刷新令牌与令牌轮换
设计短生命周期的访问令牌,配合轮换刷新令牌和服务器端撤销机制,降低令牌被盗风险。
刷新令牌与令牌轮换 是 CoddyKit 上的免费 FastAPI Backend Development Bootcamp 课时。 这是第 3 节课,共 4 节。 你可以在下方免费阅读本课时的完整内容 — 然后在浏览器中使用内置代码编辑器和全天候 AI 导师进行实践。 这是 FastAPI Backend Development Bootcamp 学习路径的一部分,你的进度在网页和 CoddyKit 应用中同步。 FastAPI Backend Development Bootcamp 课程共包含 4 节课。
本课时的部分内容尚未翻译,以英文显示。
Why Two Tokens?
A single long-lived JWT access token is convenient but dangerous: if it leaks, an attacker can use it until it expires. Since JWTs are stateless, you cannot easily revoke one mid-flight.
The standard OAuth2 answer is to split responsibilities into two tokens:
- Access token — short-lived (5-15 min), sent on every request, verified by signature only (no DB hit).
- Refresh token — long-lived (days/weeks), used only to obtain a new access token, and tracked server-side so it can be revoked.
This way a stolen access token is useless within minutes, while users still stay logged in for a long time.
Anatomy of the Token Pair
The login endpoint returns both tokens. The client keeps the access token in memory and the refresh token somewhere more protected (e.g. an HttpOnly cookie).
Notice the very different expiry windows. The access token is intentionally short so a leak has a tiny blast radius.
from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
ACCESS_TOKEN_TTL = timedelta(minutes=15)
REFRESH_TOKEN_TTL = timedelta(days=7)
def expiry(ttl: timedelta) -> str:
return (datetime.now(timezone.utc) + ttl).isoformat()
login_response = {
"access_token": "<jwt>",
"access_expires": expiry(ACCESS_TOKEN_TTL),
"refresh_token": "<opaque-or-jwt>",
"refresh_expires": expiry(REFRESH_TOKEN_TTL),
"token_type": "bearer",
}
for k, v in login_response.items():
print(f"{k}: {v}")Signing an Access Token
Access tokens are JWTs signed with your secret. They carry a sub (user id), an exp claim, and a type claim so the server can refuse a refresh token where an access token is expected.
This snippet uses python-jose, the library most FastAPI tutorials rely on. It depends on an external package, so it is not standalone-runnable here.
from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
from jose import jwt
SECRET = "change-me"
ALGO = "HS256"
def create_access_token(user_id: str) -> str:
now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
payload = {
"sub": user_id,
"type": "access",
"iat": now,
"exp": now + timedelta(minutes=15),
}
return jwt.encode(payload, SECRET, algorithm=ALGO)The Refresh Token Needs State
An access token is verified by signature alone — no database needed. A refresh token is different: to support revocation and rotation, the server must remember it.
The trick: never store the raw refresh token. Store only a hash of it, just like a password. If your DB leaks, the stored hashes cannot be replayed.
- Generate a high-entropy random string as the token.
- Hash it (SHA-256) and persist the hash, user id, expiry, and a
revokedflag. - On refresh, hash the incoming token and look it up.
import hashlib, secrets
def new_refresh_token() -> tuple[str, str]:
raw = secrets.token_urlsafe(48) # give this to the client
token_hash = hashlib.sha256(raw.encode()).hexdigest() # store this
return raw, token_hash
raw, stored = new_refresh_token()
print("client receives:", raw[:16], "...")
print("db stores hash :", stored[:16], "...")
print("lookup matches :", hashlib.sha256(raw.encode()).hexdigest() == stored)What Is Token Rotation?
Rotation means every time a refresh token is used, it is consumed and replaced by a brand-new one. A refresh token is therefore single-use.
Sequence on each refresh:
- Validate the presented refresh token (exists, not revoked, not expired).
- Mark it revoked/used.
