OAuth

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

Website:	Go to site
Description:	OAuth is an open standard used to authorize access to protected data. OAuth provides client applications with secure delegated access to server resources on behalf of a resource owner. This standard specifies a process for resource owners to authorize third-party access to their server resources without sharing their credentials. Designed specifically to work with Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), OAuth allows access tokens to be issued to third-party clients by an authorization server, with the approval of the resource owner or end-user. The client then uses the access token to access the protected resources hosted by the resource server.
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v23.3
Decision Date:	03/30/2023 at 19:17:52 UTC
Introduced By:	TRM Request
Standards Body:	3com

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Industry Standard, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

Version	Release Date	Vendor End of Life Date	Vendor Desupport Date
1.0	12/04/2007
1.0 Revision A	06/24/2009
2.0	10/12/2012

Current Decision Matrix (03/28/2023)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VA IT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported. Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered unapproved for use.

Legend:

White	Approved: The technology/standard has been approved for use.
Yellow	Approved w/Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Unapproved: This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Divest: VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unapproved may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Prohibited: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Planning/Evaluation Constraint:The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

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Release

Q1

Q2

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Q1

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1.0

Unapproved

1.0 Revision A

Unapproved

2.0

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4]

Decision Constraints


[1]	A session fixation attack identified in the OAuth 1.0 specification is detailed in http://oauth.net/advisories/2009-1. The session fixation attack resulted in the OAuth Core 1.0 Revision A specification being developed. The OAuth Core Workgroup states: the OAuth Core 1.0 Revision A `specification was obsoleted by RFC 6749: The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework. Implementers should use RFC 6749 instead of this specification.` Specific authentication features must be required to use the OAuth Core 1.0 Revision A rather than the OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework. The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework is supported by an active Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) working group and their mailing list must be continually monitored for guidance in applying the framework.

[2]	OAuth 1.0 is considered a legacy technology and hasn’t been updated since 2009. Product is end-of-life (EOL) and no further updates will be done. Per the Initial Product Review, users must abide by the following constraints: It is technically impossible to store secrets on machines out of the Service Providers control, such as a user’s desktop or phone. Without the ability to secure a secret the ability to authenticate is lost. Because of this, the Consumer has no way of knowing whether a request from such a client is legitimate or from a malicious party. Great care should be taken to restrict non authenticated client’s access to resources appropriately. The session fixation attack resulted in the OAuth Core 1.0 Revision A specification being developed. OAuth Core 1.0 Revision A must be used. The OAuth Core Workgroup states: the OAuth Core 1.0 Revision A “specification was obsoleted by RFC 6749: The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework. Implementers should use RFC 6749 instead of this specification.” Specific authentication features must be required to use the OAuth Core 1.0 Revision A rather than the OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework. OAuth 1.0a includes authentication and authorization, which financial service organizations use to process critically sensitive data. OAuth does not mandate a signature method, as each implementation can have its own unique requirements. The protocol defines three signature methods: HMAC-SHA1, RSA-SHA1, and PLAINTEXT, but Service Providers are free to implement and document their own methods. Recommending any method is beyond the scope of this specification. OAuth does not mandate a signature method, as each implementation can have its own unique requirements. The deprecated HMAC-SHA1 and RSA-SHA1 must not be used due to known vulnerabilities.

[3]	OAuth 1.0 is considered a legacy technology and hasn’t been updated since 2009. Product is end-of-life (EOL) and no further updates will be done. Security Engineering (SE) conducted a pre-assessment and security requirements verification of OAuth 2.0. It is advised that if this product is used within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that the following constraints be applied: OAuth 2.0 will require a 3rd party FIPS 140-2 certified solution for any data containing PHI/PII or VA sensitive information. The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework is supported by an active IETF working group, their mailing list must be continually monitored for guidance in applying the framework.

[4]	The Federal Information Processing standards (FIPS) 140-2 certification status of this technology was not able to be verified. This technology will require a 3rd party FIPS 140-2 or 140-3 certified solution for any data containing PHI/PII or VA sensitive information, where applicable. More information regarding the Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) can be found on the NIST website.

Note:

At the time of writing, version 2.0 is the most current version, released 10/12/2012.

References

The following reference(s) are associated with this entry:
Type	Name	Source	Description

Standard Components

Note: This list may not be complete. No component, listed or unlisted, may be used outside of the technology in which it is released. The usage decision for a component is found in the Decision and Decision Constraints.
Source	Name	Description
No components have been identified for this entry.

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Domain Area	Category	Customer Guidance	Category Locked By ELT Date
Security Identity and Access Management	Authentication

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Implemented By/Verified With:

Microsoft .NET Framework - (implemented by)
Node.js - (implemented by)
Personal Home Page (PHP) Hypertext Preprocessor - (implemented by)

Comparable Standards:

JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Web Token (JWT)

Associated Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

At the time of writing, no National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) vulnerabilities had been reported and no VA Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) bulletins had been issued for the latest versions of this standard.
This standard may improve productivity for specific staff whose responsibilities include security for development staff tasked with the management of multiple accounts and credentials.
This standard is designed to focus on client developer simplicity while providing specific authorization flows for web applications, desktop applications, mobile phones, and other devices.
This standard has a comprehensive set of documentation.
There is no licensing fee associated with this standard.

Adoption Risks

OAuth 2.0 has had numerous security flaws exposed in various implementations.
Both OAuth 1.0 and 1.0 Revision A have been obsoleted by RFC 6749: The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework.
The product is not Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 certified. OAuth 2.0 does not support signature, encryption, channel binding, or client verification. It relies completely on Transport Layer Security (TLS) for some degree of confidentiality and server authentication
There was a session fixation attack identified in the OAuth 1.0 specification that is detailed in http://oauth.net/advisories/2009-1.
OAuth Core 1.0 Revision A defines the deprecated SHA-1 hash function.

Architectural Benefits

This standard is platform-independent as it is designed specifically to work with Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.7

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (03/28/2023)

Decision Constraints

References

Standard Components

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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.7

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (03/28/2023)

Decision Constraints

References

Standard Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Implemented By/Verified With:

Comparable Standards:

Associated Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

Adoption Risks

Architectural Benefits

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