Failing signature validation of JWT tokens from Azure AD

Question

By following this MS info about client credential grants, I got a JWT token:

eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJub25jZSI6InBOWU1CVkZKcFAxVjJ1VTFaUnM1V3NOLVhyeDhjXzhWWjU5RWxhTFZBeDAiLCJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsIng1dCI6IllNRUxIVDBndmIwbXhvU0RvWWZvbWpxZmpZVSIsImtpZCI6IllNRUxIVDBndmIwbXhvU0RvWWZvbWpxZmpZVSJ9.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.fy2TIhXb89Ic2wuw7ysao-JzBqzpQGHD29A_X-JrjeEXOTvO5AB75tn0G1zV69vYkg2hEMsv3Dej5pNJ82w8NETRXMEEhC6ke9-URk0uKzWJ_ZzxNrL9I1eD8N4UUhqXeJifYE9gatDRqSfFmEn5eQbRVgEegJMmpqb7DMeUH8pOkTZLKzFHjSmJATx2eQBkW1PiMEL5u-QuIiZohObxficQ8PvK-IgE2V_LcTuVnEVXBrgYfZllPesQTP9-fjV_iGnM5gwcnVhwqNdpk9Ws-Vz2XDgRRCDu604IbYv3SvA9JhbKByo0CPreMfhqjrP5l_0Rm_bJeGj9iJrql5Jj3w

When I simply copy-paste it to jwt.io, the token is correctly decoded but its signature validation fails. So I suspected jwt.io not to work properly and wanted to verify the token myself.

The token's header:

{
  "typ": "JWT",
  "nonce": "pNYMBVFJpP1V2uU1ZRs5WsN-Xrx8c_8VZ59ElaLVAx0",
  "alg": "RS256",
  "x5t": "YMELHT0gvb0mxoSDoYfomjqfjYU",
  "kid": "YMELHT0gvb0mxoSDoYfomjqfjYU"
}

According to this description where the Azure public keys/certificates are available I fetched them and the key with kid=YMELHT0gvb0mxoSDoYfomjqfjYU is there:

{
     "kty":"RSA",
     "use":"sig",
     "kid":"YMELHT0gvb0mxoSDoYfomjqfjYU",
     "x5t":"YMELHT0gvb0mxoSDoYfomjqfjYU",
     "n":"ni9SAyu9EsltQlV7Jo3wMUvcpYb4mmfHzV4IsDZ6NQvJjtQJuhsfqiG86VntMd76R44kCmkfMGvtQRA2_UmnVBSSLxQKvcGUqNodH7YaMYOTmHlbOSoVpi3Ox2wj6cWvhaTTm_4xzJ3F0yF0Y_aRBMxSCIwLv3nTMRNe74k4zdBnhL7k5ObOY_vUGt_5-sPo6BXoV7oov4Ps6jeyUdRKtqVZSp5_kzz16kPh1Ng_2tn4vpQimNbHRralq8rNM_gOLPAar6v7mL_qsqpgx-48e5ENFxikbB-NzAmLll1QSkzciu2rCjFGH4j_-bCHr7FxUNDL_E0vMFVDFw8SUlYMgQ",
     "e":"AQAB",
     "x5c":[
        "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"
     ],
     "issuer":"https://login.microsoftonline.com/{tenantid}/v2.0"
}

Next I extract the public key from the certificate:

openssl x509 -in ms_signing_cert4.pem -pubkey -noout

-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY----- MIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEAni9SAyu9EsltQlV7Jo3w MUvcpYb4mmfHzV4IsDZ6NQvJjtQJuhsfqiG86VntMd76R44kCmkfMGvtQRA2/Umn VBSSLxQKvcGUqNodH7YaMYOTmHlbOSoVpi3Ox2wj6cWvhaTTm/4xzJ3F0yF0Y/aR BMxSCIwLv3nTMRNe74k4zdBnhL7k5ObOY/vUGt/5+sPo6BXoV7oov4Ps6jeyUdRK tqVZSp5/kzz16kPh1Ng/2tn4vpQimNbHRralq8rNM/gOLPAar6v7mL/qsqpgx+48 e5ENFxikbB+NzAmLll1QSkzciu2rCjFGH4j/+bCHr7FxUNDL/E0vMFVDFw8SUlYM gQIDAQAB -----END PUBLIC KEY-----

