I'm trying to make a custom authorization attribute in ASP.NET Core. In previous versions it was possible to override bool AuthorizeCore(HttpContextBase httpContext)
. But this no longer exists in AuthorizeAttribute
.
What is the current approach to make a custom AuthorizeAttribute?
What I am trying to accomplish: I am receiving a session ID in the Header Authorization. From that ID I'll know whether a particular action is valid.
This question is related to
c#
asp.net-core
asp.net-core-mvc
authorization
For authorization in our app. We had to call a service based on the parameters passed in authorization attribute.
For example, if we want to check if logged in doctor can view patient appointments we will pass "View_Appointment" to custom authorize attribute and check that right in DB service and based on results we will athorize. Here is the code for this scenario:
public class PatientAuthorizeAttribute : TypeFilterAttribute
{
public PatientAuthorizeAttribute(params PatientAccessRights[] right) : base(typeof(AuthFilter)) //PatientAccessRights is an enum
{
Arguments = new object[] { right };
}
private class AuthFilter : IActionFilter
{
PatientAccessRights[] right;
IAuthService authService;
public AuthFilter(IAuthService authService, PatientAccessRights[] right)
{
this.right = right;
this.authService = authService;
}
public void OnActionExecuted(ActionExecutedContext context)
{
}
public void OnActionExecuting(ActionExecutingContext context)
{
var allparameters = context.ActionArguments.Values;
if (allparameters.Count() == 1)
{
var param = allparameters.First();
if (typeof(IPatientRequest).IsAssignableFrom(param.GetType()))
{
IPatientRequest patientRequestInfo = (IPatientRequest)param;
PatientAccessRequest userAccessRequest = new PatientAccessRequest();
userAccessRequest.Rights = right;
userAccessRequest.MemberID = patientRequestInfo.PatientID;
var result = authService.CheckUserPatientAccess(userAccessRequest).Result; //this calls DB service to check from DB
if (result.Status == ReturnType.Failure)
{
//TODO: return apirepsonse
context.Result = new StatusCodeResult((int)System.Net.HttpStatusCode.Forbidden);
}
}
else
{
throw new AppSystemException("PatientAuthorizeAttribute not supported");
}
}
else
{
throw new AppSystemException("PatientAuthorizeAttribute not supported");
}
}
}
}
And on API action we use it like this:
[PatientAuthorize(PatientAccessRights.PATIENT_VIEW_APPOINTMENTS)] //this is enum, we can pass multiple
[HttpPost]
public SomeReturnType ViewAppointments()
{
}
The modern way is AuthenticationHandlers
in startup.cs add
services.AddAuthentication("BasicAuthentication").AddScheme<AuthenticationSchemeOptions, BasicAuthenticationHandler>("BasicAuthentication", null);
public class BasicAuthenticationHandler : AuthenticationHandler<AuthenticationSchemeOptions>
{
private readonly IUserService _userService;
public BasicAuthenticationHandler(
IOptionsMonitor<AuthenticationSchemeOptions> options,
ILoggerFactory logger,
UrlEncoder encoder,
ISystemClock clock,
IUserService userService)
: base(options, logger, encoder, clock)
{
_userService = userService;
}
protected override async Task<AuthenticateResult> HandleAuthenticateAsync()
{
if (!Request.Headers.ContainsKey("Authorization"))
return AuthenticateResult.Fail("Missing Authorization Header");
User user = null;
try
{
var authHeader = AuthenticationHeaderValue.Parse(Request.Headers["Authorization"]);
var credentialBytes = Convert.FromBase64String(authHeader.Parameter);
var credentials = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(credentialBytes).Split(new[] { ':' }, 2);
var username = credentials[0];
var password = credentials[1];
user = await _userService.Authenticate(username, password);
}
catch
{
return AuthenticateResult.Fail("Invalid Authorization Header");
}
if (user == null)
return AuthenticateResult.Fail("Invalid User-name or Password");
var claims = new[] {
new Claim(ClaimTypes.NameIdentifier, user.Id.ToString()),
new Claim(ClaimTypes.Name, user.Username),
};
var identity = new ClaimsIdentity(claims, Scheme.Name);
var principal = new ClaimsPrincipal(identity);
var ticket = new AuthenticationTicket(principal, Scheme.Name);
return AuthenticateResult.Success(ticket);
}
}
IUserService is a service that you make where you have user name and password. basically it returns a user class that you use to map your claims on.
