Key Security Rules & Best Practices for ASP.NET Core Projects

Introduction

In this article, we will see the key security rules & best practices for ASP.NET Core projects.

Before we start, please take a look at my last article on ASP.NET Core.

Now, let's get started.

1. Use HTTPS Everywhere

Enforce HTTPS

Code

  
    app.UseHttpsRedirection();

Add HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security)

Code

  
    app.UseHsts();

Redirect all HTTP to HTTPS in reverse proxies (NGINX, IIS, Azure).

2. Authentication & Authorization

Use ASP.NETCore Identity or external providers (OAuth2, OpenID Connect).
Never roll your own auth.
Role-based & policy-based authorization:

Code

  
    services.AddAuthorization(options =>
{
    options.AddPolicy("AdminOnly", policy => policy.RequireRole("Admin"));
});

Secure API endpoints with [Authorize]

3. Protect Against XSS (Cross-Site Scripting)

Razor automatically HTML-encodes output:

Code

  
    @Html.DisplayFor(model => model.Name)   //  safe
 @Model.Name   //  safe
 @Html.Raw(Model.Name)  //  unsafe unless sanitized

Use libraries like Ganss.XSS to sanitize user input.
Set Content Security Policy (CSP) headers.

4. Prevent CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery)

MVC & Razor Pages have anti-forgery tokens built-in:

Code

  
    <form asp-action="PostData">
    @Html.AntiForgeryToken()
</form>

In controllers:

Code

  
    [ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
 public IActionResult PostData(MyModel model) { ... }

For APIs: use JWT or the Double Submit Cookie pattern instead.

5. Secure Cookies

Use cookie options :

Code

  
    options.Cookie.HttpOnly = true;   // JS can’t access
 options.Cookie.SecurePolicy = CookieSecurePolicy.Always; // Only HTTPS
 options.Cookie.SameSite = SameSiteMode.Strict; // Prevent CSRF

6. Store Secrets Securely

Never hardcode secrets (DB passwords, API keys) in appsettings.json .
Use:
- User Secrets (for development).
- Azure Key Vault / AWS Secrets Manager / HashiCorp Vault (for production).

Code

  
    builder.Configuration.AddUserSecrets<Program>();

7. Secure Database Access

Always use parameterized queries (EF Core does this by default).
Apply least privilege principle to DB accounts.
Validate and sanitize all user input before queries.

8. Use Strong Authentication for APIs

Use JWT or OpenID Connect for APIs.
Short-lived tokens + refresh tokens.
Store tokens securely in HttpOnly cookies or secure storage (not localStorage).

9. Logging & Error Handling

Don’t expose stack traces to users:

Code

  
    if (!app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
    app.UseExceptionHandler("/Home/Error");
}

Use structured logging with Serilog, Seq, or Application Insights.
Log security events (login attempts, access denials).

10. Disable Dangerous Features

Turn off directory browsing.
Don’t expose detailed errors in production.
Limit CORS :

Code

  
    services.AddCors(options =>
{
    options.AddPolicy("DefaultPolicy", builder =>
        builder.WithOrigins("https://yourapp.com")
               .AllowAnyHeader()
               .AllowAnyMethod());
});

11. Keep Framework & Dependencies Updated

Always patch to the latest ASP.NET Core version.
Use tools like Dependabot, dotnet list package --outdated.
Remove unused dependencies (minimize attack surface).

12. Apply Principle of Least Privilege

Separate environments (Dev/Test/Prod).
Don’t run the app as admin/root.
Limit file system & DB access to only what’s required.

Note: Following these rules will cover 80–90% of common attack vectors (XSS, CSRF, SQL injection, weak cookies, leaked secrets, etc.).

Conclusion

In this article, I have tried to cover key security rules & best practices for ASP.NET Core projects.