Microsoft hubs(8920128728): Enforce HTTPS in ASP.NET Core

This document shows how to:

Require HTTPS for all requests.
Redirect all HTTP requests to HTTPS.

No API can prevent a client from sending sensitive data on the first request.

Warning

API projects

Do not use RequireHttpsAttribute on Web APIs that receive sensitive information. RequireHttpsAttribute uses HTTP status codes to redirect browsers from HTTP to HTTPS. API clients may not understand or obey redirects from HTTP to HTTPS. Such clients may send information over HTTP. Web APIs should either:

Not listen on HTTP.
Close the connection with status code 400 (Bad Request) and not serve the request.

Require HTTPS

We recommend that production ASP.NET Core web apps call:

HTTPS Redirection Middleware (UseHttpsRedirection) to redirect HTTP requests to HTTPS.
HSTS Middleware (UseHsts) to send HTTP Strict Transport Security Protocol (HSTS) headers to clients.

Note

Apps deployed in a reverse proxy configuration allow the proxy to handle connection security (HTTPS). If the proxy also handles HTTPS redirection, there's no need to use HTTPS Redirection Middleware. If the proxy server also handles writing HSTS headers (for example, native HSTS support in IIS 10.0 (1709) or later), HSTS Middleware isn't required by the app. For more information, see Opt-out of HTTPS/HSTS on project creation.

UseHttpsRedirection

The following code calls UseHttpsRedirection in the Startup class:



public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IHostingEnvironment env)
{
    if (env.IsDevelopment())
    {
        app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
    }
    else
    {
        app.UseExceptionHandler("/Error");
        app.UseHsts();
    }

    app.UseHttpsRedirection();
    app.UseStaticFiles();
    app.UseCookiePolicy();

    app.UseMvc();
}

The preceding highlighted code:

Uses the default HttpsRedirectionOptions.RedirectStatusCode (Status307TemporaryRedirect).
Uses the default HttpsRedirectionOptions.HttpsPort (null) unless overridden by the ASPNETCORE_HTTPS_PORT environment variable or IServerAddressesFeature.

We recommend using temporary redirects rather than permanent redirects. Link caching can cause unstable behavior in development environments. If you prefer to send a permanent redirect status code when the app is in a non-Development environment, see the Configure permanent redirects in production section. We recommend using HSTS to signal to clients that only secure resource requests should be sent to the app (only in production).

Port configuration

A port must be available for the middleware to redirect an insecure request to HTTPS. If no port is available:

Redirection to HTTPS doesn't occur.
The middleware logs the warning "Failed to determine the https port for redirect."

Specify the HTTPS port using any of the following approaches:

Set HttpsRedirectionOptions.HttpsPort.

Set the ASPNETCORE_HTTPS_PORT environment variable or https_port Web Host configuration setting:

Key: https_port
Type: string
Default: A default value isn't set.
Set using: UseSetting
Environment variable: <PREFIX_>HTTPS_PORT (The prefix is ASPNETCORE_ when using the Web Host.)

When configuring an IWebHostBuilder in Program:



public class Program
{
    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        CreateWebHostBuilder(args).Build().Run();
    }

    public static IWebHostBuilder CreateWebHostBuilder(string[] args) =>
        WebHost.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)
            .UseSetting("https_port", "8080")
            .UseStartup<Startup>();
}

Indicate a port with the secure scheme using the ASPNETCORE_URLS environment variable. The environment variable configures the server. The middleware indirectly discovers the HTTPS port via IServerAddressesFeature. This approach doesn't work in reverse proxy deployments.
In development, set an HTTPS URL in launchsettings.json. Enable HTTPS when IIS Express is used.
Configure an HTTPS URL endpoint for a public-facing edge deployment of Kestrel server or HTTP.sys server. Only one HTTPS port is used by the app. The middleware discovers the port via IServerAddressesFeature.

Note

When an app is run in a reverse proxy configuration, IServerAddressesFeature isn't available. Set the port using one of the other approaches described in this section.

