OpenID Connect

OpenID Connect (OIDC) is an identity layer that sits on top of the OAuth 2.0 protocol for the purpose of authenticating users needing to access protected APIs. OIDC does not provide authorization; that is handled by an OAuth 2.0 flow that presents the authenticated identity to an authorization server. In OIDC, the mechanism for delivery of the identity information is a security token, known as an “ID Token.” The ID Token contains authentication claims about a user as a JSON Web Token (JWT). When delivered by EmpowerID, the claims payload in an ID Token look similar to that shown below. Note that more or less claims could be in the token.

{ "iss": "EmpowerID", "sub": "khmcclure", "aud": "5c168a71-d47b-4321-bdba-648984e99521", "iat": 1597961104, "nbf": 1595282704, "exp": 1600639504, "oid": "9b592c74-c014-4536-bfac-f706a4c8d89f", "name": "Kris McClure", "email": "kris.mcclure@eiddocs.onmicrosoft.com", "azp": "5c168a71-d47b-4321-bdba-648984e99521", "at_hash": "EJ04K1puK2OfKrouc_7t_g", "c_hash": "3sEvqXZmp2hillFqkfwEZg", "jti": "66054b39-9ce2-49be-88b4-b1bd0aa39bfa" }

The definition of the claims in the above token are as follows:

Claim Type

Value

Description

Claim Type

Value

Description

iss

EmpowerID

Identifies the entity that issued the token.

See OAuth 2.0 Authorization framework, section 4.1.1 for more information about this claim type.

sub

khmcclure

Identifies the principal that is the subject of the token.

See OAuth 2.0 Authorization framework, section 4.1.2 for more information about this claim type.

aud

5c168a71-d47b-4321-bdba-648984e99521

Identifies the recipients for which the token is intended. 

See OAuth 2.0 Authorization framework, section 4.1.3 for more information about this claim type.

iat

1597961104

Identifies the time EmpowerID issued the token. 

See OAuth 2.0 Authorization framework, section 4.1.6 for more information about this claim type.

nbf

1595282704

Identifies the time before which the token MUST NOT be accepted for processing.

See OAuth 2.0 Authorization framework, section 4.1.5 for more information about this claim type.

exp

1600639504

Identifies the expiration time on or after which the token MUST NOT be accepted for processing.

See OAuth 2.0 Authorization framework, section 4.1.4 for more information about this claim type.

oid

9b592c74-c014-4536-bfac-f706a4c8d89f

Person GUID that uniquely identifies the subject of the token in EmpowerID.

name

Kris McClure

Full name of the token subject.

email

kris.mcclure@eiddocs.onmicrosoft.com

Email address of the token subject registered in EmpowerID.

azp

5c168a71-d47b-4321-bdba-648984e99521

The authorized party to whom the token was issued.

jti

224a879a-275b-4d77-94eb-bebd645384c8

GUID that uniquely identifies the token.

See OAuth 2.0 Authorization framework, section 4.1.7 for more information about this claim type.

The sequence for authenticating using OIDC looks like that shown in the following image. As OIDC is used in OAuth 2.0 flows, the image is incomplete in that it only depicts the authentication stage of the flow. A more complete presentation of what occurs when using OpenID Connect in an OAuth 2.0 grant in EmpowerID is shown in the OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code Grant.