Spring – Security JSP Tag Library

Spring Security is a powerful framework for securing Java-based applications. One of the features of Spring Security is the ability to use JSP tag libraries to control access to resources in a web application. The Spring Security JSP tag library provides a set of tags that can be used to control access to resources in a web application. In this guide, we will discuss how to use the Spring Security JSP tag library to control access to resources in a web application.

Step by Step Implementation

Step 1: Setting up the Spring Security JSP Tag Library

To use the Spring Security JSP Tag Library, you will first need to add the necessary dependencies to your project. The following dependencies should be added to your project’s pom.xml file:

XML

<dependency>
   <groupId>org.springframework.security</groupId>
   <artifactId>spring-security-web</artifactId>
   <version>5.3.2.RELEASE</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
   <groupId>org.springframework.security</groupId>
   <artifactId>spring-security-taglibs</artifactId>
   <version>5.3.2.RELEASE</version>
</dependency>

Step 2: Configuring the Spring Security JSP Tag Library

Once the dependencies have been added, you will need to configure the Spring Security JSP Tag Library in your web.xml file. Add the following lines to your web.xml file: 

XML

<context-param>
   <param-name>contextConfigLocation</param-name>
   <param-value>/WEB-INF/applicationContext-security.xml</param-value>
</context-param>

<listener>
   <listener-class>org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoaderListener</listener-class>
</listener>

Step 3: Creating the applicationContext-security.xml file

Create a new file in the WEB-INF folder of your project called applicationContext-security.xml. In this file, you will configure the security settings for your application. For example, you can set up roles and users, and configure access rules for different pages.

Step 4: Using the Spring Security JSP Tag Library in your JSP pages

Once the Spring Security JSP Tag Library is set up and configured, you can start using it on your JSP pages. To use the tags, you will need to import the tag library at the top of your JSP file:

XML

<%@ taglib prefix="security" uri="http://www.springframework.org/security/tags" %>

You can then use the tags to control access to different parts of your page. For example, to only show a certain piece of content to users with the role “admin”, you would use the following code: 

XML

<security:authorize access="hasRole('ROLE_ADMIN')">
   <p>This content is only visible to users with the role "admin"</p>
</security:authorize>

Other tags that are provided by the Spring Security JSP tag library include:

• “sec:csrfInput” – generates a hidden input field containing the CSRF token.
• “sec:csrfMetaTags” – generates meta tags containing the CSRF token.
• “sec:http” – generates an HTTP method input field.
• “sec:logout” – generates a logout link.
  

The Spring Security JSP Tag Library provides a set of tags that can be used to secure pages in a web application without having to write java code. These tags include:

• <security:authorize>: This tag is used to control access to a certain part of the page based on the user’s role or other security attributes. The tag can be used to check if a user has a specific role or if they are authenticated, and only show the content within the tag if the user passes the check.
• <security:authentication>: This tag is used to display information about the currently logged-in users, such as their username and role.
• <security:accesscontrollist>: This tag is used to display a list of all the access rules that have been configured for the application.
• <security:csrfInput>: This tag is used to generate a hidden input field that contains the CSRF token. It should be used in forms that are submitted to the server to prevent CSRF attacks.
• <security:accessdenied>: This tag is used to display a message or page when a user tries to access a page they are not authorized to access.

To use these tags, you will need to import the tag library at the top of your JSP file using the following code:

XML

<%@ taglib prefix="security" uri="http://www.springframework.org/security/tags" %>

By using these tags, you can secure your pages without having to write any java code and also make it more convenient for developers to control access to certain parts of a page based on the user’s role or other security attributes.

Example Complete Code

1. pom.xml file

XML

<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-web</artifactId>
        <version>5.3.2.RELEASE</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-webmvc</artifactId>
        <version>5.3.2.RELEASE</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.security</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-security-web</artifactId>
        <version>5.3.2.RELEASE</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.security</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-security-taglibs</artifactId>
        <version>5.3.2.RELEASE</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

XML tree 1

2. web.xml file

XML

<context-param>
    <param-name>contextConfigLocation</param-name>
    <param-value>/WEB-INF/applicationContext-security.xml</param-value>
</context-param>

<listener>
    <listener-class>org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoaderListener</listener-class>
</listener>

<filter>
    <filter-name>springSecurityFilterChain</filter-name>
    <filter-class>org.springframework.web.filter.DelegatingFilterProxy</filter-class>
</filter>

<filter-mapping>
    <filter-name>springSecurityFilterChain</filter-name>
    <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
</filter-mapping>

XML tree 2

3. applicationContext-security.xml file

XML

<beans:beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/security"
             xmlns:beans="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
             xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
             xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
              http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd
              http://www.springframework.org/schema/security
              http://www.springframework.org/schema/security/spring-security.xsd">

    <http auto-config="true" use-expressions="true">
        <intercept-url pattern="/admin/**" access="hasRole('ROLE_ADMIN')" />
        <intercept-url pattern="/**" access="isAuthenticated()" />
        <form-login login-page="/login" default-target-url="/home" authentication-failure-url="/login?error=true" />
        <logout logout-success-url="/login" />
    </http>

    <authentication-manager>

Conclusion

The Spring Security JSP tag library is a powerful tool for controlling access to resources in a web application. By using the tags provided by the library, you can easily control access to resources based on the user’s role and display information.