Section 9 Spring Security True Senior H1 H2

Spring Security handles authentication using AuthenticationManager and stores the authenticated principal in a thread-local SecurityContext. It differentiates between stateless and stateful authentication, with stateless relying on tokens and stateful maintaining server-side sessions. Key considerations for implementing security include method-level security configuration, multi-tenant authentication, JWT usage, REST API security, credential storage, role-based access control, and testing security configurations.

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Section 9 Spring Security True Senior H1 H2

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9.

Spring Security

How does Spring Security handle authentication and what is the role of the
SecurityContext?
 Spring Security uses AuthenticationManager to validate credentials and produce an
Authentication object.
 The authenticated principal is stored in a thread-local SecurityContext during the
request lifecycle.
 SecurityContext is propagated using filters and cleared after request processing
completes.
 In multi-threaded or async environments, the context must be manually propagated or
managed via DelegatingSecurityContextExecutor.
 Improper context handling can result in loss of security state and unauthorized access.

What are the differences between stateless and stateful authentication in

Spring Security?
 Stateless authentication uses tokens (e.g., JWT) and avoids server-side session storage.
 Stateful authentication maintains user sessions on the server (e.g., HttpSession) with
session IDs.
 Stateless auth is easier to scale horizontally but requires client-side token handling and
rotation.
 Stateful sessions offer tighter control over session invalidation and fine-grained timeout
policies.
 Choose based on system size, client trust, and infrastructure capabilities.

How do you configure method-level security and what are common pitfalls?
 Enable @EnableGlobalMethodSecurity with prePostEnabled or securedEnabled as
needed.
 Use annotations like @PreAuthorize, @PostAuthorize, and @Secured for fine-grained
access control.
 SpEL expressions allow dynamic checks on roles, parameters, or return values.
 Method security applies only if method is called through a proxy — self-invocation
bypasses security.
 Complex expressions can be hard to test and debug — prefer service-level access
encapsulation.

How would you implement multi-tenant authentication and authorization in

Spring Security?
 Store tenant context in a thread-local or request-scoped bean extracted from headers or
subdomain.
 Customize UserDetailsService or AuthenticationProvider to validate tenant-bound
credentials.
 Scope roles and authorities per tenant using custom PermissionEvaluator or access
decision logic.
 Include tenant ID in JWT claims and validate token against tenant registry or
boundaries.
 Isolate security config per tenant when using SaaS-style multitenancy or tenant-aware
filters.

What are the key considerations when using JWT for authentication in Spring
Security?
 Use strong asymmetric encryption (RSA/ECDSA) for token signing and avoid storing
secrets client-side.
 Validate token expiration, audience, issuer, and signature on every request.
 Avoid putting sensitive information in token claims — tokens are base64-encoded, not
encrypted.
 Rotate keys periodically and provide a revocation strategy (e.g., blacklist, token
versioning).
 Use short-lived access tokens with refresh token support via secure endpoints.

How does Spring Security’s filter chain work and how do you customize it?
 Security filters are applied in a strict order defined by FilterChainProxy.
 Filters like UsernamePasswordAuthenticationFilter, BasicAuthenticationFilter, and
others handle specific stages.
 Custom filters must be added before/after specific built-in filters to ensure proper
behavior.
 Filter order matters for security — misplacing filters can lead to vulnerabilities or
bypasses.
 Always test full filter chain interaction when adding custom logic (e.g., logging, CORS,
audit).

How would you secure REST APIs differently from form-based applications?
 REST APIs use stateless authentication (e.g., JWT, API Keys) and avoid CSRF tokens.
 Disable session creation and CSRF protection in REST-specific security configurations.
 Return HTTP status codes (401/403) instead of redirecting to login forms.
 Expose authentication/authorization failures as standardized JSON responses.
 Validate content types, rate limit endpoints, and log failed access attempts.

What are some best practices for securely storing and validating user
credentials?
 Use BCrypt or Argon2 hashing algorithms for password encoding, never plain-text or
MD5/SHA1.
 Use a strong salt and configure work factor (e.g., BCrypt strength = 10+).
 Limit failed login attempts and implement account lockout policies.
 Store credentials in secure, encrypted databases and never log passwords.
 Validate credentials via AuthenticationManager and never implement custom logic
directly.

How would you implement role-based access control (RBAC) in Spring Security?
 Define roles as authorities (e.g., ROLE_ADMIN) and map them to user entities.
 Use @PreAuthorize or hasRole('ROLE_XXX') in controller/service layer for enforcement.
 Store role hierarchies or permission matrices in database or central policy service.
 Use PermissionEvaluator or AccessDecisionManager for fine-grained domain-level
access.
 Ensure role checks align with business rules and are unit tested in isolation.

How do you test Spring Security configurations and custom authorization logic?
 Use @WithMockUser and @WithUserDetails for mocking security contexts in unit tests.
 Test controller endpoints with MockMvc and security filters in place.
 Write integration tests that simulate full authentication flow including tokens or
sessions.
 Mock Authentication/Principal objects in service-level unit tests.
 Cover both success and failure scenarios — unauthorized, forbidden, and edge cases.