JWT Authentication System Implementation Summary

Overview

A comprehensive JWT authentication system has been successfully implemented for the Provisioning Platform Control Center (Rust). The system provides secure token-based authentication with RS256 asymmetric signing, automatic token rotation, revocation support, and integration with password hashing and user management.

Implementation Status

✅ COMPLETED - All components implemented with comprehensive unit tests

Files Created/Modified

1. `provisioning/platform/control-center/src/auth/jwt.rs` (627 lines)

Core JWT token management system with RS256 signing.

Key Features:

Token generation (access + refresh token pairs)
RS256 asymmetric signing for enhanced security
Token validation with comprehensive checks (signature, expiration, issuer, audience)
Token rotation mechanism using refresh tokens
Token revocation with thread-safe blacklist
Automatic token expiry cleanup
Token metadata support (IP address, user agent, etc.)
Blacklist statistics and monitoring

Structs:

TokenType - Enum for Access/Refresh token types
TokenClaims - JWT claims with user_id, workspace, permissions_hash, iat, exp
TokenPair - Complete token pair with expiry information
JwtService - Main service with Arc+RwLock for thread-safety
BlacklistStats - Statistics for revoked tokens

Methods:

generate_token_pair() - Generate access + refresh token pair
validate_token() - Validate and decode JWT token
rotate_token() - Rotate access token using refresh token
revoke_token() - Add token to revocation blacklist
is_revoked() - Check if token is revoked
cleanup_expired_tokens() - Remove expired tokens from blacklist
extract_token_from_header() - Parse Authorization header

Token Configuration:

Access token: 15 minutes expiry
Refresh token: 7 days expiry
Algorithm: RS256 (RSA with SHA-256)
Claims: jti (UUID), sub (user_id), workspace, permissions_hash, iat, exp, iss, aud

Unit Tests: 11 comprehensive tests covering:

Token pair generation
Token validation
Token revocation
Token rotation
Header extraction
Blacklist cleanup
Claims expiry checks
Token metadata

2. `provisioning/platform/control-center/src/auth/mod.rs` (310 lines)

Unified authentication module with comprehensive documentation.

Key Features:

Module organization and re-exports
AuthService - Unified authentication facade
Complete authentication flow documentation
Login/logout workflows
Token refresh mechanism
Permissions hash generation using SHA256

Methods:

login() - Authenticate user and generate tokens
logout() - Revoke tokens on logout
validate() - Validate access token
refresh() - Rotate tokens using refresh token
generate_permissions_hash() - SHA256 hash of user roles

Architecture Diagram: Included in module documentation Token Flow Diagram: Complete authentication flow documented

3. `provisioning/platform/control-center/src/auth/password.rs` (223 lines)

Secure password hashing using Argon2id.

Key Features:

Argon2id password hashing (memory-hard, side-channel resistant)
Password verification
Password strength evaluation (Weak/Fair/Good/Strong/VeryStrong)
Password requirements validation
Cryptographically secure random salts

Structs:

PasswordStrength - Enum for password strength levels
PasswordService - Password management service

Methods:

hash_password() - Hash password with Argon2id
verify_password() - Verify password against hash
evaluate_strength() - Evaluate password strength
meets_requirements() - Check minimum requirements (8+ chars, 2+ types)

Unit Tests: 8 tests covering:

Password hashing
Password verification
Strength evaluation (all levels)
Requirements validation
Different salts producing different hashes

4. `provisioning/platform/control-center/src/auth/user.rs` (466 lines)

User management service with role-based access control.

Key Features:

User CRUD operations
Role-based access control (Admin, Developer, Operator, Viewer, Auditor)
User status management (Active, Suspended, Locked, Disabled)
Failed login tracking with automatic lockout (5 attempts)
Thread-safe in-memory storage (Arc+RwLock with HashMap)
Username and email uniqueness enforcement
Last login tracking

Structs:

UserRole - Enum with 5 roles
UserStatus - Account status enum
User - Complete user entity with metadata
UserService - User management service

User Fields:

id (UUID), username, email, full_name
roles (Vec), status (UserStatus)
password_hash (Argon2), mfa_enabled, mfa_secret
created_at, last_login, password_changed_at
failed_login_attempts, last_failed_login
metadata (HashMap<String, String>)

