Spring Test & Security: How to mock authentication?

Cover Image for Spring Test & Security: How to mock authentication?
Matheus Mello
Matheus Mello
published a few days ago. updated a few hours ago

๐Ÿš€ How to Mock Authentication in Spring Test & Security

Are you struggling with unit testing the security of your Spring controllers? Do you want to make sure that your URLs are properly secured and that no one accidentally removes security settings? Well, you're in luck! In this blog post, we'll discuss how to mock authentication in your Spring tests to ensure that your controllers are secure. Let's dive in!

๐Ÿค” The Problem

Let's say you have a controller method like this:

@RequestMapping("/api/v1/resource/test") 
@Secured("ROLE_USER")
public @ResonseBody String test() {
    return "test";
}

And you want to test if the URL /api/v1/resource/test is properly secured. You want to make sure that only users with the ROLE_USER role can access this resource. But how do you do that in your unit tests?

๐Ÿ’ก The Solution

To mock authentication in your Spring tests, you can use the MockMvc framework and the SecurityContextHolder. Here's how you can set it up:

// Set up your test environment
@RunWith(SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.class)
@WebAppConfiguration
@ContextConfiguration({ 
    "file:src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/spring/security.xml",
    "file:src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/spring/applicationContext.xml",
    "file:src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/spring/servlet-context.xml" })
public class WebappTestEnvironment {

    // Set up your dependencies
    @Resource
    private FilterChainProxy springSecurityFilterChain;

    @Autowired
    @Qualifier("databaseUserService")
    protected UserDetailsService userDetailsService;

    @Autowired
    private WebApplicationContext wac;

    @Autowired
    protected DataSource dataSource;

    protected MockMvc mockMvc;

    // Helper method to create a mock authentication token
    protected UsernamePasswordAuthenticationToken getPrincipal(String username) {

        UserDetails user = this.userDetailsService.loadUserByUsername(username);

        return new UsernamePasswordAuthenticationToken(
            user, 
            user.getPassword(), 
            user.getAuthorities()
        );
    }

    // Set up your mock MVC
    @Before
    public void setupMockMvc() throws NamingException {
        this.mockMvc = MockMvcBuilders
            .webAppContextSetup(this.wac)
            .addFilters(this.springSecurityFilterChain)
            .build();
    }
}

Now, in your actual test method, you can mock the authentication and perform the request like this:

public class MyControllerTest extends WebappTestEnvironment {

    @Test
    public void testAccess() throws Exception {

        // Mock the authentication token
        UsernamePasswordAuthenticationToken principal = this.getPrincipal("testUser");
        SecurityContextHolder.getContext().setAuthentication(principal);

        // Perform the request
        super.mockMvc
            .perform(
                get("/api/v1/resource/test")
            )
            .andExpect(status().isOk());
    }
}

By setting the authentication token in the SecurityContextHolder, you can simulate the authentication of a specific user for your test. This way, you can ensure that only authorized users can access your secured resources.

๐Ÿ’ช Take it to the Next Level

Now that you know how to mock authentication in your Spring tests, why stop there? Extend your tests to cover more scenarios, such as testing access for different user roles or testing unauthorized access. The possibilities are endless!

๐Ÿ‘ Conclusion

Unit testing the security of your Spring controllers can be challenging, but with the right tools and techniques, it becomes much easier. By mocking authentication in your tests, you can ensure that your URLs are properly secured and that security settings are not accidentally removed.

So go ahead and start mocking! ๐Ÿงช And remember, keep testing, keep securing, and keep rocking! ๐Ÿค˜


Have you ever struggled with mocking authentication in your Spring tests? How did you overcome it? Share your experiences in the comments below and let's discuss! ๐Ÿ‘‡


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