Tokenrotation

Token rotation is the practice of periodically replacing authentication or authorization tokens to limit the potential impact of token compromise. It is commonly applied to API access tokens, session tokens, and especially refresh tokens within modern identity and access management systems. The central idea is that tokens have a limited validity window, and by issuing new tokens and invalidating old ones, a stolen token cannot be reused indefinitely.

In OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, token rotation typically involves rotating refresh tokens. When a client uses a refresh token to obtain a new access token, the authorization server issues a new refresh token and invalidates the previous one. This reduces the usefulness of a compromised refresh token and helps detect unusual token usage patterns. Access tokens may also be short-lived, with a secure mechanism for obtaining new ones without requiring the user to re-authenticate.

Benefits of token rotation include limiting the window of opportunity for token abuse, improving revocation effectiveness, and enabling better anomaly detection. It can also support continuous access without frequent user prompts. However, rotation introduces complexity: the system must maintain state about active tokens, ensure reliable synchronization between issuing and revoking tokens, and handle edge cases such as token loss or failed rotation.

Security considerations emphasize proper lifetime management, secure storage of tokens, binding tokens to devices or sessions where appropriate, and robust monitoring for reuse or anomalies. See also OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, JWT, and token revocation.