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Breaking and securing OAuth 2.0 in frontends at NDC Security

Talkat NDC Security 2025 · 2025-01-20..01-23· [security, web-platform]
slides:none on file

Demo web app and attacker server show malicious script steals tokens (exfiltrates access + refresh tokens to attacker domain) and a second demo uses a silent iframe authorization code theft to obtain fresh tokens that bypass refresh token rotation. Claim: running OAuth2 flows in the browser increases attack surface and is repeatedly exploitable. Built proof‑of‑concept code works reliably. Practical fix: adopt a Backend-For-Frontend (BFF) (confidential client, HTTP‑only cookies) which removes most token theft vectors though client‑side XSS still enables request‑forging.

AI-written summary · about

  1. 0:00OAuth 2.0 and frontend security
  2. 10:44Direct OAuth in frontends insecure
  3. 23:58Refresh token rotation limits
  4. 29:14OAuth token theft risks demo
  5. 37:51OAuth frontend vs backend security
  6. 41:00Backend for Frontend (BFF) pattern
  7. 56:00BFFs improve OAuth security
  8. 58:13Key takeaways
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