fix(security): add cache-control headers to token endpoints #2217
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…caching Token endpoints (password grant, refresh token, PKCE, MFA, etc.) were missing Cache-Control headers, allowing browsers to cache JWT tokens in memory. This violates RFC 6749 Section 5.1 which requires token responses to include 'Cache-Control: no-store'. Security Impact: - Browsers like Firefox cache token responses in about:cache - Attackers with physical access can extract cached JWT tokens - Leads to potential session hijacking Changes: - Add sendTokenJSON helper function with no-store cache headers - Update all token-returning endpoints to use sendTokenJSON - Covers password, refresh, PKCE, MFA, OIDC, Web3, anonymous, signup, and verify flows Fixes discovered during professional security audit (OWASP OTG-AUTHN-006).
hf
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Oct 29, 2025
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| w.Header().Set("Cache-Control", "no-store, no-cache, must-revalidate") | ||
| w.Header().Set("Pragma", "no-cache") |
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These apply just in general to all Auth requests, so maybe it can be added as middleware?
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What kind of change does this PR introduce?
Bug fix - Security hardening
What is the current behavior?
Token endpoints (password grant, refresh token, PKCE, MFA, etc.) do not set
Cache-Controlheaders in their responses. This allows browsers to cache JWT token responses containing sensitive credentials.Security Impact:
about:cacheCache-Control: no-storeIssue discovered during professional security audit (OWASP OTG-AUTHN-006)
Affected endpoints:
/token?grant_type=password(password login)/token?grant_type=refresh_token(token refresh)/token?grant_type=pkce(OAuth PKCE flow)/token?grant_type=id_token(OIDC)/token?grant_type=web3(Web3 authentication)/verify(email/phone verification)/signup(user registration)What is the new behavior?
All token endpoints now return proper cache control headers:
Implementation:
sendTokenJSONhelper function ininternal/api/helpers.gosendTokenJSONinstead ofsendJSONBrowsers will no longer cache token responses, preventing exposure of JWT tokens through browser cache inspection.
Additional context
Testing performed:
make formatpassedmake vetpassedReferences:
This change affects all authentication flows but is backward compatible - it only adds headers, doesn't modify response bodies or behavior.