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Two-Factor Authentication with Authy, Node.js and Express

(warning)

Warning

As of November 2022, Twilio no longer provides support for Authy SMS/Voice-only customers. Customers who were also using Authy TOTP or Push prior to March 1, 2023 are still supported. The Authy API is now closed to new customers and will be fully deprecated in the future.

For new development, we encourage you to use the Verify v2 API.

Existing customers will not be impacted at this time until Authy API has reached End of Life. For more information about migration, see Migrating from Authy to Verify for SMS.

This Express.js sample application demonstrates how to build a login system that uses two factors of authentication to log in users. Head to the application's README.md to see how to run the application locally.

Adding two-factor authentication (2FA) to your web application increases the security of your user's data. Multi-factor authentication determines the identity of a user by first logging the user into the app, and then validating their mobile device.

For the second factor, we will validate that the user has their mobile phone by either:

Sending them a OneTouch push notification to their mobile Authy app
Sending them a token through their mobile Authy app
Sending them a one-time token in a text message sent with Authy via Twilio.

See how VMware uses Authy 2FA to secure their enterprise mobility management solution.

Configuring Authy

If you haven't done so already, now is the time to sign up for Authy. Create your first application, naming it whatever you wish. After you create your application, your production API key will be visible on your dashboard:

Once we have an Authy API key, we store it in this initializer file.

Authy configuration

config.js

1module.exports = {
2    // HTTP port
3    port: process.env.PORT || 3000,
4
5    // Production Authy API key
6    authyApiKey: process.env.AUTHY_API_KEY,
7
8    // MongoDB connection string - MONGO_URL is for local dev,
9    // MONGOLAB_URI is for the MongoLab add-on for Heroku deployment
10    mongoUrl: process.env.MONGOLAB_URI || process.env.MONGO_URL
11};

Now that we've configured our Express app, let's take a look at how we register a user with Authy.

Register a User with Authy

When a new user is created we also register the user with Authy.

All Authy needs to get a user set up for your application is that user's email, phone number and country code. We need to make sure this information is required when the user signs up.

Once we register the User with Authy we get an id back that we will store as the user's authyId. This is very important since it's how we will verify the identity of our user with Authy.

Register a User with Authy

models/User.js

1var mongoose = require('mongoose');
2var bcrypt = require('bcrypt');
3var config = require('../config');
4var onetouch = require('../api/onetouch');
5
6// Create authenticated Authy API client
7var authy = require('authy')(config.authyApiKey);
8
9// Used to generate password hash
10var SALT_WORK_FACTOR = 10;
11
12// Define user model schema
13var UserSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
14    fullName: {
15        type: String,
16        required: true
17    },
18    countryCode: {
19        type: String,
20        required: true
21    },
22    phone: {
23        type: String,
24        required: true
25    },
26    authyId: String,
27    email: {
28        type: String,
29        required: true,
30        unique: true
31    },
32    password: {
33        type: String,
34        required: true
35    },
36    authyStatus: {
37        type: String,
38        default: 'unverified'
39    }
40});
41
42// Middleware executed before save - hash the user's password
43UserSchema.pre('save', function(next) {
44    var self = this;
45
46    // only hash the password if it has been modified (or is new)
47    if (!self.isModified('password')) return next();
48
49    // generate a salt
50    bcrypt.genSalt(SALT_WORK_FACTOR, function(err, salt) {
51        if (err) return next(err);
52
53        // hash the password using our new salt
54        bcrypt.hash(self.password, salt, function(err, hash) {
55            if (err) return next(err);
56
57            // override the cleartext password with the hashed one
58            self.password = hash;
59            next();
60        });
61    });
62
63    if (!self.authyId) {
64        // Register this user if it's a new user
65        authy.register_user(self.email, self.phone, self.countryCode,
66            function(err, response) {
67            if(err){
68                if(response && response.json) {
69                    response.json(err);
70                } else {
71                    console.error(err);
72                }
73                return;
74            }
75            self.authyId = response.user.id;
76            self.save(function(err, doc) {
77                if (err || !doc) return next(err);
78                self = doc;
79            });
80        });
81    };
82});
83
84// Test candidate password
85UserSchema.methods.comparePassword = function(candidatePassword, cb) {
86    var self = this;
87    bcrypt.compare(candidatePassword, self.password, function(err, isMatch) {
88        if (err) return cb(err);
89        cb(null, isMatch);
90    });
91};
92
93// Send a OneTouch request to this user
94UserSchema.methods.sendOneTouch = function(cb) {
95    var self = this;
96    self.authyStatus = 'unverified';
97    self.save();
98
99    onetouch.send_approval_request(self.authyId, {
100        message: 'Request to Login to Twilio demo app',
101        email: self.email
102    }, function(err, authyres){
103        if (err && err.success != undefined) {
104            authyres = err;
105            err = null;
106        }
107        cb.call(self, err, authyres);
108    });
109};
110
111// Send a 2FA token to this user
112UserSchema.methods.sendAuthyToken = function(cb) {
113    var self = this;
114
115    authy.request_sms(self.authyId, function(err, response) {
116        cb.call(self, err);
117    });
118};
119
120// Test a 2FA token
121UserSchema.methods.verifyAuthyToken = function(otp, cb) {
122    var self = this;
123    authy.verify(self.authyId, otp, function(err, response) {
124        cb.call(self, err, response);
125    });
126};
127
128// Export user model
129module.exports = mongoose.model('User', UserSchema);
130

