getSession() returns user, but silent login requires login

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1

Hi,

I’m running into a problem in our Next.js WebApp.
In our middleware we retrieve the session using the Auth0Client.getSession() function and then based on some condition we re-authenticate the user using a silent login (by redirecting to /auth/login?prompt=none)

However, I’ve now run into the scenario where getSession() returns a valid session with a user profile etc. but then redirecting to the silent login URL returns an error saying Login required.

Am I wrong to assume that, when getSession() returns a session, there is an active user right now and silent login should be possible and safe?

And if I can assume this, how could it happens that I still get an active session, but cannot silently login my user?

Thanks in advance for any help!

2

Why This Happens

Session Storage vs. Authorization Server State:

  • getSession() retrieves the session from your application’s storage (cookies, memory, etc.)
  • Silent authentication (prompt=none) checks the session state at Auth0’s authorization server
  • These can become out of sync

Common Causes:

  1. Token Expiration: Your access token may have expired, but the session object still exists locally
  2. Auth0 Session Timeout: The user’s session at Auth0 may have expired due to inactivity timeouts, even if your local session persists
  3. Logout from Another App: If using SSO, the user may have logged out from another application in the same Auth0 tenant
  4. Auth0 Session Lifetime Settings: Your Auth0 tenant may have shorter session lifetimes than your application session

Solutions

1. Check Token Validity Before Silent Login:

javascript

// In your middleware
const session = await Auth0Client.getSession();
if (session) {
  // Check if the access token is still valid
  const isTokenValid = session.accessTokenExpiresAt > Date.now();
  
  if (!isTokenValid) {
    // Token expired, try refresh first
    try {
      await Auth0Client.getAccessTokenSilently();
    } catch (error) {
      // If refresh fails, redirect to login
      return redirect('/auth/login');
    }
  }
}

2. Handle Silent Login Errors Gracefully:

javascript

// When doing silent authentication
try {
  const result = await fetch('/auth/login?prompt=none');
  // Handle successful silent login
} catch (error) {
  if (error.error === 'login_required') {
    // Clear the stale local session
    await Auth0Client.logout({ localOnly: true });
    // Redirect to regular login
    return redirect('/auth/login');
  }
}

3. Implement Proper Session Validation:

javascript

const validateSession = async (session) => {
  if (!session) return false;
  
  // Check token expiration
  if (session.accessTokenExpiresAt <= Date.now()) {
    try {
      // Try to refresh the token
      await Auth0Client.getAccessTokenSilently();
      return true;
    } catch {
      return false;
    }
  }
  
  return true;
};

Configuration Adjustments

Check your Auth0 tenant settings:

  • Session Lifetime: Ensure it aligns with your application’s expectations
  • Inactivity Timeout: May be shorter than your local session duration
  • Absolute Timeout: Could be causing premature session expiration

Best Practice Approach

Rather than assuming silent login will work based on getSession(), implement a more robust flow:

javascript

const ensureValidSession = async () => {
  const session = await Auth0Client.getSession();
  
  if (!session) {
    return redirect('/auth/login');
  }
  
  // Try to get a fresh token (this will fail if Auth0 session is invalid)
  try {
    await Auth0Client.getAccessTokenSilently();
    return session; // Session is valid
  } catch (error) {
    // Auth0 session is invalid, clear local session
    await Auth0Client.logout({ localOnly: true });
    return redirect('/auth/login');
  }
};
2 Likes
3

Wow, thanks for the extensive answer! This helps a lot :slight_smile:

4

Hi everyone!

Thank you again @sumansaurav for providing your expertise on the matter and always providing such detailed responses! Glad to have you around the community. :smiley:

Kind Regards,
Nik

5

Hi Suman Saurav,

Some follow up, I realize as I’m trying this now that this is the React SDK, but we use the next.js SDK v4. I can find some similar functions there, but not all. I can, for example, not find how you would log someone out only locally. Any chance you might know how this would work in the next.js v4 SDK?

6

No direct logout() - You need to manually clear cookies or use the logout API endpoint

// In an API route or server action
import { getSession, updateSession } from '@auth0/nextjs-auth0';

// Clear local session without Auth0 logout
export async function clearLocalSession(req, res) {
  // Clear the session by setting it to null/undefined
  await updateSession(req, res, null);
  // Or redirect to clear cookies
  res.setHeader('Set-Cookie', [
    'appSession=; Path=/; Expires=Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT; HttpOnly; SameSite=Lax',
  ]);
}

You can use either approach of clearing the session or redirect to clear cookies

Recommended Pattern:

Instead of trying to do silent login, use getAccessToken() which will automatically refresh tokens if possible, or throw an error if the Auth0 session is invalid. This gives you a cleaner way to detect when the Auth0 session has expired even though your local session exists.

7

Hi Suman,

Thanks again :slight_smile: I’m getting a little confused though, because everywhere in the auth0 next.js examples and even in their own implementation of with-api-auth-required (here) they only ever use getSession() to check if a user is still authenticated. How come it is not necessary to check if the user still has an active session there?