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Security Authorization <authorization>

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Overview

The <authorization> element allows you to configure the user accounts that can access your site or application. Use authorization in combination with authentication to secure access to content on your server. Authentication confirms the identity of a user, while authorization determines what resources users can or cannot access.

IIS defines two types of authorization rules, Allow rules and Deny rules:

  • Allow rules let you define the user accounts or user groups that can access a site, an application, or all the sites on a server.
  • Deny rules let you define the user accounts or user groups that cannot access a site, an application, or all the sites on a server.

Compatibility

Version Notes
IIS 10.0 The <authorization> element was not modified in IIS 10.0.
IIS 8.5 The <authorization> element was not modified in IIS 8.5.
IIS 8.0 The <authorization> element was not modified in IIS 8.0.
IIS 7.5 The <authorization> element was not modified in IIS 7.5.
IIS 7.0 The <authorization> element was introduced in IIS 7.0.
IIS 6.0 The <authorization> collection replaces the IIS 6.0 AzEnable, AzStoreName, AzScopeName, and AzImpersonationLevel metabase properties.

Setup

To support and configure authorization for sites and applications on your Web server, you must install the URL authorization module. To do so, use the following steps.

Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2

  1. On the taskbar, click Server Manager. - In Server Manager, click the Manage menu, and then click Add Roles and Features. - In the Add Roles and Features wizard, click Next. Select the installation type and click Next. Select the destination server and click Next. - On the Server Roles page, expand Web Server (IIS), expand Web Server, expand Security, and then select URL Authorization. Click Next.
    Image of Web Server and Security pane expanded with U R L Authorization highlighted. . - On the Select features page, click Next. - On the Confirm installation selections page, click Install. - On the Results page, click Close.

Windows 8 or Windows 8.1

  1. On the Start screen, move the pointer all the way to the lower left corner, right-click the Start button, and then click Control Panel. - In Control Panel, click Programs and Features, and then click Turn Windows features on or off. - Expand Internet Information Services, expand World Wide Web Services, expand Security, and then select URL Authorization.
    Image of World Wide Web Services and Security pane expanded and U R L Authorization selected.- Click OK.
  2. Click Close.

Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2

  1. On the taskbar, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Server Manager. - In the Server Manager hierarchy pane, expand Roles, and then click Web Server (IIS). - In the Web Server (IIS) pane, scroll to the Role Services section, and then click Add Role Services. - On the Select Role Services page of the Add Role Services Wizard, select URL Authorization, and then click Next.
    Screenshot of Security pane expanded in Select Role Services page of the Add Role Services Wizard with U R L Authorization selected.- On the Confirm Installation Selections page, click Install. - On the Results page, click Close.

Windows Vista or Windows 7

  1. On the taskbar, click Start, and then click Control Panel. - In Control Panel, click Programs and Features, and then click Turn Windows Features on or off. - Expand Internet Information Services, then select URL Authorization, and then click OK.
    Image of Internet Information Services pane expanded and U R L Authorization selected.

How To

How to add an authorization rule

  1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager:

    • If you are using Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2:

      • On the taskbar, click Server Manager, click Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

    • If you are using Windows 8 or Windows 8.1:

      • Hold down the Windows key, press the letter X, and then click Control Panel.
      • Click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

    • If you are using Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2:

      • On the taskbar, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

    • If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7:

      • On the taskbar, click Start, and then click Control Panel.
      • Double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

  2. In the Connections pane, expand the server name, expand Sites, and then navigate to the site or application on which you want to configure authorization.

  3. In the Home pane, double-click Authorization Rules.
    Image of Home pane with Authorization Rules highlighted.

  4. To add a new authorization rule, in the Actions pane click Add Allow Rule... or Add Deny Rule...

  5. Apply the authorization settings needed for your site or application, and then click OK. For example:

    • Example #1: Adding an Allow rule for all users for specific HTTP verbs:
      Image of Adding an Allow rule for all users for specific H T T P verbs dialog box showing verbs typed in the box for Apply this rule to specific verbs.

    • Example #2: Adding a Deny rule for a specific user for all HTTP verbs:
      Image of dialog box for Add Deny Authorization Rule for a specific user for all H T T P verbs.

      Note

      To edit or delete an existing rule, select the rule in the Authorization rules pane, and then click Edit or Remove in the Actions pane. If you click Edit, a dialog box appears that allows you to edit the rule; this dialog box is similar to the Add Allow Authorization Rule and Add Deny Authorization Rule dialog boxes.