Log in with Authy OneTouch

When a user attempts to log in to our website, a second form of identification is needed. Let's take a look at Authy's OneTouch verification first.

OneTouch works like so:

We attempt to send a User a OneTouch Approval Request
If the user has OneTouch enabled, we will get a success message back
The user hits 'Approve' in their Authy app
Authy makes a POST request to our app with an 'Approved' status
We log the user in

Log in with Authy OneTouch

api/sessions.js

1var Session = require('../models/Session');
2var User = require('../models/User');
3var error = require('./response_utils').error;
4var ok = require('./response_utils').ok;
5
6// Create a new session, first testing username/password combo
7exports.create = function(request, response) {
8    var email = request.body.email;
9    var candidatePassword = request.body.password;
10
11    // Look for a user by the given username
12    User.findOne({
13        email: email
14    }, function(err, user) {
15        if (err || !user) return invalid();
16
17        // We have a user for that username, test password
18        user.comparePassword(candidatePassword, function(err, match) {
19            if (err || !match) return invalid();
20            return valid(user);
21        });
22    });
23
24    // respond with a 403 for a login error
25    function invalid() {
26        error(response, 403, 'Invalid username/password combination.');
27    }
28
29    // respond with a new session for a valid password, and send a 2FA token
30    function valid(user) {
31        Session.createSessionForUser(user, false, function(err, sess, authyResponse) {
32            if (err || !sess) {
33                error(response, 500,
34                    'Error creating session - please log in again.');
35            } else {
36                // Send the unique token for this session and the onetouch response
37                response.send({
38                    token: sess.token,
39                    authyResponse: authyResponse
40                });
41            }
42        });
43    }
44};
45
46// Destroy the given session (log out)
47exports.destroy = function(request, response) {
48    request.session && request.session.remove(function(err, doc) {
49        if (err) {
50            error(response, 500, 'There was a problem logging you out - please retry.');
51        } else {
52            ok(response);
53        }
54    });
55};
56
57// Public webhook for Authy to POST to
58exports.authyCallback = function(request, response) {
59    var authyId = request.body.authy_id;
60
61    // Respond with a 404 for a no user found error
62    function invalid() {
63        error(response,
64            404,
65            'No user found.'
66        );
67    }
68
69    // Look for a user with the authy_id supplies
70    User.findOne({
71        authyId: authyId
72    }, function(err, user) {
73        if (err || !user) return invalid();
74        user.authyStatus = request.body.status;
75        user.save();
76    });
77    response.end();
78};
79
80// Internal endpoint for checking the status of OneTouch
81exports.authyStatus = function(request, response) {
82    var status = (request.user) ? request.user.authyStatus : 'unverified';
83    if (status == 'approved') {
84        request.session.confirmed = true;
85        request.session.save(function(err) {
86            if (err) return error(response, 500,
87                'There was an error validating your session.');
88        });
89    }
90    if (!request.session) {
91        return error(response, 404, 'No valid session found for this user.');
92    } else {
93        response.send({ status: status });
94    }
95};
96
97// Validate a 2FA token
98exports.verify = function(request, response) {
99    var oneTimeCode = request.body.code;
100
101    if (!request.session || !request.user) {
102        return error(response, 404, 'No valid session found for this token.');
103    }
104
105    // verify entered authy code
106    request.user.verifyAuthyToken(oneTimeCode, function(err) {
107        if (err) return error(response, 401, 'Invalid confirmation code.');
108
109        // otherwise we're good! Validate the session
110        request.session.confirmed = true;
111        request.session.save(function(err) {
112            if (err) return error(response, 500,
113                'There was an error validating your session.');
114
115            response.send({
116                token: request.session.token
117            });
118        });
119    });
120};
121
122// Resend validation code
123exports.resend = function(request, response) {
124    if (!request.user) return error(response, 404,
125        'No user found for this session, please log in again.');
126
127    // Otherwise resend the code
128    request.user.sendAuthyToken(function(err) {
129        if (!request.user) return error(response, 500,
130            'No user found for this session, please log in again.');
131
132        ok(response);
133    });
134};

