Passwords: The Most Common Authentication Factor

Passwordless authentication is an alternative to traditional password-based authentication that is gaining traction among organizations aiming to bolster their security infrastructure while enhancing user experience. This article explores the concept of passwordless authentication, its benefits for organizations, various methods, and how to implement passwordless authentication with Userfront.

Definition of Passwordless Authentication

Passwordless authentication refers to the verification of a user's identity without requiring the user to enter a password. This method leverages other forms of identification like single-use codes or security keys, providing a more secure and user-friendly login experience. By eliminating the need for passwords, this authentication method mitigates common password-related security risks.

Benefits of Passwordless Authentication for Organizations

The primary benefits of passwordless authentication boil down to three areas: security, user experience, and operational efficiency.

Mitigation of Weak or Reused Password Risks: 

Traditional password-based systems often suffer from weak or reused passwords, making them easy targets for cyber attackers. Passwordless Authentication eliminates this risk, offering a more secure alternative.

 Phishing attempts often target password credentials. By eliminating passwords, the chances of successful phishing attacks are significantly reduced.

 Passwordless Authentication simplifies the login process by reducing the steps required to verify a user’s identity.

Elimination of Password Memorization and Resets:

 Users no longer need to remember or reset passwords, which enhances the overall user experience and reduces frustration.

Organizations often dedicate resources to handle password resets and related support issues. Passwordless authentication lowers the demand for such support.

 By reducing the need for password-related support, organizations can lower operational costs and reallocate resources to other critical areas.

Users can opt for a verification code (sometimes called a time-based one-time password or TOTP) sent to their email or SMS address. They then enter this one-time verification code instead of a password.

 Much like a verification code, except instead of a code, the user receives a link that they click on to authenticate. Magic links usually have an expiration date and can only be used once.

This authentication method allows users to use a TOTP application on their smartphone to verify their identity. TOTP authentication is primarily used as a second factor in MFA signup flows because users must authenticate with the TOTP application through other factors.

Security keys are physical devices that store cryptographic keys to authenticate users. These keys can be connected via USB, Bluetooth, NFC, or even embedded within devices.

 Biometric authentication utilizes unique biological traits such as fingerprints or facial recognition to verify a user’s identity.

SSO could be viewed as a form of passwordless authentication because once a user is verified with an SSO provider, they don’t need to enter an additional password to log in to additional applications.

Implementing Passwordless Authentication on Userfront.com

Userfront supports the following methods of passwordless authentication:

Here is how you can enable passwordless authentication methods in minutes:

In your Userfront account, navigate to the 

Under “First factors,” select the methods of authentication you would like to allow. While you can choose as many methods as you’d like, we recommend just a few to keep it simple.

Email verification works with Userfront right out of the box. Just click the toggle, and users can log in using a code sent by Userfront.

Similarly, email magic links also work out of the box and do not need to be configured. If you prefer to build your own magic link experience, 

To set up SSO, you will need to follow the steps for each SSO provider.

Passwordless authentication is a solid solution for organizations aiming to enhance their security and user experience. With platforms like Userfront, implementing passwordless authentication is a straightforward process.

Passwordless Authentication: An Introduction

The digital world thrives on seamless and secure authentication. With data breaches becoming more common, security protocols like OpenID Connect have never been more critical.

 is an identity layer that sits on top of the OAuth 2.0 protocol. In layman's terms, it is a simple way for developers to integrate user authentication into their applications. Unlike many older systems that necessitate users to create a new account for every service they use, OpenID Connect allows users to employ existing credentials from a trusted provider.

OpenID Connect is how the “Google login boxes” that are so common on the web now are powered.

Example OpenID Connect powered login box with Google and GitHub options example:

OpenID Connect (OIDC) uses standard protocols to authenticate users, retrieve user profile information, and handle logout requests. It enables clients to verify the identity of the user based on the authentication performed by an authorization server and obtain basic profile information about the user.

Benefits of Implementing OpenID Connect in Modern Applications

Being able to log in with credentials that already exist is a great convenience to users and many strongly prefer it. This preference can be so strong with users that we often see Userfront customers automatically increase engagement when adding the option to plain username and password login options.

It is very common for users to reuse passwords when they are forced to maintain many login credentials. OpenID connect can keep users more secure by giving them one central place to change credentials in the event their credentials are compromised.

: OpenID Connect allows users to authenticate across multiple websites using a single set of credentials. This streamlines the user experience and reduces password fatigue.

: JWTs are compact and URL-safe, offering an easy and secure method for systems to share user information.

: OpenID Connect supports multiple flows, catering to various types of clients including web-based applications, native apps, and JavaScript clients. This makes it a flexible solution for different use cases.

: OpenID Connect provides the user control over what personal information is shared with the application, promoting user privacy.

OpenID Connect operates through a series of exchanges between three parties - the user, the relying party (the app requiring authentication), and the OpenID provider (the entity that verifies the user's identity).

: The relying party initiates an authentication request by directing the user's browser to the OpenID provider.

: The OpenID provider authenticates the user. This process can vary depending on the provider, but it typically involves requesting the user's credentials and validating them.

: Once the user is authenticated, the OpenID provider redirects the user's browser back to the relying party with an authorization code.

: The relying party then exchanges this authorization code for an ID token and an access token.

: The ID token, which is a JWT (JSON Web Token), contains claims about the authentication of the end-user. The relying party verifies this token to ensure that it's valid and to retrieve the user's information.

A Step-by-Step Guide on Obtaining an ID Token for a User from an OpenID Provider (OP)

In this step-by-step explanation, we'll walk you through obtaining an ID token for a user from an OpenID Provider (OP) using the Authorization Code Flow, which is widely employed by traditional web applications. The Authorization Code Flow is particularly suitable for web applications as it enables secure user authentication and ID token retrieval via server-side communication.

