REST API Authentication without client secret

Support
#1

Hi,
I am using the REST API for my applicaiton, and testing the application with oauthdebugger.com, and using the PKCE approach, And i am getting the authentication code added as code in the URL parameter. And to exchange this authorization code for access token, i am executing another http request as below as shown in the documentation (Obtaining Tokens :: Jmix Documentation):

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/oauth2/token \
   --basic --user myapp:myappsecret \
   -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
   -d "grant_type=authorization_code" \
   -d "redirect_uri=https://oauthdebugger.com/debug" \
   -d "code=c9ehHTJyT84mX-v2v2Q8sbAxkAFYg-gjfZDJImu5ExZVGLUyWn_J2-afs_m7kiv7MwjD-XXVRQtwz_6H-JTb4NvuWiUw6-5vrF75LtyNYAovuvSJQ680nQwv3PbhB4Y-" \
   -d "code_verifier=zdhRZIStXgwonFfvNYo2oI6nYuYt022LdcZF8eh3LGE" \
   -d "code_challenge_method=S256"

But in the above curl request why we should have the client secret?

The whole point of Proof Key for Code Exchange (PKCE) is to eliminate the need for a client secret, making it more suitable for public clients like mobile or JavaScript applications.

So, how we can get the access token using the authorization code in the client application?

#3

Hi,

Looks like it requires to configure “public” client which doesn’t have secret at all.
Some details can be found in How-to: Authenticate using a Single Page Application with PKCE :: Spring Authorization Server

With the following properties the https://oauthdebugger.com did code exchange automatically and provide the valid access token

#public client
spring.security.oauth2.authorizationserver.client.public-client.registration.client-id=public-client
spring.security.oauth2.authorizationserver.client.public-client.registration.client-authentication-methods=none
spring.security.oauth2.authorizationserver.client.public-client.registration.authorization-grant-types=authorization_code
spring.security.oauth2.authorizationserver.client.public-client.registration.redirect-uris=https://oauthdebugger.com/debug
spring.security.oauth2.authorizationserver.client.public-client.scopes=openid,profile
spring.security.oauth2.authorizationserver.client.public-client.require-proof-key=true

Please check.

Regards,
Ivan

#4

Hi @i.gavrilov ,
Thanks for your reponse, I am having the same configuration in my application.properties file.

When i request with response type as code, then only i am successfully routed to login page.

If i select as token, then i am getting the “Whitelabel Error Page”, below is the screenshots, and i also attached the my jmix project for your perusal.

application.properties file:

main.datasource.url = jdbc:hsqldb:file:.jmix/hsqldb/oauthcodeflow
main.datasource.username = sa
main.datasource.password =

main.liquibase.change-log=com/company/oauth_code_flow/liquibase/changelog.xml

jmix.ui.login-view-id = LoginView
jmix.ui.main-view-id = MainView
jmix.ui.menu-config = com/company/oauth_code_flow/menu.xml
jmix.ui.composite-menu = true

ui.login.defaultUsername = admin
ui.login.defaultPassword = admin

jmix.core.available-locales = en

# Launch the default browser when starting the application in development mode
vaadin.launch-browser = false

# Use pnpm to speed up project initialization and save disk space
vaadin.pnpm.enable = true

logging.level.org.atmosphere = warn

# 'debug' level logs SQL generated by EclipseLink ORM
logging.level.eclipselink.logging.sql = info

# 'debug' level logs data store operations
logging.level.io.jmix.core.datastore = info

# 'debug' level logs access control constraints
logging.level.io.jmix.core.AccessLogger = debug

# 'debug' level logs all Jmix debug output
logging.level.io.jmix = info

spring.security.oauth2.authorizationserver.client.public-client.registration.client-id=public-client
spring.security.oauth2.authorizationserver.client.public-client.registration.client-authentication-methods=none
spring.security.oauth2.authorizationserver.client.public-client.registration.authorization-grant-types=authorization_code
spring.security.oauth2.authorizationserver.client.public-client.registration.redirect-uris=https://oauthdebugger.com/debug
spring.security.oauth2.authorizationserver.client.public-client.scopes=openid,profile
spring.security.oauth2.authorizationserver.client.public-client.require-proof-key=true

# Login page configuration
jmix.authserver.login-page-view-name=custom-as-login.html
#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

jmix.resource-server.authenticated-url-patterns=/rest/**
jmix.rest.inline-fetch-plan-enabled=false

Thanks.
oauth_code_flow.zip (191.2 KB)

reponse type = code
image

response type = token
image

response type = code, token
image

#5

Hi @i.gavrilov

Any update on this. We are still facing the issue, please advise us, Are we are doing anything wrong in the configuration (application.properties)?

Thanks.

#6

Hi,

Sorry for the late response.

Spring Authorization Server is based on OAuth 2.1 specification.

response_type=token relates to implicit flow which was deprecated and removed within OAuth 2.1 (draft-ietf-oauth-v2-1-12 - The OAuth 2.1 Authorization Framework) in favor of PKCE.

So it looks like you can’t use this approach.

Regards,
Ivan