Send the OneTouch Request

When our user logs in we immediately attempt to verify their identity with OneTouch. We will fallback gracefully if they don't have a OneTouch device, but we don't know until we try.

Authy lets us pass details with our OneTouch request. These can be messages, logos, and any other details we want to send. We could send any number of details by appending details['some_detail']. You could imagine a scenario where we send a OneTouch request to approve a money transfer:

1details = {
2  message: "Request to send money to Jarod's vault",
3  from: "Jarod",
4  amount: "1,000,000",
5  currency: "Galleons"
6}
7

Send the OneTouch request

models/User.js

1var mongoose = require('mongoose');
2var bcrypt = require('bcrypt');
3var config = require('../config');
4var onetouch = require('../api/onetouch');
5
6// Create authenticated Authy API client
7var authy = require('authy')(config.authyApiKey);
8
9// Used to generate password hash
10var SALT_WORK_FACTOR = 10;
11
12// Define user model schema
13var UserSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
14    fullName: {
15        type: String,
16        required: true
17    },
18    countryCode: {
19        type: String,
20        required: true
21    },
22    phone: {
23        type: String,
24        required: true
25    },
26    authyId: String,
27    email: {
28        type: String,
29        required: true,
30        unique: true
31    },
32    password: {
33        type: String,
34        required: true
35    },
36    authyStatus: {
37        type: String,
38        default: 'unverified'
39    }
40});
41
42// Middleware executed before save - hash the user's password
43UserSchema.pre('save', function(next) {
44    var self = this;
45
46    // only hash the password if it has been modified (or is new)
47    if (!self.isModified('password')) return next();
48
49    // generate a salt
50    bcrypt.genSalt(SALT_WORK_FACTOR, function(err, salt) {
51        if (err) return next(err);
52
53        // hash the password using our new salt
54        bcrypt.hash(self.password, salt, function(err, hash) {
55            if (err) return next(err);
56
57            // override the cleartext password with the hashed one
58            self.password = hash;
59            next();
60        });
61    });
62
63    if (!self.authyId) {
64        // Register this user if it's a new user
65        authy.register_user(self.email, self.phone, self.countryCode,
66            function(err, response) {
67            if(err){
68                if(response && response.json) {
69                    response.json(err);
70                } else {
71                    console.error(err);
72                }
73                return;
74            }
75            self.authyId = response.user.id;
76            self.save(function(err, doc) {
77                if (err || !doc) return next(err);
78                self = doc;
79            });
80        });
81    };
82});
83
84// Test candidate password
85UserSchema.methods.comparePassword = function(candidatePassword, cb) {
86    var self = this;
87    bcrypt.compare(candidatePassword, self.password, function(err, isMatch) {
88        if (err) return cb(err);
89        cb(null, isMatch);
90    });
91};
92
93// Send a OneTouch request to this user
94UserSchema.methods.sendOneTouch = function(cb) {
95    var self = this;
96    self.authyStatus = 'unverified';
97    self.save();
98
99    onetouch.send_approval_request(self.authyId, {
100        message: 'Request to Login to Twilio demo app',
101        email: self.email
102    }, function(err, authyres){
103        if (err && err.success != undefined) {
104            authyres = err;
105            err = null;
106        }
107        cb.call(self, err, authyres);
108    });
109};
110
111// Send a 2FA token to this user
112UserSchema.methods.sendAuthyToken = function(cb) {
113    var self = this;
114
115    authy.request_sms(self.authyId, function(err, response) {
116        cb.call(self, err);
117    });
118};
119
120// Test a 2FA token
121UserSchema.methods.verifyAuthyToken = function(otp, cb) {
122    var self = this;
123    authy.verify(self.authyId, otp, function(err, response) {
124        cb.call(self, err, response);
125    });
126};
127
128// Export user model
129module.exports = mongoose.model('User', UserSchema);
130

