Authorization header in img src link

Question

I have an api that uses jwt for authencation. I am using this api for a vuejs app. I am trying to display an image in the app using

<img src="my/api/link" />

But the api expects Authorization header with jwt token in it.

Can I add headers to browser request like this(Answer to few questions here has made me believe it's not possible)?

Is there any way around it(using js) or should i change the api itself?

Answer 1

You can not perform authentication on images which are directly used as href in img tag. If you really want this type of authentication on your images, then it's better to fetch them using ajax and then embed in your html.

Answer 2

By default browsers are sending cookies. You can prevent cookie sending in fetch if you set header's {credentials: 'omit'}. MDN

Full fetch example:

const user = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('user'));
let headers = {};

if (user && user.token) {
  headers = { 'Authorization': 'Bearer ' + user.token };
} 

const requestOptions = {
    method: 'GET',
    headers: headers,
    credentials: 'omit'
};

let req = await fetch(`${serverUrl}/api/v2/foo`, requestOptions);
if (req.ok === true) {
...

Now, when you are login in, in your website, the webapp could save to credentials into both localStorage and cookie. Example:

let reqJson = await req.json();
// response is: {token: 'string'}
//// login successful if there's a jwt token in the response
if (reqJson.token) {
    // store user details and jwt token in local storage to keep user logged in between page refreshes
    localStorage.setItem('user', JSON.stringify({token: reqJson.token}));
    document.cookie = `token=${reqJson.token};`; //set the cookies for img, etc
}

So your webapp uses localStorage, just like your smartphone application. Browser gets all the static contents (img, video, a href) by sending cookies by default.

On the server side, you can copy the cookie to authorization header, if there is none.

Node.js+express example:

.use(function(req, res, next) { //function setHeader
  if(req.cookies && req.headers &&
     !Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(req.headers, 'authorization') &&
     Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(req.cookies, 'token') &&
     req.cookies.token.length > 0
   ) {
    //req.cookies has no hasOwnProperty function,
    // likely created with Object.create(null)
    req.headers.authorization = 'Bearer ' + req.cookies.token.slice(0, req.cookies.token.length);
  }
  next();
})

I hope it helps someone.

Answer 3

You can use a Service Worker to intercept the img fetchs and add the Authorization header with the JWT token before hitting the server. Described in:

• https://www.sjoerdlangkemper.nl/2021/01/06/adding-headers-to-image-request-using-service-workers/
• https://www.twelve21.io/how-to-access-images-securely-with-oauth-2-0/#:~:text=4.%20USE%20SERVICE%20WORKERS