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JSON Web Token vs Spring Security: What are the differences?

JSON Web Token (JWT) and Spring Security are two different technologies used in web application security. Let's explore the key differences between them.

  1. Token-based Authentication: JSON Web Token (JWT) is a compact, URL-safe means of representing claims to be transferred between two parties. It is commonly used for stateless authentication in web applications, where a token is issued to the client upon successful authentication and is used to authenticate subsequent requests. Spring Security, on the other hand, is a powerful and highly customizable framework that provides both authentication and authorization features for Java applications.

  2. Statelessness vs Session Management: One key difference between JWT and Spring Security is the way they handle session management. JWT is stateless, which means that the server does not keep any session-related data. The client sends the token with each request, and the server can verify the token without the need for server-side session management. In contrast, Spring Security provides session management capabilities, allowing the server to keep track of user sessions and manage session timeouts, invalidation, and other session-related tasks.

  3. Token Generation and Validation: JWT tokens are generated and signed by an authentication server, usually using a secret key or a public/private key pair. The server can validate the token by verifying the signature and checking the token's expiration date and other properties. In Spring Security, tokens are typically generated and managed by the framework itself. Spring Security provides various token-based authentication mechanisms, such as OAuth2 and JWT, which can be used based on the application's requirements.

  4. Scalability and Performance: Due to its stateless nature and the absence of server-side session management, JWT-based authentication can be highly scalable and performant. Each request contains all the necessary authentication information in the token, eliminating the need for server-side data storage and reducing database queries or session lookups. In contrast, Spring Security's session-based authentication can present scalability challenges, especially in large-scale applications with heavy concurrent traffic, as the server needs to manage and track user sessions.

  5. Flexibility and Customization: Spring Security provides a highly flexible and customizable authentication and authorization framework, allowing developers to define their own authentication mechanisms, user providers, and access control rules. This makes it suitable for complex and diverse application requirements. On the other hand, JWT is a standardized solution with a specific token structure and validation process. While it provides simplicity and interoperability, it may not offer the same level of customization as Spring Security.

  6. Integration with Existing Infrastructure: Spring Security is tightly integrated with the Spring ecosystem and can seamlessly work with other Spring components and libraries. It provides out-of-the-box integration with various authentication providers and protocols, such as LDAP, OAuth2, and SAML. JWT, being a standalone specification, can be used with any platform or technology stack. However, integrating JWT-based authentication into an existing Spring application may require additional configurations and customizations.

In summary, JSON Web Token (JWT) and Spring Security offer different approaches to authentication and authorization in web applications. JWT provides a stateless, scalable, and interoperable solution, while Spring Security offers a flexible and customizable framework with built-in session management capabilities.

Advice on JSON Web Token and Spring Security
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KeycloakKeycloakOktaOkta
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Spring SecuritySpring Security

I am working on building a platform in my company that will provide a single sign on to all of the internal products to the customer. To do that we need to build an Authorisation server to comply with the OIDC protocol. Earlier we had built the Auth server using the Spring Security OAuth project but since in Spring Security 5.x it is no longer supported we are planning to get over with it as well. Below are the 2 options that I was considering to replace the Spring Auth Server. 1. Keycloak 2. Okta 3. Auth0 Please advise which one to use.

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Replies (3)
Luca Ferrari
Solution Architect at Red Hat, Inc. · | 5 upvotes · 199.1K views
Recommends
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KeycloakKeycloak

It isn't clear if beside the AuthZ requirement you had others, but given the scenario you described my suggestion would for you to go with Keycloak. First of all because you have already an onpremise IdP and with Keycloak you could maintain that setup (if privacy is a concern). Another important point is configuration and customization: I would assume with Spring OAuth you might have had some custom logic around authentication, this can be easily reconfigured in Keycloak by leveraging SPI (https://www.keycloak.org/docs/latest/server_development/index.html#_auth_spi). Finally AuthZ as a functionality is well developed, based on standard protocols and extensible on Keycloak (https://www.keycloak.org/docs/latest/authorization_services/)

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Sandor Racz
Recommends
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KeycloakKeycloak

We have good experience using Keycloak for SSO with OIDC with our Spring Boot based applications. It's free, easy to install and configure, extensible - so I recommend it.

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Recommends
on
KeycloakKeycloak

You can also use Keycloak as an Identity Broker, which enables you to handle authentication on many different identity providers of your customers. With this setup, you are able to perform authorization tasks centralized.

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Pros of JSON Web Token
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    What is JSON Web Token?

    JSON Web Token is an open standard 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.

    What is Spring Security?

    It is a framework that focuses on providing both authentication and authorization to Java applications. The real power of Spring Security is found in how easily it can be extended to meet custom requirements.

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    What are some alternatives to JSON Web Token and Spring Security?
    OAuth2
    It is an authorization framework that enables a third-party application to obtain limited access to an HTTP service, either on behalf of a resource owner by orchestrating an approval interaction between the resource owner and the HTTP service, or by allowing the third-party application to obtain access on its own behalf.
    Passport
    It is authentication middleware for Node.js. Extremely flexible and modular, It can be unobtrusively dropped in to any Express-based web application. A comprehensive set of strategies support authentication using a username and password, Facebook, Twitter, and more.
    Auth0
    A set of unified APIs and tools that instantly enables Single Sign On and user management to all your applications.
    Keycloak
    It is an Open Source Identity and Access Management For Modern Applications and Services. It adds authentication to applications and secure services with minimum fuss. No need to deal with storing users or authenticating users. It's all available out of the box.
    Azure Active Directory
    It is a comprehensive identity and access management solution that gives you a robust set of capabilities to manage users and groups. You can get the reliability and scalability you need with identity services that work with your on-premises, cloud, or hybrid environment.
    See all alternatives