var claims = new[] {
new Claim(ClaimTypes.NameIdentifier, user.Id.ToString()),
new Claim(ClaimTypes.Name, user.Username),
};
Then you can query these claims and her any data you mapped, ther are quite a few, have a look at ClaimTypes class
you can use this in an extension method an get any of the mappings
public int? GetUserId()
{
if (context.User.Identity.IsAuthenticated)
{
var id=context.User.FindFirst(ClaimTypes.NameIdentifier);
if (!(id is null) && int.TryParse(id.Value, out var userId))
return userId;
}
return new Nullable<int>();
}
This new way, i think is better than the old way as shown here, both work
public class BasicAuthenticationAttribute : AuthorizationFilterAttribute
{
public override void OnAuthorization(HttpActionContext actionContext)
{
if (actionContext.Request.Headers.Authorization != null)
{
var authToken = actionContext.Request.Headers.Authorization.Parameter;
// decoding authToken we get decode value in 'Username:Password' format
var decodeauthToken = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(Convert.FromBase64String(authToken));
// spliting decodeauthToken using ':'
var arrUserNameandPassword = decodeauthToken.Split(':');
// at 0th postion of array we get username and at 1st we get password
if (IsAuthorizedUser(arrUserNameandPassword[0], arrUserNameandPassword[1]))
{
// setting current principle
Thread.CurrentPrincipal = new GenericPrincipal(new GenericIdentity(arrUserNameandPassword[0]), null);
}
else
{
actionContext.Response = actionContext.Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.Unauthorized);
}
}
else
{
actionContext.Response = actionContext.Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.Unauthorized);
}
}
public static bool IsAuthorizedUser(string Username, string Password)
{
// In this method we can handle our database logic here...
return Username.Equals("test") && Password == "test";
}
}
Based on Derek Greer GREAT answer, i did it with enums.
Here is an example of my code:
public enum PermissionItem
{
User,
Product,
Contact,
Review,
Client
}
public enum PermissionAction
{
Read,
Create,
}
public class AuthorizeAttribute : TypeFilterAttribute
{
public AuthorizeAttribute(PermissionItem item, PermissionAction action)
: base(typeof(AuthorizeActionFilter))
{
Arguments = new object[] { item, action };
}
}
public class AuthorizeActionFilter : IAuthorizationFilter
{
private readonly PermissionItem _item;
private readonly PermissionAction _action;
public AuthorizeActionFilter(PermissionItem item, PermissionAction action)
{
_item = item;
_action = action;
}
public void OnAuthorization(AuthorizationFilterContext context)
{
bool isAuthorized = MumboJumboFunction(context.HttpContext.User, _item, _action); // :)
if (!isAuthorized)
{
context.Result = new ForbidResult();
}
}
}
public class UserController : BaseController
{
private readonly DbContext _context;
public UserController( DbContext context) :
base()
{
_logger = logger;
}
[Authorize(PermissionItem.User, PermissionAction.Read)]
public async Task<IActionResult> Index()
{
return View(await _context.User.ToListAsync());
}
}
It seems that with ASP.NET Core 2, you can again inherit AuthorizeAttribute
, you just need to also implement IAuthorizationFilter
(or IAsyncAuthorizationFilter
):
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class | AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple = true, Inherited = true)]
public class CustomAuthorizeAttribute : AuthorizeAttribute, IAuthorizationFilter
{
private readonly string _someFilterParameter;
public CustomAuthorizeAttribute(string someFilterParameter)
{
_someFilterParameter = someFilterParameter;
}
public void OnAuthorization(AuthorizationFilterContext context)
{
var user = context.HttpContext.User;
if (!user.Identity.IsAuthenticated)
{
// it isn't needed to set unauthorized result
// as the base class already requires the user to be authenticated
// this also makes redirect to a login page work properly
// context.Result = new UnauthorizedResult();
return;
}
// you can also use registered services
var someService = context.HttpContext.RequestServices.GetService<ISomeService>();
var isAuthorized = someService.IsUserAuthorized(user.Identity.Name, _someFilterParameter);
if (!isAuthorized)
{
context.Result = new StatusCodeResult((int)System.Net.HttpStatusCode.Forbidden);
return;
}
}
}
I'm the asp.net security person. Firstly let me apologize that none of this is documented yet outside of the music store sample or unit tests, and it's all still being refined in terms of exposed APIs. Detailed documentation is here.
