Cookie based authentication & authorization in ASP.NET Core explained

Short summary

ASP.NET Core implements cookie-based authentication by extracting a ClaimsPrincipal from encrypted cookies and evaluating its claims against authorization policies. The middleware orchestrates three outcomes: Challenge (unauthenticated → login redirect), Forbid (unauthorized → access-denied redirect), or Success (request proceeds). Configuration requires AddAuthentication, AddAuthorization, and middleware registration in the request pipeline.

• •Cookie handler decrypts cookies and builds ClaimsPrincipal in authentication middleware
• •Authorization middleware evaluates claims; three outcomes: Challenge, Forbid, or Success
• •Setup via DI container (AddAuthentication/AddAuthorization) and middleware registration

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