Spring Security 6: Complete JWT Authentication

// Conceptual representation of the authentication flow
public class JwtAuthenticationFlow {

    // 1. Initial authentication: POST /api/auth/login
    // → Verify credentials against database
    // → Generate signed JWT token
    // → Return token to client

    // 2. Authenticated requests: GET /api/protected
    // → Header: Authorization: Bearer <token>
    // → Extract and validate token
    // → Create SecurityContext
    // → Access protected resource
}

<!-- pom.xml -->
<dependencies>
    <!-- Spring Security for authentication management -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-security</artifactId>
    </dependency>

    <!-- Spring Web for REST endpoints -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
    </dependency>

    <!-- JJWT: token generation and validation -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>io.jsonwebtoken</groupId>
        <artifactId>jjwt-api</artifactId>
        <version>0.12.5</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>io.jsonwebtoken</groupId>
        <artifactId>jjwt-impl</artifactId>
        <version>0.12.5</version>
        <scope>runtime</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>io.jsonwebtoken</groupId>
        <artifactId>jjwt-jackson</artifactId>
        <version>0.12.5</version>
        <scope>runtime</scope>
    </dependency>

    <!-- Spring Data JPA for user persistence -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

@Service
public class JwtService {

    // Secret key injected from application.yml
    @Value("${app.jwt.secret}")
    private String secretKey;

    // Token validity duration (24 hours by default)
    @Value("${app.jwt.expiration:86400000}")
    private long jwtExpiration;

    // Generates a JWT token for an authenticated user
    public String generateToken(UserDetails userDetails) {
        return generateToken(new HashMap<>(), userDetails);
    }

    // Generates a token with custom claims
    public String generateToken(Map<String, Object> extraClaims, UserDetails userDetails) {
        return Jwts.builder()
            .claims(extraClaims)                           // Additional claims (roles, permissions)
            .subject(userDetails.getUsername())            // Principal identifier
            .issuedAt(new Date())                          // Creation date
            .expiration(new Date(System.currentTimeMillis() + jwtExpiration))
            .signWith(getSigningKey(), Jwts.SIG.HS256)     // HMAC-SHA256 signature
            .compact();
    }

    // Extracts the username (subject) from the token
    public String extractUsername(String token) {
        return extractClaim(token, Claims::getSubject);
    }

    // Extracts a specific claim via an extraction function
    public <T> T extractClaim(String token, Function<Claims, T> claimsResolver) {
        final Claims claims = extractAllClaims(token);
        return claimsResolver.apply(claims);
    }

    // Validates the token: correct signature and not expired
    public boolean isTokenValid(String token, UserDetails userDetails) {
        final String username = extractUsername(token);
        return username.equals(userDetails.getUsername()) && !isTokenExpired(token);
    }

    // Checks if the token has expired
    private boolean isTokenExpired(String token) {
        return extractExpiration(token).before(new Date());
    }

    // Extracts the expiration date
    private Date extractExpiration(String token) {
        return extractClaim(token, Claims::getExpiration);
    }

    // Parses the token and extracts all claims
    private Claims extractAllClaims(String token) {
        return Jwts.parser()
            .verifyWith(getSigningKey())    // Verifies the signature
            .build()
            .parseSignedClaims(token)       // Parses the signed token
            .getPayload();                  // Returns the claims
    }

    // Generates the signing key from the Base64-encoded secret
    private SecretKey getSigningKey() {
        byte[] keyBytes = Decoders.BASE64.decode(secretKey);
        return Keys.hmacShaKeyFor(keyBytes);
    }
}

@Entity
@Table(name = "users")
public class User implements UserDetails {

    @Id
    @GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
    private Long id;

    @Column(unique = true, nullable = false)
    private String email;

    @Column(nullable = false)
    private String password;

    @Column(nullable = false)
    private String firstName;

    @Column(nullable = false)
    private String lastName;

    // Role stored as enum for type safety
    @Enumerated(EnumType.STRING)
    @Column(nullable = false)
    private Role role;

    // UserDetails implementation: returns user authorities
    @Override
    public Collection<? extends GrantedAuthority> getAuthorities() {
        return List.of(new SimpleGrantedAuthority("ROLE_" + role.name()));
    }

