Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                          M. Jones
Request for Comments: 6750                                     Microsoft
Category: Standards Track                                       D. Hardt
ISSN: 2070-1721                                              Independent
                                                           October 2012


      The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework: Bearer Token Usage

Abstract

  This specification describes how to use bearer tokens in HTTP
  requests to access OAuth 2.0 protected resources.  Any party in
  possession of a bearer token (a "bearer") can use it to get access to
  the associated resources (without demonstrating possession of a
  cryptographic key).  To prevent misuse, bearer tokens need to be
  protected from disclosure in storage and in transport.

Status of This Memo

  This is an Internet Standards Track document.

  This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
  (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
  received public review and has been approved for publication by the
  Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
  Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

  Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
  and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
  http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6750.

Copyright Notice

  Copyright (c) 2012 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
  document authors.  All rights reserved.

  This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
  Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
  (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
  publication of this document.  Please review these documents
  carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
  to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
  include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
  the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
  described in the Simplified BSD License.





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Table of Contents

  1. Introduction ....................................................2
     1.1. Notational Conventions .....................................3
     1.2. Terminology ................................................3
     1.3. Overview ...................................................3
  2. Authenticated Requests ..........................................4
     2.1. Authorization Request Header Field .........................5
     2.2. Form-Encoded Body Parameter ................................5
     2.3. URI Query Parameter ........................................6
  3. The WWW-Authenticate Response Header Field ......................7
     3.1. Error Codes ................................................9
  4. Example Access Token Response ..................................10
  5. Security Considerations ........................................10
     5.1. Security Threats ..........................................10
     5.2. Threat Mitigation .........................................11
     5.3. Summary of Recommendations ................................13
  6. IANA Considerations ............................................14
     6.1. OAuth Access Token Type Registration ......................14
          6.1.1. The "Bearer" OAuth Access Token Type ...............14
     6.2. OAuth Extensions Error Registration .......................14
          6.2.1. The "invalid_request" Error Value ..................14
          6.2.2. The "invalid_token" Error Value ....................15
          6.2.3. The "insufficient_scope" Error Value ...............15
  7. References .....................................................15
     7.1. Normative References ......................................15
     7.2. Informative References ....................................17
  Appendix A. Acknowledgements ......................................18

1.  Introduction

  OAuth enables clients to access protected resources by obtaining an
  access token, which is defined in "The OAuth 2.0 Authorization
  Framework" [RFC6749] as "a string representing an access
  authorization issued to the client", rather than using the resource
  owner's credentials directly.

  Tokens are issued to clients by an authorization server with the
  approval of the resource owner.  The client uses the access token to
  access the protected resources hosted by the resource server.  This
  specification describes how to make protected resource requests when
  the OAuth access token is a bearer token.

  This specification defines the use of bearer tokens over HTTP/1.1
  [RFC2616] using Transport Layer Security (TLS) [RFC5246] to access
  protected resources.  TLS is mandatory to implement and use with this
  specification; other specifications may extend this specification for
  use with other protocols.  While designed for use with access tokens



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  resulting from OAuth 2.0 authorization [RFC6749] flows to access
  OAuth protected resources, this specification actually defines a
  general HTTP authorization method that can be used with bearer tokens
  from any source to access any resources protected by those bearer
  tokens.  The Bearer authentication scheme is intended primarily for
  server authentication using the WWW-Authenticate and Authorization
  HTTP headers but does not preclude its use for proxy authentication.

1.1.  Notational Conventions

  The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
  "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
  document are to be interpreted as described in "Key words for use in
  RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels" [RFC2119].

  This document uses the Augmented Backus-Naur Form (ABNF) notation of
  [RFC5234].  Additionally, the following rules are included from
  HTTP/1.1 [RFC2617]: auth-param and auth-scheme; and from "Uniform
  Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax" [RFC3986]: URI-reference.

  Unless otherwise noted, all the protocol parameter names and values
  are case sensitive.

1.2.  Terminology

  Bearer Token
     A security token with the property that any party in possession of
     the token (a "bearer") can use the token in any way that any other
     party in possession of it can.  Using a bearer token does not
     require a bearer to prove possession of cryptographic key material
     (proof-of-possession).

  All other terms are as defined in "The OAuth 2.0 Authorization
  Framework" [RFC6749].

