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Security Configuration Reference

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Security Configuration Reference

The security system is one of the most powerful parts of Symfony2, and can largely be controlled via its configuration.

Full Default Configuration

The following is the full default configuration for the security system. Each part will be explained in the next section.

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    # app/config/security.yml
security:
    access_denied_url: /foo/error403

    always_authenticate_before_granting: false

    # strategy can be: none, migrate, invalidate
    session_fixation_strategy: migrate

    access_decision_manager:
        strategy: affirmative
        allow_if_all_abstain: false
        allow_if_equal_granted_denied: true

    acl:
        connection: default # any name configured in doctrine.dbal section
        tables:
            class: acl_classes
            entry: acl_entries
            object_identity: acl_object_identities
            object_identity_ancestors: acl_object_identity_ancestors
            security_identity: acl_security_identities
        cache:
            id: service_id
            prefix: sf2_acl_
        voter:
            allow_if_object_identity_unavailable: true

    encoders:
        somename:
            class: Acme\DemoBundle\Entity\User
        Acme\DemoBundle\Entity\User: sha512
        Acme\DemoBundle\Entity\User: plaintext
        Acme\DemoBundle\Entity\User:
            algorithm: sha512
            encode_as_base64: true
            iterations: 5000
        Acme\DemoBundle\Entity\User:
            id: my.custom.encoder.service.id

    providers:
        memory:
            name: memory
            users:
                foo: { password: foo, roles: ROLE_USER }
                bar: { password: bar, roles: [ROLE_USER, ROLE_ADMIN] }
        entity:
            entity: { class: SecurityBundle:User, property: username }

    factories:
        MyFactory: "%kernel.root_dir%/../src/Acme/DemoBundle/Resources/config/security_factories.xml"

    firewalls:
        somename:
            pattern: .*
            request_matcher: some.service.id
            access_denied_url: /foo/error403
            access_denied_handler: some.service.id
            entry_point: some.service.id
            provider: name
            # manages where each firewall stores session information
            # See "Firewall Context" below for more details
            context: context_key
            stateless: false
            x509:
                provider: name
            http_basic:
                provider: name
            http_digest:
                provider: name
            form_login:
                # submit the login form here
                check_path: /login_check

                # the user is redirected here when he/she needs to login
                login_path: /login

                # if true, forward the user to the login form instead of redirecting
                use_forward: false

                # login success redirecting options (read further below)
                always_use_default_target_path: false
                default_target_path:            /
                target_path_parameter:          _target_path
                use_referer:                    false

                # login failure redirecting options (read further below)
                failure_path:    /foo
                failure_forward: false
                failure_handler: some.service.id
                success_handler: some.service.id

                # field names for the username and password fields
                username_parameter: _username
                password_parameter: _password

                # csrf token options
                csrf_parameter: _csrf_token
                intention:      authenticate
                csrf_provider:  my.csrf_provider.id

                # by default, the login form *must* be a POST, not a GET
                post_only:      true
                remember_me:    false
            remember_me:
                token_provider: name
                key: someS3cretKey
                name: NameOfTheCookie
                lifetime: 3600 # in seconds
                path: /foo
                domain: somedomain.foo
                secure: false
                httponly: true
                always_remember_me: false
                remember_me_parameter: _remember_me
            logout:
                path:   /logout
                target: /
                invalidate_session: false
                delete_cookies:
                    a: { path: null, domain: null }
                    b: { path: null, domain: null }
                handlers: [some.service.id, another.service.id]
                success_handler: some.service.id
            anonymous: ~

    access_control:
        -
            path: ^/foo
            host: mydomain.foo
            ip: 192.0.0.0/8
            roles: [ROLE_A, ROLE_B]
            requires_channel: https

    role_hierarchy:
        ROLE_SUPERADMIN: ROLE_ADMIN
        ROLE_SUPERADMIN: 'ROLE_ADMIN, ROLE_USER'
        ROLE_SUPERADMIN: [ROLE_ADMIN, ROLE_USER]
        anything: { id: ROLE_SUPERADMIN, value: 'ROLE_USER, ROLE_ADMIN' }
        anything: { id: ROLE_SUPERADMIN, value: [ROLE_USER, ROLE_ADMIN] }

Form Login Configuration

When using the form_login authentication listener beneath a firewall, there are several common options for configuring the "form login" experience.

For even more details, see How to customize your Form Login.

The Login Form and Process

  • login_path (type: string, default: /login) This is the URL that the user will be redirected to (unless use_forward is set to true) when he/she tries to access a protected resource but isn't fully authenticated.

    This URL must be accessible by a normal, un-authenticated user, else you may create a redirect loop. For details, see "Avoid Common Pitfalls".

  • check_path (type: string, default: /login_check) This is the URL that your login form must submit to. The firewall will intercept any requests (POST requests only, by default) to this URL and process the submitted login credentials.

    Be sure that this URL is covered by your main firewall (i.e. don't create a separate firewall just for check_path URL).

  • use_forward (type: Boolean, default: false) If you'd like the user to be forwarded to the login form instead of being redirected, set this option to true.

  • username_parameter (type: string, default: _username) This is the field name that you should give to the username field of your login form. When you submit the form to check_path, the security system will look for a POST parameter with this name.

  • password_parameter (type: string, default: _password) This is the field name that you should give to the password field of your login form. When you submit the form to check_path, the security system will look for a POST parameter with this name.

  • post_only (type: Boolean, default: true) By default, you must submit your login form to the check_path URL as a POST request. By setting this option to false, you can send a GET request to the check_path URL.

Redirecting after Login

  • always_use_default_target_path (type: Boolean, default: false)
  • default_target_path (type: string, default: /)
  • target_path_parameter (type: string, default: _target_path)
  • use_referer (type: Boolean, default: false)

Firewall Context

Most applications will only need one firewall. But if your application does use multiple firewalls, you'll notice that if you're authenticated in one firewall, you're not automatically authenticated in another. In other words, the systems don't share a common "context": each firewall acts like a separate security system.

However, each firewall has an optional context key (which defaults to the name of the firewall), which is used when storing and retrieving security data to and from the session. If this key were set to the same value across multiple firewalls, the "context" could actually be shared:

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    # app/config/security.yml
security:
    # ...

    firewalls:
        somename:
            # ...
            context: my_context
        othername:
            # ...
            context: my_context
  • XML
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    <!-- app/config/security.xml -->
<security:config>
   <firewall name="somename" context="my_context">
     <! ... ->
   </firewall>
   <firewall name="othername" context="my_context">
     <! ... ->
   </firewall>
</security:config>
  • PHP
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    // app/config/security.php
$container->loadFromExtension('security', array(
     'firewalls' => array(
         'somename' => array(
             // ...
             'context' => 'my_context'
         ),
         'othername' => array(
             // ...
             'context' => 'my_context'
         ),
     ),
));

HTTP-Digest Authentication

To use HTTP-Digest authentication you need to provide a realm and a key:

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    # app/config/security.yml
security:
   firewalls:
      somename:
        http_digest:
         key: "a_random_string"
         realm: "secure-api"
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    <!-- app/config/security.xml -->
<security:config>
   <firewall name="somename">
      <http-digest key="a_random_string" realm="secure-api" />
   </firewall>
</security:config>
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    // app/config/security.php
$container->loadFromExtension('security', array(
     'firewalls' => array(
         'somename' => array(
             'http_digest' => array(
                 'key'   => 'a_random_string',
                 'realm' => 'secure-api',
             ),
         ),
     ),
));

This work, including the code samples, is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 license.