WebAuthn Authentication node

The WebAuthn Authentication node lets users on supported clients authenticate using a registered FIDO device.

What are the differences between WebAuthn and device binding/signing?

There are many similarities between WebAuthn and device binding and JWS verification. We provide authentication nodes to implement both technologies in your journeys.

Both can be used for usernameless and passwordless authentication, they both use public key cryptography, and both can be used as part of a multi-factor authentication journey.

One major difference is that with device binding, the private key never leaves the device.

With WebAuthn, there is a possibility that the private key is synchronized across client devices because of Passkey support, which may be undesirable for your organization.

For details of the differences, refer to the following table:

Table 1. Comparison of WebAuthn and Device Binding/JWS Verification
Feature	WebAuthn / FIDO	Device Binding / JWS Verifier	Details
Industry-standards based	✅	❌	You can refer to the WebAuthn W3C specification. Device binding and JWS verification are proprietary implementations.
Public key cryptography	✅	✅	Both methods use Public key cryptography.
Usernameless support	✅	✅	After registration, the username can be stored in the device and obtained during authentication without the user having to enter their credentials.
Keys are bound to the device	❌	✅	With WebAuthn, if Passkeys are used, they can be shared across devices. With device binding, the private keys do not leave the device.
Sign custom data	❌	✅	With device binding, you can: Customize the challenge that the device must sign. For example, you could include details of a transaction, such as the amount in dollars. Add custom claims to the payload when signing a challenge. This gives additional context that the server can make use of by using a scripted node. Refer to Add custom claims when signing.
Format of signed data	WebAuthn authenticator data	JSON Web Signature (JWS)
Integration	❌	✅	With device binding, after verification, the signed JWT is available in: Audit Logs Transient node state This enables the data within to be used for integration into your processes and business logic.
Platform support	✅ Android ✅ iOS ✅ Web browsers	✅ Android ✅ iOS ❌ Web browsers	As it is challenging to store secure data in a browser as a client app, device binding is not supported in web browsers.
Authenticator support	Determined by the platform. Configuration limited to: Biometric with Fallback to Device Pin	Determined by the authentication node. Full configuration options: Biometric Authentication Biometric with Fallback to Device Pin Application Pin Silent	With device binding, you can specify what authentication action the user must perform to get access to the private keys. This provides greater flexibility in your security implementation and can reduce authentication friction for your users.
Key storage	Web browsers and iOS synchronize to the cloud. Android has the option to synchronize to the cloud.	Android KeyStore iOS Secure enclave: hardware-backed and not synchronized to the cloud.	Both technologies store the private keys securely on the client. WebAuthn supports synchronizing the private keys to the cloud for use on other devices. This can reduce authentication friction for your users but may also increase the risk of a breach.
Managing device keys	Managed by the device OS. Apps cannot delete local client keys programmatically and do not have a reference to the remote server key for deletion.	Managed by the Ping SDKs. Provides an interface to delete local client and remote server keys.	The ability to programmatically delete both client and server keys can greatly simplify the process of registering a new device if an old device is lost or stolen.
Passkey support	✅	❌	WebAuthn supports synchronizing the private keys to the cloud for use on other devices. Device binding keeps the private key locked in the device.
App integrity verification	Android Requires an `assetlinks.json` file. iOS Requires `apple-app-site-association` file.	Not provided by the device binding or verification nodes. It can be added as part of the journey by using app integrity nodes.	App integrity verification helps ensure your users are only using a supported app rather than a third-party or potentially malicious version.
Key attestation	Android SafetyNet iOS None	Android Uses hardware-backed key pairs with Key Attestation. iOS It can be added as part of the journey by using app integrity nodes to support key attestation.	Key attestation verifies that the private key is valid and correct, is not forged, and was not created in an insecure manner.
Complexity	Medium	Low	WebAuthn requires a bit more configuration, for example, creating and uploading the `assetlinks.json` and `apple-app-site-association` files. Device binding only requires the journey and the SDK built into your app.

Compatibility

Product	Compatible?
Advanced Identity Cloud	Yes
PingAM (self-managed)	Yes
Ping Identity Platform (self-managed)	Yes

Product

Compatible?

Advanced Identity Cloud

Yes

PingAM (self-managed)

Yes

Ping Identity Platform (self-managed)

Yes

Inputs

This node requires a username in the incoming node state to assess whether the user has a registered device.

Implement the Platform Username node as an input to the WebAuthn Authentication node.
Optionally, this node can read the contents of the webAuthnExtensions shared state property as input.

You can populate the webAuthnExtensions property with any JSON object you choose using a script or in a node that occurs earlier in the journey. If this property is populated, its contents are placed in the extensions entry passed to the browser or authenticator. If this property is empty, an empty JSON object is passed to the browser or authenticator.

You can find more information on WebAuthn extensions in WebAuthn Extensions.