1.3.  Overview

  OAuth provides a method for clients to access a protected resource on
  behalf of a resource owner.  In the general case, before a client can
  access a protected resource, it must first obtain an authorization
  grant from the resource owner and then exchange the authorization
  grant for an access token.  The access token represents the grant's
  scope, duration, and other attributes granted by the authorization
  grant.  The client accesses the protected resource by presenting the
  access token to the resource server.  In some cases, a client can
  directly present its own credentials to an authorization server to
  obtain an access token without having to first obtain an
  authorization grant from a resource owner.



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  The access token provides an abstraction, replacing different
  authorization constructs (e.g., username and password, assertion) for
  a single token understood by the resource server.  This abstraction
  enables issuing access tokens valid for a short time period, as well
  as removing the resource server's need to understand a wide range of
  authentication schemes.

    +--------+                               +---------------+
    |        |--(A)- Authorization Request ->|   Resource    |
    |        |                               |     Owner     |
    |        |<-(B)-- Authorization Grant ---|               |
    |        |                               +---------------+
    |        |
    |        |                               +---------------+
    |        |--(C)-- Authorization Grant -->| Authorization |
    | Client |                               |     Server    |
    |        |<-(D)----- Access Token -------|               |
    |        |                               +---------------+
    |        |
    |        |                               +---------------+
    |        |--(E)----- Access Token ------>|    Resource   |
    |        |                               |     Server    |
    |        |<-(F)--- Protected Resource ---|               |
    +--------+                               +---------------+

                    Figure 1: Abstract Protocol Flow

  The abstract OAuth 2.0 flow illustrated in Figure 1 describes the
  interaction between the client, resource owner, authorization server,
  and resource server (described in [RFC6749]).  The following two
  steps are specified within this document:

  (E)  The client requests the protected resource from the resource
       server and authenticates by presenting the access token.

  (F)  The resource server validates the access token, and if valid,
       serves the request.

  This document also imposes semantic requirements upon the access
  token returned in step (D).

2.  Authenticated Requests

  This section defines three methods of sending bearer access tokens in
  resource requests to resource servers.  Clients MUST NOT use more
  than one method to transmit the token in each request.





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2.1.  Authorization Request Header Field

  When sending the access token in the "Authorization" request header
  field defined by HTTP/1.1 [RFC2617], the client uses the "Bearer"
  authentication scheme to transmit the access token.

  For example:

    GET /resource HTTP/1.1
    Host: server.example.com
    Authorization: Bearer mF_9.B5f-4.1JqM

  The syntax of the "Authorization" header field for this scheme
  follows the usage of the Basic scheme defined in Section 2 of
  [RFC2617].  Note that, as with Basic, it does not conform to the
  generic syntax defined in Section 1.2 of [RFC2617] but is compatible
  with the general authentication framework being developed for
  HTTP 1.1 [HTTP-AUTH], although it does not follow the preferred
  practice outlined therein in order to reflect existing deployments.
  The syntax for Bearer credentials is as follows:

    b64token    = 1*( ALPHA / DIGIT /
                      "-" / "." / "_" / "~" / "+" / "/" ) *"="
    credentials = "Bearer" 1*SP b64token

  Clients SHOULD make authenticated requests with a bearer token using
  the "Authorization" request header field with the "Bearer" HTTP
  authorization scheme.  Resource servers MUST support this method.

2.2.  Form-Encoded Body Parameter

  When sending the access token in the HTTP request entity-body, the
  client adds the access token to the request-body using the
  "access_token" parameter.  The client MUST NOT use this method unless
  all of the following conditions are met:

  o  The HTTP request entity-header includes the "Content-Type" header
     field set to "application/x-www-form-urlencoded".

  o  The entity-body follows the encoding requirements of the
     "application/x-www-form-urlencoded" content-type as defined by
     HTML 4.01 [W3C.REC-html401-19991224].

  o  The HTTP request entity-body is single-part.







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  o  The content to be encoded in the entity-body MUST consist entirely
     of ASCII [USASCII] characters.

  o  The HTTP request method is one for which the request-body has
     defined semantics.  In particular, this means that the "GET"
     method MUST NOT be used.

  The entity-body MAY include other request-specific parameters, in
  which case the "access_token" parameter MUST be properly separated
  from the request-specific parameters using "&" character(s) (ASCII
  code 38).

