matrix-org / matrix-org/matrix-spec

Use something more secure than bearer tokens for auth

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#259 6 comments 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub
A-Client-Server feature
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330
Forks
150
Avg merge
2h 21m
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Description

moving access_tokens to the http headers mitigated it, but it's still quite easy to leak an access_token, in which case, you lose. Perhaps we should consider using something like OAuth 1 signatures, like twitter: https://developer.twitter.com/en/docs/basics/authentication/guides/creating-a-signature

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by reviewing the Matrix protocol specification's existing access-token authentication behavior described in this issue, then compare it with the linked OAuth 1 signature approach. The issue does not name files or tests; done would require an agreed, specified replacement for bearer-token authentication.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
api, authentication, security
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
20/100

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