We don't want you writing custom authorize attributes. If you need to do that we've done something wrong. Instead, you should be writing authorization requirements.
Authorization acts upon Identities. Identities are created by authentication.
You say in comments you want to check a session ID in a header. Your session ID would be the basis for identity. If you wanted to use the Authorize
attribute you'd write an authentication middleware to take that header and turn it into an authenticated ClaimsPrincipal
. You would then check that inside an authorization requirement. Authorization requirements can be as complicated as you like, for example here's one that takes a date of birth claim on the current identity and will authorize if the user is over 18;
public class Over18Requirement : AuthorizationHandler<Over18Requirement>, IAuthorizationRequirement
{
public override void Handle(AuthorizationHandlerContext context, Over18Requirement requirement)
{
if (!context.User.HasClaim(c => c.Type == ClaimTypes.DateOfBirth))
{
context.Fail();
return;
}
var dateOfBirth = Convert.ToDateTime(context.User.FindFirst(c => c.Type == ClaimTypes.DateOfBirth).Value);
int age = DateTime.Today.Year - dateOfBirth.Year;
if (dateOfBirth > DateTime.Today.AddYears(-age))
{
age--;
}
if (age >= 18)
{
context.Succeed(requirement);
}
else
{
context.Fail();
}
}
}
}
Then in your ConfigureServices()
function you'd wire it up
services.AddAuthorization(options =>
{
options.AddPolicy("Over18",
policy => policy.Requirements.Add(new Authorization.Over18Requirement()));
});
And finally, apply it to a controller or action method with
[Authorize(Policy = "Over18")]
You can create your own AuthorizationHandler that will find custom attributes on your Controllers and Actions, and pass them to the HandleRequirementAsync method.
public abstract class AttributeAuthorizationHandler<TRequirement, TAttribute> : AuthorizationHandler<TRequirement> where TRequirement : IAuthorizationRequirement where TAttribute : Attribute
{
protected override Task HandleRequirementAsync(AuthorizationHandlerContext context, TRequirement requirement)
{
var attributes = new List<TAttribute>();
var action = (context.Resource as AuthorizationFilterContext)?.ActionDescriptor as ControllerActionDescriptor;
if (action != null)
{
attributes.AddRange(GetAttributes(action.ControllerTypeInfo.UnderlyingSystemType));
attributes.AddRange(GetAttributes(action.MethodInfo));
}
return HandleRequirementAsync(context, requirement, attributes);
}
protected abstract Task HandleRequirementAsync(AuthorizationHandlerContext context, TRequirement requirement, IEnumerable<TAttribute> attributes);
private static IEnumerable<TAttribute> GetAttributes(MemberInfo memberInfo)
{
return memberInfo.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(TAttribute), false).Cast<TAttribute>();
}
}
Then you can use it for any custom attributes you need on your controllers or actions. For example to add permission requirements. Just create your custom attribute.
