OpenID Connect Information

The Signicat Identity Broker supports the two most commonly used OpenID Connect flows: Authorisation Code and Implicit.

Authorisation Code grant flow

The Authorisation Code flow is used by clients to exchange an authorisation code for an Access Token. The Access Token can then be used at the Token endpoint to retrieve the JWT containing the required user information (claims).

See https://openid.net/specs/openid-connect-core-1_0.html#CodeFlowSteps (opens new window) for a detailed description of the flow.

Example messages for Authorisation endpoint

Authorisation request

<base_url>/broker/openidconnect/authorize?response_type=code&client_id=<client_id>&scope=openid&state=<state>&redirect_uri=<redirect_uri>

ID	Value	Description
client_id	Unique Identifier	Identifies the client at the Signicat Identity Broker. This must be agreed upon between your service and Signicat before starting the integration.
redirect_uri	URL	The URL on your service that will receive the response.
response_type	"Code"	This value must be set to "code" to retrieve an Authorisation Token.
scope	openid
state		An opaque value used by the client to prevent cross-site request forgery.
nonce	Optional field	String value used to associate a client session with an ID Token, and to mitigate replay attacks. It is mandatory only for implicit flow. If sent, it will also be included in the JWT in the authorisation code flow.

Authorisation response

<redirect_uri>?code=<authorization_token>&state=<state>

Before the <authorization_token> is sent, the user must first authenticate himself/herself via an identity provider.

Example messages for Token endpoint

This endpoint can be used to retrieve an ID Token/Access Token, as well as to refresh an expired Access Token.

Token request (POST method)

<base_url>/broker/openidconnect/token?grant_type=<grant_type>&code=<code>&redirect_uri=<redirect_uri>&client_secret=<client_secret>

ID	Value	Description
redirect_uri	URL	The URL on your service that will receive the response.
grant_type	"authorization_code"/ ”refresh_token”	To receive the ID Token, use "authorization_code". To refresh an expired Access Token, use "refresh token"
client_secret	Unique identifier	A secret key agreed upon between your service and the Signicat Identity Broker.
code	Unique identifier	This is the Authorisation Token returned by the Signicat Identity Broker from the authorisation endpoint.
refresh_token	Unique identifier	This parameter is only mandatory when requesting a new Access Token. The value should match the value of the Refresh Token received from the Token endpoint when requesting the ID Token.
client_id	Client identifier

Token response for grant_type = “authorization_code”(JSON format)

Content-Type: application/json
Cache-Control: no-store
Pragma: no-cache

{
  "access_token":<access_token>,
  "token_type":"Bearer",
  "expires_in":<expires_in>,
  "refresh_token":<refresh_token>,
  "id_token":<id_token>
}

ID	Value	Description
access_token	Unique identifier	The Access Token returned by the Signicat Identity Broker.
token_type	"Bearer"
expires_in	integer	Defines the time (in milliseconds) when the Access Token will expire.
id_token	JWT	Base64 encoded JSON containing information about the user. The JWT will be signed using the Signicat Identity Broker certificate.
refresh_token	Unique identifier	The Refresh Token returned by the Signicat Identity Broker.

Token response for grant_type = “refresh_token”(JSON format)

Content-Type: application/json
Cache-Control: no-store
Pragma: no-cache

{
"access_token": <access_token>,
"token_type": "Bearer",
"refresh_token": <refresh_token>,
"expires_in": <expires_in>
}

Example messages for user info endpoint

This endpoint is used to retrieve claims about an authenticated user.

User info request (GET method)

<base_url>/broker/openidconnect/userinfo

Authorization: Bearer <access_token>

The request should contain the "Authorization" header with the following value: "Bearer" + empty space + <Access Token>.

User info response (JSON format)

{
"sub": "248289761001",
"name": "Jane Doe",
"given_name": "Jane",
"family_name": "Doe",
"preferred_username": "j.doe",
"email": "janedoe@example.com",
"picture": "http://example.com/janedoe/me.jpg"
}

Implicit grant flow

This flow is suitable for client-side javascript applications that are unable to safely store a secret key.

The flow is much simpler, after the user authenticates themselves via an identity provider, the application directly receives the tokens (with the required user information), without the need for additional endpoints invocation.
See https://oauth.net/2/grant-types/implicit/ (opens new window) for a detailed description of the flow.

Example messages for authorisation endpoint

Authorisation request

<base_url>/broker/openidconnect/authorize?response_type=id token token&client_id=<client_id>&scope=openid&state=<state>&redirect_uri=<redirect_uri>

ID	Value	Description
client_id	Unique identifier	Identifies the client at the Signicat Identity Broker. This must be agreed upon between your service and Signicat before starting the integration.
redirect_uri	URL	The URL on your service that will receive the response.
response_type	"id token token"	This value must be set to "id token token" in order to directly receive the ID Token.
scope	openid
state	Optional field	An opaque value used by the client to prevent cross-site request forgery.
nonce	Optional field	String value used to associate a client session with an ID Token, and to mitigate replay attacks. It is only mandatory for implicit flow. If sent, it will also be included in the JWT in the authorisation code flow.

Authorisation response

<redirect_uri>?token_type=Bearer&id_token=<id_token>T&state=<state>

ID	Value	Description
state	Unique identifier	The same value as sent in the request.
token_type	“Bearer”
id_token	Base64 encoded string	The JWT containing user claims, signed by the Signicat Identity Broker.