Tokenlivssyklusen

Tokenlivssyklusen, or the token life cycle, refers to the series of stages that a security token—such as an authentication or authorization token—undergoes from its issuance to its eventual invalidation or expiration. Tokens are a fundamental element of modern identity and access management systems, including OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, JSON Web Tokens (JWT) and API key mechanisms. The life cycle is typically divided into several key phases: generation, distribution, validation, consumption, renewal or rotation, and revocation or expiry.

During the generation phase the authority (an identity provider or authorization server) creates the token, embedding claims, scopes and a signed or encrypted payload. The token is then distributed to a client application, often stored in a secure HTTP-only cookie or in local storage for single‑page applications. Validation involves the client presenting the token to a protected resource, where the server verifies its signature, checks its expiration timestamp, revocation status, and scopes. Consumption occurs when the protected resource authorizes the requested action. To maintain security, short‑lived access tokens are paired with longer‑lived refresh tokens that can be exchanged for new access tokens, allowing the token to be rotated without requiring the user to re‑authenticate. Finally, tokens can be revoked manually or automatically by the issuer, for instance upon password changes, detection of compromise or when the user logs out, and they also naturally expire after a defined lifetime. Proper implementation of each stage of the tokenlivssyklusen requires attention to cryptographic best practices, secure storage of secret keys, careful scope assignment and timely revocation to reduce the window of vulnerability.