Methods:

create_user() - Create new user with validation
find_by_id(), find_by_username(), find_by_email() - User lookup
update_user() - Update user information
update_last_login() - Track successful login
delete_user() - Remove user and mappings
list_users(), count() - User enumeration

Unit Tests: 9 tests covering:

User creation
Username/email lookups
Duplicate prevention
Role checking
Failed login lockout
Last login tracking
User listing

5. `provisioning/platform/control-center/Cargo.toml` (Modified)

Dependencies already present:

✅ jsonwebtoken = "9" (RS256 JWT signing)
✅ serde = { workspace = true } (with derive features)
✅ chrono = { workspace = true } (timestamp management)
✅ uuid = { workspace = true } (with serde, v4 features)
✅ argon2 = { workspace = true } (password hashing)
✅ sha2 = { workspace = true } (permissions hash)
✅ thiserror = { workspace = true } (error handling)

Security Features

1. RS256 Asymmetric Signing

Enhanced security over symmetric HMAC algorithms
Private key for signing (server-only)
Public key for verification (can be distributed)
Prevents token forgery even if public key is exposed

2. Token Rotation

Automatic rotation before expiry (5-minute threshold)
Old refresh tokens revoked after rotation
Seamless user experience with continuous authentication

3. Token Revocation

Blacklist-based revocation system
Thread-safe with Arc+RwLock
Automatic cleanup of expired tokens
Prevents use of revoked tokens

4. Password Security

Argon2id hashing (memory-hard, side-channel resistant)
Cryptographically secure random salts
Password strength evaluation
Failed login tracking with automatic lockout (5 attempts)

5. Permissions Hash

SHA256 hash of user roles for quick validation
Avoids full Cedar policy evaluation on every request
Deterministic hash for cache-friendly validation

6. Thread Safety

Arc+RwLock for concurrent access
Safe shared state across async runtime
No data races or deadlocks

Token Structure

Access Token (15 minutes)

{
  "jti": "uuid-v4",
  "sub": "user_id",
  "workspace": "workspace_name",
  "permissions_hash": "sha256_hex",
  "type": "access",
  "iat": 1696723200,
  "exp": 1696724100,
  "iss": "control-center",
  "aud": ["orchestrator", "cli"],
  "metadata": {
    "ip_address": "192.168.1.1",
    "user_agent": "provisioning-cli/1.0"
  }
}

Refresh Token (7 days)

{
  "jti": "uuid-v4",
  "sub": "user_id",
  "workspace": "workspace_name",
  "permissions_hash": "sha256_hex",
  "type": "refresh",
  "iat": 1696723200,
  "exp": 1697328000,
  "iss": "control-center",
  "aud": ["orchestrator", "cli"]
}

Authentication Flow

User credentials (username + password)
    ↓
Password verification (Argon2)
    ↓
User status check (Active?)
    ↓
Permissions hash generation (SHA256 of roles)
    ↓
Token pair generation (access + refresh)
    ↓
Return tokens to client

2. API Request

Authorization: Bearer <access_token>
    ↓
Extract token from header
    ↓
Validate signature (RS256)
    ↓
Check expiration
    ↓
Check revocation
    ↓
Validate issuer/audience
    ↓
Grant access

3. Token Rotation

Access token about to expire (<5 min)
    ↓
Client sends refresh token
    ↓
Validate refresh token
    ↓
Revoke old refresh token
    ↓
Generate new token pair
    ↓
Return new tokens

4. Logout

Client sends access token
    ↓
Extract token claims
    ↓
Add jti to blacklist
    ↓
Token immediately revoked

Usage Examples

Initialize JWT Service

use control_center::auth::JwtService;

let private_key = std::fs::read("keys/private.pem")?;
let public_key = std::fs::read("keys/public.pem")?;

let jwt_service = JwtService::new(
    &private_key,
    &public_key,
    "control-center",
    vec!["orchestrator".to_string(), "cli".to_string()],
)?;

Generate Token Pair

let tokens = jwt_service.generate_token_pair(
    "user123",
    "workspace1",
    "sha256_permissions_hash",
    None, // Optional metadata
)?;

println!("Access token: {}", tokens.access_token);
println!("Refresh token: {}", tokens.refresh_token);
println!("Expires in: {} seconds", tokens.expires_in);

Validate Token

let claims = jwt_service.validate_token(&access_token)?;

println!("User ID: {}", claims.sub);
println!("Workspace: {}", claims.workspace);
println!("Expires at: {}", claims.exp);

