Title: AH JWT Auth
Author: andrewheberle
Published: April 22, 2021
Last modified: July 6, 2026
---
Search plugins
# AH JWT Auth
By [andrewheberle](https://profiles.wordpress.org/andrewheberle/)
[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/ah-jwt-auth.2.3.0.zip)
* [Details](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/ah-jwt-auth/#description)
* [Reviews](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/ah-jwt-auth/#reviews)
* [Development](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/ah-jwt-auth/#developers)
[Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ah-jwt-auth/)
## Description
This plugin allows sign in to WordPress using a JSON Web Token (JWT) contained
in a HTTP Header that is added by a reverse proxy that sits in front of your WordPress
deployment.
Authentication and optionally role assignment is handled by claims contained in
the JWT.
If configured, the plugin also validates the JWT `aud` and `iss` claims against
the expected application audience and JWT issuer values.
Verification of the JWT is handled by either:
* a shared secret for HS256 (as per RFC 7518 this must be at least 256-bits in
size)
* a PEM encoded public key for RS256
* retrieving a JSON Web Key Set (JWKS) from a configured URL (also for RS256)
During the login process if the user does not exist an account will be created
with a matching role from the JWT, unless automatic user creation has been disabled
in the plugin settings.
If the JWT did not contain a role claim then user is created with the role set
in the plugin settings (by default this is the subscriber role).
Automatic user creation is enabled by default for backwards compatibility. It
can
be disabled when user provisioning should remain manual.
## Screenshots
[⌊This example shows a configuration with a WordPress install behind
Cloudflare
Access for SSO via JWT⌉⌊This example shows a configuration with a WordPress install
behind
Cloudflare Access for SSO via JWT⌉[
This example shows a configuration with a WordPress install behind Cloudflare Access
for SSO via JWT
## FAQ
### What header is the JWT retrieved from?
By default the plugin looks for the JWT in the `Authorization` header as follows:
```
Authorization: Bearer
```
However the token may be retrieved from a configurable HTTP header, for example
to integrate with Cloudflare Access, which was the original target for this plugin,
you would configure the use of the `Cf-Access-Jwt-Assertion` header.
### What claims should the JWT contain?
The JWT must contain at least an `email` claim and may also contain a `role` claim:
```
{
"iss": "example.com",
"aud": "example-audience-id",
"email": "admin@example.com",
"iat": 1356999524,
"nbf": 1357000000,
"role": "admin"
}
```
The `aud` and `iss` claims are only required when a JWT Audience and/or Issuer value
has been configured in the plugin settings, however as they are standard JWT claims
it is recommended to set these options to verify those claims exist and are valid.
### What signature algorithms are supported to verify the JWT?
Currently only the HS256 and RS256 algorithms are supported.
## Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
## Contributors & Developers
“AH JWT Auth” is open source software. The following people have contributed to
this plugin.
Contributors
* [ andrewheberle ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/andrewheberle/)
[Translate “AH JWT Auth” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/ah-jwt-auth)
### Interested in development?
[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ah-jwt-auth/), check
out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/ah-jwt-auth/), or subscribe
to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/ah-jwt-auth/) by
[RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/ah-jwt-auth/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Changelog
#### 2.3.0
* Replace JWKS caching process
#### 2.2.0
* Spelling fixes and hardening
* Add option to enforce JWT auth (ie “fail-closed”) rather than falling
through
to WordPress authentication.
#### 2.1.0
* Add option to verify JWT issuer
#### 2.0.0
* **Breaking Change:** Any secrets that are less than 256-bits (32-characters)
in length will fail JWT HS256 verification
#### 1.6.0
* Added option to verify JWT Audience (AUD)
* Added option to disable automatic user creation
#### 1.5.4
* Fix bug that meant role was not being set based on selection
#### 1.5.3
* Make JWKS refresh function public
#### 1.5.1
* Fixes for JWKS refresh process
#### 1.5.0
* Add WP cron job to refresh JWKS daily
#### 1.4.1
* Update dependencies to resolve security issue
#### 1.3.1
* Clean-ups and bug fixes
#### 1.3.0
* Allow setting default role for auto-created users
#### 1.2.2
* Version bump for plugin update on WordPress.org
#### 1.2.1
* Version bump for plugin update on WordPress.org
#### 1.2.0
* Fix a bug where an invalid JSON response from JWKS URL was cached leading to
broken SSO
#### 1.1.0
* Make login process more efficient by skipping JWT verify/login if user is already
authenticated
#### 1.0.3
* Initial release on WordPress.org
#### 1.0.2
* Added internationalisation for strings
* Changes based on WordPress.org plugin submission feedback
#### 1.0.1
* Added more error checking
#### 1.0.0
* First version
## Meta
* Version **2.3.0**
* Last updated **12 hours ago**
* Active installations **10+**
* WordPress version ** 4.7 or higher **
* Tested up to **7.0.0**
* PHP version ** 8.0 or higher **
* Language
* [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/ah-jwt-auth/)
* Tags
* [auth](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/auth/)[authentication](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/authentication/)
[jwt](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/jwt/)[login](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/login/)
[sso](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/sso/)
* [Advanced View](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/ah-jwt-auth/advanced/)
## Ratings
No reviews have been submitted yet.
[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ah-jwt-auth/reviews/#new-post)
[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ah-jwt-auth/reviews/)
## Contributors
* [ andrewheberle ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/andrewheberle/)
## Support
Got something to say? Need help?
[View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ah-jwt-auth/)
## Donate
Would you like to support the advancement of this plugin?
[ Donate to this plugin ](https://paypal.me/andrewheberle)