Resource-based authorization in ASP.NET Core

Authorization approach depends on the resource. For example, only the author of a document is authorized to update the document. Consequently, the document must be retrieved from the data store before authorization evaluation can occur.

Attribute evaluation occurs before data binding and before execution of the page handler or action that loads the document. For these reasons, declarative authorization with an [Authorize] attribute doesn't suffice. Instead, you can invoke a custom authorization method—a style known as imperative authorization.

View or download sample code (how to download).

Create an ASP.NET Core app with user data protected by authorization contains a sample app that uses resource-based authorization.

Use imperative authorization

Authorization is implemented as an IAuthorizationService service and is registered in the service collection at application startup. The service is made available via dependency injection to page handlers or actions.

public class DocumentController : Controller
{
    private readonly IAuthorizationService _authorizationService;
    private readonly IDocumentRepository _documentRepository;

    public DocumentController(IAuthorizationService authorizationService,
                              IDocumentRepository documentRepository)
    {
        _authorizationService = authorizationService;
        _documentRepository = documentRepository;
    }

IAuthorizationService has two AuthorizeAsync method overloads: one accepting the resource and the policy name and the other accepting the resource and a list of requirements to evaluate.

Task<AuthorizationResult> AuthorizeAsync(ClaimsPrincipal user,
                          object resource,
                          IEnumerable<IAuthorizationRequirement> requirements);
Task<AuthorizationResult> AuthorizeAsync(ClaimsPrincipal user,
                          object resource,
                          string policyName);

In the following example, the resource to be secured is loaded into a custom Document object. An AuthorizeAsync overload is invoked to determine whether the current user is allowed to edit the provided document. A custom "EditPolicy" authorization policy is factored into the decision. See Custom policy-based authorization for more on creating authorization policies.

Note

The following code samples assume authentication has run and set the User property.

public async Task<IActionResult> OnGetAsync(Guid documentId)
{
    Document = _documentRepository.Find(documentId);

    if (Document == null)
    {
        return new NotFoundResult();
    }

    var authorizationResult = await _authorizationService
            .AuthorizeAsync(User, Document, "EditPolicy");

    if (authorizationResult.Succeeded)
    {
        return Page();
    }
    else if (User.Identity.IsAuthenticated)
    {
        return new ForbidResult();
    }
    else
    {
        return new ChallengeResult();
    }
}

Write a resource-based handler

Writing a handler for resource-based authorization isn't much different than writing a plain requirements handler. Create a custom requirement class, and implement a requirement handler class. For more information on creating a requirement class, see Requirements.

The handler class specifies both the requirement and resource type. For example, a handler utilizing a SameAuthorRequirement and a Document resource follows:

public class DocumentAuthorizationHandler : 
    AuthorizationHandler<SameAuthorRequirement, Document>
{
    protected override Task HandleRequirementAsync(AuthorizationHandlerContext context,
                                                   SameAuthorRequirement requirement,
                                                   Document resource)
    {
        if (context.User.Identity?.Name == resource.Author)
        {
            context.Succeed(requirement);
        }

        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }
}

public class SameAuthorRequirement : IAuthorizationRequirement { }

In the preceding example, imagine that SameAuthorRequirement is a special case of a more generic SpecificAuthorRequirement class. The SpecificAuthorRequirement class (not shown) contains a Name property representing the name of the author. The Name property could be set to the current user.

Register the requirement and handler in Program.cs:

builder.Services.AddRazorPages();
builder.Services.AddControllersWithViews();

builder.Services.AddAuthorization(options =>
{
    options.AddPolicy("EditPolicy", policy =>
        policy.Requirements.Add(new SameAuthorRequirement()));
});

builder.Services.AddSingleton<IAuthorizationHandler, DocumentAuthorizationHandler>();
builder.Services.AddSingleton<IAuthorizationHandler, DocumentAuthorizationCrudHandler>();
builder.Services.AddScoped<IDocumentRepository, DocumentRepository>();

Operational requirements

If you're making decisions based on the outcomes of CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations, use the OperationAuthorizationRequirement helper class. This class enables you to write a single handler instead of an individual class for each operation type. To use it, provide some operation names:

public static class Operations
{
    public static OperationAuthorizationRequirement Create =
        new OperationAuthorizationRequirement { Name = nameof(Create) };
    public static OperationAuthorizationRequirement Read =
        new OperationAuthorizationRequirement { Name = nameof(Read) };
    public static OperationAuthorizationRequirement Update =
        new OperationAuthorizationRequirement { Name = nameof(Update) };
    public static OperationAuthorizationRequirement Delete =
        new OperationAuthorizationRequirement { Name = nameof(Delete) };
}

The handler is implemented as follows, using an OperationAuthorizationRequirement requirement and a Document resource:

public class DocumentAuthorizationCrudHandler :
    AuthorizationHandler<OperationAuthorizationRequirement, Document>
{
    protected override Task HandleRequirementAsync(AuthorizationHandlerContext context,
                                                   OperationAuthorizationRequirement requirement,
                                                   Document resource)
    {
        if (context.User.Identity?.Name == resource.Author &&
            requirement.Name == Operations.Read.Name)
        {
            context.Succeed(requirement);
        }

        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }
}

The preceding handler validates the operation using the resource, the user's identity, and the requirement's Name property.

Challenge and forbid with an operational resource handler

This section shows how the challenge and forbid action results are processed and how challenge and forbid differ.

To call an operational resource handler, specify the operation when invoking AuthorizeAsync in your page handler or action. The following example determines whether the authenticated user is permitted to view the provided document.

Note

The following code samples assume authentication has run and set the User property.

public async Task<IActionResult> OnGetAsync(Guid documentId)
{
    Document = _documentRepository.Find(documentId);

    if (Document == null)
    {
        return new NotFoundResult();
    }

    var authorizationResult = await _authorizationService
            .AuthorizeAsync(User, Document, Operations.Read);

    if (authorizationResult.Succeeded)
    {
        return Page();
    }
    else if (User.Identity.IsAuthenticated)
    {
        return new ForbidResult();
    }
    else
    {
        return new ChallengeResult();
    }
}

If authorization succeeds, the page for viewing the document is returned. If authorization fails but the user is authenticated, returning ForbidResult informs any authentication middleware that authorization failed. A ChallengeResult is returned when authentication must be performed. For interactive browser clients, it may be appropriate to redirect the user to a login page.