Provided by: python-flask-httpauth-doc_3.2.4-3.1_all 
NAME
flask-httpauth - Flask-HTTPAuth Documentation
Flask-HTTPAuth is a simple extension that simplifies the use of HTTP authentication with Flask routes.
BASIC AUTHENTICATION EXAMPLE
The following example application uses HTTP Basic authentication to protect route '/':
from flask import Flask
from flask_httpauth import HTTPBasicAuth
app = Flask(__name__)
auth = HTTPBasicAuth()
users = {
"john": "hello",
"susan": "bye"
}
@auth.get_password
def get_pw(username):
if username in users:
return users.get(username)
return None
@app.route('/')
@auth.login_required
def index():
return "Hello, %s!" % auth.username()
if __name__ == '__main__':
app.run()
The get_password callback needs to return the password associated with the username given as argument.
Flask-HTTPAuth will allow access only if get_password(username) == password.
If the passwords are stored hashed in the user database then an additional callback is needed:
@auth.hash_password
def hash_pw(password):
return md5(password).hexdigest()
When the hash_password callback is provided access will be granted when get_password(username) ==
hash_password(password).
If the hashing algorithm requires the username to be known then the callback can take two arguments
instead of one:
@auth.hash_password
def hash_pw(username, password):
salt = get_salt(username)
return hash(password, salt)
For the most degree of flexibility the get_password and hash_password callbacks can be replaced with
verify_password:
@auth.verify_password
def verify_pw(username, password):
return call_custom_verify_function(username, password)
In the examples directory you can find an example called basic_auth.py that shows how a verify_password
callback can be used to securely work with hashed passwords.
DIGEST AUTHENTICATION EXAMPLE
The following example is similar to the previous one, but HTTP Digest authentication is used:
from flask import Flask
from flask_httpauth import HTTPDigestAuth
app = Flask(__name__)
app.config['SECRET_KEY'] = 'secret key here'
auth = HTTPDigestAuth()
users = {
"john": "hello",
"susan": "bye"
}
@auth.get_password
def get_pw(username):
if username in users:
return users.get(username)
return None
@app.route('/')
@auth.login_required
def index():
return "Hello, %s!" % auth.username()
if __name__ == '__main__':
app.run()
Security Concerns with Digest Authentication
The digest authentication algorithm requires a challenge to be sent to the client for use in encrypting
the password for transmission. This challenge needs to be used again when the password is decoded at the
server, so the challenge information needs to be stored so that it can be recalled later.
By default, Flask-HTTPAuth stores the challenge data in the Flask session. To make the authentication
flow secure when using session storage, it is required that server-side sessions are used instead of the
default Flask cookie based sessions, as this ensures that the challenge data is not at risk of being
captured as it moves in a cookie between server and client. The Flask-Session and Flask-KVSession
extensions are both very good options to implement server-side sessions.
As an alternative to using server-side sessions, an application can implement its own generation and
storage of challenge data. To do this, there are four callback functions that the application needs to
implement:
@auth.generate_nonce
def generate_nonce():
"""Return the nonce value to use for this client."""
pass
@auth.generate_opaque
def generate_opaque():
"""Return the opaque value to use for this client."""
pass
@auth.verify_nonce
def verify_nonce(nonce):
"""Verify that the nonce value sent by the client is correct."""
pass
@auth.verify_opaque
def verify_opaque(opaque):
"""Verify that the opaque value sent by the client is correct."""
pass
For information of what the nonce and opaque values are and how they are used in digest authentication,
consult RFC 2617.
TOKEN AUTHENTICATION SCHEME EXAMPLE
The following example application uses a custom HTTP authentication scheme to protect route '/' with a
token:
from flask import Flask, g
from flask_httpauth import HTTPTokenAuth
app = Flask(__name__)
auth = HTTPTokenAuth(scheme='Token')
tokens = {
"secret-token-1": "john",
"secret-token-2": "susan"
}
@auth.verify_token
def verify_token(token):
if token in tokens:
g.current_user = tokens[token]
return True
return False
@app.route('/')
@auth.login_required
def index():
return "Hello, %s!" % g.current_user
if __name__ == '__main__':
app.run()
The HTTPTokenAuth is a generic authentication handler that can be used with non-standard authentication
schemes, with the scheme name given as an argument in the constructor. In the above example, the
WWW-Authenticate header provided by the server will use Token as scheme:
WWW-Authenticate: Token realm="Authentication Required"
The verify_token callback receives the authentication credentials provided by the client on the
Authorization header. This can be a simple token, or can contain multiple arguments, which the function
will have to parse and extract from the string.
In the examples directory you can find a complete example that uses JWT tokens.
USING MULTIPLE AUTHENTICATION SCHEMES
Applications sometimes need to support a combination of authentication methods. For example, a web
application could be authenticated by sending client id and secret over basic authentication, while third
party API clients use a JWT bearer token. The MultiAuth class allows you to protect a route with more
than one authentication object. To grant access to the endpoint, one of the authentication methods must
validate.
In the examples directory you can find a complete example that uses basic and token authentication.
DEPLOYMENT CONSIDERATIONS
Be aware that some web servers do not pass the Authorization headers to the WSGI application by default.
For example, if you use Apache with mod_wsgi, you have to set option WSGIPassAuthorization On as
documented here.
API DOCUMENTATION
class flask_httpauth.HTTPBasicAuth
This class handles HTTP Basic authentication for Flask routes.
__init__(scheme=None, realm=None)
Create a basic authentication object.