Note: We need some way to check the status of the user's two-factor process. In this case, we do so by updating the User.authyStatus attribute. It's important we reset this before we log the user in.

Configure the OneTouch callback

In order for our app to know what the user did after we sent the OneTouch request, we need to register a callback endpoint with Authy.

Update user status using Authy Callback

api/sessions.js

1var Session = require('../models/Session');
2var User = require('../models/User');
3var error = require('./response_utils').error;
4var ok = require('./response_utils').ok;
5
6// Create a new session, first testing username/password combo
7exports.create = function(request, response) {
8    var email = request.body.email;
9    var candidatePassword = request.body.password;
10
11    // Look for a user by the given username
12    User.findOne({
13        email: email
14    }, function(err, user) {
15        if (err || !user) return invalid();
16
17        // We have a user for that username, test password
18        user.comparePassword(candidatePassword, function(err, match) {
19            if (err || !match) return invalid();
20            return valid(user);
21        });
22    });
23
24    // respond with a 403 for a login error
25    function invalid() {
26        error(response, 403, 'Invalid username/password combination.');
27    }
28
29    // respond with a new session for a valid password, and send a 2FA token
30    function valid(user) {
31        Session.createSessionForUser(user, false, function(err, sess, authyResponse) {
32            if (err || !sess) {
33                error(response, 500,
34                    'Error creating session - please log in again.');
35            } else {
36                // Send the unique token for this session and the onetouch response
37                response.send({
38                    token: sess.token,
39                    authyResponse: authyResponse
40                });
41            }
42        });
43    }
44};
45
46// Destroy the given session (log out)
47exports.destroy = function(request, response) {
48    request.session && request.session.remove(function(err, doc) {
49        if (err) {
50            error(response, 500, 'There was a problem logging you out - please retry.');
51        } else {
52            ok(response);
53        }
54    });
55};
56
57// Public webhook for Authy to POST to
58exports.authyCallback = function(request, response) {
59    var authyId = request.body.authy_id;
60
61    // Respond with a 404 for a no user found error
62    function invalid() {
63        error(response,
64            404,
65            'No user found.'
66        );
67    }
68
69    // Look for a user with the authy_id supplies
70    User.findOne({
71        authyId: authyId
72    }, function(err, user) {
73        if (err || !user) return invalid();
74        user.authyStatus = request.body.status;
75        user.save();
76    });
77    response.end();
78};
79
80// Internal endpoint for checking the status of OneTouch
81exports.authyStatus = function(request, response) {
82    var status = (request.user) ? request.user.authyStatus : 'unverified';
83    if (status == 'approved') {
84        request.session.confirmed = true;
85        request.session.save(function(err) {
86            if (err) return error(response, 500,
87                'There was an error validating your session.');
88        });
89    }
90    if (!request.session) {
91        return error(response, 404, 'No valid session found for this user.');
92    } else {
93        response.send({ status: status });
94    }
95};
96
97// Validate a 2FA token
98exports.verify = function(request, response) {
99    var oneTimeCode = request.body.code;
100
101    if (!request.session || !request.user) {
102        return error(response, 404, 'No valid session found for this token.');
103    }
104
105    // verify entered authy code
106    request.user.verifyAuthyToken(oneTimeCode, function(err) {
107        if (err) return error(response, 401, 'Invalid confirmation code.');
108
109        // otherwise we're good! Validate the session
110        request.session.confirmed = true;
111        request.session.save(function(err) {
112            if (err) return error(response, 500,
113                'There was an error validating your session.');
114
115            response.send({
116                token: request.session.token
117            });
118        });
119    });
120};
121
122// Resend validation code
123exports.resend = function(request, response) {
124    if (!request.user) return error(response, 404,
125        'No user found for this session, please log in again.');
126
127    // Otherwise resend the code
128    request.user.sendAuthyToken(function(err) {
129        if (!request.user) return error(response, 500,
130            'No user found for this session, please log in again.');
131
132        ok(response);
133    });
134};

