CIBA (Client Initiated Backchannel Authentication): Decoupled Authentication Flows

CIBA (Client Initiated Backchannel Authentication): Decoupled Authentication Flows

Client Initiated Backchannel Authentication (CIBA) is a protocol extension for OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect that enables clients to request user authentication without immediate user interaction. This is particularly useful in scenarios where the user is not present at the time of authentication, such as in smart home devices, IoT applications, or background services. What is CIBA? CIBA allows clients to initiate an authentication request to an Authorization Server (AS) without requiring the user to be present at the time of the request. The AS then notifies the user out-of-band (e.g., via SMS, email, push notification) to authenticate. Once the user authenticates, the AS sends an authentication result back to the client. ...

Apr 08, 2026 · 6 min · 1070 words · IAMDevBox