And lastly I use the Python PyJWT library to verify the signature:

import jwt

token = 'eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJub25jZSI6InBOWU1CVkZKcFAxVjJ1VTFaUnM1V3NOLVhyeDhjXzhWWjU5RWxhTFZBeDAiLCJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsIng1dCI6IllNRUxIVDBndmIwbXhvU0RvWWZvbWpxZmpZVSIsImtpZCI6IllNRUxIVDBndmIwbXhvU0RvWWZvbWpxZmpZVSJ9.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.fy2TIhXb89Ic2wuw7ysao-JzBqzpQGHD29A_X-JrjeEXOTvO5AB75tn0G1zV69vYkg2hEMsv3Dej5pNJ82w8NETRXMEEhC6ke9-URk0uKzWJ_ZzxNrL9I1eD8N4UUhqXeJifYE9gatDRqSfFmEn5eQbRVgEegJMmpqb7DMeUH8pOkTZLKzFHjSmJATx2eQBkW1PiMEL5u-QuIiZohObxficQ8PvK-IgE2V_LcTuVnEVXBrgYfZllPesQTP9-fjV_iGnM5gwcnVhwqNdpk9Ws-Vz2XDgRRCDu604IbYv3SvA9JhbKByo0CPreMfhqjrP5l_0Rm_bJeGj9iJrql5Jj3w'
pub_key = b'-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----\nMIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEAni9SAyu9EsltQlV7Jo3w\nMUvcpYb4mmfHzV4IsDZ6NQvJjtQJuhsfqiG86VntMd76R44kCmkfMGvtQRA2/Umn\nVBSSLxQKvcGUqNodH7YaMYOTmHlbOSoVpi3Ox2wj6cWvhaTTm/4xzJ3F0yF0Y/aR\nBMxSCIwLv3nTMRNe74k4zdBnhL7k5ObOY/vUGt/5+sPo6BXoV7oov4Ps6jeyUdRK\ntqVZSp5/kzz16kPh1Ng/2tn4vpQimNbHRralq8rNM/gOLPAar6v7mL/qsqpgx+48\ne5ENFxikbB+NzAmLll1QSkzciu2rCjFGH4j/+bCHr7FxUNDL/E0vMFVDFw8SUlYM\ngQIDAQAB\n-----END PUBLIC KEY-----'

print(jwt.decode(token, pub_key, algorithms=['RS256']))

Results in

jwt.exceptions.InvalidSignatureError: Signature verification failed

I tried to generate on my PC my own JWT, also signed by RS256 - passes both on jwt.io and PyJWT. Same for a sample token I found somewhere on the web. Just cannot handle tokens issued by AAD.

What am I missing with these AAD tokens? Many thanks.

Answer 1

Your token is correct. It is just a specific token for graph api. You will see a nonce in Jwt.Header. This means you need special processing. Normal processing will fail.

If you're a client getting a token for Graph, assume that it's an encrypted string that you should never look at - sometimes it will be. We use a special token format for Graph that they know how to validate - you shouldn't be looking at access tokens if they're not for you.

See the details here.

Reference:

Can not validate signature

Answer 2

Yes indeed. This nonce is in V2, the addition to the V1 token. I used to validate V1 using this snippet:

                var signatureKey = signatureKeyIdentifier.X509CertificateChain.First();
                var certificate = new X509Certificate2(signatureKey.ToBytesFromBase64URLString());
                var rsa = certificate.GetRSAPublicKey();
                var data = string.Format("{0}.{1}", header, payload).ToBytes();
                var isValidSignature = rsa.VerifyData(
                    data,
                    signature.ToBytesFromBase64URLString(),
                    HashAlgorithmName.SHA256,
                    RSASignaturePadding.Pkcs1);

But now this validation will fail. Please note that I am creating a certificate as provided by header. The nonce has nothing to do with signature, it is just a number that changes for each request/token to make sure no one is replaying that valid token. Validating the nonce is by saving all of them in a database and check uniqueness. I think we need to find out the changes in calculating the signation. are they still using the same padding? same Algo?

The way I am using to validate now is to send that token to the same active directory to get data, then AD will give the data ONLY upon valid token.