feat: Respect IdP provided session expiry and cap the SDK session

EXAMPLES.md

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 11. [Back-Channel Logout](#11-back-channel-logout)
 12. [Custom Token Exchange](#12-custom-token-exchange)
 13. [Use a proxy for OIDC requests](#13-use-a-proxy-for-oidc-requests)
+14. [Session expiry from upstream IdP (IPSIE `session_expiry`)](#14-session-expiry-from-upstream-idp-ipsie-session_expiry)
 
 ## 1. Basic setup
 
@@ -432,3 +433,70 @@ app.use(
 ```
 
 The SDK wraps your `customFetch` function to add required headers (User-Agent, Auth0-Client telemetry) before making requests.
+
+## 14. Session expiry from upstream IdP (IPSIE `session_expiry`)
+
+When an upstream IdP supports the IPSIE SL1 spec, it can include a `session_expiry` claim in the ID token — an absolute Unix timestamp (seconds) marking the latest moment the IdP considers the session valid.
+
+### Emitting the claim
+
+How the claim is included in the ID token depends on your authorization server. For example on Auth0, it is emitted on `okta` and `oidc` enterprise connections configured with `id_token_session_expiry_supported: true`, computing it as the earliest of the tenant's absolute session lifetime, the upstream IdP's own session expiry, and any value set via `api.session.setExpiresAt` in a Post-Login Action. For the canonical Action setup, see the [Auth0 documentation](#) _(link to be added once the session_expiry Action guide is published)_.
+
+> [!WARNING]
+> `session_expiry` must be a Unix timestamp in **seconds**. The SDK rejects implausibly large values (anything at or above `10,000,000,000`, ≈ year 2286) as malformed and treats them as "no ceiling", so a milliseconds value will silently disable enforcement rather than expiring the session ~55,000 years from now. Any other malformed value — non-integer, float, zero, or negative — also fails open. If your authorization server computes this value from a millisecond timestamp, ensure it divides by 1000 before including it in the ID token. For example, in an Auth0 Post-Login Action, make sure to convert the timestamp to seconds before setting the claim.
+
+### What the SDK does automatically
+
+No configuration or code change is required. When the claim is present, the SDK handles everything automatically:
+
+- Persists the ceiling as `sessionExpiresAt` (Unix seconds) on the session.
+- Rejects login with HTTP 400 if the ceiling is already in the past at callback time, so a born-dead session is never persisted.
+- Treats the session as expired once `sessionExpiresAt` is reached on every request, with a 30-second leeway for clock skew.
+- Throws `SessionExpiredError` on `accessToken.refresh()` instead of making a token endpoint call that would fail anyway.
+- Caps the session cookie lifetime at the ceiling as a defense-in-depth backstop.
+
+This is layered **on top of** your existing idle and absolute session timeouts — the session ends at whichever limit is reached first.
+
+### Behavior on expiry
+
+- **Session reads:** `req.appSession` is cleared and `req.oidc.isAuthenticated()` returns `false`. Your existing redirect-to-login path runs unchanged.
+- **Token refresh:** `req.oidc.accessToken.refresh()` throws `SessionExpiredError` (`error.code === 'ERR_SESSION_EXPIRED'`, `error.status === 401`). Catch it to redirect the user to log in again.
+
+```js
+const { SessionExpiredError } = require('express-openid-connect');
+
+app.get('/resource', async (req, res, next) => {
+  try {
+    let { token_type, access_token, isExpired, refresh } = req.oidc.accessToken;
+    if (isExpired()) {
+      ({ access_token } = await refresh());
+    }
+    // use access_token
+  } catch (err) {
+    if (err instanceof SessionExpiredError) {
+      return res.redirect('/');
+    }
+    next(err);
+  }
+});
+```
+
+### Reading the value (optional)
+
+To show a "your session ends soon" prompt, read `sessionExpiresAt` off the session:
+
+```js
+app.get('/status', (req, res) => {
+  const { sessionExpiresAt } = req.appSession || {};
+  if (sessionExpiresAt) {
+    const remainingSeconds = sessionExpiresAt - Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000);
+    res.json({ remainingSeconds });
+  } else {
+    res.json({});
+  }
+});
+```
+
+### Upgrading existing apps
+
+Once your IdP starts emitting `session_expiry`, `req.appSession` can be `null` for a previously logged-in user once the ceiling is reached. If your code assumed the session always exists after login, add a null check. Sessions created before the upgrade (or through connections without the claim) have no `sessionExpiresAt` and behave exactly as before.