    // Username corresponds to email in this implementation
    @Override
    public String getUsername() {
        return email;
    }

    // Account always active (adapt as needed)
    @Override
    public boolean isAccountNonExpired() {
        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isAccountNonLocked() {
        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isCredentialsNonExpired() {
        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isEnabled() {
        return true;
    }

    // Getters and setters omitted for brevity
}

public enum Role {
    USER,      // Standard user
    ADMIN      // Administrator with extended privileges
}

@Component
@RequiredArgsConstructor
public class JwtAuthenticationFilter extends OncePerRequestFilter {

    private final JwtService jwtService;
    private final UserDetailsService userDetailsService;

    @Override
    protected void doFilterInternal(
        HttpServletRequest request,
        HttpServletResponse response,
        FilterChain filterChain
    ) throws ServletException, IOException {

        // Retrieve the Authorization header
        final String authHeader = request.getHeader("Authorization");

        // Check for Bearer prefix
        if (authHeader == null || !authHeader.startsWith("Bearer ")) {
            filterChain.doFilter(request, response);
            return;
        }

        // Extract the token (without the "Bearer " prefix)
        final String jwt = authHeader.substring(7);

        try {
            // Extract username from token
            final String userEmail = jwtService.extractUsername(jwt);

            // Check that user is not already authenticated
            if (userEmail != null && SecurityContextHolder.getContext().getAuthentication() == null) {

                // Load user details from database
                UserDetails userDetails = userDetailsService.loadUserByUsername(userEmail);

                // Validate token (signature + expiration + user match)
                if (jwtService.isTokenValid(jwt, userDetails)) {

                    // Create authentication object
                    UsernamePasswordAuthenticationToken authToken =
                        new UsernamePasswordAuthenticationToken(
                            userDetails,
                            null,
                            userDetails.getAuthorities()
                        );

                    // Add request details
                    authToken.setDetails(
                        new WebAuthenticationDetailsSource().buildDetails(request)
                    );

                    // Set authentication in security context
                    SecurityContextHolder.getContext().setAuthentication(authToken);
                }
            }
        } catch (ExpiredJwtException e) {
            // Token expired: user must re-authenticate
            response.setStatus(HttpServletResponse.SC_UNAUTHORIZED);
            response.getWriter().write("Token expired");
            return;
        } catch (JwtException e) {
            // Invalid token: incorrect signature or malformed format
            response.setStatus(HttpServletResponse.SC_UNAUTHORIZED);
            response.getWriter().write("Invalid token");
            return;
        }

        // Continue the filter chain
        filterChain.doFilter(request, response);
    }
}

@Configuration
@EnableWebSecurity
@EnableMethodSecurity  // Enables @PreAuthorize and @PostAuthorize
@RequiredArgsConstructor
public class SecurityConfig {

    private final JwtAuthenticationFilter jwtAuthFilter;
    private final AuthenticationProvider authenticationProvider;

    @Bean
    public SecurityFilterChain securityFilterChain(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception {
        return http
            // Disable CSRF since API is stateless (no session cookies)
            .csrf(csrf -> csrf.disable())

            // Configure authorization rules
            .authorizeHttpRequests(auth -> auth
                // Public endpoints: authentication and registration
                .requestMatchers("/api/auth/**").permitAll()
                // API documentation accessible without authentication
                .requestMatchers("/swagger-ui/**", "/v3/api-docs/**").permitAll()
                // Admin endpoints reserved for administrators
                .requestMatchers("/api/admin/**").hasRole("ADMIN")
                // All other requests require authentication
                .anyRequest().authenticated()
            )

            // Stateless mode: no server-side HTTP session
            .sessionManagement(session -> session
                .sessionCreationPolicy(SessionCreationPolicy.STATELESS)
            )

            // Custom authentication provider
            .authenticationProvider(authenticationProvider)

            // Insert JWT filter before standard authentication filter
            .addFilterBefore(jwtAuthFilter, UsernamePasswordAuthenticationFilter.class)

            .build();
    }
}

@Configuration
@RequiredArgsConstructor
public class ApplicationConfig {

    private final UserRepository userRepository;

