How to Implement a Forgot Password Flow? Complete Guide

Implementing a secure "forgot password" flow involves several key steps and considerations to protect user accounts from potential threats. The process begins with users entering their email address to initiate the password reset, followed by creating a long, random password reset token that is hashed and stored in the database with an expiration time to mitigate brute force and expired token attacks. Once the token is securely sent to the user's email, users can reset their password via a secure link. Best practices include using secure random sources for token generation, hashing tokens in the database, setting expiration times, implementing rate limiting, and ensuring secure token delivery. Common issues such as brute force attacks, database theft, and token reuse are addressed by generating unguessable tokens, hashing tokens for storage, and avoiding static tokens. Additional layers of security, like two-factor authentication and avoiding JWTs for reset tokens, are recommended to enhance protection. SuperTokens offers open-source solutions to simplify the implementation of these security measures.