CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials Property

Definition

Gets the system credentials of the application.

C#
public static System.Net.ICredentials DefaultCredentials { get; }

Property Value

An ICredentials that represents the system credentials of the application.

Examples

The following code example uses the DefaultCredentials property to get the system credentials of the application.

C#
// Ensure Directory Security settings for default web site in IIS is "Windows Authentication".
string url = "http://localhost";
// Create a 'HttpWebRequest' object with the specified url.
HttpWebRequest myHttpWebRequest = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(url);
// Assign the credentials of the logged in user or the user being impersonated.
myHttpWebRequest.Credentials = CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials;
// Send the 'HttpWebRequest' and wait for response.
HttpWebResponse myHttpWebResponse = (HttpWebResponse)myHttpWebRequest.GetResponse();
Console.WriteLine("Authentication successful");
Console.WriteLine("Response received successfully");

Remarks

The DefaultCredentials property applies only to NTLM, negotiate, and Kerberos-based authentication.

DefaultCredentials represents the system credentials for the current security context in which the application is running. For a client-side application, these are usually the Windows credentials (user name, password, and domain) of the user running the application. For ASP.NET applications, the default credentials are the user credentials of the logged-in user, or the user being impersonated.

To get the credentials as a NetworkCredential instance, use the DefaultNetworkCredentials property.

Note

The ICredentials instance returned by DefaultCredentials cannot be used to view the user name, password, or domain of the current security context.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0