Amazon Cognito Introduces Refresh Token Rotation: What It Means for Security
By Peter Hallen
Amazon Cognito has just announced support for OAuth 2.0 refresh token rotation for user pool clients—a significant step forward in cloud application security. Read the official announcement.
What Is Refresh Token Rotation?
Refresh tokens are long-lived credentials that allow applications to obtain new access tokens without requiring users to sign in again. Traditionally, these tokens remain valid for extended periods, which can create a security risk if a token is ever compromised.
With refresh token rotation, every time a refresh token is used to obtain a new access token, Cognito issues a brand new refresh token and invalidates the previous one. This means that if a refresh token is stolen, its window of usefulness is dramatically reduced—limiting the potential damage from token theft.
Why Does This Matter?
Previously, organizations had to choose between:
- Long-lived tokens for a seamless user experience (but higher risk if stolen)
- Short-lived tokens for better security (but more frequent user re-authentication)
Refresh token rotation offers the best of both worlds: users can stay logged in for long sessions, but the risk from a compromised token is minimized because tokens are rotated and invalidated frequently.
Security Benefits
- Reduced Attack Window: If a refresh token is compromised, it can only be used until the next rotation, greatly limiting exposure.
- Seamless User Experience: Users remain logged in without frequent interruptions, as token rotation happens in the background.
- Stronger Compliance: This feature helps meet security best practices and compliance requirements for sensitive applications.
How to Enable It
Refresh token rotation is available for Amazon Cognito customers using the Essentials or Plus tiers in all supported AWS regions, including AWS GovCloud (US). You can configure rotation intervals to fit your application's needs. For more details, see the Cognito Refresh Token Developer Guide.
Practical Example
Imagine a collaboration app where users stay logged in for 30 days. With refresh token rotation, their tokens are updated every few hours, so even if a token is stolen, the attacker has only a short window to use it before it becomes invalid.
Conclusion
Amazon Cognito's refresh token rotation is a welcome addition for anyone building secure, user-friendly cloud applications. It's a simple change that can make a big difference in your security posture.
For more information, check out the official AWS announcement.