    // User loading service for Spring Security
    @Bean
    public UserDetailsService userDetailsService() {
        return username -> userRepository.findByEmail(username)
            .orElseThrow(() -> new UsernameNotFoundException("User not found: " + username));
    }

    // Authentication provider with password encoder
    @Bean
    public AuthenticationProvider authenticationProvider() {
        DaoAuthenticationProvider authProvider = new DaoAuthenticationProvider();
        authProvider.setUserDetailsService(userDetailsService());
        authProvider.setPasswordEncoder(passwordEncoder());
        return authProvider;
    }

    // Authentication manager exposed as bean
    @Bean
    public AuthenticationManager authenticationManager(AuthenticationConfiguration config)
        throws Exception {
        return config.getAuthenticationManager();
    }

    // BCrypt encoder for secure password hashing
    @Bean
    public PasswordEncoder passwordEncoder() {
        return new BCryptPasswordEncoder();
    }
}

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/auth")
@RequiredArgsConstructor
public class AuthenticationController {

    private final AuthenticationService authService;

    // POST /api/auth/register - Register a new user
    @PostMapping("/register")
    public ResponseEntity<AuthenticationResponse> register(
        @Valid @RequestBody RegisterRequest request
    ) {
        return ResponseEntity.ok(authService.register(request));
    }

    // POST /api/auth/login - Login existing user
    @PostMapping("/login")
    public ResponseEntity<AuthenticationResponse> login(
        @Valid @RequestBody AuthenticationRequest request
    ) {
        return ResponseEntity.ok(authService.authenticate(request));
    }

    // POST /api/auth/refresh - Token refresh (optional)
    @PostMapping("/refresh")
    public ResponseEntity<AuthenticationResponse> refresh(
        @RequestHeader("Authorization") String authHeader
    ) {
        return ResponseEntity.ok(authService.refreshToken(authHeader));
    }
}

public record AuthenticationRequest(
    @NotBlank(message = "Email required")
    @Email(message = "Invalid email format")
    String email,

    @NotBlank(message = "Password required")
    String password
) {}

public record RegisterRequest(
    @NotBlank(message = "First name required")
    String firstName,

    @NotBlank(message = "Last name required")
    String lastName,

    @NotBlank(message = "Email required")
    @Email(message = "Invalid email format")
    String email,

    @NotBlank(message = "Password required")
    @Size(min = 8, message = "Password must contain at least 8 characters")
    String password
) {}

public record AuthenticationResponse(
    String token,
    String type,
    long expiresIn
) {
    public AuthenticationResponse(String token, long expiresIn) {
        this(token, "Bearer", expiresIn);
    }
}

@Service
@RequiredArgsConstructor
public class AuthenticationService {

    private final UserRepository userRepository;
    private final PasswordEncoder passwordEncoder;
    private final JwtService jwtService;
    private final AuthenticationManager authenticationManager;

    @Value("${app.jwt.expiration:86400000}")
    private long jwtExpiration;

    // Register a new user
    @Transactional
    public AuthenticationResponse register(RegisterRequest request) {
        // Check that email is not already in use
        if (userRepository.existsByEmail(request.email())) {
            throw new EmailAlreadyExistsException("Email already registered");
        }

        // Create user entity with hashed password
        User user = new User();
        user.setFirstName(request.firstName());
        user.setLastName(request.lastName());
        user.setEmail(request.email());
        user.setPassword(passwordEncoder.encode(request.password()));
        user.setRole(Role.USER);

        // Persist the user
        userRepository.save(user);

        // Generate and return JWT token
        String jwtToken = jwtService.generateToken(user);
        return new AuthenticationResponse(jwtToken, jwtExpiration);
    }

    // Authenticate an existing user
    public AuthenticationResponse authenticate(AuthenticationRequest request) {
        // Delegate verification to AuthenticationManager
        authenticationManager.authenticate(
            new UsernamePasswordAuthenticationToken(
                request.email(),
                request.password()
            )
        );

        // Load user (authentication succeeded)
        User user = userRepository.findByEmail(request.email())
            .orElseThrow(() -> new UsernameNotFoundException("User not found"));

        // Generate token with additional claims
        Map<String, Object> claims = new HashMap<>();
        claims.put("role", user.getRole().name());
        claims.put("userId", user.getId());

