implementing JWT Authentication Token Expiration Handling in Node.js Express App
I'm sure I'm missing something obvious here, but I'm implementing JWT-based authentication in my Node.js Express application, but I'm running into issues with handling token expiration. I've set the token to expire in 15 minutes using the `jsonwebtoken` library. However, I find that even after expiration, the server sometimes accepts requests with expired tokens, and other times it doesn't, leading to inconsistent behavior. My middleware function to verify the token looks like this: ```javascript const jwt = require('jsonwebtoken'); function authenticateToken(req, res, next) { const token = req.headers['authorization']?.split(' ')[1]; if (!token) return res.sendStatus(401); jwt.verify(token, process.env.JWT_SECRET, (err, user) => { if (err) return res.sendStatus(403); req.user = user; next(); }); } ``` I've also implemented a refresh token mechanism, but I suspect my logic there might also be flawed. When a token expires, I want to return a specific status (e.g., 401) without issuing a new token if the refresh token wasn't provided. However, sometimes the application just hangs without returning any response. Here’s how I’m generating the tokens: ```javascript const user = { id: userId }; // Assume userId is retrieved from a database const accessToken = jwt.sign(user, process.env.JWT_SECRET, { expiresIn: '15m' }); const refreshToken = jwt.sign(user, process.env.JWT_SECRET, { expiresIn: '7d' }); ``` After an access token expires, I call a route to handle token refresh, but I’m unsure how to properly check the refresh token. Additionally, I’ve tried logging the behavior messages returned by JWT, yet they seem inconsistent. Sometimes I get `JsonWebTokenError: jwt expired`, and other times, it's just an empty response. Could anyone guide to troubleshoot this? Any insights on ensuring that expired tokens are consistently rejected would be appreciated! For context: I'm using Javascript on Windows. Any help would be greatly appreciated!