- Issue a fresh access token and a fresh refresh token.
- Return the new pair to the client.
Without rotation, a stolen refresh token works for its entire lifetime. With rotation, using it changes it — which is exactly what lets us detect theft.
Modeling the Stored Token
Here is a minimal in-memory model of the refresh-token store so you can see the moving parts before wiring a real database. Each record knows its owner, expiry, and whether it has been used or revoked.
In production this maps to a SQL table (with the hash as the key) or a Redis entry with a TTL.
from dataclasses import dataclass
from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
@dataclass
class RefreshRecord:
token_hash: str
user_id: str
expires_at: datetime
revoked: bool = False
def is_valid(self, now: datetime) -> bool:
return not self.revoked and now < self.expires_at
now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
rec = RefreshRecord("abc123", "user-7", now + timedelta(days=7))
print("valid now :", rec.is_valid(now))
rec.revoked = True
print("valid revoked :", rec.is_valid(now))The Rotation Logic
This is the heart of the lesson: a pure function that takes a presented refresh token, validates it, revokes it, and mints a replacement. No framework involved — just the algorithm.
Run it: the first refresh succeeds and returns a new token; reusing the old token afterward fails because it was rotated out.
import hashlib, secrets
from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
store = {} # token_hash -> {user_id, exp, revoked}
def _hash(raw): return hashlib.sha256(raw.encode()).hexdigest()
def issue(user_id):
raw = secrets.token_urlsafe(32)
store[_hash(raw)] = {
"user_id": user_id,
"exp": datetime.now(timezone.utc) + timedelta(days=7),
"revoked": False,
}
return raw
def rotate(raw):
rec = store.get(_hash(raw))
now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
if not rec or rec["revoked"] or now >= rec["exp"]:
raise ValueError("invalid refresh token")
rec["revoked"] = True # consume the old one
return issue(rec["user_id"]) # mint a fresh one
old = issue("user-7")
new = rotate(old)
print("rotated to new token:", new[:12], "...")
try:
rotate(old)
except ValueError as e:
print("reuse of old token blocked:", e)Detecting Token Theft via Reuse
Rotation gives a powerful security signal. If a refresh token that was already used shows up again, there are only two explanations:
- The legitimate client never received the new token (rare), or
- An attacker stole the old token and is replaying it.
Because you cannot tell which, the safe response is to treat reuse as a breach of the whole token family: revoke every refresh token for that user (or that session lineage) and force re-login.
This is called automatic reuse detection and is recommended by the OAuth2 Security Best Current Practice (RFC 9700).
Reuse Detection in Code
To detect reuse we keep a per-user family of tokens. A normal rotation revokes one token and adds its successor. If a token marked used=True is presented again, we nuke the entire family.
Run it to see a stolen-token replay trigger a full family wipe.
import secrets
family = {} # token -> {"used": bool}
def issue():
t = secrets.token_urlsafe(16)
family[t] = {"used": False}
return t
def rotate(t):
rec = family.get(t)
if rec is None:
raise ValueError("unknown token")
if rec["used"]:
family.clear() # reuse detected -> revoke whole family
raise ValueError("REUSE DETECTED: all sessions revoked")
rec["used"] = True
return issue()
t1 = issue()
t2 = rotate(t1) # normal rotation
print("rotation ok, new token issued")
try:
rotate(t1) # attacker replays the stolen old token
except ValueError as e:
print(e)
print("tokens remaining:", len(family))The FastAPI Refresh Endpoint
Now the FastAPI wiring. The refresh token arrives in the request body (or an HttpOnly cookie). The endpoint rotates it and returns a fresh pair.
Key choices visible here:
- Reject anything that is not a
refreshtoken type. - Return
401on any validation failure — never leak why. - Always issue a new refresh token alongside the access token.
