After reviewing the authentication middleware code in a course I am currently taking, I have some concerns about its security.
I decided to test a protected route using Postman and discovered that I was able to retrieve an order for one user with a token generated for another user.
const protected = asyncHandler(async (req, res, next) => {
let token;
if (
req.headers.authorization &&
req.headers.authorization.startsWith("Bearer")
) {
try {
token = req.headers.authorization.split(" ")[1];
const decoded = jwt.verify(token, process.env.JWT_SECRET);
req.user = await User.findById(decoded.id).select("-password");
next();
} catch (error) {
console.error(error);
res.status(401);
throw new Error("Not authorized, token failed");
}
}
if (!token) {
res.status(401);
throw new Error("Not authorized, No token found");
}
});
export protected
It appears that this middleware only checks if a user from the decoded token exists in the database but does not restrict access based on the user/token.
import {addOrderItems, getOrderbyId} from "../controllers/orderController.js";
import { protected } from "../middleware/authMiddleware.js";
const router = express.Router();
router.route("/").post(protected, addOrderItems);
router.route("/:id").get(protected, getOrderbyId);
//:id is the order id
However, when I tested another protected route for updating a user's profile information, I encountered an error when using an incorrect token.
I am seeking clarification on this matter.