Here in our callback, we look up the user using the authy_id sent with the Authy POST request. At this point we would ideally use a websocket to let our client know that we received a response from Authy. However, for this version we're going to just update the authyStatus on the user. Now all our client-side code needs to do is check for user.authyStatus.approved before logging in the user.

Disabling Unsuccessful Callbacks

Scenario: The OneTouch callback URL provided by you is no longer active.

Action: We will disable the OneTouch callback after 3 consecutive HTTP error responses. We will also

Set the OneTouch callback URL to blank.
Send an email notifying you that the OneTouch callback is disabled with details on how to enable the OneTouch callback.

How to enable OneTouch callback? You need to update the OneTouch callback endpoint, which will allow the OneTouch callback.

Visit the Twilio Console: Console > Authy > Applications > {ApplicationName} > Push Authentication > Webhooks > Endpoint/URL to update the Endpoint/URL with a valid OneTouch callback URL.

Handle Two-Factor Asyncronously

Our user interface for this example is a single page application written using Backbone and jQuery.

We've already taken a look at what's happening on the server side, so let's step in front of the cameras now and see how our JavaScript is interacting with those server endpoints.

First we hijack the login form submitted and pass the data to our /session controller using Ajax. Depending on how that endpoint responds we will either ask the user for a token or await their OneTouch response.

If we expect a OneTouch response, we will begin polling /authy/status until we see that the OneTouch login was either approved or denied. Take a look at this controller and see what is happening.

Handle Two-Factor in the browser

public/app/views/Login.js

1(function() {
2    app.views.LoginView = app.views.BaseView.extend({
3        // name of the template file to load from the server
4        templateName: 'login',
5
6        // UI events
7        events: {
8            'submit #loginForm': 'login'
9        },
10
11        initialize: function() {
12            var self = this;
13            // default behavior, render page into #page section
14            app.router.on('route:login', function() {
15                self.render();
16            });
17        },
18
19        // Hit login service
20        login: function(e) {
21            var self = this;
22
23            e.preventDefault();
24            app.set('message', null);
25            $.ajax('/session', {
26                method: 'POST',
27                data: {
28                    email: self.$('#email').val(),
29                    password: self.$('#password').val()
30                }
31            }).done(function(data) {
32                // If session returns oneTouch status.success wait for oneStatus approval
33                app.set('token', data.token);
34                if (data.authyResponse.success) {
35                    app.set('onetouch', true);
36                    app.set('message', {
37                        error: false,
38                        message: 'Awaiting One Touch approval.'
39                    });
40                    self.checkOneTouchStatus();
41                } else {
42                    app.router.navigate('verify', {
43                        trigger: true
44                    });
45                }
46            }).fail(function(err) {
47                app.set('message', {
48                    error: true,
49                    message: err.responseJSON.message ||
50                        'Sorry, an error occurred, please log in again.'
51                });
52            });
53        },
54
55        checkOneTouchStatus: function() {
56            var self = this;
57            $.ajax('/authy/status', {
58                method: 'GET',
59                headers: {
60                    'X-API-TOKEN': app.get('token')
61                }
62            }).done(function(data) {
63                if (data.status == 'approved') {
64                    app.router.navigate('user', {
65                        trigger: true
66                    });
67                } else if (data.status == 'denied') {
68                    app.router.navigate('verify', {
69                        trigger: true
70                    });
71                    app.set('message', {
72                        error: true,
73                        message: 'OneTouch Login request denied.'
74                    });
75                } else {
76                    setTimeout(self.checkOneTouchStatus(), 3000);
77                }
78            });
79        }
80    });
81})();

Fall back to Authy Token

Here is the endpoint that our JavaScript is polling. It is waiting for the user status to be either 'Approved' or 'Denied'. If the user has approved the OneTouch request, we will save their session as confirmed, which officially logs them in.

