LGTM2

I'd love to see this ship. It'd also be great to have this spread to more
platforms :D

On Wed, Feb 11, 2026 at 2:25 AM Daniel Rubery <[email protected]> wrote:

> The explainer does have some alternatives listed here
> <https://github.com/w3c/webappsec-dbsc/blob/main/README.md#alternatives-considered>.
> The advantage over token binding is that this happens at the application
> layer, instead of within TLS. The advantage over WebCrypto is that it's
> better integrated into existing auth flows. A sufficiently powerful
> framework that could defer and retry all network requests could rely on an
> extension to WebCrypto to provide TPM-backed keys. But such a framework
> needs very deep hooks to cover all network requests. That makes it
> prohibitively expensive for a site to adopt. DBSC makes that much easier
> for web developers by trying to fit into their existing authentication
> frameworks. I can also add the proposal from the TAG to that list of
> alternatives, with the tradeoffs discussed previously in this thread.
>
> We haven't published a formal writeup of OT feedback anywhere, but we did
> solicit statements from both Okta and Snap here
> <https://github.com/w3ctag/design-reviews/issues/1052#issuecomment-3208321722>
> .
>
> Thanks,
> Dan Rubery
>
> On Mon, Feb 9, 2026 at 11:22 AM Alex Russell <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> Thanks for the context, Sam. I'm concerned that the Explainer doesn't
>> outline any considered alternatives. Where can I read up on why this is the
>> best possible design in this space? Has a summary of OT feedback been
>> published anywhere?
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Alex
>>
>> On Monday, February 9, 2026 at 10:47:48 AM UTC-8 Rick Byers wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks Arnar and Sam for the additional detail and supportive color. It
>>> makes sense to me.
>>>
>>> IMHO we are way past due for making auth more secure on the web. I've
>>> found this W3C preso from Entersekt
>>> <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qxiGuKfwl8URcxAcG4ajm_3zH5xm9PBv/view> to
>>> be compelling, they say (slide 6) that banking is actively moving away from
>>> the web due to the lack of security relative to native platforms (which is
>>> obviously about more than just cookie theft, but it's a start). Yesterday
>>> my brokerage, qtrade.ca, sent me a security warning about the hostility
>>> of the web including the guidance "Whenever possible, sign in using our
>>> mobile app". Anything we have reason to believe can help with sites
>>> adopting more secure authentication is urgent in my view. Perhaps the best
>>> thing we can do to help is try to build partnerships with some of these
>>> more "regular" web apps and understand what we can do to help them gain the
>>> security benefits of DBSC? I hope we will be able to publish some case
>>> studies about what we learn in the Google context.
>>>
>>> Rick
>>>
>>> On Mon, Feb 9, 2026 at 1:26 PM Arnar Birgisson <[email protected]>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I think it's worth noting that the design choice for browser-initiated
>>>> refreshes, which was TAG's biggest gripe, is not there only because of
>>>> partner feedback.
>>>>
>>>> The two reasons were:
>>>> a) At scale, where one auth system serves a large set of apps with
>>>> different ownership, it's not feasible to do the kind of migration that
>>>> switching to server-initiated refreshes would require.
>>>>
>>>> b) For smaller and "regular" webapps that build on 3rd party
>>>> frameworks, there isn't a way for frameworks to ship and migrate from
>>>> cookie-based auth to server-initiated refreshes without a lot of work from
>>>> the app developer. That problem is compounded when apps are built on a
>>>> stack of frameworks.
>>>>
>>>> Reason a) is obviously motivated by Google, but it is well supported by
>>>> partner feedback. But by its nature, we have no partners looking at DBSC
>>>> from the PoV of b). Besides TAG, very few people outside Google have
>>>> thought enough about DBSC to understand the challenges of b), and that's
>>>> the discussion that was most challenging with TAG. It's at least my opinion
>>>> that client-initiated refreshes are the *less* risky option for future
>>>> adaptability.
>>>>
>>>> cheers,
>>>> Arnar
>>>>
>>>
>>>> On Mon, Feb 9, 2026 at 10:08 AM Sam Goto <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I haven't been directly involved with DBSC personally, asides from
>>>>> rooting from the side lines, so I just wanted to stop by to show some
>>>>> neutral support for DBSC on this thread and to try to add some comfort to
>>>>> the architectural design risks that are being taken.
