In web server authentication, what method is used to pass credentials to the protected web server?

In web server authentication, Basic Authentication is a widely used method where the user's credentials (username and password) are passed in a specific format over HTTP. When a client (such as a web browser) makes a request to a protected web server, it sends an "Authorization" header along with the request. This header contains the word "Basic" followed by a space and then the Base64 encoded string of the username and password combined (in the format "username:password").

This method is straightforward and easy to implement but has limitations, especially regarding security. Credentials are not encrypted and can be easily intercepted if the connection is not over HTTPS. Nevertheless, it remains a common choice due to its simplicity and wide support across various platforms and programming languages.

While OAuth and JWT (JSON Web Tokens) are more modern and secure methods of handling authentication and authorization, they involve more complex processes and tokens rather than directly passing the credentials. Client Certificates provide a method of authentication based on SSL/TLS that authenticates a user based on a digital certificate rather than a simple username and password, thus serving a different use case compared to Basic Authentication.

In summary, Basic Authentication stands out in this context as the method specifically designed for passing credentials to a web server