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Authentication

Overview

The authentication feature handles all aspects of user identity in Vitara, including account registration, email/password login, multi-factor authentication (TOTP), password expiry enforcement, forgot/reset password flows, and JWT issuance. Every request to a protected API endpoint is authorised via a JWT Bearer token. The JWT embeds the user's id, email, role, termId (active cycle), firstName, and lastName claims.

Roles

ID Name Description
1 SuperAdmin Full system access
2 Administrator Manages users, config, reports
3 Carer Links to care recipients, records health data
4 SupportWorker Same capabilities as Carer
5 CareRecipient Self-service; own health records
6 HealthCareProvider Read-only access to linked CR data

Backend

Controller: AuthController — /api/auth

Method Route Auth Description
POST /api/auth/signup Anonymous Register a new user account
POST /api/auth/login Anonymous Authenticate with email + password
POST /api/auth/verify-mfa Anonymous Verify TOTP code after primary login
POST /api/auth/change-expired-password Anonymous Change password when it has expired
POST /api/auth/skip-mfa-setup Anonymous Record that the user deferred MFA setup
POST /api/auth/mfa/setup Authorized Generate TOTP secret + QR code + backup codes
POST /api/auth/mfa/confirm Authorized Confirm MFA setup by verifying TOTP code
POST /api/auth/mfa/disable Authorized Disable MFA, clear secret and backup codes
PUT /api/auth/profile Authorized Update first/last name and/or change password
POST /api/auth/forgot-password Anonymous Send password-reset email
GET /api/auth/validate-reset-token Anonymous Validate a password-reset token
POST /api/auth/reset-password Anonymous Set a new password using a reset token

Key DTOs

SignupRequest 

email            string       Required
firstName        string       Required
lastName         string       Required
password         string       Min 8 chars, upper + lower + digit
role             int          2=Admin, 3=Carer, 4=SupportWorker, 5=CareRecipient, 6=HealthCareProvider
careRecipientEmail  string?   Required for Carer, SupportWorker, HealthCareProvider
adminPin         string?      Required for Administrator role
dateOfBirth      DateTime?    Required for CareRecipient
gender           int?         CareRecipient only
conditions       object[]?    CareRecipient only — T1D, T2D, HBP with yearDiagnosed
initialMedication          object?  Optional BP medication on registration
initialDiabetesMedication  object?  Optional diabetes medication on registration

LoginRequest 

email    string
password string

AuthResponse 

token             string    JWT Bearer token
requiresMfa       bool      True if TOTP verification step is required next
mfaEnabled        bool      Whether the account has MFA active
isPasswordExpired bool      True if password has passed PasswordExpirationDays threshold
userId            int       For use in change-expired-password flow

MfaSetupResponse 

secret      string    Base32 TOTP secret
qrCode      string    Base64-encoded PNG QR code image
backupCodes string[]  10 single-use recovery codes

UpdateProfileRequest 

firstName       string?
lastName        string?
currentPassword string?   Required when changing password
newPassword     string?   Min 8 chars, upper + lower + digit

Service: AuthService

Dependencies: ApplicationDbContext, IConfiguration, MfaService, CycleService, IPasswordHashingService, AppConfigService, IEmailService

LoginByEmailAsync

  1. Looks up user by email (case-insensitive).
  2. Verifies PasswordHash via IPasswordHashingService.
  3. Checks PasswordExpirationDays from AppConfigService; if elapsed since PasswordLastChanged, sets isPasswordExpired = true — no JWT issued, returns userId for change-expired-password flow.
  4. If user has IsMfaEnabled = true, returns requiresMfa = true with no full token; client must call /verify-mfa.
  5. On success, calls GenerateJwtToken and returns AuthResponse.

GenerateJwtToken

  • Reads JwtExpirationMinutes from AppConfigService.
  • Fetches the default Cycle via CycleService.GetDefaultTermAsync().
  • Creates claims: id, email, role (numeric), termId (default cycle ID), firstName, lastName.
  • Signs with HMAC-SHA256 using JWT_KEY environment variable.