>>>>>
>>>>> DBSC has a concrete chance of helping with one of the biggest problems
>>>>> in authentication on the Web, cookie theft. The fact that the team 
>>>>> involved
>>>>> has found a mechanism that can concretely help users at scale by 
>>>>> satisfying
>>>>> hard requirements from real-world developers seems to me like a checkpoint
>>>>> worth capturing.
>>>>>
>>>>> I empathize with the tension described in the TAG review, but that
>>>>> didn't seem to me like an irreversible technical choice, whereas closing
>>>>> the window of opportunity to capture developer appetite and build a
>>>>> community around it does. I'm pretty confident that DBSC, if it succeeds,
>>>>> will go over a massive amount of API iterations and might look very
>>>>> different from what's being proposed here, and that's OK. What I think is
>>>>> most important is that with this baseline, the team can create a baseline
>>>>> and gather real-world deployment and implementation experience to shape 
>>>>> how
>>>>> things plays along.
>>>>>
>>>>> I hope this helps,
>>>>>
>>>>> Sam
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Monday, February 9, 2026 at 9:41:50 AM UTC-8 Mike Taylor wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 2/9/26 11:29 a.m., Rick Byers wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Ok LGTM1 to ship subject to working to get the WPTs passing on
>>>>>> wpt.fyi one way or another.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Fri, Feb 6, 2026 at 5:16 PM Daniel Rubery <[email protected]>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> > Thanks! Have a wpt.fyi URL?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Here's our tests:
>>>>>>> https://wpt.fyi/results/device-bound-session-credentials?label=experimental&label=master&aligned.
>>>>>>> It seems there's something wrong with the harness there, so we'll look 
>>>>>>> into
>>>>>>> that. (My guess is that it's a result of DBSC being Finch-controlled and
>>>>>>> using a VirtualTestSuite, which would improve the moment we ship)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Ah yes, generally we expect new web platform features to be
>>>>>> status=experimental RuntimeEnabledFeatures
>>>>>> <https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/main/third_party/blink/renderer/platform/RuntimeEnabledFeatures.md>,
>>>>>> and that ensures they're enabled by default in most of our web platform
>>>>>> tests (virtual/stable turns them off), and also enabled for web 
>>>>>> developers
>>>>>> who are testing with --enable-experimental-web-platform-features. It's 
>>>>>> not
>>>>>> a strict requirement but you might see if you can easily wire it up to
>>>>>> enable in that case in addition to the finch knob. But as long as you are
>>>>>> following finch best practices of enabling by default in code before
>>>>>> pushing finch to 100% then IMHO it's not a big deal.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I see
>>>>>> https://source.chromium.org/chromium/chromium/src/+/main:third_party/blink/renderer/platform/runtime_enabled_features.json5;l=1908-1914?q=runtime_enabled_features.json
>>>>>> is already set to "experimental" - but I'm not sure if the "origin_trial"
>>>>>> keys prevent this from running on wpt.fyi w/o an OT token...
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> > Please correct this to unsatisfied.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> > I read the TAG feedback and interpret it as preferring a different
>>>>>>> architecture than what our customers have told us they prefer. Does that
>>>>>>> seem right? Or is there another reason why we disagree on the 
>>>>>>> suggestion to
>>>>>>> prefer a lower-level design?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Jeffrey:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Yep. The TAG's review is effectively a prediction that the way the
>>>>>>> architecture is tailored to our current partners makes it easier for 
>>>>>>> them
>>>>>>> to adopt, at the cost of making the system harder to adapt to future 
>>>>>>> needs.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Daniel:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Corrected to "Issues open" (I don't see an Unsatisfied option). Your
>>>>>>> understanding is correct. We believe that the higher-level design makes 
>>>>>>> it
>>>>>>> easier to deploy and more extensible for the future. Feedback from our
>>>>>>> Origin Trials certainly supports the ease of deployment.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thanks, makes sense to me. This is such a common tension in web
>>>>>> platform design. FWIW I personally consider being too primitive-focused 
>>>>>> in
>>>>>> the past to be my biggest technical career mistake
>>>>>> <https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19bz4CDrpOtxaqFe1tcrX1O3aBH40LU_i6hLtr-dfBDc/edit?slide=id.g34981a5734f_0_24#slide=id.g34981a5734f_0_24>.
