Question

I want to use AntiForgeryTokens on every HttpPost Action using an ActionFilter that is in a controller named ControllerBase that every other controller inherits from.

I want to do this by creating an ActionFilter that inherits from ValidateAntiForgeryToken which takes an argument that tells it what HTTP verbs to apply itself to. I then want to apply that filter on ControllerBase to ensure that the AntiForgeryToken is checked for EVERY POST operation on the entire site.

I was looking into using this solution, but

• AuthorizationContext Constructor (ControllerContext) is an obsolete constructor involved and I am not sure how to rebuild the code using the recommended AuthorizationContext(ControllerContext controllerContext, ActionDescriptor actionDescriptor).

• It does not appear to use the AntiForgeryToken by default as I get the following error: A required anti-forgery token was not supplied or was invalid after every post action.

How should I rewrite my ActionFilter to meet current non-obsolete standards and to properly use an anti-forgery token on every [HttpPost] verb?

Do I have to include an anti-forgery token in every form myself (I am thinking I do)? (as opposed to it being automatically generated – don’t laugh, I’m curious) Update: As pointed out in the comments; Yes, this has to be done with every form.

Here is the code from my ControllerBase for reference:

[UseAntiForgeryTokenOnPostByDefault]
public class ControllerBase : Controller 
{
    [AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple = false)]
    public class BypassAntiForgeryTokenAttribute : ActionFilterAttribute
    {
    }

    [AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class, AllowMultiple = false)]
    public class UseAntiForgeryTokenOnPostByDefault : ActionFilterAttribute
    {
        public override void OnActionExecuting(ActionExecutingContext filterContext)
        {
            if (ShouldValidateAntiForgeryTokenManually(filterContext))
            {
                var authorizationContext = new AuthorizationContext(filterContext.Controller.ControllerContext);

                //Use the authorization of the anti forgery token, 
                //which can't be inhereted from because it is sealed
                new ValidateAntiForgeryTokenAttribute().OnAuthorization(authorizationContext);
            }

            base.OnActionExecuting(filterContext);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// We should validate the anti forgery token manually if the following criteria are met:
        /// 1. The http method must be POST
        /// 2. There is not an existing [ValidateAntiForgeryToken] attribute on the action
        /// 3. There is no [BypassAntiForgeryToken] attribute on the action
        /// </summary>
        private static bool ShouldValidateAntiForgeryTokenManually(ActionExecutingContext filterContext)
        {
            var httpMethod = filterContext.HttpContext.Request.HttpMethod;

            //1. The http method must be POST
            if (httpMethod != "POST") return false;

            // 2. There is not an existing anti forgery token attribute on the action
            var antiForgeryAttributes =
                filterContext.ActionDescriptor.GetCustomAttributes(typeof (ValidateAntiForgeryTokenAttribute), false);

            if (antiForgeryAttributes.Length > 0) return false;

            // 3. There is no [BypassAntiForgeryToken] attribute on the action
            var ignoreAntiForgeryAttributes =
                filterContext.ActionDescriptor.GetCustomAttributes(typeof (BypassAntiForgeryTokenAttribute), false);

            if (ignoreAntiForgeryAttributes.Length > 0) return false;

            return true;
        }
    }
}

Answer 1

You don’t need to instantiate any AuthorizationContext or call the OnAuthorization method, simply:

if (ShouldValidateAntiForgeryTokenManually(filterContext))
{
    AntiForgery.Validate(filterContext.HttpContext, null);
}