Prerequisites

For successful authentication, this node depends on:

A client that supports web authentication
A registered FIDO device

Configuration

Property Usage

Property	Usage
Relying party identifier	The domain used as the relying party identifier during web authentication. This is the domain against which to register the device. If you leave this field blank, it defaults to the domain name of your tenant, for example, `openam-example.forgeblocks.com`.
Origin domains	A list of fully qualified URLs to accept as the origin of the incoming request. If this field is empty, the accepted origin is the incoming request origin.
User verification requirement	The required user verification level. The available options are: `REQUIRED` The authenticator used must verify the user’s identity, for example, by using biometrics. Authenticators that don’t verify the user’s identity are filtered out and can’t be selected by the user. `PREFERRED` If multiple authenticators are presented, PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud prefers those that verify the user’s identity. If none are available, PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud accepts any authenticator. `DISCOURAGED` PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud doesn’t require an authenticator that verifies the user’s identity. Authenticators that don’t verify the user’s identity are preferred.
Allow recovery codes	If you select this option, PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud lets the user enter a recovery code instead of performing an authentication gesture. Enabling this options adds a `Recovery Code` outcome path to the node. The outcome path should lead to a Recovery Code Collector Decision node to collect and verify the recovery code.
Timeout	The number of seconds to wait for a valid WebAuthn authenticator to be registered before failing. If the specified timeout is reached, evaluation continues along the `Client error` outcome path. PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud stores a message in the `WebAuthenticationDOMException` property of the shared state.
Username from device	Specifies whether PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud should get the username from the device. If you enable this option and the device is unable to store or provide usernames, the node fails and evaluation continues along the `Failure` path. You can find information on using this property for usernameless authentication with ForgeRock Go in Configure usernameless authentication with ForgeRock Go.
Return challenge as JavaScript	Choose how the node should return its challenge for consumption by your front-end user interface: Advanced Identity Cloud hosted pages or Ping SDK client apps: Deselect this option when using either hosted pages in Advanced Identity Cloud or a client application built using the Ping SDKs as your authentication user interface. When not enabled the node returns the challenge and associated data in a metadata callback. Advanced Identity Cloud hosted pages and Ping SDK client apps that might not be able to execute JavaScript use the information from the callback to interact with WebAuthn APIs on PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud’s behalf. PingAM User UI: You should only enable this option if you are using the PingAM User UI to authenticate users. Enabling this option causes the node to return its challenge as a fully encapsulated client-side JavaScript that interacts directly with the WebAuthn API.
Detect sign count mismatch	If you enable this option, the node compares the authenticator’s sign count (signature counter) with the sign count stored in the user’s profile. If the authenticator sign count is less than or equal to the stored value, evaluation continues to the Sign Count Mismatch outcome.

Relying party identifier

The domain used as the relying party identifier during web authentication. This is the domain against which to register the device. If you leave this field blank, it defaults to the domain name of your tenant, for example, openam-example.forgeblocks.com.

Origin domains

A list of fully qualified URLs to accept as the origin of the incoming request.

If this field is empty, the accepted origin is the incoming request origin.

User verification requirement

The required user verification level.

The available options are:

REQUIRED: The authenticator used must verify the user’s identity, for example, by using biometrics. Authenticators that don’t verify the user’s identity are filtered out and can’t be selected by the user.
PREFERRED: If multiple authenticators are presented, PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud prefers those that verify the user’s identity. If none are available, PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud accepts any authenticator.
DISCOURAGED: PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud doesn’t require an authenticator that verifies the user’s identity. Authenticators that don’t verify the user’s identity are preferred.

Allow recovery codes

If you select this option, PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud lets the user enter a recovery code instead of performing an authentication gesture.

Enabling this options adds a Recovery Code outcome path to the node. The outcome path should lead to a Recovery Code Collector Decision node to collect and verify the recovery code.

Timeout

The number of seconds to wait for a valid WebAuthn authenticator to be registered before failing.

If the specified timeout is reached, evaluation continues along the Client error outcome path. PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud stores a message in the WebAuthenticationDOMException property of the shared state.

Username from device

Specifies whether PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud should get the username from the device.

If you enable this option and the device is unable to store or provide usernames, the node fails and evaluation continues along the Failure path.

You can find information on using this property for usernameless authentication with ForgeRock Go in Configure usernameless authentication with ForgeRock Go.

Return challenge as JavaScript

Choose how the node should return its challenge for consumption by your front-end user interface:

Advanced Identity Cloud hosted pages or Ping SDK client apps:: Deselect this option when using either hosted pages in Advanced Identity Cloud or a client application built using the Ping SDKs as your authentication user interface.

When not enabled the node returns the challenge and associated data in a metadata callback.

