L IntegrAuth Lab

← All practicals

P34

Bind a token to a certificate (mTLS)

Issue a token bound to a client cert, then present a different one and watch access refuse it.

  1. 1

    On the mTLS lab, pick a sample client certificate and issue a bound token.

    The token carries a cnf.x5t#S256 claim — the base64url SHA-256 thumbprint of that certificate’s DER bytes (RFC 8705) — computed once, at issue time.

  2. 2

    Access the resource presenting the SAME certificate.

    The resource server re-hashes the presented cert and compares it to the token’s cnf claim — a match is the ENTIRE access decision, and it succeeds.

  3. 3

    Now access the resource again, presenting a DIFFERENT sample certificate (or none).

    The thumbprints no longer match, so access is refused with cert_binding_failed — a stolen bearer copy of this token is useless without the matching certificate.

Do it

Do the steps above on the lab page, then come back and check your progress.

Open the lab →

🩻 X-ray — what actually happened

Your own insert-only audit trail — the real server events, sanitized (never a secret), each linked to the lesson that explains it.