## Context Today every JWT issued by Twenty (access, refresh, login, file, etc.) is HMAC-signed with a per-token-type secret derived from the global `APP_SECRET`. Rotating that secret invalidates **every** active token at once and there is no way to scope a leak to a subset of tokens. This PR is the first slice of a broader effort to **decouple stateful encryption (`APP_SECRET`-derived secrets) from stateless encryption (JWTs)**. It introduces an asymmetric (private/public key) signing path for `ACCESS` and `REFRESH` tokens and a signing-key registry to enable **safe rotation**: leaked keys can be revoked by flipping `revokedAt`/`isCurrent` on the matching row without invalidating tokens issued by other keys. > Out of scope (intentionally): swapping stateful encryption for `APP_SECRET`, asymmetric signing for token types other than `ACCESS`/`REFRESH`, an admin-panel rotation UI, and an enterprise re-encryption command. Those will land in follow-up PRs. ## What changes - **New `core.signingKey` table** (instance command `2.5.0` / `1778550000000`) storing both the public key (PEM, in clear) and the private key (PEM, encrypted with `APP_SECRET` via `SecretEncryptionService`). One row is marked `isCurrent = true` (enforced by a partial unique index). The row's UUID `id` is used directly as the JWT `kid`. - When a key is rotated out, its `privateKey` is nulled (we never keep historical private keys) but the `publicKey` row stays so previously issued tokens can still be verified. - **`JwtKeyManagerService`** lazily loads-or-generates the current signing key on first use: - If a row with `isCurrent = true` exists → decrypts and uses it. - Otherwise → generates a fresh EC P-256 keypair, encrypts the private key, inserts the row (UUID id = kid). Handles concurrent insert races via the unique constraint. - **`JwtWrapperService.signAsync()`** signs `ACCESS`/`REFRESH` payloads with `ES256` and a `kid` header. Falls back to `HS256` if no signing key is available (boot-time DB error, transient failure). - **Dual-path verification** in both `JwtWrapperService.verifyJwtToken` and the Passport `JwtAuthStrategy.secretOrKeyProvider`: - JWT with a `kid` header → resolve the public key PEM by id and verify with `ES256`, - otherwise → fall back to the existing `APP_SECRET`-derived `HS256` path (unchanged). - **`AccessTokenService` / `RefreshTokenService`** now sign through `signAsync` (single public surface; the routing detail stays internal to the wrapper). - **Public key cache**: a new `SigningKeyEntityCacheProviderService` plugs into `CoreEntityCacheService` (`signingKeyPublicKey` namespace) and serves PEMs by id, with the standard local-memo + Redis layering. - **PEM strings end-to-end**: `jsonwebtoken` accepts PEM strings directly for both sign and verify, so the manager never converts to a Node `KeyObject` and the cache hands the PEM straight to `jwt.verify`. ## Why ES256 (and not EdDSA / RS256) - `@nestjs/jwt` is backed by `jsonwebtoken`, which does **not** support EdDSA today. - ES256 keys are tiny (~120 bytes vs 1.6 kB for RS256), signatures are short (~64 bytes), and signing/verification is fast — important since JWT verification runs on every authenticated request. - ES256 is widely supported and standardized (RFC 7518), with mature ecosystem support. ## Why store the private key in DB (not env) - No new secret to provision: existing instances already have `APP_SECRET`, which we reuse to encrypt the private key at rest. - Self-healing: a fresh instance auto-generates its first signing key on first boot. Nothing to copy/paste. - Rotation is a SQL operation against `core.signingKey`, not a redeploy + env mutation. ## Backward compatibility - All previously-issued tokens (no `kid`) keep verifying through the legacy HS256 path with their existing `APP_SECRET`-derived secret. No forced re-login. - Token types not in scope (`WORKSPACE_AGNOSTIC`, `API_KEY`, `FILE`, `LOGIN`, `EMAIL_VERIFICATION`, etc.) keep their current HS256 behavior unchanged — they still go through the synchronous `JwtWrapperService.sign(payload, options)` with a caller-supplied secret. - `signWithAppSecret` is kept intentionally as the HS256 fallback path; it will be deprecated in a follow-up PR. - If the DB lookup/generation fails for any reason, the wrapper logs the error and falls back to HS256 — no startup crash, no silent regression. ## Rotation story 1. Bootstrap: first signing call lazily inserts a row in `core.signingKey` with `isCurrent = true`, `privateKey = encrypt(pem_A)`. New tokens carry `kid_A`. 