This is why OpenID Connect says to treat the user identifier as "issuer +
subject" rather than email. This isn't even an OAuth problem as nothing in
OAuth talks about using the user's email address as an identifier.



On Tue, Dec 23, 2025 at 6:14 AM Matthias Fulz <mfulz=
[email protected]> wrote:

> The problem is again you miss the main point:
>
>
> it's not about issues with trust handling. It's all about MISSING TRUST
> GRANTING of the Identity owner (USER) itself.
>
> Again think about the following:
>
> I've an account at service-cool-stuff with my mail [email protected] + pw
> -> ok
> service-cool-stuff enables login via Facebook -> oauth, etc. ok
> I DO NOT HAVE ANY FACEBOOK RELATION!!!!!!
>
> Facebook says ok here is the login for [email protected] signed by us ->
> service-cool-stuff trusts -> login valid POINT.
>
> Where is the part that I BY MYSELF have ever said that Facebook is allowed
> to identify FOR ME ?????
>
> On 12/23/25 3:03 PM, Michael Sweet wrote:
>
> Matthias,
>
> I can't claim to be an OAuth expert, but as someone who has been implementing 
> OAuth/OIDC support for CUPS/IPP over the last couple years I can say that the 
> Resource Server still has to validate the access tokens it is being provided 
> with, either using introspection or via verification of RFC 9068 JWT bearer 
> token signatures.  That requires a trust relationship between the RS and AS, 
> which usually involves a human configuring things and X.509 certificates and 
> potentially other credentials being validated along the way - you don't just 
> accept any old token without validation, and you don't accept any AS without 
> configuration/approval.  And if an access token is revoked (not just expired) 
> then the refresh token should also be revoked in order to force 
> re-authorization, right?
>
> Assuming there *was* an AS implementation that allowed malicious users to 
> provide arbitrary emails without verifying that said user had access to that 
> email account, you'd need someone with access to configure the RS to *use* it 
> ("Sign in with Gooogle" -> accounts.gooogle.com -> users authorize through 
> phony Google AS and don't notice the extra "o") before this issue would even 
> be possibly exploited.
>
> Similarly, if there is an OAuth-based service that doesn't follow best 
> security practices and allows revoked access tokens to be renewed, that would 
> be a problem with the implementation and not the protocol.
>
>
>
> On Dec 23, 2025, at 8:22 AM, Matthias Fulz <[email protected]> 
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Ok guys,
>
> I've tried to target ietf detailling the issue at a technical 
> level:https://www.ietf.org/archive/id/draft-fulz-oauth-trust-binding-00.txt
>
> PLEASE, PLEASE check this out it should really clarify the root issue, that 
> still misses.
>
> In concrete terms, the current OAuth trust model is equivalent to allowing 
> third parties to mint new access keys for your house without your prior 
> consent, as long as the lock manufacturer has pre-approved them. Even if you 
> later revoke one such key, the same party can immediately issue a new one, 
> without any additional authorization from you as the owner.
> Revocation is therefore not a security control, but merely damage control 
> after access has already been granted.
>
> This highlights the core flaw: OAuth allows unilateral identity assertion by 
> authorization servers, while the actual identity owner has no cryptographic 
> or protocol-level mechanism to pre-approve or deny that specific trust 
> binding. Trust is implicitly inherited through shared identifiers (e.g., 
> email), not explicitly granted. In any other security domain, a system where 
> an attacker can endlessly re-issue valid credentials after revocation would 
> be considered fundamentally broken.
>
> To sum it up:
> In its current form, OAuth permits infinite credential re-issuance by 
> pre-trusted identity providers without explicit consent from the identity 
> owner, rendering revocation a reactive measure rather than a security 
> boundary.
>
>
> BR,
> Matthias
>
> On 8/9/23 10:05 PM, mfulz wrote:
>
> Anyone read this topic or could tell if there is a better place to adress 
> this?
>
> Sent from Nine
> Von: mfulz
> Gesendet: Sonntag, 16. Juli 2023 03:38
> An: [email protected]
> Betreff: [OAUTH-WG] OAuth Trust model
>
>
>
> Hi Together,
> I was thinking about some (at least I see it in that way) problem in the 
> whole oauth/openid design:
> The problem is the following:
> The user has no control about what providers are accepted by the clients 
> (websites, etc.) and this opens access to these providers without any way to 
> protect against that.
> Example:
> I've created an account with email/password login at stackoverflow
> I've created an account with the same email at github
> -> logged out from stackoverflow
> -> logged in via github oauth -> working and connected to the email/pw 
> account from stackoverflow
>
> Stackoverflow has the possibility to remove the github login now, but the 
> main problem is, that I would be out of control, that some of these oauth 
> providers
> (please don't go into the discussion WHY they or anyone should do it) could 
> access my accounts, when such site would allow them as provider.
>
> In my opionion it would be good to avoid such issues, by including something 
> in the standard, that the user MUST allow the connection on both sides on the 
> client
> and on the provider.
>
> Yes for sso without any existing account that's some kind of an issue, but 
> still it could be added some verification process like sending confirmation 
> link
> That the user is accepting the oauth provider on the Client side.
> Then the oauth provider would also need access to my emails to access my 
> account.
>
> Not sure if I'm wrong here but I think my description is correct.
>
> BR,
> Matthias
>
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