  For example, the client makes the following HTTP request using
  transport-layer security:

    POST /resource HTTP/1.1
    Host: server.example.com
    Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

    access_token=mF_9.B5f-4.1JqM

  The "application/x-www-form-urlencoded" method SHOULD NOT be used
  except in application contexts where participating browsers do not
  have access to the "Authorization" request header field.  Resource
  servers MAY support this method.

2.3.  URI Query Parameter

  When sending the access token in the HTTP request URI, the client
  adds the access token to the request URI query component as defined
  by "Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax" [RFC3986],
  using the "access_token" parameter.

  For example, the client makes the following HTTP request using
  transport-layer security:

    GET /resource?access_token=mF_9.B5f-4.1JqM HTTP/1.1
    Host: server.example.com

  The HTTP request URI query can include other request-specific
  parameters, in which case the "access_token" parameter MUST be
  properly separated from the request-specific parameters using "&"
  character(s) (ASCII code 38).








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  For example:

   https://server.example.com/resource?access_token=mF_9.B5f-4.1JqM&p=q

  Clients using the URI Query Parameter method SHOULD also send a
  Cache-Control header containing the "no-store" option.  Server
  success (2XX status) responses to these requests SHOULD contain a
  Cache-Control header with the "private" option.

  Because of the security weaknesses associated with the URI method
  (see Section 5), including the high likelihood that the URL
  containing the access token will be logged, it SHOULD NOT be used
  unless it is impossible to transport the access token in the
  "Authorization" request header field or the HTTP request entity-body.
  Resource servers MAY support this method.

  This method is included to document current use; its use is not
  recommended, due to its security deficiencies (see Section 5) and
  also because it uses a reserved query parameter name, which is
  counter to URI namespace best practices, per "Architecture of the
  World Wide Web, Volume One" [W3C.REC-webarch-20041215].

3.  The WWW-Authenticate Response Header Field

  If the protected resource request does not include authentication
  credentials or does not contain an access token that enables access
  to the protected resource, the resource server MUST include the HTTP
  "WWW-Authenticate" response header field; it MAY include it in
  response to other conditions as well.  The "WWW-Authenticate" header
  field uses the framework defined by HTTP/1.1 [RFC2617].

  All challenges defined by this specification MUST use the auth-scheme
  value "Bearer".  This scheme MUST be followed by one or more
  auth-param values.  The auth-param attributes used or defined by this
  specification are as follows.  Other auth-param attributes MAY be
  used as well.

  A "realm" attribute MAY be included to indicate the scope of
  protection in the manner described in HTTP/1.1 [RFC2617].  The
  "realm" attribute MUST NOT appear more than once.

  The "scope" attribute is defined in Section 3.3 of [RFC6749].  The
  "scope" attribute is a space-delimited list of case-sensitive scope
  values indicating the required scope of the access token for
  accessing the requested resource. "scope" values are implementation
  defined; there is no centralized registry for them; allowed values
  are defined by the authorization server.  The order of "scope" values
  is not significant.  In some cases, the "scope" value will be used



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  when requesting a new access token with sufficient scope of access to
  utilize the protected resource.  Use of the "scope" attribute is
  OPTIONAL.  The "scope" attribute MUST NOT appear more than once.  The
  "scope" value is intended for programmatic use and is not meant to be
  displayed to end-users.

  Two example scope values follow; these are taken from the OpenID
  Connect [OpenID.Messages] and the Open Authentication Technology
  Committee (OATC) Online Multimedia Authorization Protocol [OMAP]
  OAuth 2.0 use cases, respectively:

    scope="openid profile email"
    scope="urn:example:channel=HBO&urn:example:rating=G,PG-13"

  If the protected resource request included an access token and failed
  authentication, the resource server SHOULD include the "error"
  attribute to provide the client with the reason why the access
  request was declined.  The parameter value is described in
  Section 3.1.  In addition, the resource server MAY include the
  "error_description" attribute to provide developers a human-readable
  explanation that is not meant to be displayed to end-users.  It also
  MAY include the "error_uri" attribute with an absolute URI
  identifying a human-readable web page explaining the error.  The
  "error", "error_description", and "error_uri" attributes MUST NOT
  appear more than once.

