Credential Encoding Guide: Safe Patterns for Secrets in APIs
API keys and passwords are often encoded with Base64 in HTTP headers. Learn which encoding patterns are safe, which are dangerous, and how to handle credentials correctly.
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Tags: security, encoding, api
Credential Encoding Guide: Safe Patterns for Secrets in APIs Every API call that requires authentication encodes credentials in some form. The question is whether that encoding is being used correctly — as a transport formatting mechanism backed by real security controls — or whether it is being relied upon as a security layer it was never designed to be. This guide covers the correct patterns for credential transmission in APIs, explains what the encoding is actually doing in each case, and shows you the anti-patterns that create real vulnerabilities. Bearer Token Authentication Bearer tokens are the standard for modern APIs, OAuth 2.0 access tokens, and JWT authentication. The Pattern The token is sent as-is. There is no additional encoding on top of whatever format the token provider…
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