JWT-SVID Issuance

Acquire a signed JWT token encoding a SPIFFE ID via the Workload API (SPIFFE JWT-SVID spec §2). JWT-SVIDs are an alternative to X.509-SVIDs designed for HTTP/gRPC-based authentication where presenting a client certificate is impractical (e.g., L7 proxies, API gateways). The workload specifies the intended audience, and SPIRE Server mints a signed JWT with the workload's SPIFFE ID as the subject. JWT-SVIDs are short-lived (typically 5 minutes) and audience-bound.

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JWT TokenShort-Lived

Sequence Diagram

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WorkloadAgentServerSigner1FetchJWTSVID Request2Agent Forwards to SPIRE Server3JWT-SVID Generation and Signing4JWT-SVID Delivery to Workload
Request
Response
Redirect
Internal

Step-by-Step Breakdown

1
FetchJWTSVID Request
Workload → SPIRE Agent
2
Agent Forwards to SPIRE Server
SPIRE Agent → SPIRE Server
3
JWT-SVID Generation and Signing
SPIRE Server → JWT Signer
4
JWT-SVID Delivery to Workload
SPIRE Agent → Workload

Token Inspector

Specs for this flow

Sections of the protocol that normatively define this flow, plus the security considerations that apply to it.

Core specs

· The specifications that define this protocol.

Security & privacy

· Dedicated security and privacy considerations.