  Values for the "scope" attribute (specified in Appendix A.4 of
  [RFC6749]) MUST NOT include characters outside the set %x21 / %x23-5B
  / %x5D-7E for representing scope values and %x20 for delimiters
  between scope values.  Values for the "error" and "error_description"
  attributes (specified in Appendixes A.7 and A.8 of [RFC6749]) MUST
  NOT include characters outside the set %x20-21 / %x23-5B / %x5D-7E.
  Values for the "error_uri" attribute (specified in Appendix A.9 of
  [RFC6749]) MUST conform to the URI-reference syntax and thus MUST NOT
  include characters outside the set %x21 / %x23-5B / %x5D-7E.

  For example, in response to a protected resource request without
  authentication:

    HTTP/1.1 401 Unauthorized
    WWW-Authenticate: Bearer realm="example"










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  And in response to a protected resource request with an
  authentication attempt using an expired access token:

    HTTP/1.1 401 Unauthorized
    WWW-Authenticate: Bearer realm="example",
                      error="invalid_token",
                      error_description="The access token expired"

3.1.  Error Codes

  When a request fails, the resource server responds using the
  appropriate HTTP status code (typically, 400, 401, 403, or 405) and
  includes one of the following error codes in the response:

  invalid_request
        The request is missing a required parameter, includes an
        unsupported parameter or parameter value, repeats the same
        parameter, uses more than one method for including an access
        token, or is otherwise malformed.  The resource server SHOULD
        respond with the HTTP 400 (Bad Request) status code.

  invalid_token
        The access token provided is expired, revoked, malformed, or
        invalid for other reasons.  The resource SHOULD respond with
        the HTTP 401 (Unauthorized) status code.  The client MAY
        request a new access token and retry the protected resource
        request.

  insufficient_scope
        The request requires higher privileges than provided by the
        access token.  The resource server SHOULD respond with the HTTP
        403 (Forbidden) status code and MAY include the "scope"
        attribute with the scope necessary to access the protected
        resource.

  If the request lacks any authentication information (e.g., the client
  was unaware that authentication is necessary or attempted using an
  unsupported authentication method), the resource server SHOULD NOT
  include an error code or other error information.

  For example:

    HTTP/1.1 401 Unauthorized
    WWW-Authenticate: Bearer realm="example"







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4.  Example Access Token Response

  Typically, a bearer token is returned to the client as part of an
  OAuth 2.0 [RFC6749] access token response.  An example of such a
  response is:

    HTTP/1.1 200 OK
    Content-Type: application/json;charset=UTF-8
    Cache-Control: no-store
    Pragma: no-cache

    {
      "access_token":"mF_9.B5f-4.1JqM",
      "token_type":"Bearer",
      "expires_in":3600,
      "refresh_token":"tGzv3JOkF0XG5Qx2TlKWIA"
    }

5.  Security Considerations

  This section describes the relevant security threats regarding token
  handling when using bearer tokens and describes how to mitigate these
  threats.

5.1.  Security Threats

  The following list presents several common threats against protocols
  utilizing some form of tokens.  This list of threats is based on NIST
  Special Publication 800-63 [NIST800-63].  Since this document builds
  on the OAuth 2.0 Authorization specification [RFC6749], we exclude a
  discussion of threats that are described there or in related
  documents.

  Token manufacture/modification:  An attacker may generate a bogus
     token or modify the token contents (such as the authentication or
     attribute statements) of an existing token, causing the resource
     server to grant inappropriate access to the client.  For example,
     an attacker may modify the token to extend the validity period; a
     malicious client may modify the assertion to gain access to
     information that they should not be able to view.

  Token disclosure:  Tokens may contain authentication and attribute
     statements that include sensitive information.








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  Token redirect:  An attacker uses a token generated for consumption
     by one resource server to gain access to a different resource
     server that mistakenly believes the token to be for it.

  Token replay:  An attacker attempts to use a token that has already
     been used with that resource server in the past.

5.2.  Threat Mitigation

  A large range of threats can be mitigated by protecting the contents
  of the token by using a digital signature or a Message Authentication
  Code (MAC).  Alternatively, a bearer token can contain a reference to
  authorization information, rather than encoding the information
  directly.  Such references MUST be infeasible for an attacker to
  guess; using a reference may require an extra interaction between a
  server and the token issuer to resolve the reference to the
  authorization information.  The mechanics of such an interaction are
  not defined by this specification.

