May 1, 2024
Updated June 3, 2025
18 minute read
An Introduction to JSON Web Tokens (JWT)
JSON Web Tokens, commonly known as JWTs, are a compact and self-contained way for securely transmitting information between parties as a JSON object. This information can be verified and trusted because it is digitally signed. JWTs can be signed using a secret (with the HMAC algorithm) or a public/private key pair using RSA or ECDSA. Think of a JWT as a secure envelope for your data as it travels across the web. Because they are compact, JWTs can be sent through a URL, POST parameter, or inside an HTTP header, which is a common practice for authentication and information exchange.
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Reading list
We've selected 21 books
that we think will supplement your
learning. Use these to
develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a
deeper understanding of the topics covered in
JWT.
Provides a comprehensive guide to securing APIs, with dedicated sections on token-based authentication, including self-contained tokens and JWTs. It offers practical, experience-driven advice suitable for developers with experience building RESTful APIs. The book's hands-on approach, building a social network API throughout, makes it a valuable resource for solidifying understanding and serves as a useful reference tool. While not solely focused on JWT, its coverage within the broader context of API security is highly relevant.
Guidelines from the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) on best practices for using JWTs securely, covering common security risks and recommendations.
Focusing specifically on OpenID Connect, an identity layer built on OAuth 2.0, this book provides in-depth coverage of how it uses JSON standards, including JWT. It's an example-driven guide showing integration into various application types. is crucial for understanding how JWT is utilized within identity federation and modern authentication flows, making it highly relevant for those working with user login and identity management alongside JWT. It's a practical guide for experienced developers.
A practical guide to using JWTs for securing applications, covering common pitfalls and security considerations.
Delves into advanced API security concepts, with a significant focus on OAuth 2.0 and the standards built around it, including JWT, JWS, and JWE. It is aimed at enterprise security architects and developers building and integrating enterprise APIs. The book helps deepen understanding of how JWT fits into broader security frameworks like OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, making it valuable for those looking to go beyond basic implementation. It serves as a strong reference for best practices in designing secure APIs.
Provides an in-depth look at the OAuth 2.0 protocol, which is often used in conjunction with JWT. It covers the protocol's structure, components, vulnerabilities, and mitigations. Understanding OAuth 2.0 is essential for correctly implementing JWT in many modern authentication and authorization flows. This book serves as a detailed reference for developers and architects working with OAuth 2.0 and JWT.
Demystifies key identity management protocols like OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, both of which are closely related to JWT. Understanding these protocols is crucial for implementing JWT in identity and access management solutions. It provides a clear explanation of how these standards work together.
Given that microservices architectures often heavily utilize APIs and token-based authentication like JWT for service-to-service communication, this book is highly relevant for those working in such environments. It covers securing microservices APIs, which would include the application of JWT in this context. It adds depth by showing how JWT is used in a distributed system architecture.
Focuses specifically on API security testing and finding vulnerabilities in APIs. Understanding how APIs can be attacked, including those using token-based authentication, is vital for implementing JWT securely. It offers practical techniques for identifying and exploiting API security flaws, providing a valuable offensive perspective to complement defensive strategies involving JWT.
Offers a clear and practical introduction to the fundamental concepts of authentication and authorization in web applications. While it may not focus specifically on JWT, it provides essential background knowledge on the problems that JWT helps solve. It is suitable for students and professional web developers new to these concepts and serves as a good starting point before diving into more technical details of token-based authentication.
A comprehensive Chinese-language guide to OAuth 2.0, including a section on JWTs, providing a resource for developers in the Chinese-speaking community.
For developers working with ASP.NET Core, this book provides comprehensive coverage of the framework, including security aspects that would involve authentication and authorization mechanisms relevant to JWT. It's a valuable reference for implementing JWT within an ASP.NET Core application.
Provides developers with practical knowledge about real web security threats and how to defend against them. Understanding the practical aspects of web security is crucial for implementing JWT correctly and avoiding common pitfalls. It complements theoretical knowledge with practical defense strategies.
This practical guide covers both offensive and defensive web application security concepts. Understanding exploitation techniques helps in designing more secure applications and implementing security measures like JWT effectively. While not solely focused on JWT, it provides crucial context on modern web application security threats and defenses.
Covers identity and data security best practices for web development, which would include concepts relevant to JWT. It provides a broader view of securing user identities and data in web applications, offering valuable context for implementing JWT within a secure overall architecture.
Covers essential web application security principles and techniques applicable to any stack. It includes practical recommendations for common vulnerabilities. While not centered on JWT, understanding general web security is crucial for implementing JWT securely. It provides valuable context and helps developers understand the threat landscape, making their JWT implementations more robust.
While not exclusively about JWT, this classic in web security provides a foundational understanding of common web vulnerabilities and exploitation techniques, which is essential context for understanding why secure authentication mechanisms like JWT are necessary. It covers authentication bypass and other related topics. is more valuable for providing prerequisite security knowledge and understanding the landscape in which JWT operates securely, rather than being a direct reference for JWT implementation itself. It is widely considered a must-read for web security professionals.
Explores the complexities of modern web application security, including browser security and client-side attacks. Understanding these areas is important for implementing JWT securely, especially in single-page applications and mobile clients. It provides valuable context on the broader web security ecosystem in which JWT is used.
This foundational book focuses on the principles of building secure software from the ground up, emphasizing secure design and coding practices. While predating the widespread use of JWT, its principles are timeless and directly applicable to implementing JWT securely. It provides essential background knowledge on software security that helps solidify an understanding of the 'why' behind secure JWT implementation. It's a classic in the field of software security.
JWT relies on cryptographic principles for signing and verification. While a deep understanding of cryptography is not strictly necessary for basic JWT implementation, this book provides a solid foundation in the underlying cryptographic concepts. For those looking to understand the security guarantees of JWT at a deeper level and potentially work with custom implementations or advanced use cases, this book is invaluable background reading.
While not directly about JWT, this book on API design patterns provides context on building well-structured and secure APIs. Secure API design prerequisite for effectively using JWT for authentication and authorization. Understanding common API patterns helps in integrating JWT correctly within an overall API architecture.
For more information about how these books relate to this course, visit:
OpenCourser.com/topic/f787ce/jw
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