>>>>>> I think it's easier to recover from being too high-level (as we've done
>>>>>> with, say, Wasm, Service Worker and CSS custom paint) than from being too
>>>>>> low-level (as we've struggled to do with cookies and iframes). So while I
>>>>>> respect TAG's expertise, I'm not going to lose any sleep over shipping
>>>>>> despite their concern here. Building a self-sustaining flame
>>>>>> <https://medium.com/@komorama/the-self-sustaining-flame-84326d2e1645>
>>>>>> of adoption and leaning into the feedback from the partners who are
>>>>>> motivated to iterate with us is our best overall defense.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Fri, Feb 6, 2026 at 2:03 PM Rick Byers <[email protected]>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Very happy to see this shipping! Just a couple questions.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Fri, Feb 6, 2026 at 4:56 PM Daniel Rubery <[email protected]>
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> One correction here: our web platform tests are now complete.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Thanks! Have a wpt.fyi URL?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Friday, February 6, 2026 at 1:31:57 PM UTC-8 Chromestatus wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Contact emails*
>>>>>>>>>> [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Explainer*
>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/w3c/webappsec-dbsc/blob/main/README.md
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Specification*
>>>>>>>>>> https://w3c.github.io/webappsec-dbsc
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Summary*
>>>>>>>>>> To enhance user security and combat session theft, Chrome is
>>>>>>>>>> introducing [Device Bound Session Credentials (DBSC)](
>>>>>>>>>> https://developer.chrome.com/docs/web-platform/device-bound-session-credentials).
>>>>>>>>>> This feature allows websites to bind a user's session to their 
>>>>>>>>>> specific
>>>>>>>>>> device, making it significantly harder for stolen session cookies to 
>>>>>>>>>> be
>>>>>>>>>> used on other machines.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Blink component*
>>>>>>>>>> Blink
>>>>>>>>>> <https://issues.chromium.org/issues?q=customfield1222907:%22Blink%22>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Web Feature ID*
>>>>>>>>>> Missing feature
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Motivation*
>>>>>>>>>> Reduce session theft by offering an alternative to long-lived
>>>>>>>>>> cookie bearer tokens, that allows session authentication that is 
>>>>>>>>>> bound to
>>>>>>>>>> the user's device. This makes the web safer for users in that it is 
>>>>>>>>>> less
>>>>>>>>>> likely their identity is abused, since malware is forced to act 
>>>>>>>>>> locally and
>>>>>>>>>> thus becomes easier to detect and mitigate. At the same time the 
>>>>>>>>>> goal is to
>>>>>>>>>> disrupt the cookie theft ecosystem and force it to adapt to new
>>>>>>>>>> protections.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Initial public proposal*
>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/WICG/proposals/issues/106
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *TAG review*
>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/w3ctag/design-reviews/issues/1052
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *TAG review status*
>>>>>>>>>> Pending
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Please correct this to unsatisfied.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I read the TAG feedback and interpret it as preferring a different
>>>>>>>> architecture than what our customers have told us they prefer. Does 
>>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>>> seem right? Or is there another reason why we disagree on the 
>>>>>>>> suggestion to
>>>>>>>> prefer a lower-level design?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Origin Trial Name*
>>>>>>>>>> Device Bound Session Credentials
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Chromium Trial Name*
>>>>>>>>>> DeviceBoundSessionCredentials
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Origin Trial documentation link*
>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/w3c/webappsec-dbsc/blob/main/README.md
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *WebFeature UseCounter name*
>>>>>>>>>> kDeviceBoundSessionRegistered
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Origin Trial Name*
>>>>>>>>>> Device Bound Session Credentials 2
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Chromium Trial Name*
>>>>>>>>>> DeviceBoundSessionCredentials2
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Origin Trial documentation link*
>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/w3c/webappsec-dbsc/blob/main/README.md
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *WebFeature UseCounter name*
>>>>>>>>>> kDeviceBoundSessionRequestInScope
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Risks*
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Interoperability and Compatibility*
>>>>>>>>>> *No information provided*
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Gecko*: No signal (
>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/mozilla/standards-positions/issues/912)
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *WebKit*: No signal (
>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/WebKit/standards-positions/issues/281)
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Web developers*: Positive (
>>>>>>>>>> https://github.com/mozilla/standards-positions/issues/912#issuecomment-2204012985
>>>>>>>>>> )
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Other signals*:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *WebView application risks*
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Does this intent deprecate or change behavior of existing APIs,
>>>>>>>>>> such that it has potentially high risk for Android WebView-based
>>>>>>>>>> applications?