  This document does not specify the encoding or the contents of the
  token; hence, detailed recommendations about the means of
  guaranteeing token integrity protection are outside the scope of this
  document.  The token integrity protection MUST be sufficient to
  prevent the token from being modified.

  To deal with token redirect, it is important for the authorization
  server to include the identity of the intended recipients (the
  audience), typically a single resource server (or a list of resource
  servers), in the token.  Restricting the use of the token to a
  specific scope is also RECOMMENDED.

  The authorization server MUST implement TLS.  Which version(s) ought
  to be implemented will vary over time and will depend on the
  widespread deployment and known security vulnerabilities at the time
  of implementation.  At the time of this writing, TLS version 1.2
  [RFC5246] is the most recent version, but it has very limited actual
  deployment and might not be readily available in implementation
  toolkits.  TLS version 1.0 [RFC2246] is the most widely deployed
  version and will give the broadest interoperability.

  To protect against token disclosure, confidentiality protection MUST
  be applied using TLS [RFC5246] with a ciphersuite that provides
  confidentiality and integrity protection.  This requires that the
  communication interaction between the client and the authorization
  server, as well as the interaction between the client and the
  resource server, utilize confidentiality and integrity protection.
  Since TLS is mandatory to implement and to use with this
  specification, it is the preferred approach for preventing token



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  disclosure via the communication channel.  For those cases where the
  client is prevented from observing the contents of the token, token
  encryption MUST be applied in addition to the usage of TLS
  protection.  As a further defense against token disclosure, the
  client MUST validate the TLS certificate chain when making requests
  to protected resources, including checking the Certificate Revocation
  List (CRL) [RFC5280].

  Cookies are typically transmitted in the clear.  Thus, any
  information contained in them is at risk of disclosure.  Therefore,
  bearer tokens MUST NOT be stored in cookies that can be sent in the
  clear.  See "HTTP State Management Mechanism" [RFC6265] for security
  considerations about cookies.

  In some deployments, including those utilizing load balancers, the
  TLS connection to the resource server terminates prior to the actual
  server that provides the resource.  This could leave the token
  unprotected between the front-end server where the TLS connection
  terminates and the back-end server that provides the resource.  In
  such deployments, sufficient measures MUST be employed to ensure
  confidentiality of the token between the front-end and back-end
  servers; encryption of the token is one such possible measure.

  To deal with token capture and replay, the following recommendations
  are made: First, the lifetime of the token MUST be limited; one means
  of achieving this is by putting a validity time field inside the
  protected part of the token.  Note that using short-lived (one hour
  or less) tokens reduces the impact of them being leaked.  Second,
  confidentiality protection of the exchanges between the client and
  the authorization server and between the client and the resource
  server MUST be applied.  As a consequence, no eavesdropper along the
  communication path is able to observe the token exchange.
  Consequently, such an on-path adversary cannot replay the token.
  Furthermore, when presenting the token to a resource server, the
  client MUST verify the identity of that resource server, as per
  Section 3.1 of "HTTP Over TLS" [RFC2818].  Note that the client MUST
  validate the TLS certificate chain when making these requests to
  protected resources.  Presenting the token to an unauthenticated and
  unauthorized resource server or failing to validate the certificate
  chain will allow adversaries to steal the token and gain unauthorized
  access to protected resources.










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5.3.  Summary of Recommendations

  Safeguard bearer tokens:  Client implementations MUST ensure that
     bearer tokens are not leaked to unintended parties, as they will
     be able to use them to gain access to protected resources.  This
     is the primary security consideration when using bearer tokens and
     underlies all the more specific recommendations that follow.

  Validate TLS certificate chains:  The client MUST validate the TLS
     certificate chain when making requests to protected resources.
     Failing to do so may enable DNS hijacking attacks to steal the
     token and gain unintended access.

  Always use TLS (https):  Clients MUST always use TLS [RFC5246]
     (https) or equivalent transport security when making requests with
     bearer tokens.  Failing to do so exposes the token to numerous
     attacks that could give attackers unintended access.