Advanced Identity Cloud hosted pages and Ping SDK client apps that might not be able to execute JavaScript use the information from the callback to interact with WebAuthn APIs on PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud’s behalf.
PingAM User UI:: You should only enable this option if you are using the PingAM User UI to authenticate users.

Enabling this option causes the node to return its challenge as a fully encapsulated client-side JavaScript that interacts directly with the WebAuthn API.

Detect sign count mismatch

If you enable this option, the node compares the authenticator’s sign count (signature counter) with the sign count stored in the user’s profile. If the authenticator sign count is less than or equal to the stored value, evaluation continues to the Sign Count Mismatch outcome.

Outcomes

Unsupported: If the user’s client doesn’t support web authentication, evaluation continues along the Unsupported outcome path. For example, clients connected over the HTTP protocol rather than HTTPS don’t support WebAuthn; however, HTTPS may not be required when testing locally on http://localhost. Learn more in Is origin potentially trustworthy?.
No Device Registered: If the user doesn’t have a registered device, evaluation continues along the No Device Registered outcome path.
Success: If the user successfully authenticates with a device of the type determined by the User verification requirement property, evaluation continues along the Success outcome path.
Failure: If the node encounters an issue when attempting to authenticate the user with the device, evaluation continues along the Failure outcome path; for example, if the node can’t verify that the response from the authenticator was appropriate for the specific instance of the authentication journey.
Client Error: If the user’s client encounters an issue when attempting to authenticate using the device, for example, if the timeout was reached, evaluation continues along the Client Error outcome path.

The journey takes this path whenever the client throws a DOMException, as required by the Web Authentication: An API for accessing Public Key Credentials Level 1 specification.
Recovery Code: If Allow recovery code is enabled, the node gives the user an option to enter a recovery code rather than authenticate using a device. If the user enters a recovery code, evaluation continues along the Recovery Code outcome path.

This outcome path must lead to a Recovery Code Collector Decision node to let PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud accept and verify the recovery code.

Sign Count Mismatch

If Detect sign count mismatch is enabled and the authenticator sign count is less than or equal to the value stored in the user’s profile, evaluation continues to the Sign Count Mismatch outcome.

This outcome can help to detect cloned or malfunctioning authenticators. A sign count mismatch doesn’t necessarily indicate that the operation was performed by a cloned authenticator. Address this situation appropriately for your deployment, for example, by using a scripted decision node.

The node itself is considered to have succeeded even if evaluation leads to this outcome. Therefore, if it suits your deployment, you can design your journey to continue through this outcome.

Outputs

If a client error occurs, the node adds the error type and description to a property named WebAuthenticationDOMException in the shared state. Other nodes can read this property later in the journey, if required.
PingAM On successful authentication, the node adds the UUID of the device (webauthnDeviceUuid) and the name of the device (webauthnDeviceName) to the shared state.

This lets you track the use of biometric authentication and the device used to authenticate.

The contents of the transient state for this node aren’t public. Don’t rely on them in your scripts.

Example

This example shows one possible implementation of the flow for authenticating with WebAuthn devices:

After verifying the users credentials against the configured data store, evaluation continues to the WebAuthn Authentication node.

If the user’s client doesn’t support WebAuthn, authentication fails and the user doesn’t get a session. A more user-friendly approach would be to set a success URL to redirect the user to a page explaining the benefits of multi-factor authentication, and then proceeding to the Success node.

If there are no registered WebAuthn devices present in the user’s profile, the failure URL is set, pointing to a flow that lets the user register a device. This stage could also be an Inner Tree Evaluator node.

If the user’s client supports WebAuthn, and the connection is secured with TLS, the user is prompted to complete an authorization gesture, for example, scanning a fingerprint, or entering a PIN:

The user’s browser may present a consent pop-up to allow access to the authenticators available on the client. When consent has been granted, the browser activates the relevant authenticators, ready for authentication.

The relying party details configured in the node are often included in the consent message to help the user verify the entity requesting access.

The authenticators the client activates for authentication depend on the value of the properties in the node. For example, if the User verification requirement property is set to REQUIRED, the client SHOULD only activate authenticators that verify the identity of the user.

For extra protection, PingOne Advanced Identity Cloud WILL verify that the response from an authenticator matches the criteria configured for the node, and will reject an authentication attempt by an inappropriate authenticator type by routing it to the Failure outcome.

When the user completes an authorization gesture, for example, by scanning a fingerprint or entering a PIN, evaluation continues along the Success outcome path. In this example, their authentication level is increased by ten to signify the stronger authentication that has occurred, and the user is taken to their profile page.

If the user clicks the Use Recovery Code button, evaluation continues to the Recovery Code Collector Decision node, ready to accept the recovery code. If verified, the user is taken to their profile page.

Any problems encountered during authentication lead to the Failure outcome, including a timeout, or to the Client Error outcome, resulting in an authentication failure.