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class | AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple = true)]
public class PermissionAttribute : AuthorizeAttribute
{
public string Name { get; }
public PermissionAttribute(string name) : base("Permission")
{
Name = name;
}
}
Then create a Requirement to add to your Policy
public class PermissionAuthorizationRequirement : IAuthorizationRequirement
{
//Add any custom requirement properties if you have them
}
Then create the AuthorizationHandler for your custom attribute, inheriting the AttributeAuthorizationHandler that we created earlier. It will be passed an IEnumerable for all your custom attributes in the HandleRequirementsAsync method, accumulated from your Controller and Action.
public class PermissionAuthorizationHandler : AttributeAuthorizationHandler<PermissionAuthorizationRequirement, PermissionAttribute>
{
protected override async Task HandleRequirementAsync(AuthorizationHandlerContext context, PermissionAuthorizationRequirement requirement, IEnumerable<PermissionAttribute> attributes)
{
foreach (var permissionAttribute in attributes)
{
if (!await AuthorizeAsync(context.User, permissionAttribute.Name))
{
return;
}
}
context.Succeed(requirement);
}
private Task<bool> AuthorizeAsync(ClaimsPrincipal user, string permission)
{
//Implement your custom user permission logic here
}
}
And finally, in your Startup.cs ConfigureServices method, add your custom AuthorizationHandler to the services, and add your Policy.
services.AddSingleton<IAuthorizationHandler, PermissionAuthorizationHandler>();
services.AddAuthorization(options =>
{
options.AddPolicy("Permission", policyBuilder =>
{
policyBuilder.Requirements.Add(new PermissionAuthorizationRequirement());
});
});
Now you can simply decorate your Controllers and Actions with your custom attribute.
[Permission("AccessCustomers")]
public class CustomersController
{
[Permission("AddCustomer")]
IActionResult AddCustomer([FromBody] Customer customer)
{
//Add customer
}
}
Just adding to the great answer from @Shawn. If you are using dotnet 5 you need to update the class to be:
public abstract class AttributeAuthorizationHandler<TRequirement, TAttribute> : AuthorizationHandler<TRequirement> where TRequirement : IAuthorizationRequirement where TAttribute : Attribute
{
protected override Task HandleRequirementAsync(AuthorizationHandlerContext context, TRequirement requirement)
{
var attributes = new List<TAttribute>();
if (context.Resource is HttpContext httpContext)
{
var endPoint = httpContext.GetEndpoint();
var action = endPoint?.Metadata.GetMetadata<ControllerActionDescriptor>();
if(action != null)
{
attributes.AddRange(GetAttributes(action.ControllerTypeInfo.UnderlyingSystemType));
attributes.AddRange(GetAttributes(action.MethodInfo));
}
}
return HandleRequirementAsync(context, requirement, attributes);
}
protected abstract Task HandleRequirementAsync(AuthorizationHandlerContext context, TRequirement requirement, IEnumerable<TAttribute> attributes);
private static IEnumerable<TAttribute> GetAttributes(MemberInfo memberInfo) => memberInfo.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(TAttribute), false).Cast<TAttribute>();
}
Noting the way getting the ControllerActionDescriptor has changed.
If anyone just wants to validate a bearer token in the authorize phase using the current security practices you can,
add this to your Startup/ConfigureServices
services.AddSingleton<IAuthorizationHandler, BearerAuthorizationHandler>();
services.AddAuthentication(JwtBearerDefaults.AuthenticationScheme).AddJwtBearer();
services.AddAuthorization(options => options.AddPolicy("Bearer",
policy => policy.AddRequirements(new BearerRequirement())
)
);
and this in your codebase,
public class BearerRequirement : IAuthorizationRequirement
{
public async Task<bool> IsTokenValid(SomeValidationContext context, string token)
{
// here you can check if the token received is valid
return true;
}
}
public class BearerAuthorizationHandler : AuthorizationHandler<BearerRequirement>
{
public BearerAuthorizationHandler(SomeValidationContext thatYouCanInject)
{
...
}
protected override async Task HandleRequirementAsync(AuthorizationHandlerContext context, BearerRequirement requirement)
{
var authFilterCtx = (Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Filters.AuthorizationFilterContext)context.Resource;
string authHeader = authFilterCtx.HttpContext.Request.Headers["Authorization"];
if (authHeader != null && authHeader.Contains("Bearer"))
{
var token = authHeader.Replace("Bearer ", string.Empty);
if (await requirement.IsTokenValid(thatYouCanInject, token))
{
context.Succeed(requirement);
}
}
}
}
If the code doesn't reach context.Succeed(...)
it will Fail anyway (401).
