented"

// The header typically contains information about the token type (JWT) and the signing algorithm used.
const header = {
  "alg": "HS256",
  "typ": "JWT"
}
const encodedHeaders = btoa(JSON.stringify(header))


// The payload section includes claims about the entity (usually the user) and other data.
const claims = {
    "role": "admin"
}
const encodedPlayload = btoa(JSON.stringify(claims))


// To create the signature, combine the encoded header, payload, secret, algorithm specified, and sign them.
const signature = HMACSHA256(`${encodedHeaders}.${encodedPlayload}`, "mysecret")
const encodedSignature = btoa(signature)

const jwt = `${encodedHeaders}.${encodedPlayload}.${encodedSignature}`
console.log({jwt})

Please note that my approach uses HS256 instead of RS256 as in your original question. If you're interested in understanding the difference between them, you can refer to this resource: RS256 vs HS256: What's the difference?.

Answer 2

All the necessary instructions can be found on this page: .

To simplify things, I opted not to include HMACSHA256 or utilize a library for it. You will need to implement this function yourself.

If you prefer doing it from the browser (though it's not recommended), check out this guide: How to get HMAC with Crypto Web API.
For those looking to do it from node.js (backend), which is a more logical choice, refer to this link: .

const HMACSHA256 = (stringToSign, secret) => "not_implemented"

// The header typically contains information about the token type (JWT) and the signing algorithm used.
const header = {
  "alg": "HS256",
  "typ": "JWT"
}
const encodedHeaders = btoa(JSON.stringify(header))


// The payload section includes claims about the entity (usually the user) and other data.
const claims = {
    "role": "admin"
}
const encodedPlayload = btoa(JSON.stringify(claims))


// To create the signature, combine the encoded header, payload, secret, algorithm specified, and sign them.
const signature = HMACSHA256(`${encodedHeaders}.${encodedPlayload}`, "mysecret")
const encodedSignature = btoa(signature)

const jwt = `${encodedHeaders}.${encodedPlayload}.${encodedSignature}`
console.log({jwt})

Please note that my approach uses HS256 instead of RS256 as in your original question. If you're interested in understanding the difference between them, you can refer to this resource: RS256 vs HS256: What's the difference?.

Answer 3

Answer №2

function encodeBase64URL(source) {
  let encodedSource = CryptoJS.enc.Base64.stringify(source);
  encodedSource = encodedSource.replace(/=+$/, '');
  encodedSource = encodedSource.replace(/\+/g, '-');
  encodedSource = encodedSource.replace(/\//g, '_');
  return encodedSource;
}

function generateJWTToken(payload, secretKey) {
  const header = { 'alg': 'HS256', 'typ': 'JWT' };
  const stringifiedHeader = CryptoJS.enc.Utf8.parse(JSON.stringify(header));
  const encodedHeader = encodeBase64URL(stringifiedHeader);
  const stringifiedPayload = CryptoJS.enc.Utf8.parse(JSON.stringify(payload));
  const encodedPayload = encodeBase64URL(stringifiedPayload);
  const encodedSignature = encodeBase64URL(CryptoJS.HmacSHA256(encodedHeader + "." + encodedPayload, secretKey));

  return encodedHeader + "." + encodedPayload + "." + encodedSignature;
}

const token = generateJWTToken({ 'field1': 'test1', 'fileId2': 'test2'}, 'test key');
console.log(token);

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/crypto-js/4.2.0/crypto-js.min.js"></script>

The code above demonstrates functionality for generating JWT tokens.

Answer 4

function encodeBase64URL(source) {
  let encodedSource = CryptoJS.enc.Base64.stringify(source);
  encodedSource = encodedSource.replace(/=+$/, '');
  encodedSource = encodedSource.replace(/\+/g, '-');
  encodedSource = encodedSource.replace(/\//g, '_');
  return encodedSource;
}

function generateJWTToken(payload, secretKey) {
  const header = { 'alg': 'HS256', 'typ': 'JWT' };
  const stringifiedHeader = CryptoJS.enc.Utf8.parse(JSON.stringify(header));
  const encodedHeader = encodeBase64URL(stringifiedHeader);
  const stringifiedPayload = CryptoJS.enc.Utf8.parse(JSON.stringify(payload));
  const encodedPayload = encodeBase64URL(stringifiedPayload);
  const encodedSignature = encodeBase64URL(CryptoJS.HmacSHA256(encodedHeader + "." + encodedPayload, secretKey));

  return encodedHeader + "." + encodedPayload + "." + encodedSignature;
}

const token = generateJWTToken({ 'field1': 'test1', 'fileId2': 'test2'}, 'test key');
console.log(token);

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/crypto-js/4.2.0/crypto-js.min.js"></script>

The code above demonstrates functionality for generating JWT tokens.

Creating Secure JWT Tokens

Answer №1

Answer №2

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