Notes
What is OAuth?
- it is a framework that allows users who do not own a database to interact with it via permissions
Give an example of what using OAuth would look like.
- sending information to a cloud service via an email that is not hosted by that service
How does OAuth work? What are the steps that it takes to authenticate the user?
- The first website connects to the second website on behalf of the user, using OAuth, providing the user’s verified identity.
- The second site generates a one-time token and a one-time secret unique to the transaction and parties involved.
- The first site gives this token and secret to the initiating user’s client software.
- The client’s software presents the request token and secret to their authorization provider (which may or may not be the second site).
- If not already authenticated to the authorization provider, the client may be asked to authenticate. After authentication, the client is asked to approve the authorization transaction to the second website.
- The user approves (or their software silently approves) a particular transaction type at the first website.
The user is given an approved access token (notice it’s no longer a request token).
- The user gives the approved access token to the first website.
- The first website gives the access token to the second website as proof of authentication on behalf of the user.
The second website lets the first website access their site on behalf of the user.
- The user sees a successfully completed transaction occurring.
- OAuth is not the first authentication/authorization system to work this way on behalf of the end-user. In fact, many authentication systems, notably Kerberos, work similarly. What is special about OAuth is its ability to work across the web and its wide adoption. It succeeded with adoption rates where previous attempts failed (for various reasons).
What is OpenID?
- open ID allows for you to log into multiple services with the same ID
What is the difference between authorization and authentication?
- authentication tests to see if the user is who they say they are and authorization is the list of users who are allowed
What is Authorization Code Flow?
- it is the path an authorization token passes through when a site is providing information
What is Authorization Code Flow with Proof Key for Code Exchange (PKCE)?
- similiar to a standard code flow but it has additional check backs for the PKCE to verify the information
What is Implicit Flow with Form Post?
- it is a method of signing a user in via an ID Token
What is Client Credentials Flow?
- a machine to machine validation that has auth0 as the middle point to validate access
What is Device Authorization Flow?
- a mirrored data flow with browser and server to verify information
What is Resource Owner Password Flow?
- this method stores a user token on the backend and is for only highly trusted applications
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