And then in your controllers you can use
[Authorize(Policy = "Bearer", AuthenticationSchemes = JwtBearerDefaults.AuthenticationScheme)]
What is the current approach to make a custom AuthorizeAttribute
Easy: don't create your own AuthorizeAttribute
.
For pure authorization scenarios (like restricting access to specific users only), the recommended approach is to use the new authorization block: https://github.com/aspnet/MusicStore/blob/1c0aeb08bb1ebd846726232226279bbe001782e1/samples/MusicStore/Startup.cs#L84-L92
public class Startup
{
public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
services.Configure<AuthorizationOptions>(options =>
{
options.AddPolicy("ManageStore", policy => policy.RequireClaim("Action", "ManageStore"));
});
}
}
public class StoreController : Controller
{
[Authorize(Policy = "ManageStore"), HttpGet]
public async Task<IActionResult> Manage() { ... }
}
For authentication, it's best handled at the middleware level.
What are you trying to achieve exactly?
The accepted answer (https://stackoverflow.com/a/41348219/4974715) is not realistically maintainable or suitable because "CanReadResource" is being used as a claim (but should essentially be a policy in reality, IMO). The approach at the answer is not OK in the way it was used, because if an action method requires many different claims setups, then with that answer you would have to repeatedly write something like...
[ClaimRequirement(MyClaimTypes.Permission, "CanReadResource")]
[ClaimRequirement(MyClaimTypes.AnotherPermision, "AnotherClaimVaue")]
//and etc. on a single action.
So, imagine how much coding that would take. Ideally, "CanReadResource" is supposed to be a policy that uses many claims to determine if a user can read a resource.
What I do is I create my policies as an enumeration and then loop through and set up the requirements like thus...
services.AddAuthorization(authorizationOptions =>
{
foreach (var policyString in Enum.GetNames(typeof(Enumerations.Security.Policy)))
{
authorizationOptions.AddPolicy(
policyString,
authorizationPolicyBuilder => authorizationPolicyBuilder.Requirements.Add(new DefaultAuthorizationRequirement((Enumerations.Security.Policy)Enum.Parse(typeof(Enumerations.Security.Policy), policyWrtString), DateTime.UtcNow)));
/* Note that thisn does not stop you from
configuring policies directly against a username, claims, roles, etc. You can do the usual.
*/
}
});
The DefaultAuthorizationRequirement class looks like...
public class DefaultAuthorizationRequirement : IAuthorizationRequirement
{
public Enumerations.Security.Policy Policy {get; set;} //This is a mere enumeration whose code is not shown.
public DateTime DateTimeOfSetup {get; set;} //Just in case you have to know when the app started up. And you may want to log out a user if their profile was modified after this date-time, etc.
}
public class DefaultAuthorizationHandler : AuthorizationHandler<DefaultAuthorizationRequirement>
{
private IAServiceToUse _aServiceToUse;
public DefaultAuthorizationHandler(
IAServiceToUse aServiceToUse
)
{
_aServiceToUse = aServiceToUse;
}
protected async override Task HandleRequirementAsync(AuthorizationHandlerContext context, DefaultAuthorizationRequirement requirement)
{
/*Here, you can quickly check a data source or Web API or etc.
to know the latest date-time of the user's profile modification...
*/
if (_aServiceToUse.GetDateTimeOfLatestUserProfileModication > requirement.DateTimeOfSetup)
{
context.Fail(); /*Because any modifications to user information,
e.g. if the user used another browser or if by Admin modification,
the claims of the user in this session cannot be guaranteed to be reliable.
*/
return;
}
bool shouldSucceed = false; //This should first be false, because context.Succeed(...) has to only be called if the requirement specifically succeeds.
bool shouldFail = false; /*This should first be false, because context.Fail()
doesn't have to be called if there's no security breach.
*/
// You can do anything.
await doAnythingAsync();
/*You can get the user's claims...
