Guide to Security in .NET

The .NET Framework, originally developed by Microsoft as a proprietary platform for Windows, has evolved into a free and open-source framework available across Windows, Linux, and macOS, serving as a robust tool for enterprise application development. It includes a range of security features, such as the use of Principal and Identity Objects for role-based access control, although cross-platform capabilities like .NET Core require additional support for authentication. Best practices for maintaining security in .NET applications involve not overriding code verification checks, carefully verifying user input to prevent attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting, and regularly updating packages through Nuget. Common security threats include SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), cross-site request forgery (CSRF), and XML external entities (XXE) attacks, all of which exploit vulnerabilities in input handling. Developers can enhance application security by using tools such as the Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) suite, which runs real-time security tests to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.