Yes, encrypted JWTs are a thing. You typically have a JWT as a signed payload, then encrypt that JWT using JWE. An example of such an approach is in the RFC ap

Yes, encrypted JWTs are a thing. You typically have a JWT as a signed payload, then encrypt that JWT using JWE. An example of such an approach is in the RFC appendix: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7519#appendix-A.2 https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7519#appendix-A.2 Perhaps the biggest misconception about JOSE specs and JWT is that they are components, not a “batteries included” format. They are meant to be used to define further applications, such as ACMEv2. Libraries often are written to solve specific problems (say, validating an OpenID Connect id_token) and blur the decisions such specifications made in profiling for their own use. The nesting approach provides for non-repudiation of the decrypted JWT, which is important for federated identity use cases.