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Mastering OAuth 2.0
Mastering OAuth 2.0

Mastering OAuth 2.0: Create powerful applications to interact with popular service providers such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, and more by leveraging the OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework

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Mastering OAuth 2.0

Chapter 2. A Bird's Eye View of OAuth 2.0

In the previous chapter, we talked about what OAuth 2.0 is and its importance in today's technology industry. We established that the protocol is used to effectively exchange information and resources between parties to serve a multitude of purposes (remember federated identity and delegated authority?). But how does it actually achieve these things? This is what we will explore next.

In this chapter, we will take a look at how OAuth 2.0 works at a high level. We will use this knowledge to explore and understand the various ways in which it is used, from websites to mobile devices to desktop applications, and the differences in each.

How does it work?

Let's revisit our example scenario. You have just signed up for the service GoodApp, and now GoodApp would like to suggest contacts for you to add by looking at your Facebook friends. In the last chapter, we looked at the old model, where GoodApp would ask you for your username and password and use them to access your Facebook friend list on your behalf. We then looked at the new, superior model that uses OAuth 2.0 to achieve the same thing, but in a much more secure and manageable way.

The (simplified) workflow looks like this:

How does it work?

Here are the steps:

  1. You ask GoodApp to suggest you contacts.
  2. GoodApp says, "Sure! But you'll have to authorize me first. Go here…"
  3. GoodApp sends you to Facebook to log in and authorize GoodApp.
  4. Facebook asks you directly for authorization to see if GoodApp can access your friend list on your behalf.
  5. You say "yes".
  6. Facebook happily obliges, giving GoodApp your friend list. GoodApp then uses this information to tailor...

First look at the client-side flow

Let's, once again, go back to our example of GoodApp wanting to suggest contacts to you by looking at your Facebook friends. Imagine that the GoodApp client application is actually a simple web application hosted in the browser. This is an example of an untrusted client due to its inability to securely store information. The implicit grant type is best suited for this type of client application. Let's look at how the exchange of information (step 4 in the workflow image mentioned in the User consent section) is achieved using the implicit grant type.

An untrusted client – GoodApp requests access for user's Facebook friends using implicit grant

Since GoodApp, in this case, is an untrusted client, they cannot be trusted to store or relay any confidential information. Specifically, they cannot store any client credentials or tokens. Because of this, they have a very simple workflow. Here is what the exchange looks like, picking up after...

First look at the server-side flow

Imagine now that the GoodApp application is no longer a simple HTML/JavaScript web application, but is now a full 3-tier client-server-database application. This client application is now able to securely store confidential information thanks to the server and database layer, and so is a perfect candidate for the authorization code grant workflow.

A trusted client – GoodApp requests access for user's Facebook friends using authorization code grant

Remember that a trusted client is able to securely store confidential information, such as client credentials. So, during the registration process (which we will discuss in Chapter 3, Four Easy Steps), trusted clients will be issued credentials to store. Here is what that exchange looks like with a registered, trusted client using the authorization code grant flow, once again, picking up after GoodApp directs you to Facebook for user consent:

A trusted client – GoodApp requests access for user's Facebook friends using authorization code grant

Here are the steps performed in the preceding flow chart,...

What are the differences?

The main differences between the server-side workflow and the client-side workflow can be summarized in this table:

 

Simplicity

Security

Access duration

Server-side flow

(authorization code grant flow)

More complex: In order to facilitate the secure storage and transmission of confidential data, a backend server and data store must be maintained.

More secure: The server-side flow never exposes the key to the browser, and so has a significantly smaller chance of being leaked.

Long-term: Because an application using the authorization code grant flow is trusted to store confidential information, it can store properties needed for long-term, even offline, access.

Client-side flow

(implicit grant flow)

Less complex: Due to the more relaxed requirements around security for untrusted applications, no backend server or data store is required. Everything can happen from the browser.

Less secure: The key is passed directly to the browser and so has a much...

What about mobile?

When it comes to which workflow to use for an application on a mobile device, the same considerations are taken into account: can the application securely store and transmit confidential data. This topic gets interesting when we start discussing modern mobile platforms. Most modern mobile platforms provide APIs for secure storage:

  • iOS: iOS 4+ SDK utilizes Data Protection
  • Android: Android 6+ SDK v23+ provides the Android Keystore system
  • Windows Mobile: Windows Phone SDK 8+ provides the DPAPI (Data Protection API)

Tip

This is not an exhaustive list of APIs for secure storage for each platform. Most modern mobile platforms actually provide many different methods for securely storing your data. This is only a sampling.

Used in conjunction with secure transmission protocols, such as SSL or TLS, many application developers consider these satisfactory for the requirements of secure storage and transmission of confidential information, and therefore consider their mobile applications...

How does it work?