  Don't store bearer tokens in cookies:  Implementations MUST NOT store
     bearer tokens within cookies that can be sent in the clear (which
     is the default transmission mode for cookies).  Implementations
     that do store bearer tokens in cookies MUST take precautions
     against cross-site request forgery.

  Issue short-lived bearer tokens:  Token servers SHOULD issue
     short-lived (one hour or less) bearer tokens, particularly when
     issuing tokens to clients that run within a web browser or other
     environments where information leakage may occur.  Using
     short-lived bearer tokens can reduce the impact of them being
     leaked.

  Issue scoped bearer tokens:  Token servers SHOULD issue bearer tokens
     that contain an audience restriction, scoping their use to the
     intended relying party or set of relying parties.

  Don't pass bearer tokens in page URLs:  Bearer tokens SHOULD NOT be
     passed in page URLs (for example, as query string parameters).
     Instead, bearer tokens SHOULD be passed in HTTP message headers or
     message bodies for which confidentiality measures are taken.
     Browsers, web servers, and other software may not adequately
     secure URLs in the browser history, web server logs, and other
     data structures.  If bearer tokens are passed in page URLs,
     attackers might be able to steal them from the history data, logs,
     or other unsecured locations.







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RFC 6750              OAuth 2.0 Bearer Token Usage          October 2012


6.  IANA Considerations

6.1.  OAuth Access Token Type Registration

  This specification registers the following access token type in the
  OAuth Access Token Types registry defined in [RFC6749].

6.1.1.  The "Bearer" OAuth Access Token Type

  Type name:
     Bearer

  Additional Token Endpoint Response Parameters:
     (none)

  HTTP Authentication Scheme(s):
     Bearer

  Change controller:
     IETF

  Specification document(s):
     RFC 6750

6.2.  OAuth Extensions Error Registration

  This specification registers the following error values in the OAuth
  Extensions Error registry defined in [RFC6749].

6.2.1.  The "invalid_request" Error Value

  Error name:
     invalid_request

  Error usage location:
     Resource access error response

  Related protocol extension:
     Bearer access token type

  Change controller:
     IETF

  Specification document(s):
     RFC 6750






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6.2.2.  The "invalid_token" Error Value

  Error name:
     invalid_token

  Error usage location:
     Resource access error response

  Related protocol extension:
     Bearer access token type

  Change controller:
     IETF

  Specification document(s):
     RFC 6750

6.2.3.  The "insufficient_scope" Error Value

  Error name:
     insufficient_scope

  Error usage location:
     Resource access error response

  Related protocol extension:
     Bearer access token type

  Change controller:
     IETF

  Specification document(s):
     RFC 6750

7.  References

7.1.  Normative References

  [RFC2119]    Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
               Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

  [RFC2246]    Dierks, T. and C. Allen, "The TLS Protocol Version 1.0",
               RFC 2246, January 1999.

  [RFC2616]    Fielding, R., Gettys, J., Mogul, J., Frystyk, H.,
               Masinter, L., Leach, P., and T. Berners-Lee, "Hypertext
               Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1", RFC 2616, June 1999.




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RFC 6750              OAuth 2.0 Bearer Token Usage          October 2012


  [RFC2617]    Franks, J., Hallam-Baker, P., Hostetler, J., Lawrence,
               S., Leach, P., Luotonen, A., and L. Stewart, "HTTP
               Authentication: Basic and Digest Access Authentication",
               RFC 2617, June 1999.

  [RFC2818]    Rescorla, E., "HTTP Over TLS", RFC 2818, May 2000.

  [RFC3986]    Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R., and L. Masinter, "Uniform
               Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax", STD 66,
               RFC 3986, January 2005.

  [RFC5234]    Crocker, D. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for Syntax
               Specifications: ABNF", STD 68, RFC 5234, January 2008.

  [RFC5246]    Dierks, T. and E. Rescorla, "The Transport Layer
               Security (TLS) Protocol Version 1.2", RFC 5246,
               August 2008.

  [RFC5280]    Cooper, D., Santesson, S., Farrell, S., Boeyen, S.,
               Housley, R., and W. Polk, "Internet X.509 Public Key
               Infrastructure Certificate and Certificate Revocation
               List (CRL) Profile", RFC 5280, May 2008.

  [RFC6265]    Barth, A., "HTTP State Management Mechanism", RFC 6265,
               April 2011.