SignupAsync

  1. Validates email uniqueness (case-insensitive), password strength (min 8 chars, at least one uppercase, one lowercase, one digit).
  2. Creates User entity with hashed password.
  3. If careRecipientEmail provided: looks up CR, creates UserCareRecipient link, sends push to CR (CareRecipientLinked notification).
  4. If role == Administrator: validates adminPin against AdminSignupPin in AppConfigService.
  5. For CareRecipient with conditions: inserts UserCondition rows, and optional BpMedication / DiabetesMedication rows.
  6. Seeds all 12 UserNotificationPreference rows with IsEnabled = true.
  7. Returns JWT via GenerateJwtToken.

EnableMfaAsync / ConfirmMfaAsync / DisableMfaAsync

  • EnableMfaAsync: Generates TOTP secret via MfaService, generates 10 backup codes as JSON, stores temporarily (not yet saved until ConfirmMfaAsync).
  • ConfirmMfaAsync: Verifies the submitted TOTP code, then persists MfaSecret, BackupCodesJson, and sets IsMfaEnabled = true.
  • DisableMfaAsync: Clears MfaSecret, BackupCodesJson, sets IsMfaEnabled = false.

ForgotPasswordAsync / ResetPasswordAsync

  • ForgotPasswordAsync: Looks up email, generates a time-limited PasswordResetToken, applies rate limiting (PasswordResetRequestLimitPerHour from AppConfig), sends HTML email via IEmailService.
  • ResetPasswordAsync: Validates token (not expired per PasswordResetTokenValidityMinutes), hashes new password, saves, marks token used.

Service: MfaService

  • Generates Base32 TOTP secrets.
  • Builds Google Charts QR code URL (used for authenticator app scanning).
  • Verifies 6-digit TOTP codes via a TOTP library with standard 30-second window.
  • Generates and validates single-use backup codes.

Model: User

Field Type Notes
Id int PK
Email string (255) Unique, case-insensitive
FirstName string
LastName string
PasswordHash string BCrypt or PBKDF2
PasswordLastChanged DateTime? Null = never changed
Role enum (1–6)
IsActive bool
IsMfaEnabled bool
MfaSecret string? Base32 TOTP secret
MfaEnabledAt DateTime?
BackupCodesJson string? JSON array of backup codes
DateOfBirth DateTime? CareRecipient only
Gender enum?
CreatedAt DateTime
UpdatedAt DateTime

Model: PasswordResetToken

Field Type Notes
Id int PK
UserId int FK → User
Token string Secure random token
ExpiresAt DateTime From PasswordResetTokenValidityMinutes
UsedAt DateTime? Null = still valid
CreatedAt DateTime

Business Logic & Validation Rules

  • Password strength: minimum 8 characters, at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one digit. Enforced on signup, reset, and profile change.
  • Email uniqueness: checked case-insensitively against the Users table before any insert.
  • Password expiry: PasswordExpirationDays from AppConfig. If PasswordLastChanged (or CreatedAt if null) is more than this many days ago, login is blocked and the change-expired-password flow is triggered.
  • MFA bypass on biometric login: WebAuthn assertions skip the MFA challenge step entirely (handled in WebAuthnController).
  • Admin PIN: required when registering with role = Administrator. Compared against AdminSignupPin AppConfig key.
  • Rate limiting on password reset: limited to PasswordResetRequestLimitPerHour requests per email per hour. No-reveal design — identical response returned for known and unknown emails.

Frontend

Routes

Path Component Auth Required
/login LoginComponent No
/signup SignupComponent No
/forgot-password ForgotPasswordComponent No
/reset-password ResetPasswordComponent No
/change-expired-password ChangeExpiredPasswordComponent No

All auth routes are in AuthModule (client/src/app/auth/auth.module.ts).

LoginComponent — /login

File: client/src/app/auth/login.component.ts

Behaviour: 1. Displays an email + password form. 2. If the user has previously registered a biometric credential (localStorage key bgl_biometric_email matches the typed email) AND the browser has a platform authenticator available (PublicKeyCredential.isUserVerifyingPlatformAuthenticatorAvailable()), a biometric login button appears and the password field becomes optional. 3. On standard login, calls POST /auth/login: - If isPasswordExpired is returned → navigates to /change-expired-password?userId=…. - If requiresMfa is returned → reveals the inline MFA step with a 6-digit TOTP code input. 4. MFA step: calls POST /auth/verify-mfa with the code; on success stores the JWT via AuthService. 5. On successful login (either path), calls PushNotificationService.subscribeToServer() to register/refresh the browser push subscription. 6. "Remember Me" checkbox persists login state. 7. Redirects already-authenticated users to /dashboard on init.

