what happens to a request inside nginx and Apache
How nginx and Apache select a site, process the path and forward a request to the application, and what you can test from the outside.
Read →Security
where HTTP actually breaks
How proxies and applications interpret the same request differently: body boundaries, paths, forwarding headers and cache keys.
Read →Post-Quantum JWT and the Future of Tokens
The series finale. Shor's algorithm breaks every asymmetric JWT algorithm. ML-DSA signatures at 2.4 KB don't fit in a cookie. SD-JWT for selective disclosure. Harvest Now, Decrypt Later — why migrating JWE to post-quantum cryptography is needed now.
Read →RFC 8725 - the checklist nobody reads
RFC 8725 — fifteen JWT security rules from the standard's authors. For each — which attack from the series it prevents, which CVEs exist, and why ~65% of applications don't check aud. Plus three new rules from the 2026 bis update.
Read →What Instead of JWT - PASETO, Macaroons, Opaque Tokens, and Server-Side Sessions
JWT isn't perfect — 70+ CVEs over ten years. We break down the alternatives: PASETO without the alg field, Macaroons with unique attenuation, opaque tokens with instant revocation, Google/Netflix server-side sessions. For each — what to break on a pentest.
Read →Hardcoded Secrets - When the Key Is Sitting in the Source Code
CVE-2025-20188 (CVSS 10.0): eight characters 'notfound' in a Cisco IOS XE Lua script = root RCE on enterprise equipment. 17% of JWT CVEs in 2024-2026 are hardcoded secrets. Where to look: git history, Docker layers, JS bundles, source maps, firmware.
Read →Advanced Crypto Attacks - Lattices, Side-Channels, and Fault Injection
Leak three bits of the nonce from each ECDSA signature — and after 100 signatures you have the full private key. Minerva, TPM-FAIL, EUCLEAK: real attacks on real devices, and what's actually applicable on a web pentest right now.
Read →XSS + JWT = Full Account Takeover
Found a Reflected XSS? If the app stores JWTs in localStorage, that's not just alert(1) — it's a full takeover of every account. We cover theft from every storage type, CSP bypass via WebRTC and CSS injection, and the only defenses that actually work.
Read →JWT in OAuth 2.0 and OIDC - where it breaks in the real world
At the seams between OAuth and OIDC components, attacks emerge that don't exist in isolation: token confusion, cross-service relay, ALBeast in AWS, and DPoP bypass — with real CVEs and step-by-step pentest checks.
Read →JWT Libraries - a Leakiness Ranking
Which library is running on the backend determines which attacks will actually land: a ranked breakdown of the most vulnerable JWT libraries, a tier classification from recommended to dangerous, and passive fingerprinting techniques that identify the stack from the token header alone.
Read →JWE - encrypted tokens and how to break them
JWE is the encrypted side of JWT that almost nobody talks about: five parts, two encryption layers, and a full zoo of attacks - Invalid Curve on ECDH-ES, Bleichenbacher on RSA1_5, Padding Oracle on AES-CBC, PBES2 DoS with one request, and the forbidden attack on AES-GCM.
Read →JWT Cryptography for Hackers
The math behind HMAC, RSA, and ECDSA from an attacker's perspective: why Sony lost the PlayStation 3 to a single repeated number, and how leaking just a few nonce bits is enough to recover a private key.
Read →Psychic Signatures - zero signature on Java
A signature of all zeros passes ECDSA verification on Java 15-18. For any message, with any key. Five lines of Python - and you're admin.
Read →Brute-forcing JWT secrets on GPU
JWT contains everything for an offline attack: message and signature. Hashcat on GPU runs through 150 million HS256 per second. The secret 'secret' is cracked in 2 seconds.
Read →jku/x5u/jwk/x5c - the entire JWT header is an attack surface
The JWT header can contain a URL, and the server will go to that URL to download the key for signature verification. This isn't a bug - it's RFC 7515.
Read →kid injection - SQL Injection via token header
The RFC doesn't define the structure of kid. Developers use it as a file path, SQL parameter, or command argument. Each option is a separate class of vulnerability.
Read →Algorithm Confusion - public key as password
Take the server's public key from open access, sign a token with it - and the server accepts it. The signature exists, the signature is correct, but the token is forged.
Read →alg:none - one line and you're admin
The RFC requires every JWT library to support the none algorithm. Change one field in the header - and the server skips signature verification.
Read →JWT Anatomy - dissecting the token byte by byte
Taking a real token and dissecting it like a pathologist: header, payload, signature, Base64url, claims, edge cases.
Read →Why JWT is the most broken standard on the web
70+ CVEs over ten years. A bug from 2015 still fires in 2026. Let's figure out why JWT stubbornly remains broken.
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