In web applications, Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) is a common vulnerability that can lead to unauthorized actions being performed on behalf of an authenticated user. To mitigate this risk, developers often use anti-forgery tokens, such as the __RequestVerificationToken field in ASP.NET applications. This guide will walk you through the process of ensuring this field is present in your forms, enhancing your application's security.
Prerequisites
- Familiarity with ASP.NET Core
- Basic understanding of CSRF attacks
Step 1: Enable Anti-Forgery Token Validation
To start using the __RequestVerificationToken field in your ASP.NET Core application, you need to enable anti-forgery token validation. This can be done by adding the [ValidateAntiForgeryToken] attribute to your controller actions that handle form submissions.
[HttpPost]
[ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
public IActionResult SubmitForm(MyViewModel model)
{
// Your form processing logic here
}
This attribute tells the application to validate the presence of the __RequestVerificationToken field in the submitted form data.
Step 2: Include the Anti-Forgery Token in Your Form
Now that you've enabled token validation, you need to include the __RequestVerificationToken field in your forms. In an ASP.NET Core application, you can use the @Html.AntiForgeryToken() helper method to generate the field.
<form method="post">
@Html.AntiForgeryToken()
<!-- Your form fields here -->
<button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>
This will render an <input> element with the __RequestVerificationToken name and a unique value for each form instance.
Step 3: Verify the Token's Presence
When a form is submitted, the application will automatically verify the presence and validity of the __RequestVerificationToken field. If the token is missing or invalid, the request will be rejected, and an AntiForgeryValidationException will be thrown.
To handle this exception, you can add a custom exception filter to your application. In the Startup class, include the following code:
public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
services.AddMvc(options =>
{
options.Filters.Add(new ValidateAntiForgeryTokenAttribute());
options.Filters.Add(new CustomExceptionFilter());
});
}
Then, create the CustomExceptionFilter class:
public class CustomExceptionFilter : ExceptionFilterAttribute
{
public override void OnException(ExceptionContext context)
{
if (context.Exception is AntiForgeryValidationException)
{
context.Result = new BadRequestObjectResult("Invalid or missing anti-forgery token");
context.ExceptionHandled = true;
}
}
}
This will handle AntiForgeryValidationException instances and return a 400 Bad Request response with a custom error message.
Frequently Asked Questions
h3 What is the __RequestVerificationToken field used for?
The __RequestVerificationToken field is used to store a unique anti-forgery token in a form. This token helps protect your application from CSRF attacks by ensuring that form submissions are coming from your own application and not from a malicious third-party site.
h3 Can I use a custom token name instead of __RequestVerificationToken?
Yes, you can use a custom token name by setting the AntiForgeryOptions.FormFieldName property in your application's Startup class:
services.AddAntiforgery(options =>
{
options.FormFieldName = "MyCustomTokenName";
});
h3 Does the __RequestVerificationToken field need to be included in every form?
It's recommended to include the __RequestVerificationToken field in every form that performs a state-changing operation (e.g., creating, updating, or deleting data). This helps protect your application from CSRF attacks.
h3 What happens if the __RequestVerificationToken field is missing or invalid?
If the __RequestVerificationToken field is missing or invalid, the request will be rejected, and an AntiForgeryValidationException will be thrown. This exception should be handled by your application to provide a meaningful error message to the user.
h3 Can I use the __RequestVerificationToken field in AJAX requests?
Yes, you can include the __RequestVerificationToken field in your AJAX requests by adding it as a header:
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
url: "/MyController/MyAction",
data: { /* Your data here */ },
headers: { "RequestVerificationToken": "@Html.AntiForgeryToken()" }
});
This will ensure that the token is included in your AJAX requests and validated by the server.