If the request was denied we render the /verify page and ask the user to log in with a Token.

api/sessions.js

1var Session = require('../models/Session');
2var User = require('../models/User');
3var error = require('./response_utils').error;
4var ok = require('./response_utils').ok;
5
6// Create a new session, first testing username/password combo
7exports.create = function(request, response) {
8    var email = request.body.email;
9    var candidatePassword = request.body.password;
10
11    // Look for a user by the given username
12    User.findOne({
13        email: email
14    }, function(err, user) {
15        if (err || !user) return invalid();
16
17        // We have a user for that username, test password
18        user.comparePassword(candidatePassword, function(err, match) {
19            if (err || !match) return invalid();
20            return valid(user);
21        });
22    });
23
24    // respond with a 403 for a login error
25    function invalid() {
26        error(response, 403, 'Invalid username/password combination.');
27    }
28
29    // respond with a new session for a valid password, and send a 2FA token
30    function valid(user) {
31        Session.createSessionForUser(user, false, function(err, sess, authyResponse) {
32            if (err || !sess) {
33                error(response, 500,
34                    'Error creating session - please log in again.');
35            } else {
36                // Send the unique token for this session and the onetouch response
37                response.send({
38                    token: sess.token,
39                    authyResponse: authyResponse
40                });
41            }
42        });
43    }
44};
45
46// Destroy the given session (log out)
47exports.destroy = function(request, response) {
48    request.session && request.session.remove(function(err, doc) {
49        if (err) {
50            error(response, 500, 'There was a problem logging you out - please retry.');
51        } else {
52            ok(response);
53        }
54    });
55};
56
57// Public webhook for Authy to POST to
58exports.authyCallback = function(request, response) {
59    var authyId = request.body.authy_id;
60
61    // Respond with a 404 for a no user found error
62    function invalid() {
63        error(response,
64            404,
65            'No user found.'
66        );
67    }
68
69    // Look for a user with the authy_id supplies
70    User.findOne({
71        authyId: authyId
72    }, function(err, user) {
73        if (err || !user) return invalid();
74        user.authyStatus = request.body.status;
75        user.save();
76    });
77    response.end();
78};
79
80// Internal endpoint for checking the status of OneTouch
81exports.authyStatus = function(request, response) {
82    var status = (request.user) ? request.user.authyStatus : 'unverified';
83    if (status == 'approved') {
84        request.session.confirmed = true;
85        request.session.save(function(err) {
86            if (err) return error(response, 500,
87                'There was an error validating your session.');
88        });
89    }
90    if (!request.session) {
91        return error(response, 404, 'No valid session found for this user.');
92    } else {
93        response.send({ status: status });
94    }
95};
96
97// Validate a 2FA token
98exports.verify = function(request, response) {
99    var oneTimeCode = request.body.code;
100
101    if (!request.session || !request.user) {
102        return error(response, 404, 'No valid session found for this token.');
103    }
104
105    // verify entered authy code
106    request.user.verifyAuthyToken(oneTimeCode, function(err) {
107        if (err) return error(response, 401, 'Invalid confirmation code.');
108
109        // otherwise we're good! Validate the session
110        request.session.confirmed = true;
111        request.session.save(function(err) {
112            if (err) return error(response, 500,
113                'There was an error validating your session.');
114
115            response.send({
116                token: request.session.token
117            });
118        });
119    });
120};
121
122// Resend validation code
123exports.resend = function(request, response) {
124    if (!request.user) return error(response, 404,
125        'No user found for this session, please log in again.');
126
127    // Otherwise resend the code
128    request.user.sendAuthyToken(function(err) {
129        if (!request.user) return error(response, 500,
130            'No user found for this session, please log in again.');
131
132        ok(response);
133    });
134};

Now let's take a look at how we handle two-factor with tokens.

Sending a 2FA Token

Once there is an Authy user ID associated with our user model, we can request that an SMS verification token be sent out to the user's phone. Authy supports token validation in their mobile app as well, so if our user has the app it will default to sending a push notification instead of an SMS.