ALSO, note that if you have a way to priorly map users or users with certain claims
to particular policies, add those policies as claims of the user for the sake of ease.
BUT policies that require dynamic code (e.g. checking for age range) would have to be
coded in the switch-case below to determine stuff.
*/
var claims = context.User.Claims;
// You can, of course, get the policy that was hit...
var policy = requirement.Policy
//You can use a switch case to determine what policy to deal with here...
switch (policy)
{
case Enumerations.Security.Policy.CanReadResource:
/*Do stuff with the claims and change the
value of shouldSucceed and/or shouldFail.
*/
break;
case Enumerations.Security.Policy.AnotherPolicy:
/*Do stuff with the claims and change the
value of shouldSucceed and/or shouldFail.
*/
break;
// Other policies too.
default:
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
/* Note that the following conditions are
so because failure and success in a requirement handler
are not mutually exclusive. They demand certainty.
*/
if (shouldFail)
{
context.Fail(); /*Check the docs on this method to
see its implications.
*/
}
if (shouldSucceed)
{
context.Succeed(requirement);
}
}
}
Note that the code above can also enable pre-mapping of a user to a policy in your data store. So, when composing claims for the user, you basically retrieve the policies that had been pre-mapped to the user directly or indirectly (e.g. because the user has a certain claim value and that claim value had been identified and mapped to a policy, such that it provides automatic mapping for users who have that claim value too), and enlist the policies as claims, such that in the authorization handler, you can simply check if the user's claims contain requirement.Policy as a Value of a Claim item in their claims. That is for a static way of satisfying a policy requirement, e.g. "First name" requirement is quite static in nature. So, for the example above (which I had forgotten to give example on Authorize attribute in my earlier updates to this answer), using the policy with Authorize attribute is like as follows, where ViewRecord is an enum member:
[Authorize(Policy = nameof(Enumerations.Security.Policy.ViewRecord))]
A dynamic requirement can be about checking age range, etc. and policies that use such requirements cannot be pre-mapped to users.
An example of dynamic policy claims checking (e.g. to check if a user is above 18 years old) is already at the answer given by @blowdart (https://stackoverflow.com/a/31465227/4974715).
PS: I typed this on my phone. Pardon any typos and lack of formatting.
As of this writing I believe this can be accomplished with the IClaimsTransformation interface in asp.net core 2 and above. I just implemented a proof of concept which is sharable enough to post here.
public class PrivilegesToClaimsTransformer : IClaimsTransformation
{
private readonly IPrivilegeProvider privilegeProvider;
public const string DidItClaim = "http://foo.bar/privileges/resolved";
public PrivilegesToClaimsTransformer(IPrivilegeProvider privilegeProvider)
{
this.privilegeProvider = privilegeProvider;
}
public async Task<ClaimsPrincipal> TransformAsync(ClaimsPrincipal principal)
{
if (principal.Identity is ClaimsIdentity claimer)
{
if (claimer.HasClaim(DidItClaim, bool.TrueString))
{
return principal;
}
var privileges = await this.privilegeProvider.GetPrivileges( ... );
claimer.AddClaim(new Claim(DidItClaim, bool.TrueString));
foreach (var privilegeAsRole in privileges)
{
claimer.AddClaim(new Claim(ClaimTypes.Role /*"http://schemas.microsoft.com/ws/2008/06/identity/claims/role" */, privilegeAsRole));
}
}
return principal;
}
}
To use this in your Controller just add an appropriate [Authorize(Roles="whatever")]
to your methods.
[HttpGet]
[Route("poc")]
[Authorize(Roles = "plugh,blast")]
public JsonResult PocAuthorization()
{
var result = Json(new
{
when = DateTime.UtcNow,
});
result.StatusCode = (int)HttpStatusCode.OK;
return result;
}
In our case every request includes an Authorization header that is a JWT. This is the prototype and I believe we will do something super close to this in our production system next week.
Future voters, consider the date of writing when you vote. As of today, this works on my machine.
™ You will probably want more error handling and logging on your implementation.
Source: Stackoverflow.com