flutter_mfa_core

pub package

Pure Dart core of flutter_mfa:

  • TOTP/HOTP generation per RFC 6238 / RFC 4226, verified against every RFC test vector.
  • Server-side verification with replay protection and attempt limiting.
  • otpauth:// URI parsing and generation, with compatibility warnings.
  • Base32 and the encrypted backup format.

It has no Flutter dependency, so the same audited code runs in your Dart backend (shelf, dart_frog, Serverpod) and in Flutter apps. It runs on the VM, and compiled to JS and WASM.

Status: v0.2.0, the first public release. Until 1.0, a minor version may change the API; the CHANGELOG says what changed.

Install

dart pub add flutter_mfa_core

Who verifies?

Codes are generated on the user's device and verified by your server. A code checked on the same device that holds the secret is not a second factor, and client-side rate limits can be reset by whoever holds the device. Use TotpVerifier / HotpVerifier on your server; on-device verification is only for local step-up.

Enrol a user (relying party)

import 'package:flutter_mfa_core/flutter_mfa_core.dart';

final secret = OtpSecret.generate();               // 20 random bytes, Random.secure()
final uri = OtpAuthUri(
  type: OtpType.totp,
  secret: secret,
  accountName: 'alice@example.com',
  issuer: 'Example',
);
showQrCode(uri.toUri().toString());                // contains the secret: never log it
// Store `secret.bytes` encrypted at rest, then confirm the first code with the verifier.

Verify a code on your server

final verifier = TotpVerifier(
  totp: Totp(OtpSecret.fromBytes(user.secretBytes)),
  limiter: AttemptLimiter(store: myRedisAttemptStore),   // shared storage across instances
);

try {
  final result = await verifier.verify(code, subject: user.id, lastUsedStep: user.lastStep);
  switch (result) {
    case Accepted(:final nextState):
      await users.saveLastStep(user.id, nextState);     // persist BEFORE reporting success
    case Rejected(:final reason):                       // invalid, replayed or malformed
      reject(reason);
  }
} on VerificationRateLimited catch (e) {
  tooManyAttempts(e.retryAfter, lockedOut: e.lockedOut);
}

A complete, runnable version is in example/main.dart. The Verify on a Dart server guide covers storage, shared attempt limits and a checklist.

What the verifier guarantees

  • Throttling first. The limiter is consulted before any code is computed. Check → compute → record is atomic per subject in-process, so a burst of parallel guesses can't exceed the limit.
  • Replay protection. A code for a step ≤ lastUsedStep is rejected as replayed (RFC 6238 §5.2), but only if you persist nextState.
  • Constant-time comparison. Every candidate in the drift window is compared, with no early exit.
  • Strict input handling. Spaces are stripped; anything other than exactly 6–8 ASCII digits is malformed and still counts as an attempt.

Limits (LimiterPolicy)

Defaults:

  • at most 5 failures per 5 minutes;
  • exponential back-off from 1 s, capped at 15 min;
  • hard lockout after 20 consecutive failures (VerificationRateLimited.lockedOut). Waiting does not lift it; clear the subject in your store to unlock.

Implement AttemptStore on shared storage (Redis, SQL). AttemptState.toJson() / fromJson() give you a versioned format.

Interoperability notes

  • Defaults: SHA-1, 6 digits and 30 s work with every authenticator app. Other values produce compatibilityWarnings, because many apps silently ignore them.
  • Secret length: secrets imported from existing issuers may be 10–15 bytes (80-bit). They are accepted, but flagged by OtpSecret.meetsRfcMinimum and CompatibilityWarning.shortSecret. Generated secrets are always at least 16 bytes (RFC 4226 R6).
  • Counter ceiling: HOTP counters are limited to 2^53 − 1 on every platform, the JavaScript exact-integer limit.

Security notes

  • OtpSecret keeps a private copy, returns copies, has a redacted toString, and compares in constant time. Dart's garbage collector means memory cannot be reliably wiped.
  • No exception or toString in this package ever contains a secret, a code or a URI.
  • Report vulnerabilities privately: see SECURITY.md.

Third-party data

PassphrasePolicy rejects the 10 000 most common passwords from zxcvbn 4.4.2 (MIT, Copyright (c) 2012-2016 Dan Wheeler and Dropbox, Inc.). The list and its licence notice are in lib/src/backup/common_passwords.g.dart, generated by tool/gen_common_passwords.dart.

Testing helpers

package:flutter_mfa_core/testing.dart provides FakeClock, SeededRandom (insecure, tests only) and the RFC 4226/6238 vectors.

Built and maintained by BreaktroughF1 LLP in collaboration with ARDC, CHRIST (Deemed to be University). MIT licensed.

Libraries

flutter_mfa_core
Pure Dart core of flutter_mfa.
testing
Test helpers for flutter_mfa_core: a controllable clock, a seeded (insecure) random generator and the frozen RFC 4226 / RFC 6238 vectors.