nodeSolidServer / nodeSolidServer/node-solid-server

authorize endpoint fails if public jwk doesn't include .alg

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Description

In the guide for the webid-oidc spec, the "Authorization Request" step describes the encoding of the request paramater.

This includes the public key of a JWK in the key field. I'm using a python tool to generate keys (jwcrypto), but when it generates a public key it doesn't include the "alg" field:

{
  "kty": "RSA",
  "n": "sezpNr99QA7xMqkNvpZamVDdkiAn_xvuH2H5nTFKYDKILny3a1hp2ULV2nvumiCt9IsxEuvPjAGRQsPMKwDkCjhzO70EoFyb2k2PzwBk_Fd37xNbl4Nrb4W9zK7Vff5vXmtBOFSSzsUdUf52zZMii7RZBcDQSLcmv63qV_NDpvGNOTadth1nbJhzMtQDQWBlWbClI8Z4R0fGgx7yhQvMqOl6vIlFfricBcoe2nopS51uUbsZSNSkTrGHCsBM_ggvVcWzFAvipkSsplEPhvdT1K7oC4Q6yNG6koPPajpxNnEw05Nh5YHIUcmhFKj76rqaCNtwBejYBxeQp2rwnLekKQ",
  "e": "AQAB"
}

According to the JWK spec, this parameter is optional: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7517#section-4.4

When generating an authorization request, if the key doesn't include alg, node-solid server returns an error. The exception that causes this is:

normalizedAlgorithm = Error: undefined is not a supported algorithm
at SupportedAlgorithms.normalize (node_modules/@solid/jose/src/algorithms/SupportedAlgorithms.js:75:14)
at Function.importKey (node_modules/@solid/jose/src/jose/JWA.js:89:51)
at Function.importKey (node_modules/@solid/jose/src/jose/JWK.js:31:16)
at AuthenticationRequest.loadCnfKey (node_modules/@solid/oidc-op/src/handlers/AuthenticationRequest.js:212:16)
at node_modules/@solid/oidc-op/src/handlers/AuthenticationRequest.js:176:26

It seems that jose.JWA expects that the alg field exists: https://github.com/solid/jose/blob/71ebf31761002bcb18ce88e739a30a8a6459936f/src/jose/JWA.js#L89

I couldn't find any specific webid-oidc documentation that says that alg is required in this case. It might be nice for node-solid-server to return an explicit error message if a submitted key doesn't include it.

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  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start at AuthenticationRequest.loadCnfKey in @solid/oidc-op and follow the importKey calls through @solid/jose/src/jose/JWK.js and JWA.js. Compare the behavior with the WebID-OIDC authorization-request guide and RFC 7517; done means the missing alg case has an explicit, appropriate outcome for the authorize endpoint.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
javascript, nodejs
Domain
authentication, backend
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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