Configuration

You can configure the <authorization> element at the server level in the ApplicationHost.config file, or at the site or application level in the appropriate Web.config file.

You can set default authorization rules for the entire server by configuring authorization rules at the server level. You can remove, clear, or override these rules by configuring more specific rules for your sites or applications.

Attributes

Attribute Description
bypassLoginPages Optional Boolean attribute.

Specifies whether to skip authorization check for the page specified as the login page for Forms authentication. This enables unauthenticated users to access the login page to log on.

The default value is true.

Child Elements

Element Description
add Optional element.

Adds an authorization rule to the collection of authorization rules.
remove Optional element.

Removes a reference to an authorization rule to the collection of authorization rules.
clear Optional element.

Removes all references to authorization rules from the collection of authorization rules.

Configuration Sample

The following configuration example, when included in a Web.config file, removes the default IIS authorization settings, which allows all users access to Web site or application content. It then configures an authorization rule that allows only users with administrator privileges to access the content.

<configuration>
   <system.webServer>
      <security>
         <authorization>
            <remove users="*" roles="" verbs="" />
            <add accessType="Allow" users="" roles="Administrators" />
         </authorization>
      </security>
   </system.webServer>
</configuration>

Sample Code

The following examples add an allow authorization rule that allows users in the administrators group to access a Web site named Contoso.

AppCmd.exe

appcmd.exe set config "Contoso" -section:system.webServer/security/authorization /+"[accessType='Allow',roles='administrators']"

Note

You can optionally set the commit parameter to apphost when using AppCmd.exe to configure these settings. This commits the configuration settings to the appropriate location section in the ApplicationHost.config file instead of a Web.config file.

C#

using System;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.Web.Administration;

internal static class Sample
{
   private static void Main()
   {
      using (ServerManager serverManager = new ServerManager())
      {
         Configuration config = serverManager.GetWebConfiguration("Contoso");
         ConfigurationSection authorizationSection = config.GetSection("system.webServer/security/authorization");
         ConfigurationElementCollection authorizationCollection = authorizationSection.GetCollection();

         ConfigurationElement addElement = authorizationCollection.CreateElement("add");
         addElement["accessType"] = @"Allow";
         addElement["roles"] = @"administrators";
         authorizationCollection.Add(addElement);

         serverManager.CommitChanges();
      }
   }
}

VB.NET

Imports System
Imports System.Text
Imports Microsoft.Web.Administration

Module Sample
   Sub Main()
      Dim serverManager As ServerManager = New ServerManager
      Dim config As Configuration = serverManager.GetWebConfiguration("Contoso")
      Dim authorizationSection As ConfigurationSection = config.GetSection("system.webServer/security/authorization")
      Dim authorizationCollection As ConfigurationElementCollection = authorizationSection.GetCollection
      Dim addElement As ConfigurationElement = authorizationCollection.CreateElement("add")
      addElement("accessType") = "Allow"
      addElement("roles") = "administrators"
      authorizationCollection.Add(addElement)
      serverManager.CommitChanges()
   End Sub
End Module

JavaScript

var adminManager = new ActiveXObject('Microsoft.ApplicationHost.WritableAdminManager');
adminManager.CommitPath = "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST/Contoso";
var authorizationSection = adminManager.GetAdminSection("system.webServer/security/authorization", "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST/Contoso");
var authorizationCollection = authorizationSection.Collection;

var addElement = authorizationCollection.CreateNewElement("add");
addElement.Properties.Item("accessType").Value = "Allow";
addElement.Properties.Item("roles").Value = "administrators";
authorizationCollection.AddElement(addElement);

adminManager.CommitChanges();

VBScript

Set adminManager = CreateObject("Microsoft.ApplicationHost.WritableAdminManager")
adminManager.CommitPath = "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST/Contoso"
Set authorizationSection = adminManager.GetAdminSection("system.webServer/security/authorization", "MACHINE/WEBROOT/APPHOST/Contoso")
Set authorizationCollection = authorizationSection.Collection

Set addElement = authorizationCollection.CreateNewElement("add")
addElement.Properties.Item("accessType").Value = "Allow"
addElement.Properties.Item("roles").Value = "administrators"
authorizationCollection.AddElement(addElement)

adminManager.CommitChanges()