Step 1: Redirect the user to the OpenID Provider's authorization endpoint

The application (Relying Party, or RP) needs to construct an authorization URL and redirect the user to the OpenID Provider's (OP) authorization endpoint. The URL must include the following query parameters:

client_id: The unique identifier assigned to the application by the OP during registration.

response_type: Set to "code" for the Authorization Code Flow.

scope: A space-separated list of scopes requested, e.g., "openid email profile".

redirect_uri: The URL to which the OP will redirect the user after authentication. It must match one of the registered redirect URIs.

state: An optional but recommended random value to protect against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks. The OP will return this value unmodified.

https://example-op.com/authorize?client_id=12345&response_type=code&scope=openid+email+profile&redirect_uri=https://userfront.com/callback&state=abcde12345

Step 2: User authenticates with the OpenID Provider

The user is redirected to the OP's authentication page, where they enter their credentials and confirm the requested permissions (if needed). Upon successful authentication, the OP redirects the user back to the registered redirect_uri.

Step 3: Application receives the authorization code

The OP appends the authorization code and the state parameter to the redirect_uri. The application must verify that the state value matches the one initially sent to protect against CSRF attacks.

https://userfront.com/callback?code=AUTH_CODE&state=abcde12345

Step 4: Exchange the authorization code for an ID token

The application makes a POST request to the OP's token endpoint to exchange the authorization code for an ID token and an access token. The request must include:

code: The authorization code received in Step 3.

redirect_uri: The same redirect URI used during the initial request.

client_secret: The application's client secret (if applicable).

POST https://example-op.com/tokenHeaders:Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded Body:grant_type=authorization_code&code=AUTH_CODE&redirect_uri=https://userfront.com/callback&client_id=12345&client_secret=CLIENT_SECRET

Step 5: Receive and validate the ID token

The OP responds with a JSON object containing the id_token, access_token, and token_type. The ID token is a JSON Web Token (JWT) that encodes the user's authentication information. The application must validate the ID token by verifying the token's signature, issuer, audience (the client_id), and expiration time.

After successful validation, the application can extract the user's information from the ID token, establish a session, and grant the user access to its resources.

Now you have a better understanding of how OpenID Connect's Authorization Code Flow works to securely authenticate users and obtain ID tokens. This is just one of the many flows supported by OpenID Connect, each designed to address specific use cases and security requirements.

Alternate Approach: Auth and Identity Provider

The steps outlined above can be greatly reduced in complexity by going with an Identity Provider, like 

, that abstracts out all this complexity.

OpenID Connect and OpenID 2.0 might sound similar, but they aren't the same. The evolution from OpenID 2.0 to OpenID Connect was driven by the need for a more robust and versatile protocol that could handle the increasing complexity and demands of modern web services.

OpenID 2.0, launched in 2006, was a significant improvement over previous systems. It provided decentralized authentication, which meant users could log in to multiple websites using a single identity. However, OpenID 2.0 was found to be difficult to implement and lacked certain features, such as mobile application support and the ability to handle logouts.

OpenID Connect, on the other hand, was designed to address these shortcomings. Launched in 2014, it layered identity verification over OAuth 2.0, an existing authorization protocol. It supported JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), which simplified data transmission and was easier to implement. OpenID Connect added features like mobile app support, logout functionality, and the ability to share user profile data, offering a comprehensive solution for modern web services.

While OpenID Connect, SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language), and OAuth all play roles in managing access and identity, they are fundamentally different.

 is an XML-based standard used for exchanging authentication and authorization data between parties. It's used for single sign-on (SSO) applications, where users can log in once and gain access to multiple applications. SAML is most often used in enterprise settings, such as when businesses need to authenticate their employees across various internal applications.

 is an open-standard authorization protocol or framework that describes how unrelated servers and services can safely allow authenticated access to their assets. It is not an authentication protocol but rather a method that allows you to authorize one website (the consumer) to access your data from another website (the provider). OAuth provides the authorization layer – not the authentication.

, as explained earlier, is an identity layer on top of OAuth 2.0, adding the user authentication piece that OAuth lacks.

While there are instances where these protocols overlap, they each serve distinct purposes, and understanding these differences is essential when deciding which protocol is best for your application.

OpenID Connect offers a reliable and versatile solution for user authentication in the modern digital world. Its evolution from OpenID 2.0 has addressed many challenges of the past, and its compatibility with other protocols such as OAuth makes it a flexible and powerful tool in a developer's toolkit.

OpenID Connect: An Overview

Passwords are the most common authentication factor for our users. Authentication factors are ways in which users verify their identity to gain access to your application.

, you can enable and disable different authentication factors in order to customize your login flow. The single-factor authentication factors include:

SSO (single sign-on) provider like Google or Facebook

Userfront enforces minimum password requirements to make your application(s) more secure:

Passwords must be at least 16 characters long 

Passwords must be at least 8 characters long including a 

Passwords cannot exceed 512 characters in length.

National Institute of Technology (NIST) standards

. NIST, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is “responsible for developing information security standards and guidelines, including minimum requirements for federal system.”

Userfront does not store passwords in plain text. Passwords are stored as hashes and are encrypted at rest. Passwords are also not written to system logs.

 hashing function to generate password hashes, with a unique salt for each password. Additionally, Userfront limits the rate of password attempts at multiple levels, including per IP address, per user, and at the system-wide level.

Read more about passwords in the Userfront 

Passwords: The Most Common Authentication Factor

Password Requirements

Password Handling