Understanding and Implementing OAuth 2.0 in Oracle APEX

Introduction

In today’s interconnected digital landscape, applications often need to pull data from or interact with external services. OAuth 2.0 provides a rock-solid framework for enabling secure authorization and access to these resources. Oracle APEX, the low-code development platform, offers extensive support for OAuth 2.0. This blog will dive into OAuth 2.0 with Oracle APEX, exploring concepts and providing a practical guide.

What is OAuth 2.0?

OAuth 2.0 is an open protocol. Think of it as a security framework that defines how a user can allow a third-party application to access their information stored with a different service provider—all without sharing their actual login credentials. This is crucial in social logins or when an app needs to fetch data from your calendar or email.

OAuth 2.0 in Action: A Common Scenario

1. Application Wants Access: Your APEX application wants to display a user’s Google Calendar events.
2. Authorization Request: Your application redirects the user to Google’s authorization server.
3. User Consent: The user logs into their Google account (if necessary) and is asked to grant your application permission to access their calendar data.
4. Authorization Grant: If the user approves, Google generates an authorization code and returns it to your application.
5. Access Token Exchange: Your application now exchanges this authorization code for an access token. The access token is the key with restricted permissions that allows your app to interact with Google Calendar.
6. API Calls: Finally, your application can use the access token to make API requests to Google Calendar and fetch the desired information.

Key OAuth 2.0 Terms

• Resource Owner: The user who owns the data (e.g., their calendar data).
• Client: The application seeking access (your APEX app).
• Authorization Server: The service authenticates the user and issues tokens (e.g., Google).
• Resource Server: Where the user’s protected data resides (e.g., Google Calendar).

OAuth 2.0 Flows

OAuth 2.0 supports several flows for different use cases. APEX primarily utilizes the Authorization Code Flow for web-based applications.

Oracle APEX and OAuth 2.0

1. Web Credentials: In APEX, you create web credentials to store your Client ID and Client Secret issued by the authorization server.
2. APEX_WEB_SERVICE Package: Oracle APEX provides the APEX_WEB_SERVICE Package, which contains handy procedures to facilitate OAuth 2.0 interactions. The OAUTH_AUTHENTICATE_CREDENTIAL Procedure performs authentication and retrieves a new access token.

Example: Integrating with a REST API

Refer to Oracle’s documentation for a complete example. Here’s the gist:

1. Set up a Web Credential in APEX
2. Use APEX_WEB_SERVICE.OAUTH_AUTHENTICATE_CREDENTIAL to get an access token.
3. Make secured REST API calls using APEX_WEB_SERVICE.MAKE_REST_REQUEST, including the access token in the header.

Beyond the Basics

• Refresh Tokens: Access tokens often expire. OAuth 2.0 can facilitate issuing refresh tokens to get new access tokens without the full authorization flow.
• Scopes: Scopes define your app’s actions with the access token.

Conclusion

Oracle APEX’s seamless OAuth 2.0 integration allows you to securely leverage the power of external services. This blog has just scratched the surface; it’s best to consult Oracle’s extensive documentation for specific implementation details.