FAQ.md

@@ -101,6 +101,18 @@ Setting both `session.cookie.path` and `transactionCookie.name` is recommended.
 
 ---
 
+## A previously authenticated user is being redirected to login unexpectedly
+
+If a user who was logged in suddenly gets redirected to the login page with no visible error, and `req.appSession` is `null` on a route they previously accessed fine, the session may have been cleared because the upstream IdP's `session_expiry` ceiling was reached.
+
+When an upstream IdP includes a `session_expiry` claim in the ID token (IPSIE SL1), the SDK enforces it as a hard ceiling on the local session lifetime. Once the ceiling is reached, the session is cleared on the next request and the user is treated as unauthenticated — exactly like an idle or absolute timeout expiry.
+
+To confirm this is the cause, check whether `req.appSession.sessionExpiresAt` was set after login. If it was, compare it against the current time.
+
+See [Session expiry from upstream IdP](./EXAMPLES.md#14-session-expiry-from-upstream-idp-ipsie-session_expiry) in EXAMPLES.md for full details.
+
+---
+
 ## Login calls are failing with 'RequestError: The "listener" argument must be of type function. Received an instance of Object'
 
 This module depends indirectly on a newer version of the `agent-base` module. If an unrelated module depends on a version of the `agent-base` older than 5.0, that older dependency is monkeypatching the global `http.request` object, causing this module to fail. You can check if you have this problem by running this check:

README.md

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 
 - [Quickstart](https://auth0.com/docs/quickstart/webapp/express) - our guide for quickly adding Auth0 to your Express app.
 - [Sample](https://github.com/auth0-samples/auth0-express-webapp-sample/tree/master/01-Login) - an Express app integrated with Auth0.
+- [Examples](https://github.com/auth0/express-openid-connect/blob/master/EXAMPLES.md) - code examples for common use cases.
 - [FAQs](https://github.com/auth0/express-openid-connect/blob/master/FAQ.md) - Frequently asked questions about express-openid-connect.
 - [Docs Site](https://auth0.com/docs) - explore our docs site and learn more about Auth0.
 

index.d.ts

@@ -36,9 +36,16 @@ interface AuthorizationParameters {
 }
 
 /**
- * ID Token claims
+ * ID Token claims, extended with the IPSIE SL1 session_expiry claim.
  */
-type IdTokenClaims = IDToken;
+type IdTokenClaims = IDToken & {
+  /**
+   * Unix timestamp (seconds since epoch) indicating the hard ceiling on the RP
+   * session lifetime, as asserted by the upstream enterprise IdP.
+   * Present only when the connection has `id_token_session_expiry_supported: true`.
+   */
+  session_expiry?: number;
+};
 
 /**
  * Session object
@@ -52,6 +59,13 @@ interface Session {
   refresh_token: string;
   token_type: string;
   expires_at: string;
+  /**
+   * Unix timestamp (seconds) of the IdP-asserted session ceiling from the
+   * IPSIE SL1 `session_expiry` claim. Present only when the upstream connection
+   * has `id_token_session_expiry_supported: true`. The SDK enforces this as a
+   * hard expiry on every session read and before any token refresh.
+   */
+  sessionExpiresAt?: number;
   [key: string]: any;
 }
 
@@ -1163,3 +1177,34 @@ export function claimCheck(
  * ```
  */
 export function attemptSilentLogin(): RequestHandler;
+
+/**
+ * Error thrown by `accessToken.refresh()` when the IdP-asserted session ceiling
+ * (`session_expiry` claim) has passed. Catch this in API routes to redirect the
+ * user to re-authenticate, rather than receiving a confusing `invalid_grant` from
+ * the token endpoint.
+ *
+ * ```js
+ * const { SessionExpiredError } = require('express-openid-connect');
+ *
+ * app.get('/api/data', async (req, res, next) => {
+ *   try {
+ *     if (req.oidc.accessToken.isExpired()) {
+ *       await req.oidc.accessToken.refresh();
+ *     }
+ *   } catch (err) {
+ *     if (err instanceof SessionExpiredError) {
+ *       return res.oidc.login();
+ *     }
+ *     return next(err);
+ *   }
+ * });
+ * ```
+ */
+export class SessionExpiredError extends Error {
+  readonly name: 'SessionExpiredError';
+  readonly code: 'ERR_SESSION_EXPIRED';
+  readonly status: 401;
+  readonly statusCode: 401;
+  constructor(message?: string);
+}