This depends on FastAPI and your store, so it is illustrative rather than standalone-runnable.
from fastapi import APIRouter, HTTPException, status
from pydantic import BaseModel
router = APIRouter()
class RefreshIn(BaseModel):
refresh_token: str
class TokenPair(BaseModel):
access_token: str
refresh_token: str
token_type: str = "bearer"
@router.post("/auth/refresh", response_model=TokenPair)
async def refresh(body: RefreshIn):
try:
user_id = validate_and_consume(body.refresh_token) # raises on reuse/expiry
except ValueError:
raise HTTPException(
status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED,
detail="Invalid refresh token",
)
return TokenPair(
access_token=create_access_token(user_id),
refresh_token=create_refresh_token(user_id),
)Storing and Revoking Server-Side
Server-side state is what makes revocation possible. A logout, a password change, or a detected breach should immediately invalidate refresh tokens.
Practical guidance:
- Where: SQL table for durability, or Redis with a TTL equal to the token lifetime for speed and automatic expiry.
- What to store: the SHA-256 hash, user id, expiry, a
revokedflag, and optionally afamily_idfor reuse detection. - Logout: mark the presented token (and optionally its whole family) revoked.
- Global logout: revoke all of a user's tokens — e.g. after a password reset.
Access tokens stay stateless and simply expire on their own within minutes, which is why short TTLs matter so much.
def logout(token_hash: str, conn) -> None:
conn.execute(
"UPDATE refresh_tokens SET revoked = TRUE WHERE token_hash = %s",
(token_hash,),
)
def revoke_all_for_user(user_id: str, conn) -> None:
conn.execute(
"UPDATE refresh_tokens SET revoked = TRUE WHERE user_id = %s",
(user_id,),
)Quick Check
Test your understanding of the core rotation decision.
Recap
You now know how to build secure session management with rotating refresh tokens:
- Two tokens: short-lived stateless access tokens (5-15 min) plus long-lived refresh tokens tracked server-side.
- Hash, never store raw: persist only the SHA-256 of the refresh token, like a password.
- Rotation: every refresh consumes the old token (single-use) and issues a fresh pair.
- Reuse detection: a replayed used token means likely theft — revoke the whole family and force re-login (RFC 9700).
- Revocation: server-side state (SQL or Redis-with-TTL) lets logout, password change, and breach response invalidate tokens instantly.
The result: a stolen access token dies in minutes, a stolen refresh token is detected on first replay, and users still enjoy long-lived sessions.
常见问题解答
「刷新令牌与令牌轮换」课时是免费的吗?
是的 — 「刷新令牌与令牌轮换」的完整文本可在网页上免费阅读。要进行交互式练习(内置代码编辑器和全天候 AI 导师)并解锁 FastAPI Backend Development Bootcamp 课程的其余内容,请升级到 CoddyKit PRO。 FastAPI Backend Development Bootcamp 课程共包含 4 节课。
「刷新令牌与令牌轮换」这节课中我会学到什么?
设计短生命周期的访问令牌,配合轮换刷新令牌和服务器端撤销机制,降低令牌被盗风险。 你通过在浏览器中直接运行的动手代码来练习 FastAPI Backend Development Bootcamp,全天候 AI 导师会在你学习这节课的过程中回答你的问题。
学习 FastAPI Backend Development Bootcamp 需要有经验吗?
无需任何先前经验。CoddyKit 上的 FastAPI Backend Development Bootcamp 课程适合初学者到高级学习者,你可以从这里开始或从头开始,按照自己的节奏学习。 这是第 3 节课,共 4 节。
「刷新令牌与令牌轮换」课时需要多长时间?
大多数 CoddyKit 课程大约需要 5–10 分钟。每节课都很精短且互动,所以你能稳步进步,并在网页和应用中从离开的地方继续。
我能在这节 FastAPI Backend Development Bootcamp 课中编写并运行代码吗?
能。每节 FastAPI Backend Development Bootcamp 课都包含内置代码编辑器,你可以在浏览器中直接编写并运行真实代码,并获得即时 AI 反馈 — 无需本地设置。