Let's revisit our example scenario. You have just signed up for the service GoodApp, and now GoodApp would like to suggest contacts for you to add by looking at your Facebook friends. In the last chapter, we looked at the old model, where GoodApp would ask you for your username and password and use them to access your Facebook friend list on your behalf. We then looked at the new, superior model that uses OAuth 2.0 to achieve the same thing, but in a much more secure and manageable way.

The (simplified) workflow looks like this:

Here are the steps:

  1. You ask GoodApp to suggest you contacts.

  2. GoodApp says, "Sure! But you'll have to authorize me first. Go here…"

  3. GoodApp sends you to Facebook to log in and authorize GoodApp.

  4. Facebook asks you directly for authorization to see if GoodApp can access your friend list on your behalf.

  5. You say "yes".

  6. Facebook happily obliges, giving GoodApp your friend list. GoodApp then uses this information to tailor suggested contacts for you.

The image...

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Key benefits

  • Learn how to use the OAuth 2.0 protocol to interact with the world's most popular service providers, such as Facebook, Google, Instagram, Slack, Box, and more
  • Master the finer details of this complex protocol to maximize the potential of your application while maintaining the utmost of security
  • Step through the construction of a real-world working application that logs you in with your Facebook account to create a compelling infographic about the most important person in the world—you!

Description

OAuth 2.0 is a powerful authentication and authorization framework that has been adopted as a standard in the technical community. Proper use of this protocol will enable your application to interact with the world's most popular service providers, allowing you to leverage their world-class technologies in your own application. Want to log your user in to your application with their Facebook account? Want to display an interactive Google Map in your application? How about posting an update to your user's LinkedIn feed? This is all achievable through the power of OAuth. With a focus on practicality and security, this book takes a detailed and hands-on approach to explaining the protocol, highlighting important pieces of information along the way. At the beginning, you will learn what OAuth is, how it works at a high level, and the steps involved in creating an application. After obtaining an overview of OAuth, you will move on to the second part of the book where you will learn the need for and importance of registering your application and types of supported workflows. You will discover more about the access token, how you can use it with your application, and how to refresh it after expiration. By the end of the book, you will know how to make your application architecture robust. You will explore the security considerations and effective methods to debug your applications using appropriate tools. You will also have a look at special considerations to integrate with OAuth service providers via native mobile applications. In addition, you will also come across support resources for OAuth and credentials grant.

Who is this book for?

If you are an application developer, software architect, security engineer, or even a casual programmer looking to leverage the power of OAuth, Mastering OAuth 2.0 is for you. Covering basic topics such as registering your application and choosing an appropriate workflow, to advanced topics such as security considerations and extensions to the specification, this book has something for everyone. A basic knowledge of programming and OAuth is recommended.

What you will learn

  • Discover the power and prevalence of OAuth 2.0 and use it to improve your
  • application s capabilities
  • Step through the process of creating a real-world application that interacts with Facebook using OAuth 2.0
  • Examine the various workflows described by the specification, looking at what they are and when to use them
  • Learn about the many security considerations involved with creating an application that interacts with other service providers
  • Develop your debugging skills with dedicated pages for tooling and troubleshooting
  • Build your own rich, powerful applications by leveraging world-class technologies from companies around the world
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Length: 238 pages
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Language : English
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Table of Contents

16 Chapters
1. Why Should I Care About OAuth 2.0? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. A Bird's Eye View of OAuth 2.0 Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Four Easy Steps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Register Your Application Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Get an Access Token with the Client-Side Flow Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Get an Access Token with the Server-Side Flow Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Use Your Access Token Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Refresh Your Access Token Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Security Considerations Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
10. What About Mobile? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
11. Tooling and Troubleshooting Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
12. Extensions to OAuth 2.0 Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
A. Resource Owner Password Credentials Grant Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
B. Client Credentials Grant Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
C. Reference Specifications Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.5
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sunnyvale_hh Aug 29, 2017
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Excellent book to learn OAuth from
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Arterra Jan 10, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This is exactly what I needed for the new HCIS application I am developing. Very clear, easy to follow, and made utilizing OAuth 2.0 pain free. Really glad I found this for my reference!
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Rohit Dhamija Jul 05, 2017
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Good book in case you are new to security authentication vs authorization
Amazon Verified review Amazon
David DeBRUIN Nov 22, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
Quite repetitive but has good information.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Ty Sep 23, 2021
Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 1
This book is a muddle of a few badly-represented diagrams using non-standard (OAuth) terminology, repeated too many times and unfortunately presented wrongly in a couple of contexts.IMO a far better option would be to use the IETF spec rfc6749. Which is free (in addition to being the OAuth 2.0 standard).If one absolutely wants to buy a book on this topic, I would recommend the Manning publication as additional reading to the IETF spec.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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