Fix algorithm confusion that allows JWT forgery via RSA JWK as HMAC key

GHSA-q843-6q5f-w55g: an RSA JWK without an "alg" parameter was accepted
as the verification key for HS256/384/512 tokens. Because the jwk_item_t
union shares storage between provider_data (RSA EVP_PKEY *) and
oct.{key,len} (HMAC bytes/length), the OpenSSL HMAC path read a
zero-length key and produced a successful verification for any token
signed as HMAC("", header.payload). This let an attacker forge tokens
using only the public JWKS.

Bind algorithm acceptance to the JWK's actual "kty" rather than its
optional "alg" hint, in three layered places:

* jwt-private.h: new jwt_alg_required_kty() helper providing the
  authoritative JWA-algorithm to JWK-kty mapping.
* jwt-common.c: __setkey_check() now rejects any setkey() / verify
  callback that pairs a non-none algorithm with an incompatible kty.
  This is the primary fix and runs at both setkey and post-callback.
* jwt-verify.c: __verify_config_post() re-checks kty once jwt->alg is
  bound from the token, blocking malformed JWKs whose own alg hint
  disagrees with their kty.
* jwt.c: __check_hmac() defensive backstop in the single chokepoint
  used by all three crypto backends; refuses any non-oct key for HMAC.

Tests added in jwt_security.c cover the original PoC, the realistic
JWKS callback exploit pattern, all three HS sizes, RSA/EC/OKP keys
mis-targeted at HS256, and the malformed-JWK defensive verify path.
A few existing tests (hs256_token_failed, verify_es256_bad_sig,
sign_es256_bad_sig, rsa_ec_short) were updated; they previously
documented the vulnerable behavior under the guise of "different ways"
of failing and now assert the correct earlier rejection.

Signed-off-by: Ben Collins <bcollins@libjwt.io>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
10 files changed
tree: a7d6d62b5f6b21df837674617589572aeb5e8419
  1. .github/
  2. cmake/
  3. doxygen/
  4. images/
  5. include/
  6. libjwt/
  7. tests/
  8. tools/
  9. .gitignore
  10. CLAUDE.md
  11. CMakeLists.txt
  12. LICENSE
  13. README.md
  14. SECURITY.md
README.md

LibJWT - The C JWT Library

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[!WARNING] Version 3 of LibJWT is a complete overhaul of the code. Please see documentation for usage.

:bulb: Supported Standards

StandardRFCDescription
JWS:page_facing_up: RFC-7515JSON Web Signature
JWE:page_facing_up: RFC-7516JSON Web Encryption
JWK:page_facing_up: RFC-7517JSON Web Keys and Sets
JWA:page_facing_up: RFC-7518JSON Web Algorithms
JWT:page_facing_up: RFC-7519JSON Web Token

[!NOTE] Throughout this documentation you will see links such as the ones above to RFC documents. These are relevant to that particular part of the library and are helpful to understand some of the specific standards that shaped the development of LibJWT.

:construction: Build Prerequisites

Required

Crypto support

  • OpenSSL (>= 3.0.0)
  • GnuTLS (>= 3.6.0)
  • MbedTLS (>= 3.6.0)

[!NOTE] OpenSSL is required and used for JWK(S) operations.

Algorithm support matrix

JWS Algorithm algOpenSSLGnuTLSMbedTLS
HS256 HS384 HS512:white_check_mark::white_check_mark::white_check_mark:
ES256 ES384 ES512:white_check_mark::white_check_mark::white_check_mark:
RS256 RS384 RS512:white_check_mark::white_check_mark::white_check_mark:
EdDSA using ED25519:white_check_mark::white_check_mark::x:
EdDSA using ED448:white_check_mark::white_check_mark: >= 3.8.8:x:
PS256 PS384 PS512:white_check_mark::white_check_mark::white_check_mark:*
ES256K:white_check_mark::x::white_check_mark:

* RSASSA-PSS support in MbedTLS depends on Mbed-TLS/TF-PSA-Crypto#154

Optional

:books: Docs and Source

:link: Current Docs

:link: Legacy Docs v2.1.1

:link: GitHub Repo

:package: Pre-built Packages

LibJWT is available in most Linux distributions as well as through Homebrew for Linux, macOS, and Windows.

:hammer: Build Instructions

With CMake:

$ mkdir build
$ cd build
$ cmake ..
$ make