Introduction
JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) have revolutionized the way modern applications handle authentication and authorization. However, with great power comes great responsibility — securing JWTs is critical to prevent unauthorized access and potential data breaches. Today, I’m excited to introduce JWTauditor, a powerful Burp Suite extension designed to perform passive, comprehensive security analysis of JWTs within HTTP traffic.
What is JWTauditor?
JWTauditor is an easy-to-use Burp Suite extension that automatically detects JWTs in HTTP requests and responses — whether they are in headers, cookies, URL parameters, or the body — and performs detailed security assessments without interrupting your workflow. Its passive approach means it analyzes tokens silently as you browse or intercept traffic, providing real-time insights without affecting the target application.
Key Features
Passive JWT Detection: Automatically identifies JWTs in HTTP headers, cookies, JSON bodies, and URL parameters. Comprehensive Vulnerability Analysis: Checks for alg: none vulnerabilities. Detects expired tokens and invalid expiration claims. Identifies weak or deprecated algorithms (e.g., HS256, RS256). Flags sensitive claims (e.g., email, username, password). Detects potential algorithm confusion and injection vulnerabilities. Analyzes JWKS-related issues (e.g., insecure jku URLs).
User-Friendly Interface: Dashboard tab with statistics on total JWTs analyzed and issue severity. JWT Analysis tab with a detailed table of detected JWTs, including timestamps, endpoints, algorithms, and issues. Configuration tab to customize vulnerability checks and sensitive claims. History tab to track JWT reuse across requests.
Export Capabilities: Export analysis results as JSON or CSV for reporting. Burp Suite Integration: Creates custom scan issues for detected vulnerabilities, integrated with Burp’s Issues tab. Context Menu Support: Manually trigger JWT analysis from Burp’s Proxy History or Site Map.
Why JWTauditor Matters
JWTs are widely used but often misunderstood. Misconfigurations or weak implementations can lead to serious security flaws. JWTauditor empowers security analysts and penetration testers to identify these weaknesses early and efficiently, saving time and reducing risk.
Installation
Getting started with JWTauditor is straightforward:
Download the latest Jython standalone JAR (version 2.7.3 or later) from jython.org.
Open Burp Suite and navigate to Extender → Options → Python Environment, then configure the path to the Jython JAR.
Go to Extender → Extensions → Add, select Python as the extension type, and load the JWTauditor.py file.
Once loaded, the JWTauditor tab will appear in Burp Suite’s interface, ready to analyze JWTs passively as you intercept traffic.
Note: JWTauditor will soon be available on the official Burp Suite BApp Store, making installation even easier and allowing automatic updates.
How to Get Started
Download and configure Jython for Burp Suite.
Add JWTauditor as a Python extension in Burp Suite.
Browse or intercept target HTTP traffic containing JWTs.
Review detected JWTs and their security analysis in the JWTauditor tab.
Export reports or create Burp scan issues to track findings.
Conclusion
JWTauditor is a must-have tool for anyone serious about JWT security testing. Its passive, automated approach helps uncover vulnerabilities that might otherwise be missed. I encourage the community to try JWTauditor and contribute feedback or enhancements.
Call to Action
Check out JWTauditor on GitHub [https://github.com/mak545/JWTauditor] and join the conversation on how we can make JWT security better together!
Top comments (0)