2. Rotate: `UPDATE core."signingKey" SET "isCurrent" = false, "privateKey" = NULL WHERE id = '<kid_A>';` then insert a new row with `isCurrent = true`. New tokens carry `kid_B`. Tokens still in flight with `kid_A` keep verifying because the public-key row for `kid_A` is still there. 3. Revoke: `UPDATE core."signingKey" SET "revokedAt" = now() WHERE id = '<kid_A>';`. All tokens with `kid_A` now fail verification cleanly with `UNAUTHENTICATED` (no 500). 4. Tokens with no `kid` (legacy) are unaffected throughout. ## Test plan - [x] Unit: `JwtWrapperService` dual-path verification (HS256 no-kid vs ES256 with-kid), unknown-kid → `UNAUTHENTICATED`, `signAsync` happy path + `null` when no key, `signAsync` rejection for non-rotatable types. - [x] Unit: `JwtAuthStrategy` `secretOrKeyProvider` dual-path resolution and algorithm validation. - [x] All existing JWT/auth/application unit tests adjusted to the renamed public method. - [x] Integration (`jwt-key-rotation.integration-spec.ts`): - **Happy path**: signed-up user's `ACCESS` token has `alg=ES256` + correct UUID `kid`, the `isCurrent=true` row exists in `core.signingKey`, `getCurrentUser` resolves. - **Legacy fallback**: hand-crafted no-kid HS256 token verifies via the legacy `APP_SECRET`-derived path. - **Previous-key rotation**: token signed by a hardcoded *previous* key whose row is pre-inserted with `privateKey = NULL` (rotated-out) still verifies — proves the leaked-key revocation flow works in both directions. - **Unknown kid**: token signed with an orphan UUID `kid` is cleanly rejected (no 500). - [x] `npx nx typecheck twenty-server` - [x] `npx nx test twenty-server` - [x] `npx nx run twenty-server:lint`
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Why Twenty
Twenty gives technical teams the building blocks for a custom CRM that meets complex business needs and quickly adapts as the business evolves. Twenty is the CRM you build, ship, and version like the rest of your stack.
Learn more about why we built Twenty
Installation
Cloud
The fastest way to get started. Sign up at twenty.com and spin up a workspace in under a minute, with no infrastructure to manage and always up to date.
Build an app
Scaffold a new app with the Twenty CLI:
npx create-twenty-app my-app
Define objects, fields, and views as code:
import { defineObject, FieldType } from 'twenty-sdk/define';
export default defineObject({
nameSingular: 'deal',
namePlural: 'deals',
labelSingular: 'Deal',
labelPlural: 'Deals',
fields: [
{ name: 'name', label: 'Name', type: FieldType.TEXT },
{ name: 'amount', label: 'Amount', type: FieldType.CURRENCY },
{ name: 'closeDate', label: 'Close Date', type: FieldType.DATE_TIME },
],
});
Then ship it to your workspace:
npx twenty deploy
See the app development guide for objects, views, agents, and logic functions.
Self-hosting
Run Twenty on your own infrastructure with Docker Compose, or contribute locally via the local setup guide.
Everything you need
Twenty gives you the building blocks of a modern CRM (objects, views, workflows, and agents) and lets you extend them as code. Here's a tour of what's in the box.
Want to go deeper? Read the User Guide for product walkthroughs, or the
Documentation for developer reference.
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Stack
TypeScript
Nx
NestJS, with BullMQ,
PostgreSQL,
Redis
React, with Jotai, Linaria and Lingui
Thanks
Thanks to these amazing services that we use and recommend for UI testing (Chromatic), code review (Greptile), catching bugs (Sentry) and translating (Crowdin).
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