Access Token Usage Limits with Dynamic Expiration Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing authentication mechanisms, such as JSON web tokens (JWTs), lack the ability for clients to control and adjust access token use limits beyond provider-based rate limits, leading to potential misuse and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
Implementing access tokens with both time-to-live and client-defined usage conditions, allowing clients to specify and enforce their own use limits through scopes and claims, ensuring secure and controlled access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If access tokens use only provider-based time limits, then implementation is simple, but clients cannot control or adjust use limits according to their specific needs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic access token expiration by combining both time-based (time-to-live) and usage-based (use limit) expiration conditions. The token's validity is no longer static but adapts based on either temporal or usage thresholds, allowing clients to control access patterns dynamically according to their specific security and operational needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces multiple configurable parameters for access token control, including time-to-live duration, use limit count, and scope restrictions. These parameters can be adjusted during token issuance to match different client requirements, enabling flexible adaptation without changing the underlying system architecture.
2Reliability
If access tokens have unlimited use within time-to-live, then ease of operation is high, but security risks increase due to potential misuse
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by establishing use limits and scope restrictions on access tokens before they are used. During the token issuance phase, the system pre-defines the maximum number of uses and acceptable scopes, preventing potential misuse before it occurs. This proactive approach maintains security without significantly complicating the operational flow for legitimate users.
3Adaptability or versatility
If access tokens include client-defined usage conditions, then adaptability improves, but device complexity increases due to tracking and enforcement requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the access token validation process into distinct components: time-to-live checking, use limit counting, and scope verification. Each condition is independently tracked and enforced, allowing the system to handle complex usage requirements through modular, manageable checks rather than a monolithic complex system.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for allowing a user or a client web service to control or adjust use limit of an access token instead of relying on provider based time limits are provided. Specifically, methods involve obtaining an access request for a web-based service. The access request includes at least one usage condition for accessing the web-based service. The methods further involve generating an access token having a time-to-live value in response to the access request. The access token further includes the at least one usage condition that specifies a use limit for the access token. The methods further involve providing the access token for accessing the web-based service.