When Kestrel or HTTP.sys is used as a public-facing edge server, Kestrel or HTTP.sys must be configured to listen on both:

The secure port where the client is redirected (typically, 443 in production and 5001 in development).
The insecure port (typically, 80 in production and 5000 in development).

The insecure port must be accessible by the client in order for the app to receive an insecure request and redirect the client to the secure port.

For more information, see Kestrel endpoint configuration or HTTP.sys web server implementation in ASP.NET Core.

Deployment scenarios

Any firewall between the client and server must also have communication ports open for traffic.

If requests are forwarded in a reverse proxy configuration, use Forwarded Headers Middlewarebefore calling HTTPS Redirection Middleware. Forwarded Headers Middleware updates the Request.Scheme, using the X-Forwarded-Proto header.

The middleware permits redirect URIs and other security policies to work correctly. When Forwarded Headers Middleware isn't used, the backend app might not receive the correct scheme and end up in a redirect loop. A common end user error message is that too many redirects have occurred.

When deploying to Azure App Service, follow the guidance in Tutorial: Bind an existing custom SSL certificate to Azure Web Apps.

Options

The following highlighted code calls AddHttpsRedirection to configure middleware options:



public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
    services.AddMvc();

    services.AddHsts(options =>
    {
        options.Preload = true;
        options.IncludeSubDomains = true;
        options.MaxAge = TimeSpan.FromDays(60);
        options.ExcludedHosts.Add("example.com");
        options.ExcludedHosts.Add("www.example.com");
    });

    services.AddHttpsRedirection(options =>
    {
        options.RedirectStatusCode = StatusCodes.Status307TemporaryRedirect;
        options.HttpsPort = 5001;
    });
}

Calling AddHttpsRedirection is only necessary to change the values of HttpsPort or RedirectStatusCode.

The preceding highlighted code:

Sets HttpsRedirectionOptions.RedirectStatusCode to Status307TemporaryRedirect, which is the default value. Use the fields of the StatusCodes class for assignments to RedirectStatusCode.
Sets the HTTPS port to 5001. The default value is 443.

Configure permanent redirects in production

The middleware defaults to sending a Status307TemporaryRedirect with all redirects. If you prefer to send a permanent redirect status code when the app is in a non-Development environment, wrap the middleware options configuration in a conditional check for a non-Development environment.

When configuring an IWebHostBuilder in Startup.cs:

public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
    // IHostingEnvironment (stored in _env) is injected into the Startup class.
    if (!_env.IsDevelopment())
    {
        services.AddHttpsRedirection(options =>
        {
            options.RedirectStatusCode = StatusCodes.Status308PermanentRedirect;
            options.HttpsPort = 443;
        });
    }
}

HTTPS Redirection Middleware alternative approach

An alternative to using HTTPS Redirection Middleware (UseHttpsRedirection) is to use URL Rewriting Middleware (AddRedirectToHttps). AddRedirectToHttps can also set the status code and port when the redirect is executed. For more information, see URL Rewriting Middleware.

When redirecting to HTTPS without the requirement for additional redirect rules, we recommend using HTTPS Redirection Middleware (UseHttpsRedirection) described in this topic.

HTTP Strict Transport Security Protocol (HSTS)

Per OWASP, HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) is an opt-in security enhancement that's specified by a web app through the use of a response header. When a browser that supports HSTS receives this header:

The browser stores configuration for the domain that prevents sending any communication over HTTP. The browser forces all communication over HTTPS.
The browser prevents the user from using untrusted or invalid certificates. The browser disables prompts that allow a user to temporarily trust such a certificate.

Because HSTS is enforced by the client it has some limitations:

The client must support HSTS.
HSTS requires at least one successful HTTPS request to establish the HSTS policy.
The application must check every HTTP request and redirect or reject the HTTP request.

ASP.NET Core 2.1 or later implements HSTS with the UseHsts extension method. The following code calls UseHsts when the app isn't in development mode:



public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IHostingEnvironment env)
{
    if (env.IsDevelopment())
    {
        app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
    }
    else
    {
        app.UseExceptionHandler("/Error");
        app.UseHsts();
    }

    app.UseHttpsRedirection();
    app.UseStaticFiles();
    app.UseCookiePolicy();

    app.UseMvc();
}

UseHsts isn't recommended in development because the HSTS settings are highly cacheable by browsers. By default, UseHsts excludes the local loopback address.