        String jwtToken = jwtService.generateToken(claims, user);
        return new AuthenticationResponse(jwtToken, jwtExpiration);
    }

    // Refresh token (extend session)
    public AuthenticationResponse refreshToken(String authHeader) {
        if (authHeader == null || !authHeader.startsWith("Bearer ")) {
            throw new InvalidTokenException("Invalid token");
        }

        String oldToken = authHeader.substring(7);
        String userEmail = jwtService.extractUsername(oldToken);

        User user = userRepository.findByEmail(userEmail)
            .orElseThrow(() -> new UsernameNotFoundException("User not found"));

        // Generate new token
        String newToken = jwtService.generateToken(user);
        return new AuthenticationResponse(newToken, jwtExpiration);
    }
}

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/users")
@RequiredArgsConstructor
public class UserController {

    private final UserService userService;

    // Accessible to all authenticated users
    @GetMapping("/me")
    public ResponseEntity<UserDTO> getCurrentUser(
        @AuthenticationPrincipal User currentUser
    ) {
        return ResponseEntity.ok(UserDTO.from(currentUser));
    }

    // Only the concerned user or an admin can modify the profile
    @PreAuthorize("hasRole('ADMIN') or #id == authentication.principal.id")
    @PutMapping("/{id}")
    public ResponseEntity<UserDTO> updateUser(
        @PathVariable Long id,
        @Valid @RequestBody UpdateUserRequest request
    ) {
        return ResponseEntity.ok(userService.updateUser(id, request));
    }

    // Reserved for administrators
    @PreAuthorize("hasRole('ADMIN')")
    @GetMapping
    public ResponseEntity<List<UserDTO>> getAllUsers() {
        return ResponseEntity.ok(userService.findAll());
    }

    // Deletion with post-execution verification
    @PreAuthorize("hasRole('ADMIN')")
    @DeleteMapping("/{id}")
    public ResponseEntity<Void> deleteUser(@PathVariable Long id) {
        userService.deleteUser(id);
        return ResponseEntity.noContent().build();
    }
}

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/admin")
@PreAuthorize("hasRole('ADMIN')")  // All methods require ADMIN
public class AdminController {

    private final AdminService adminService;

    @GetMapping("/dashboard")
    public ResponseEntity<DashboardDTO> getDashboard() {
        return ResponseEntity.ok(adminService.getDashboardStats());
    }

    @PostMapping("/users/{id}/role")
    public ResponseEntity<UserDTO> changeUserRole(
        @PathVariable Long id,
        @RequestParam Role newRole
    ) {
        return ResponseEntity.ok(adminService.changeUserRole(id, newRole));
    }
}

@RestControllerAdvice
public class SecurityExceptionHandler {

    private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(SecurityExceptionHandler.class);

    // Authentication error (incorrect credentials)
    @ExceptionHandler(BadCredentialsException.class)
    @ResponseStatus(HttpStatus.UNAUTHORIZED)
    public ErrorResponse handleBadCredentials(BadCredentialsException ex) {
        return new ErrorResponse(
            "INVALID_CREDENTIALS",
            "Invalid email or password",
            null
        );
    }

    // Access denied (authenticated but not authorized)
    @ExceptionHandler(AccessDeniedException.class)
    @ResponseStatus(HttpStatus.FORBIDDEN)
    public ErrorResponse handleAccessDenied(AccessDeniedException ex) {
        return new ErrorResponse(
            "ACCESS_DENIED",
            "Access to this resource is not authorized",
            null
        );
    }

    // Expired JWT token
    @ExceptionHandler(ExpiredJwtException.class)
    @ResponseStatus(HttpStatus.UNAUTHORIZED)
    public ErrorResponse handleExpiredToken(ExpiredJwtException ex) {
        return new ErrorResponse(
            "TOKEN_EXPIRED",
            "Session expired, please log in again",
            null
        );
    }

    // Invalid JWT token
    @ExceptionHandler(JwtException.class)
    @ResponseStatus(HttpStatus.UNAUTHORIZED)
    public ErrorResponse handleInvalidToken(JwtException ex) {
        log.warn("Invalid JWT token: {}", ex.getMessage());
        return new ErrorResponse(
            "INVALID_TOKEN",
            "Invalid authentication token",
            null
        );
    }