If the optional scheme argument is provided, it will be used instead of the standard
"Basic" scheme in the WWW-Authenticate response. A fairly common practice is to use a
custom scheme to prevent browsers from prompting the user to login.
The realm argument can be used to provide an application defined realm with the
WWW-Authenticate header.
get_password(password_callback)
This callback function will be called by the framework to obtain the password for a given
user. Example:
@auth.get_password
def get_password(username):
return db.get_user_password(username)
hash_password(hash_password_callback)
If defined, this callback function will be called by the framework to apply a custom
hashing algorithm to the password provided by the client. If this callback isn't provided
the password will be checked unchanged. The callback can take one or two arguments. The one
argument version receives the password to hash, while the two argument version receives the
username and the password in that order. Example single argument callback:
@auth.hash_password
def hash_password(password):
return md5(password).hexdigest()
Example two argument callback:
@auth.hash_password
def hash_pw(username, password):
salt = get_salt(username)
return hash(password, salt)
verify_password(verify_password_callback)
If defined, this callback function will be called by the framework to verify that the
username and password combination provided by the client are valid. The callback function
takes two arguments, the username and the password and must return True or False. Example
usage:
@auth.verify_password
def verify_password(username, password):
user = User.query.filter_by(username).first()
if not user:
return False
return passlib.hash.sha256_crypt.verify(password, user.password_hash)
If this callback is defined, it is also invoked when the request does not have the
Authorization header with user credentials, and in this case both the username and password
arguments are set to empty strings. The client can opt to return True and that will allow
anonymous users access to the route. The callback function can indicate that the user is
anonymous by writing a state variable to flask.g, which the route can then check to
generate an appropriate response.
Note that when a verify_password callback is provided the get_password and hash_password
callbacks are not used.
error_handler(error_callback)
If defined, this callback function will be called by the framework when it is necessary to
send an authentication error back to the client. The return value from this function can be
the body of the response as a string or it can also be a response object created with
make_response. If this callback isn't provided a default error response is generated.
Example:
@auth.error_handler
def auth_error():
return "<h1>Access Denied</h1>"
login_required(view_function_callback)
This callback function will be called when authentication is successful. This will
typically be a Flask view function. Example:
@app.route('/private')
@auth.login_required
def private_page():
return "Only for authorized people!"
username()
A view function that is protected with this class can access the logged username through
this method. Example:
@app.route('/')
@auth.login_required
def index():
return "Hello, %s!" % auth.username()
class flask_httpauth.HTTPDigestAuth
This class handles HTTP Digest authentication for Flask routes. The SECRET_KEY configuration must
be set in the Flask application to enable the session to work. Flask by default stores user
sessions in the client as secure cookies, so the client must be able to handle cookies. To support
clients that are not web browsers or that cannot handle cookies a session interface that writes
sessions in the server must be used.
__init__(self, scheme=None, realm=None, use_ha1_pw=False)
Create a digest authentication object.
If the optional scheme argument is provided, it will be used instead of the "Digest" scheme
in the WWW-Authenticate response. A fairly common practice is to use a custom scheme to
prevent browsers from prompting the user to login.
The realm argument can be used to provide an application defined realm with the
WWW-Authenticate header.
If use_ha1_pw is False, then the get_password callback needs to return the plain text
password for the given user. If use_ha1_pw is True, the get_password callback needs to
return the HA1 value for the given user. The advantage of setting use_ha1_pw to True is
that it allows the application to store the HA1 hash of the password in the user database.
generate_ha1(username, password)
Generate the HA1 hash that can be stored in the user database when use_ha1_pw is set to
True in the constructor.
generate_nonce(nonce_making_callback)
If defined, this callback function will be called by the framework to generate a nonce. If
this is defined, verify_nonce should also be defined.
This can be used to use a state storage mechanism other than the session.
verify_nonce(nonce_verify_callback)
If defined, this callback function will be called by the framework to verify that a nonce
is valid. It will be called with a single argument: the nonce to be verified.
This can be used to use a state storage mechanism other than the session.
generate_opaque(opaque_making_callback)
If defined, this callback function will be called by the framework to generate an opaque
value. If this is defined, verify_opaque should also be defined.
This can be used to use a state storage mechanism other than the session.
verify_opaque(opaque_verify_callback)
If defined, this callback function will be called by the framework to verify that an opaque
value is valid. It will be called with a single argument: the opaque value to be verified.
This can be used to use a state storage mechanism other than the session.
get_password(password_callback)
See basic authentication for documentation and examples.
error_handler(error_callback)
See basic authentication for documentation and examples.
login_required(view_function_callback)
See basic authentication for documentation and examples.
username()
See basic authentication for documentation and examples.
class flask_httpauth.HTTPTokenAuth
This class handles HTTP authentication with custom schemes for Flask routes.
__init__(scheme, realm=None)
Create a token authentication object.
The scheme argument must be provided to be used in the WWW-Authenticate response.
The realm argument can be used to provide an application defined realm with the
WWW-Authenticate header.
verify_token(verify_token_callback)
This callback function will be called by the framework to verify that the credentials sent
by the client with the Authorization header are valid. The callback function takes one
argument, the username and the password and must return True or False. Example usage:
@auth.verify_token
def verify_token(token):
g.current_user = User.query.filter_by(token=token).first()
return g.current_user is not None
Note that a verify_token callback is required when using this class.
error_handler(error_callback)
See basic authentication for documentation and examples.
login_required(view_function_callback)
See basic authentication for documentation and examples.
AUTHOR
Miguel Grinberg
COPYRIGHT
2019, Miguel Grinberg
Oct 27, 2019 FLASK-HTTPAUTH(1)