value is always null when using HttpContext.User.Identity.Name

Question

Hello,

I am trying to get the value in x and y variable from window.security and HTTPContext, but not sure

what am I doing wrong that the value is always NULL.

var x = System.Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal.Current.Identity.Name;

var y = HttpContext.User.Identity.Name;

Below is my program.cs file:

using AckPackage;

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting;

using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;

namespace TrustedSystem

{

public class Program

{

    public static void Main(string[] args)

    {

        CreateHostBuilder(args).Build().Run();

    }

    public static IHostBuilder CreateHostBuilder(string[] args) =>

        Host.CreateDefaultBuilder(args)

            .ConfigureWebHostDefaults(webBuilder =>

            {

                webBuilder.UseStartup<Startup>();

            });

}

}

below is my startup.cs file:

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Builder;

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authentication;

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authentication.Cookies;

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authorization;

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Authorization;

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Server.IISIntegration;

using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http;

using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;

using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;

using AckPackage.Data;

using AckPackage.Models;

using AckPackage.Extensions;

using System.Net;

using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;

namespace AckPackage

{

public class Startup

{

    public IConfiguration Configuration { get; }

    private const string DefaultConnection = "DefaultConnection";

    public Startup(IConfiguration configuration)

    {

        Configuration = configuration;

    }

    public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)

    {

        services.AddDbContext<AckPackage.Data.AckContext>(options =>

            options.UseSqlServer(

                Configuration.GetConnectionString(DefaultConnection)));

        services.Configure<CookiePolicyOptions>(options =>

        {

            // This lambda determines whether user consent for non-essential cookies is needed for a given request.

            options.CheckConsentNeeded = context => true;

            options.MinimumSameSitePolicy = SameSiteMode.None;

        });

        services.AddAuthentication(options =>

        {

            options.DefaultAuthenticateScheme = IISDefaults.AuthenticationScheme;

            options.DefaultChallengeScheme = IISDefaults.AuthenticationScheme;

        });  //.AddNegotiate();

        services.AddAuthorization();

        //services.AddAuthentication(CookieAuthenticationDefaults.AuthenticationScheme)

        //.AddCookie(options =>

        //{

        //    options.LoginPath = "/Employee/Create";

        //});

        services.AddHttpContextAccessor();

        services.AddControllersWithViews();

        services.AddSingleton<IHttpContextAccessor, HttpContextAccessor>();

        services.AddDistributedMemoryCache();

        services.AddSession(options =>

        {

            options.IdleTimeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(120);

            options.Cookie.HttpOnly = true;

            options.Cookie.IsEssential = true;

        });

        services.AddRazorPages();

        //services.AddMvc().AddRazorRuntimeCompilation();

        services.BindingAppServices(Configuration);

        services.Configure<Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http.Features.FormOptions>(x =>

        {

            x.ValueLengthLimit = int.MaxValue;

            x.MultipartBodyLengthLimit = int.MaxValue; // In case of multipart

        });

    }

    public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env)

    {

        if (env.IsDevelopment())

        {

            app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();

        }

        else

        {

            app.UseExceptionHandler("/Home/Error");

            // The default HSTS value is 30 days.

            app.UseHsts();

        }

        app.UseHttpsRedirection();

        app.UseStaticFiles();

        app.UseRouting();

        app.UseAuthentication();

        app.UseAuthorization();

        app.UseSession();

        app.UseEndpoints(endpoints =>

        {

            endpoints.MapControllerRoute(

                name: "default",

                pattern: "{controller=Employee}/{action=Create}/{id?}");

            endpoints.MapRazorPages();

        });

        // app.MapRazorPages();

    }

}

}

below is my launchsettings.cs file

{
  "iisSettings": {
    "windowsAuthentication": true,
    "anonymousAuthentication": false,
    "iisExpress": {
      "applicationUrl": "http://localhost:10222",
      "sslPort": 44314
    }
  },
  "profiles": {
    "AckPackage": {
      "commandName": "Project",
      "dotnetRunMessages": true,
      "launchBrowser": true,
      "applicationUrl": "https://localhost:7043;http://localhost:6043",
      "environmentVariables": {
        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Development"
      }
    },
    "IIS Express": {
      "commandName": "IISExpress",
      "launchBrowser": true,
      "environmentVariables": {
        "ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT": "Development"
      }
    }
  }
}

I am using .net core 6.0 I am struggling with this issue for past 2 days and could not resolve it. This value is null on my local machine. I haven't deployed the code to server yet.

if I add "addnegotiate" in below code:

 services.AddAuthentication(options =>
            {
                options.DefaultAuthenticateScheme = IISDefaults.AuthenticationScheme;
                options.DefaultChallengeScheme = IISDefaults.AuthenticationScheme;
            }).AddNegotiate();

then i get an error in program.cs at this line saying:

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

saying:

System.IO.FileNotFoundException
  HResult=0x80070002
  Message=Could not load file or assembly 'System.DirectoryServices.Protocols, Version=6.0.0.1, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a'. The system cannot find the file specified.
  Source=Microsoft.AspNetCore.Authentication.Negotiate

any help with this will be highly appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi @Anjali Agarwal,

Firstly, the correct way to get the name by WindowsPrincipal should be like below:

WindowsPrincipal wp = new WindowsPrincipal(WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent());

var username = wp.Identity.Name;

Secondly, be sure the anonymousAuthentication value is set false in your launchSettings.json(located in Properties folder).

Thirdly, change your Startup.cs like below if you use .NET6:

services.AddAuthentication(NegotiateDefaults.AuthenticationScheme)
    .AddNegotiate();
services.AddAuthorization(options =>
{
    options.FallbackPolicy = options.DefaultPolicy;   
});

At last, clean the project(right-click the project and choose Clean) and then run the application.

---

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Best Regards,

Rena