In IT Security, a ticket
is a number generated by a network server
for a client
, which can be delivered to itself, or a different server as a means of authentication
or proof of authorization
, and cannot easily be forged. This usage of the word originated with MIT
's Kerberos (protocol)
in the 1980s. Tickets may either be transparent
, meaning they can be recognized without contacting the server that generated them; or opaque
, meaning the original server must be contacted to verify that it issued the ticket.
Some magic cookies provide the same functionality as a ticket.