Role of Trust in OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect

TL;DR

This paper analyzes how trust is established and maintained among roles in OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, which is essential for secure authorization and authentication processes.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of trust establishment mechanisms between roles in OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, clarifying their importance for protocol security.

Findings

Trust establishment is crucial for protocol security

Roles require pre-established or dynamically established trust

Understanding trust mechanisms aids in protocol implementation

Abstract

OAuth 2.0 is a framework for authorization. Being a framework, OAuth 2.0 allows extensions to build on top of it. OpenID Connect is one such extension which adds authentication layer using identity details. OAuth 2.0 define several roles that are required to complete the protocol. Both OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect involve interactions between these roles. These interactions require a pre-established trust or a trust establishment while protocol operate. This paper analyzes trust establishments between OAuth 2.0 roles and discuss important aspects of them. Such analysis is required for proper understanding of the protocols.