Web-based single sign-on (SSO) services such as Google Sign-In and Log In
with Paypal are based on the OpenID Connect protocol. This protocol enables
so-called relying parties to delegate user authentication to so-called identity
providers. OpenID Connect is one of the newest and most widely deployed single
sign-on protocols on the web. Despite its importance, it has not received much
attention from security researchers so far, and in particular, has not
undergone any rigorous security analysis.
In this paper, we carry out the first in-depth security analysis of OpenID
Connect. To this end, we use a comprehensive generic model of the web to
develop a detailed formal model of OpenID Connect. Based on this model, we then
precisely formalize and prove central security properties for OpenID Connect,
including authentication, authorization, and session integrity properties.
In our modeling of OpenID Connect, we employ security measures in order to
avoid attacks on OpenID Connect that have been discovered previously and new
attack variants that we document for the first time in this paper. Based on
these security measures, we propose security guidelines for implementors of
OpenID Connect. Our formal analysis demonstrates that these guidelines are in
fact effective and sufficient.Comment: An abridged version appears in CSF 2017. Parts of this work extend
the web model presented in arXiv:1411.7210, arXiv:1403.1866,
arXiv:1508.01719, and arXiv:1601.0122