getodk / getodk/central

Returning 401 status without WWW-Authenticate header

Open
#1,239 5 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
backend
Dominant language
JavaScript
Stars
226
Forks
235
Avg merge
2d 22h
Merged PRs (30d)
19

Description

[Backend is returning HTTP status 401 in a few places](https://github.com/getodk/central-backend/blob/d8181acab5dd000eac6d60d0df976f1e91701147/lib/util/problem.js#L114-L119), and I can't see any inclusion of a `WWW-Authenticate` header.

> The server generating a 401 response MUST send a [WWW-Authenticate](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110#field.www-authenticate) header field
> -- _https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110#status.401_

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

Research direction

Start in lib/util/problem.js at lines 114-119 and trace the few backend paths that return HTTP 401. Compare their responses with the linked RFC 9110 requirement and determine the appropriate WWW-Authenticate behavior; the work is done when each affected 401 response includes the required header.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
javascript
Domain
api, backend
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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