I’m facing an issue with my application that uses Universal Login via Auth0. When I navigate to http://localhost:3000, I’m redirected to a URL like https://auth.myxxx.dev/login?state=hKFo2SBzSDNsWUE2SlE2M2daOGIxT1YyRURELVB....
This Universal Login page is configured in Auth0. However, if I stay on this login page for an extended period without logging in and then attempt to log in by entering my username&password, I receive an “invalid state” error.
From my understanding, the state parameter is generated when the webauth.login method is called, which should occur when the login button is clicked. My questions are:
Why does the URL already include a state parameter before I trigger the webauth.login call?
How can I prevent users from encountering this “invalid state” error if they remain on the login page for too long before attempting to log in?
Any insights or best practices for handling this scenario would be greatly appreciated.
Why does the URL already include a state parameter before I trigger the webauth.login call?
The state parameter is typically generated and included in the initial authorization request when your application redirects to the Auth0 login page. This happens before the user interacts with the login form. It’s a security feature used to maintain state between the request and callback, helping prevent CSRF attacks.
How can I prevent users from encountering this “invalid state” error if they remain on the login page for too long before attempting to log in?
Unfortunately, you can’t prevent this from happening as this is the expected behavior of the login page. This error occurs because the state parameter has a limited lifetime for security reasons. If a user stays on the login page for an extended period without interacting, the original state becomes invalid. The workaround to this issue would be to not redirect to the Auth0 login page directly but send them to a home page where they can find a link to the login screen.
HI @dawid.matuszczyk , Thank you for your response! I really appreciate it.
I have a couple of follow-up questions:
In another discussion, it was mentioned that the state is generated by the webauth.login method link to discussion. I just want to confirm if the state param is already in url, what happen when I call the webauth.login? Will the state generate again?
In my application, the flow where the user directly navigates to the login page is something we can’t easily change. Given this, I was wondering if there are any workarounds for the “invalid state” issue. For example, does Auth0 provide a method to automatically refresh the state? Or can I just call login function again if detect “invalid state” issue?
Another reply mentioned this link to discussion
But I am not sure how to start a new authentication request in my case.
To be more detailed, here is my current code:
function login(e) {
e.preventDefault();
...
const username = document.getElementById("email").value;
const password = document.getElementById("password").value;
webAuth.login(
{
realm: databaseConnection,
username: username,
password: password,
},
function (err) {
//add the logic of handle invalid state here, but not sure how to do it.
//Can I just call webAuth.login again?
//Or I need to redirect to the auth.myXXX.dev again to get the new state?
if (err) {
label.classList.remove("hidden");
loader.classList.add("hidden");
displayError(err);
}
}
);
}
}