How secure is HTTP basic Authentication?

HTTP Basic Authentication by itself is not secure because it transmits credentials (username and password) encoded in Base64 but not encrypted. This encoding can easily be decoded, exposing the credentials if intercepted during transmission. When used over an unsecured connection (HTTP), Basic Authentication is vulnerable to various attacks, such as man-in-the-middle attacks, where an attacker could intercept and steal credentials.

However, it becomes significantly more secure when HTTP Basic Authentication is used with HTTPS (which encrypts the entire communication between the client and server). HTTPS ensures that credentials are encrypted while in transit, preventing interception by attackers.

While HTTPS mitigates some of the risks, Basic Authentication still lacks more advanced security features such as session management or multi-factor authentication. Therefore, when paired with HTTPS, it’s typically considered a minimal security option and is best suited for low-risk applications or systems.