index.js

@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 const auth = require('./middleware/auth');
 const requiresAuth = require('./middleware/requiresAuth');
 const attemptSilentLogin = require('./middleware/attemptSilentLogin');
+const { SessionExpiredError } = require('./lib/errors');
 
 module.exports = {
   auth,
   ...requiresAuth,
   attemptSilentLogin,
+  SessionExpiredError,
 };

lib/appSession.js

@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@ const COOKIES = require('./cookies');
 const { getKeyStore, verifyCookie, signCookie } = require('./crypto');
 const debug = require('./debug')('appSession');
 
-const epoch = () => (Date.now() / 1000) | 0;
+const { epoch } = require('./utils/epoch');
+const { isSessionExpiryReached } = require('./utils/sessionExpiry');
 const MAX_COOKIE_SIZE = 4096;
 
 const REASSIGN = Symbol('reassign');
@@ -101,22 +102,36 @@ module.exports = (config) => {
     throw lastError;
   }
 
-  function calculateExp(iat, uat) {
+  // Calculates the session expiry Unix timestamp (seconds).
+  // iat: session issued-at time (Unix seconds)
+  // uat: session last-updated-at time (Unix seconds)
+  // sessionExpiresAt: optional IdP-asserted ceiling (Unix seconds) from IPSIE session_expiry claim;
+  //                   when present, caps the result so the cookie never outlives the IdP session.
+  function calculateExp(iat, uat, sessionExpiresAt) {
+    let exp;
     if (!rollingEnabled) {
-      return iat + absoluteDuration;
+      exp = iat + absoluteDuration;
+    } else if (!absoluteDuration) {
+      exp = uat + rollingDuration;
+    } else {
+      exp = Math.min(uat + rollingDuration, iat + absoluteDuration);
     }
 
-    if (!absoluteDuration) {
-      return uat + rollingDuration;
+    if (sessionExpiresAt) {
+      exp = Math.min(exp, sessionExpiresAt);
     }
 
-    return Math.min(uat + rollingDuration, iat + absoluteDuration);
+    return exp;
   }
 
   async function setCookie(
     req,
     res,
-    { uat = epoch(), iat = uat, exp = calculateExp(iat, uat) },
+    {
+      uat = epoch(),
+      iat = uat,
+      exp = calculateExp(iat, uat, req[sessionName]?.sessionExpiresAt),
+    },
   ) {
     if (res.headersSent) {
       // If headers were already flushed before res.end() the
@@ -229,7 +244,11 @@ module.exports = (config) => {
       id,
       req,
       res,
-      { uat = epoch(), iat = uat, exp = calculateExp(iat, uat) },
+      {
+        uat = epoch(),
+        iat = uat,
+        exp = calculateExp(iat, uat, req[sessionName]?.sessionExpiresAt),
+      },
     ) {
       const hasPrevSession = !!req[COOKIES][sessionName];
       const replacingPrevSession = !!req[REGENERATED_SESSION_ID];
@@ -269,7 +288,11 @@ module.exports = (config) => {
       id,
       req,
       res,
-      { uat = epoch(), iat = uat, exp = calculateExp(iat, uat) },
+      {
+        uat = epoch(),
+        iat = uat,
+        exp = calculateExp(iat, uat, req[sessionName]?.sessionExpiresAt),
+      },
     ) {
       if (res.headersSent) {
         // If headers were already flushed before res.end() the
@@ -395,6 +418,16 @@ module.exports = (config) => {
               );
             }
 
+            // check that the existing session hasn't passed the IdP-asserted session ceiling
+            // (IPSIE SL1 session_expiry claim). Only enforced when the claim was present at login.
+            // A 30s leeway guards against clock skew between the SDK and the authorization server.
+            if (data.sessionExpiresAt) {
+              assert(
+                !isSessionExpiryReached(data.sessionExpiresAt),
+                'it is expired based on the session_expiry claim from the upstream IdP',
+              );
+            }
+
             attachSessionObject(req, sessionName, data);
           }
         }

lib/context.js

@@ -30,6 +30,12 @@ const {
   regenerateSessionStoreId,
   replaceSession,
 } = require('../lib/appSession');
+const { SessionExpiredError } = require('./errors');
+const { epoch } = require('./utils/epoch');
+const {
+  extractSessionExpiry,
+  isSessionExpiryReached,
+} = require('./utils/sessionExpiry');
 