Service calls: - AuthService.login(email, password) - AuthService.verifyMfa(code) - BiometricService.authenticate(email) — triggers OS biometric prompt - PushNotificationService.subscribeToServer()

SignupComponent — /signup

File: client/src/app/auth/signup.component.ts

Behaviour: - Multi-section reactive form that adapts based on the selected role. - All roles: first name, last name, email, password (with strength indicator). - CareRecipient only: date of birth, gender, conditions (T1D, T2D, HBP, each with year diagnosed), optional initial BP medication (name, dose, frequency), optional initial diabetes medication (name, delivery route Pills|Injection, insulin delivery method Pump|Injections, pump name). - Carer / SupportWorker / HealthCareProvider: linked care-recipient email field. - Administrator: admin PIN field. - Password strength enforced client-side: minimum 8 chars, uppercase, lowercase, digit. - Calls POST /auth/register and navigates to /login on success.

ForgotPasswordComponent — /forgot-password

File: client/src/app/auth/forgot-password.component.ts

  • Single email input field.
  • Calls POST /auth/forgot-password.
  • Displays the same success message regardless of whether the email exists (no-reveal design).

ResetPasswordComponent — /reset-password

File: client/src/app/auth/reset-password.component.ts

  • Reads ?token=… from query params on init.
  • Validates the token via GET /auth/validate-reset-token?token=…; shows an error message if invalid or expired.
  • New password input with real-time strength indicator (Weak / Medium / Strong) and a confirmation field.
  • Calls POST /auth/reset-password with token + new password; navigates to /login on success.

ChangeExpiredPasswordComponent — /change-expired-password

File: client/src/app/auth/change-expired-password.component.ts

  • Reads ?userId=… from query params.
  • New password form (no current-password required; the userId acts as the credential for this one-time change).
  • Calls POST /auth/change-expired-password; on success stores the returned JWT (full login) and navigates to /dashboard.

Core Service: AuthService

File: client/src/app/core/services/auth.service.ts

Responsibilities: - Stores JWT and user claims in localStorage. - Exposes getUserRole(), getUserRoleId(), getUserId(), getEmail(), getUserName(), getTermId() helpers parsed from the JWT payload. - hasDiabetesConditions() / hasHbpConditions() — reads a userConditions key in localStorage (populated after login) for condition-gated navigation decisions. - isAuthenticated() — checks for a non-expired token. - logout() — clears localStorage, navigates to /login. - accessibleConditions$ — BehaviorSubject that emits the current user's condition list.

End-to-End Data Flow

Standard Login

Browser                  Angular                   API                   DB
  |--- email+password --->|                          |                    |
  |                       |--- POST /auth/login ---->|                    |
  |                       |                          |-- query Users ---->|
  |                       |                          |<-- User row -------|
  |                       |                          | verify hash        |
  |                       |                          | check expiry       |
  |                       |                          | build JWT          |
  |                       |<-- AuthResponse ---------|                    |
  |                       | store JWT in localStorage|                    |
  |                       | subscribeToServer()      |                    |
  |<-- navigate /dashboard|                          |                    |

MFA Login

Browser                  Angular                   API
  |--- email+password --->|                          |
  |                       |--- POST /auth/login ---->|
  |                       |<-- requiresMfa=true -----|
  |<-- show TOTP input ---|                          |
  |--- 6-digit code ------>|                         |
  |                       |--- POST /auth/verify-mfa->|
  |                       |<-- JWT token ------------|
  |<-- navigate /dashboard|                          |

Password Reset

Browser          Angular              API                Email Server
  |-- enter email->|                   |                     |
  |               |-- POST /forgot --> |                     |
  |               |                   |-- send reset email ->|
  |               |<-- 200 OK --------|                     |
  |<-- success msg|                   |                     |
  | (user clicks link in email)        |                     |
  |-- /reset-password?token=X -------->|                     |
  |               |-- GET /validate -->|                     |
  |               |<-- 200 OK --------|                     |
  |<-- form shown-|                   |                     |
  |-- new password->|                 |                     |
  |               |-- POST /reset  -->|                     |
  |               |<-- 200 OK --------|                     |
  |<-- navigate /login                |                     |