If needed, we can call this method on the user instance multiple times. This is what happens every time the user clicks "Resend Code" on the web form.

Send and validate the authentication Token

models/User.js

1var mongoose = require('mongoose');
2var bcrypt = require('bcrypt');
3var config = require('../config');
4var onetouch = require('../api/onetouch');
5
6// Create authenticated Authy API client
7var authy = require('authy')(config.authyApiKey);
8
9// Used to generate password hash
10var SALT_WORK_FACTOR = 10;
11
12// Define user model schema
13var UserSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
14    fullName: {
15        type: String,
16        required: true
17    },
18    countryCode: {
19        type: String,
20        required: true
21    },
22    phone: {
23        type: String,
24        required: true
25    },
26    authyId: String,
27    email: {
28        type: String,
29        required: true,
30        unique: true
31    },
32    password: {
33        type: String,
34        required: true
35    },
36    authyStatus: {
37        type: String,
38        default: 'unverified'
39    }
40});
41
42// Middleware executed before save - hash the user's password
43UserSchema.pre('save', function(next) {
44    var self = this;
45
46    // only hash the password if it has been modified (or is new)
47    if (!self.isModified('password')) return next();
48
49    // generate a salt
50    bcrypt.genSalt(SALT_WORK_FACTOR, function(err, salt) {
51        if (err) return next(err);
52
53        // hash the password using our new salt
54        bcrypt.hash(self.password, salt, function(err, hash) {
55            if (err) return next(err);
56
57            // override the cleartext password with the hashed one
58            self.password = hash;
59            next();
60        });
61    });
62
63    if (!self.authyId) {
64        // Register this user if it's a new user
65        authy.register_user(self.email, self.phone, self.countryCode,
66            function(err, response) {
67            if(err){
68                if(response && response.json) {
69                    response.json(err);
70                } else {
71                    console.error(err);
72                }
73                return;
74            }
75            self.authyId = response.user.id;
76            self.save(function(err, doc) {
77                if (err || !doc) return next(err);
78                self = doc;
79            });
80        });
81    };
82});
83
84// Test candidate password
85UserSchema.methods.comparePassword = function(candidatePassword, cb) {
86    var self = this;
87    bcrypt.compare(candidatePassword, self.password, function(err, isMatch) {
88        if (err) return cb(err);
89        cb(null, isMatch);
90    });
91};
92
93// Send a OneTouch request to this user
94UserSchema.methods.sendOneTouch = function(cb) {
95    var self = this;
96    self.authyStatus = 'unverified';
97    self.save();
98
99    onetouch.send_approval_request(self.authyId, {
100        message: 'Request to Login to Twilio demo app',
101        email: self.email
102    }, function(err, authyres){
103        if (err && err.success != undefined) {
104            authyres = err;
105            err = null;
106        }
107        cb.call(self, err, authyres);
108    });
109};
110
111// Send a 2FA token to this user
112UserSchema.methods.sendAuthyToken = function(cb) {
113    var self = this;
114
115    authy.request_sms(self.authyId, function(err, response) {
116        cb.call(self, err);
117    });
118};
119
120// Test a 2FA token
121UserSchema.methods.verifyAuthyToken = function(otp, cb) {
122    var self = this;
123    authy.verify(self.authyId, otp, function(err, response) {
124        cb.call(self, err, response);
125    });
126};
127
128// Export user model
129module.exports = mongoose.model('User', UserSchema);
130

Validate the Code

Our Express route handler will grab the code submitted on the form in order to validate it. The connect middleware function executes before this handler and adds a user property to the request object that contains a Mongoose model instance representing the user associated with this session. We use verifyAuthyToken on the User model to check if the code submitted by the user is legit.