For production environments implementing HTTPS for the first time, set the initial HstsOptions.MaxAge to a small value using one of the TimeSpan methods. Set the value from hours to no more than a single day in case you need to revert the HTTPS infrastructure to HTTP. After you're confident in the sustainability of the HTTPS configuration, increase the HSTS max-age value; a commonly used value is one year.

The following code:



public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
    services.AddMvc();

    services.AddHsts(options =>
    {
        options.Preload = true;
        options.IncludeSubDomains = true;
        options.MaxAge = TimeSpan.FromDays(60);
        options.ExcludedHosts.Add("example.com");
        options.ExcludedHosts.Add("www.example.com");
    });

    services.AddHttpsRedirection(options =>
    {
        options.RedirectStatusCode = StatusCodes.Status307TemporaryRedirect;
        options.HttpsPort = 5001;
    });
}

Sets the preload parameter of the Strict-Transport-Security header. Preload isn't part of the RFC HSTS specification, but is supported by web browsers to preload HSTS sites on fresh install. See https://hstspreload.org/ for more information.
Enables includeSubDomain, which applies the HSTS policy to Host subdomains.
Explicitly sets the max-age parameter of the Strict-Transport-Security header to 60 days. If not set, defaults to 30 days. See the max-age directive for more information.
Adds example.com to the list of hosts to exclude.

UseHsts excludes the following loopback hosts:

localhost : The IPv4 loopback address.
127.0.0.1 : The IPv4 loopback address.
[::1] : The IPv6 loopback address.

Opt-out of HTTPS/HSTS on project creation

In some backend service scenarios where connection security is handled at the public-facing edge of the network, configuring connection security at each node isn't required. Web apps generated from the templates in Visual Studio or from the dotnet new command enable HTTPS redirection and HSTS. For deployments that don't require these scenarios, you can opt-out of HTTPS/HSTS when the app is created from the template.

To opt-out of HTTPS/HSTS:

Uncheck the Configure for HTTPS check box.

New ASP.NET Core Web Application dialog showing the Configure for HTTPS check box unselected.

Trust the ASP.NET Core HTTPS development certificate on Windows and macOS

.NET Core SDK includes a HTTPS development certificate. The certificate is installed as part of the first-run experience. For example, dotnet --info produces output similar to the following:

text

ASP.NET Core
------------
Successfully installed the ASP.NET Core HTTPS Development Certificate.
To trust the certificate run 'dotnet dev-certs https --trust' (Windows and macOS only).
For establishing trust on other platforms refer to the platform specific documentation.
For more information on configuring HTTPS see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=848054.

Installing the .NET Core SDK installs the ASP.NET Core HTTPS development certificate to the local user certificate store. The certificate has been installed, but it's not trusted. To trust the certificate perform the one-time step to run the dotnet dev-certs tool:

console

dotnet dev-certs https --trust

The following command provides help on the dev-certs tool:

console

dotnet dev-certs https --help

How to set up a developer certificate for Docker

See this GitHub issue.

Trust HTTPS certificate from Windows Subsystem for Linux

The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) generates a HTTPS self-signed cert. To configure the Windows certificate store to trust the WSL certificate:

Run the following command to export the WSL generated certificate: dotnet dev-certs https -ep %USERPROFILE%\.aspnet\https\aspnetapp.pfx -p <cryptic-password>
In a WSL window, run the following command:ASPNETCORE_Kestrel__Certificates__Default__Password="<cryptic-password>" ASPNETCORE_Kestrel__Certificates__Default__Path=/mnt/c/Users/user-name/.aspnet/https/aspnetapp.pfx dotnet watch run

The preceding command sets the environment variables so Linux uses the Windows trusted certificate.

Microsoft hubs(8920128728)

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Enforce HTTPS in ASP.NET Core