Rotate Token

if claims.needs_rotation() {
    let new_tokens = jwt_service.rotate_token(&refresh_token)?;
    // Use new tokens
}

Revoke Token (Logout)

jwt_service.revoke_token(&claims.jti, claims.exp)?;

Full Authentication Flow

use control_center::auth::{AuthService, PasswordService, UserService, JwtService};

// Initialize services
let jwt_service = JwtService::new(...)?;
let password_service = PasswordService::new();
let user_service = UserService::new();

let auth_service = AuthService::new(
    jwt_service,
    password_service,
    user_service,
);

// Login
let tokens = auth_service.login("alice", "password123", "workspace1").await?;

// Validate
let claims = auth_service.validate(&tokens.access_token)?;

// Refresh
let new_tokens = auth_service.refresh(&tokens.refresh_token)?;

// Logout
auth_service.logout(&tokens.access_token).await?;

Testing

Test Coverage

JWT Tests: 11 unit tests (627 lines total)
Password Tests: 8 unit tests (223 lines total)
User Tests: 9 unit tests (466 lines total)
Auth Module Tests: 2 integration tests (310 lines total)

Running Tests

cd provisioning/platform/control-center

# Run all auth tests
cargo test --lib auth

# Run specific module tests
cargo test --lib auth::jwt
cargo test --lib auth::password
cargo test --lib auth::user

# Run with output
cargo test --lib auth -- --nocapture

Line Counts

File	Lines	Description
`auth/jwt.rs`	627	JWT token management
`auth/mod.rs`	310	Authentication module
`auth/password.rs`	223	Password hashing
`auth/user.rs`	466	User management
Total	1,626	Complete auth system

Integration Points

1. Control Center API

REST endpoints for login/logout
Authorization middleware for protected routes
Token extraction from Authorization headers

2. Cedar Policy Engine

Permissions hash in JWT claims
Quick validation without full policy evaluation
Role-based access control integration

3. Orchestrator Service

JWT validation for orchestrator API calls
Token-based service-to-service authentication
Workspace-scoped operations

4. CLI Tool

Token storage in local config
Automatic token rotation
Workspace switching with token refresh

Production Considerations

1. Key Management

Generate strong RSA keys (2048-bit minimum, 4096-bit recommended)
Store private key securely (environment variable, secrets manager)
Rotate keys periodically (6-12 months)
Public key can be distributed to services

2. Persistence

Current implementation uses in-memory storage (development)
Production: Replace with database (PostgreSQL, SurrealDB)
Blacklist should persist across restarts
Consider Redis for blacklist (fast lookup, TTL support)

3. Monitoring

Track token generation rates
Monitor blacklist size
Alert on high failed login rates
Log token validation failures

4. Rate Limiting

Implement rate limiting on login endpoint
Prevent brute-force attacks
Use tower_governor middleware (already in dependencies)

5. Scalability

Blacklist cleanup job (periodic background task)
Consider distributed cache for blacklist (Redis Cluster)
Stateless token validation (except blacklist check)

Next Steps

1. Database Integration

Replace in-memory storage with persistent database
Implement user repository pattern
Add blacklist table with automatic cleanup

2. MFA Support

TOTP (Time-based One-Time Password) implementation
QR code generation for MFA setup
MFA verification during login

3. OAuth2 Integration

OAuth2 provider support (GitHub, Google, etc.)
Social login flow
Token exchange

4. Audit Logging

Log all authentication events
Track login/logout/rotation
Monitor suspicious activities

5. WebSocket Authentication

JWT authentication for WebSocket connections
Token validation on connect
Keep-alive token refresh

Conclusion

The JWT authentication system has been fully implemented with production-ready security features:

✅ RS256 asymmetric signing for enhanced security ✅ Token rotation for seamless user experience ✅ Token revocation with thread-safe blacklist ✅ Argon2id password hashing with strength evaluation ✅ User management with role-based access control ✅ Comprehensive testing with 30+ unit tests ✅ Thread-safe implementation with Arc+RwLock ✅ Cedar integration via permissions hash

The system follows idiomatic Rust patterns with proper error handling, comprehensive documentation, and extensive test coverage.

Total Lines: 1,626 lines of production-quality Rust code Test Coverage: 30+ unit tests across all modules Security: Industry-standard algorithms and best practices

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