    // Email already in use during registration
    @ExceptionHandler(EmailAlreadyExistsException.class)
    @ResponseStatus(HttpStatus.CONFLICT)
    public ErrorResponse handleEmailExists(EmailAlreadyExistsException ex) {
        return new ErrorResponse(
            "EMAIL_EXISTS",
            ex.getMessage(),
            null
        );
    }
}

public record ErrorResponse(
    String code,
    String message,
    Map<String, String> details
) {}

# application.yml
app:
  jwt:
    # Base64 secret key (256 bits minimum for HS256)
    # Generate with: openssl rand -base64 32
    secret: ${JWT_SECRET:yourSuperSecretKeyOf256BitsMinimum}
    # Validity duration in milliseconds (24 hours)
    expiration: 86400000

spring:
  datasource:
    url: jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/springjwt
    username: ${DB_USERNAME:postgres}
    password: ${DB_PASSWORD:postgres}
  jpa:
    hibernate:
      ddl-auto: validate
    show-sql: false

# application-dev.yml
app:
  jwt:
    # Short expiration for development (1 hour)
    expiration: 3600000

spring:
  jpa:
    show-sql: true
    hibernate:
      ddl-auto: update

logging:
  level:
    org.springframework.security: DEBUG

@SpringBootTest(webEnvironment = WebEnvironment.RANDOM_PORT)
@AutoConfigureTestDatabase(replace = Replace.ANY)
class AuthenticationIntegrationTest {

    @Autowired
    private TestRestTemplate restTemplate;

    @Autowired
    private UserRepository userRepository;

    @BeforeEach
    void setUp() {
        userRepository.deleteAll();
    }

    @Test
    void shouldRegisterAndAuthenticateUser() {
        // Registration
        RegisterRequest registerRequest = new RegisterRequest(
            "John", "Doe", "john@example.com", "password123"
        );

        ResponseEntity<AuthenticationResponse> registerResponse = restTemplate
            .postForEntity("/api/auth/register", registerRequest, AuthenticationResponse.class);

        assertThat(registerResponse.getStatusCode()).isEqualTo(HttpStatus.OK);
        assertThat(registerResponse.getBody().token()).isNotBlank();

        // Login with same credentials
        AuthenticationRequest loginRequest = new AuthenticationRequest(
            "john@example.com", "password123"
        );

        ResponseEntity<AuthenticationResponse> loginResponse = restTemplate
            .postForEntity("/api/auth/login", loginRequest, AuthenticationResponse.class);

        assertThat(loginResponse.getStatusCode()).isEqualTo(HttpStatus.OK);
        assertThat(loginResponse.getBody().token()).isNotBlank();
    }

    @Test
    void shouldRejectInvalidCredentials() {
        AuthenticationRequest request = new AuthenticationRequest(
            "unknown@example.com", "wrongpassword"
        );

        ResponseEntity<ErrorResponse> response = restTemplate
            .postForEntity("/api/auth/login", request, ErrorResponse.class);

        assertThat(response.getStatusCode()).isEqualTo(HttpStatus.UNAUTHORIZED);
    }

    @Test
    void shouldAccessProtectedResourceWithValidToken() {
        // Register to get a token
        RegisterRequest registerRequest = new RegisterRequest(
            "Jane", "Doe", "jane@example.com", "password123"
        );

        AuthenticationResponse authResponse = restTemplate
            .postForObject("/api/auth/register", registerRequest, AuthenticationResponse.class);

        // Access protected resource with token
        HttpHeaders headers = new HttpHeaders();
        headers.setBearerAuth(authResponse.token());

        ResponseEntity<UserDTO> response = restTemplate.exchange(
            "/api/users/me",
            HttpMethod.GET,
            new HttpEntity<>(headers),
            UserDTO.class
        );

        assertThat(response.getStatusCode()).isEqualTo(HttpStatus.OK);
        assertThat(response.getBody().email()).isEqualTo("jane@example.com");
    }

    @Test
    void shouldRejectAccessWithoutToken() {
        ResponseEntity<Void> response = restTemplate
            .getForEntity("/api/users/me", Void.class);

        assertThat(response.getStatusCode()).isEqualTo(HttpStatus.UNAUTHORIZED);
    }
}