ABSTRACT

The increasing proliferation of web applications necessitates robust security mechanisms to protect user data and ensure secure access to resources. OAuth 2.0, an open standard for authorization, has emerged as a vital protocol, enabling third-party applications to access user accounts on web services without exposing user credentials. This project aims to explore, design, and implement a secure OAuth 2.0 framework for web and mobile applications, addressing prevalent security challenges such as token leakage, cross-site request forgery (CSRF), and authorization code interception.

Our research delves into the historical progression of web authentication, highlighting the evolution from basic username/password combinations to advanced token-based systems. By critically analyzing existing OAuth 2.0 implementations across popular platforms like Google, Facebook, and GitHub, we identify common vulnerabilities and propose enhanced security measures. The project introduces a novel web framework, named "W," designed to manage the lifecycle of packaged web applications, ensuring secure token storage, secure communication channels, and the integration of Proof Key for Code Exchange (PKCE).

This study also conducts a comparative analysis of OAuth 2.0 with other authentication protocols, including OpenID Connect, SAML, and JWT, evaluating their respective strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, we discuss emerging trends and future directions in web authentication, such as OAuth 2.1, decentralized identity systems, and zero-trust architectures.

The outcome of this project is a comprehensive, secure, and efficient OAuth 2.0 implementation framework that enhances the security of web and mobile applications, providing a robust solution to mitigate contemporary security threats. This work contributes to the ongoing development of secure web authentication standards and offers valuable insights for developers aiming to implement OAuth 2.0 in their applications.