>>>>>>>>>> *No information provided*
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Debuggability*
>>>>>>>>>> *No information provided*
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Will this feature be supported on all six Blink platforms
>>>>>>>>>> (Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS, Android, and Android WebView)?*
>>>>>>>>>> No
>>>>>>>>>> The initial support for TPMs is Windows-only. This feature will
>>>>>>>>>> eventually support all platforms, as we integrate with the 
>>>>>>>>>> OS-specific key
>>>>>>>>>> generation/usage mechanisms.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Is this feature fully tested by web-platform-tests
>>>>>>>>>> <https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/main/docs/testing/web_platform_tests.md>?*
>>>>>>>>>> No
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Flag name on about://flags*
>>>>>>>>>> enable-standard-device-bound-session-credentials,
>>>>>>>>>> enable-standard-device-bound-session-persistence,
>>>>>>>>>> enable-standard-device-bound-session-credentials-refresh quota
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Finch feature name*
>>>>>>>>>> DeviceBoundSessions
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Rollout plan*
>>>>>>>>>> Will ship enabled for all users
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Requires code in //chrome?*
>>>>>>>>>> False
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Tracking bug*
>>>>>>>>>> https://crbug.com/355059881
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Estimated milestones*
>>>>>>>>>> Shipping on desktop 145
>>>>>>>>>> Origin trial desktop first 135
>>>>>>>>>> Origin trial desktop last 139
>>>>>>>>>> Origin trial desktop first 142
>>>>>>>>>> Origin trial desktop last 144
>>>>>>>>>> DevTrial on desktop 135
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Anticipated spec changes*
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Open questions about a feature may be a source of future web
>>>>>>>>>> compat or interop issues. Please list open issues (e.g. links to 
>>>>>>>>>> known
>>>>>>>>>> github issues in the project for the feature specification) whose
>>>>>>>>>> resolution may introduce web compat/interop risk (e.g., changing to 
>>>>>>>>>> naming
>>>>>>>>>> or structure of the API in a non-backward-compatible way).
>>>>>>>>>> *No information provided*
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Link to entry on the Chrome Platform Status*
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> https://chromestatus.com/feature/5140168270413824?gate=5110303886409728
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> *Links to previous Intent discussions*
>>>>>>>>>> Intent to Prototype:
>>>>>>>>>> https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/60bae138-43ee-4525-a549-461f241e9ae5n%40chromium.org
>>>>>>>>>> Intent to Experiment:
>>>>>>>>>> https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/515ba278-c5fc-4ee0-8e88-21f34851778an%40chromium.org
>>>>>>>>>> Intent to Experiment:
>>>>>>>>>> https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/CADsXLL9AD6SSyUXpDcSB9m8y9nVnnNzAMTK6qmui%3DzKnM8G_5A%40mail.gmail.com
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> This intent message was generated by Chrome Platform Status
>>>>>>>>>> <https://chromestatus.com>.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> --
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>>>>>>>>> send an email to [email protected].
>>>>>>>>> To view this discussion visit
>>>>>>>>> https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/2e43fba2-6da6-4cce-817d-9dd998ccb50cn%40chromium.org
>>>>>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/2e43fba2-6da6-4cce-817d-9dd998ccb50cn%40chromium.org?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
>>>>>>>>> .
>>>>>>>>>
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>>>>>> To view this discussion visit
>>>>>> https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/CAFUtAY9degdS%2BRRgWOsr99ZfZLZFObkN95GonAM7C%2BU9ZA9MDQ%40mail.gmail.com
>>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/a/chromium.org/d/msgid/blink-dev/CAFUtAY9degdS%2BRRgWOsr99ZfZLZFObkN95GonAM7C%2BU9ZA9MDQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
>>>>>> .
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
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