 // Caches one RemoteJWKSet instance per auth() configuration for backchannel logout token verification.
 const jwksClientCache = new Map();
@@ -143,6 +149,16 @@ function normalizeTokenType(tokenType) {
 
 async function refresh({ tokenEndpointParams } = {}) {
   let { config, req } = weakRef(this);
+  const session = req[config.session.name];
+
+  // Pre-check: do not call /oauth/token if the IdP session ceiling has passed.
+  // The authorization server has already revoked the session server-side at this point, so a
+  // refresh attempt would fail with invalid_grant anyway. Surfacing a clean
+  // SessionExpiredError is better than a confusing token-endpoint error.
+  if (isSessionExpiryReached(session?.sessionExpiresAt)) {
+    throw new SessionExpiredError();
+  }
+
   const { configuration } = await getClient(config);
   const oldTokenSet = tokenSet.call(this);
 
@@ -157,8 +173,9 @@ async function refresh({ tokenEndpointParams } = {}) {
     parameters,
   );
 
-  // Update the session
-  const session = req[config.session.name];
+  // Update the session, preserving sessionExpiresAt — the refresh-token grant
+  // does not return a session_expiry claim, so we must not overwrite the ceiling
+  // that was set at login.
   Object.assign(session, {
     access_token: newTokenSet.access_token,
     // If no new ID token assume the current ID token is valid.
@@ -167,8 +184,13 @@ async function refresh({ tokenEndpointParams } = {}) {
     refresh_token: newTokenSet.refresh_token || oldTokenSet.refresh_token,
     token_type: normalizeTokenType(newTokenSet.token_type),
     expires_at: newTokenSet.expires_in
-      ? Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + newTokenSet.expires_in
+      ? epoch() + newTokenSet.expires_in
       : undefined,
+    // Preserve the IdP session ceiling across refreshes — do not re-derive
+    // from the refresh response (it won't contain session_expiry).
+    ...(session.sessionExpiresAt !== undefined && {
+      sessionExpiresAt: session.sessionExpiresAt,
+    }),
   });
 
   // Delete the old token set
@@ -736,14 +758,31 @@ class ResponseContext {
         refresh_token: tokenResponse.refresh_token,
         token_type: normalizeTokenType(tokenResponse.token_type),
         expires_at: tokenResponse.expires_in
-          ? Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + tokenResponse.expires_in
+          ? epoch() + tokenResponse.expires_in
           : undefined,
       };
 
       // Must store the `sid` separately as the ID Token gets overridden by
       // ID Token from the Refresh Grant which may not contain a sid (In Auth0 currently).
       session.sid = claims?.sid;
 
+      // Persist the session_expiry claim from the ID token as sessionExpiresAt.
+      // This is the IdP-asserted ceiling on the RP session lifetime (IPSIE SL1).
+      // Only set when the claim is present — absence means the connection does not
+      // have id_token_session_expiry_supported enabled, and existing behavior applies.
+      const sessionExpiresAt = extractSessionExpiry(claims);
+      if (sessionExpiresAt) {
+        // Lockout guard: reject a session already past its ceiling at login.
+        if (isSessionExpiryReached(sessionExpiresAt)) {
+          throw createError(
+            400,
+            'The session_expiry claim is in the past at login time.',
+            { error: 'invalid_session_expiry' },
+          );
+        }
+        session.sessionExpiresAt = sessionExpiresAt;
+      }
+
       // Check if user was previously authenticated BEFORE we modify the session
       const wasAuthenticated = req.oidc.isAuthenticated();
       const previousSub = wasAuthenticated ? req.oidc.user.sub : null;

lib/errors.js

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+class SessionExpiredError extends Error {
+  constructor(message = 'The upstream IdP session has expired.') {
+    super(message);
+    this.name = 'SessionExpiredError';
+    this.code = 'ERR_SESSION_EXPIRED';
+    this.status = 401;
+    this.statusCode = 401;
+  }
+}
+
+module.exports = { SessionExpiredError };

lib/utils/epoch.js

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+const epoch = () => (Date.now() / 1000) | 0;
+
+module.exports = { epoch };