JSON Web Token (JWT) Profile for OAuth 2.0 Client Authentication and Authorization Grants
RFC 7523

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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                          M. Jones
Request for Comments: 7523                                     Microsoft
Category: Standards Track                                    B. Campbell
ISSN: 2070-1721                                            Ping Identity
                                                            C. Mortimore
                                                              Salesforce
                                                                May 2015

                      JSON Web Token (JWT) Profile
      for OAuth 2.0 Client Authentication and Authorization Grants

Abstract

   This specification defines the use of a JSON Web Token (JWT) Bearer
   Token as a means for requesting an OAuth 2.0 access token as well as
   for client authentication.

Status of This Memo

   This is an Internet Standards Track document.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7523.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2015 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Jones, et al.                Standards Track                    [Page 1]
RFC 7523              OAuth JWT Assertion Profiles              May 2015

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
     1.1.  Notational Conventions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     1.2.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   2.  HTTP Parameter Bindings for Transporting Assertions . . . . .   4
     2.1.  Using JWTs as Authorization Grants  . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.2.  Using JWTs for Client Authentication  . . . . . . . . . .   5
   3.  JWT Format and Processing Requirements  . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.1.  Authorization Grant Processing  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     3.2.  Client Authentication Processing  . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   4.  Authorization Grant Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   5.  Interoperability Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   7.  Privacy Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   8.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     8.1.  Sub-Namespace Registration of
           urn:ietf:params:oauth:grant-type:jwt-bearer . . . . . . .  10
     8.2.  Sub-Namespace Registration of
           urn:ietf:params:oauth:client-assertion-type:jwt-bearer  .  10
   9.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     9.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     9.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   Acknowledgements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12

1.  Introduction

   JSON Web Token (JWT) [JWT] is a JSON-based [RFC7159] security token
   encoding that enables identity and security information to be shared
   across security domains.  A security token is generally issued by an
   Identity Provider and consumed by a Relying Party that relies on its
   content to identify the token's subject for security-related
   purposes.

   The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework [RFC6749] provides a method for
   making authenticated HTTP requests to a resource using an access
   token.  Access tokens are issued to third-party clients by an
   authorization server (AS) with the (sometimes implicit) approval of
   the resource owner.  In OAuth, an authorization grant is an abstract
   term used to describe intermediate credentials that represent the
   resource owner authorization.  An authorization grant is used by the
   client to obtain an access token.  Several authorization grant types
   are defined to support a wide range of client types and user
   experiences.  OAuth also allows for the definition of new extension
   grant types to support additional clients or to provide a bridge