Validate the authentication token

api/sessions.js

1var Session = require('../models/Session');
2var User = require('../models/User');
3var error = require('./response_utils').error;
4var ok = require('./response_utils').ok;
5
6// Create a new session, first testing username/password combo
7exports.create = function(request, response) {
8    var email = request.body.email;
9    var candidatePassword = request.body.password;
10
11    // Look for a user by the given username
12    User.findOne({
13        email: email
14    }, function(err, user) {
15        if (err || !user) return invalid();
16
17        // We have a user for that username, test password
18        user.comparePassword(candidatePassword, function(err, match) {
19            if (err || !match) return invalid();
20            return valid(user);
21        });
22    });
23
24    // respond with a 403 for a login error
25    function invalid() {
26        error(response, 403, 'Invalid username/password combination.');
27    }
28
29    // respond with a new session for a valid password, and send a 2FA token
30    function valid(user) {
31        Session.createSessionForUser(user, false, function(err, sess, authyResponse) {
32            if (err || !sess) {
33                error(response, 500,
34                    'Error creating session - please log in again.');
35            } else {
36                // Send the unique token for this session and the onetouch response
37                response.send({
38                    token: sess.token,
39                    authyResponse: authyResponse
40                });
41            }
42        });
43    }
44};
45
46// Destroy the given session (log out)
47exports.destroy = function(request, response) {
48    request.session && request.session.remove(function(err, doc) {
49        if (err) {
50            error(response, 500, 'There was a problem logging you out - please retry.');
51        } else {
52            ok(response);
53        }
54    });
55};
56
57// Public webhook for Authy to POST to
58exports.authyCallback = function(request, response) {
59    var authyId = request.body.authy_id;
60
61    // Respond with a 404 for a no user found error
62    function invalid() {
63        error(response,
64            404,
65            'No user found.'
66        );
67    }
68
69    // Look for a user with the authy_id supplies
70    User.findOne({
71        authyId: authyId
72    }, function(err, user) {
73        if (err || !user) return invalid();
74        user.authyStatus = request.body.status;
75        user.save();
76    });
77    response.end();
78};
79
80// Internal endpoint for checking the status of OneTouch
81exports.authyStatus = function(request, response) {
82    var status = (request.user) ? request.user.authyStatus : 'unverified';
83    if (status == 'approved') {
84        request.session.confirmed = true;
85        request.session.save(function(err) {
86            if (err) return error(response, 500,
87                'There was an error validating your session.');
88        });
89    }
90    if (!request.session) {
91        return error(response, 404, 'No valid session found for this user.');
92    } else {
93        response.send({ status: status });
94    }
95};
96
97// Validate a 2FA token
98exports.verify = function(request, response) {
99    var oneTimeCode = request.body.code;
100
101    if (!request.session || !request.user) {
102        return error(response, 404, 'No valid session found for this token.');
103    }
104
105    // verify entered authy code
106    request.user.verifyAuthyToken(oneTimeCode, function(err) {
107        if (err) return error(response, 401, 'Invalid confirmation code.');
108
109        // otherwise we're good! Validate the session
110        request.session.confirmed = true;
111        request.session.save(function(err) {
112            if (err) return error(response, 500,
113                'There was an error validating your session.');
114
115            response.send({
116                token: request.session.token
117            });
118        });
119    });
120};
121
122// Resend validation code
123exports.resend = function(request, response) {
124    if (!request.user) return error(response, 404,
125        'No user found for this session, please log in again.');
126
127    // Otherwise resend the code
128    request.user.sendAuthyToken(function(err) {
129        if (!request.user) return error(response, 500,
130            'No user found for this session, please log in again.');
131
132        ok(response);
133    });
134};

That's it! We've just implemented two-factor authentication using three different methods and the latest in Authy technology.

Where to next?

If you're a Node.js developer working with Twilio, you might want to check out these other tutorials.

Account Verification

Increase the security of your login system by verifying a user's mobile phone.

Server Notifications via SMS

Faster than email and less likely to get blocked, text messages are great for timed alerts and notifications. Learn how to send out SMS (and MMS) notifications to a list of server administrators.

Two-Factor Authentication with Authy, Node.js and Express

Warning

Configuring Authy

Authy configuration

Register a User with Authy

Register a User with Authy

Log in with Authy OneTouch

Log in with Authy OneTouch

Send the OneTouch Request

Send the OneTouch request

Configure the OneTouch callback

Update user status using Authy Callback

Disabling Unsuccessful Callbacks

Handle Two-Factor Asyncronously

Handle Two-Factor in the browser

Fall back to Authy Token

Check login status and redirect if needed

Sending a 2FA Token

Send and validate the authentication Token

Validate the Code

Validate the authentication token

Where to next?