Is JWT Really Secure?

The Day I Almost Got Burned by JWT

I still remember the day a simple mistake almost exposed my entire app to hackers.

I was building a sleek, modern authentication system using JSON Web Tokens (JWT). It felt perfect. No session storage, no database lookups — just a signed token passed around like a VIP pass.

Then came the security audit.

“Can you revoke a compromised token?” the security engineer asked.

I hesitated. “Well… it expires in an hour.”

His smile faded. “So, if I steal a token, I get an hour of free access?”

Silence. I had fallen into one of JWT’s biggest security traps.

JWT: A Double-Edged Sword

JWT is everywhere. It powers authentication for APIs, microservices, and Single Page Applications (SPAs).

But here’s the catch: JWT is stateless, and that’s both its strength and its biggest weakness.

Let’s break it down.

Problem #1: You Can’t Revoke a JWT

Once a JWT is issued, it remains valid until it expires. That means:

• If a user logs out, the token still works.
• If an attacker steals…