  [RFC6749]    Hardt, D., Ed., "The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework",
               RFC 6749, October 2012.

  [USASCII]    American National Standards Institute, "Coded Character
               Set -- 7-bit American Standard Code for Information
               Interchange", ANSI X3.4, 1986.

  [W3C.REC-html401-19991224]
               Raggett, D., Le Hors, A., and I. Jacobs, "HTML 4.01
               Specification", World Wide Web Consortium
               Recommendation REC-html401-19991224, December 1999,
               <http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-html401-19991224>.

  [W3C.REC-webarch-20041215]
               Jacobs, I. and N. Walsh, "Architecture of the World Wide
               Web, Volume One", World Wide Web Consortium
               Recommendation REC-webarch-20041215, December 2004,
               <http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/REC-webarch-20041215>.







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7.2.  Informative References

  [HTTP-AUTH]  Fielding, R., Ed., and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext
               Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Authentication", Work
               in Progress, October 2012.

  [NIST800-63] Burr, W., Dodson, D., Newton, E., Perlner, R., Polk, T.,
               Gupta, S., and E. Nabbus, "NIST Special Publication
               800-63-1, INFORMATION SECURITY", December 2011,
               <http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/>.

  [OMAP]       Huff, J., Schlacht, D., Nadalin, A., Simmons, J.,
               Rosenberg, P., Madsen, P., Ace, T., Rickelton-Abdi, C.,
               and B. Boyer, "Online Multimedia Authorization Protocol:
               An Industry Standard for Authorized Access to Internet
               Multimedia Resources", April 2012,
               <http://www.oatc.us/Standards/Download.aspx>.

  [OpenID.Messages]
               Sakimura, N., Bradley, J., Jones, M., de Medeiros, B.,
               Mortimore, C., and E. Jay, "OpenID Connect Messages
               1.0", June 2012, <http://openid.net/specs/
               openid-connect-messages-1_0.html>.




























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Appendix A.  Acknowledgements

  The following people contributed to preliminary versions of this
  document: Blaine Cook (BT), Brian Eaton (Google), Yaron Y. Goland
  (Microsoft), Brent Goldman (Facebook), Raffi Krikorian (Twitter),
  Luke Shepard (Facebook), and Allen Tom (Yahoo!).  The content and
  concepts within are a product of the OAuth community, the Web
  Resource Authorization Profiles (WRAP) community, and the OAuth
  Working Group.  David Recordon created a preliminary version of this
  specification based upon an early draft of the specification that
  evolved into OAuth 2.0 [RFC6749].  Michael B. Jones in turn created
  the first version (00) of this specification using portions of
  David's preliminary document and edited all subsequent versions.

  The OAuth Working Group has dozens of very active contributors who
  proposed ideas and wording for this document, including Michael
  Adams, Amanda Anganes, Andrew Arnott, Derek Atkins, Dirk Balfanz,
  John Bradley, Brian Campbell, Francisco Corella, Leah Culver, Bill de
  hOra, Breno de Medeiros, Brian Ellin, Stephen Farrell, Igor Faynberg,
  George Fletcher, Tim Freeman, Evan Gilbert, Yaron Y. Goland, Eran
  Hammer, Thomas Hardjono, Dick Hardt, Justin Hart, Phil Hunt, John
  Kemp, Chasen Le Hara, Barry Leiba, Amos Jeffries, Michael B. Jones,
  Torsten Lodderstedt, Paul Madsen, Eve Maler, James Manger, Laurence
  Miao, William J. Mills, Chuck Mortimore, Anthony Nadalin, Axel
  Nennker, Mark Nottingham, David Recordon, Julian Reschke, Rob
  Richards, Justin Richer, Peter Saint-Andre, Nat Sakimura, Rob Sayre,
  Marius Scurtescu, Naitik Shah, Justin Smith, Christian Stuebner,
  Jeremy Suriel, Doug Tangren, Paul Tarjan, Hannes Tschofenig, Franklin
  Tse, Sean Turner, Paul Walker, Shane Weeden, Skylar Woodward, and
  Zachary Zeltsan.

Authors' Addresses

  Michael B. Jones
  Microsoft

  EMail: [email protected]
  URI:   http://self-issued.info/


  Dick Hardt
  Independent

  EMail: [email protected]
  URI:   http://dickhardt.org/






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