HTTP Basic authentication in Spring Boot - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ component_behavior

intermediate

What happens when a Spring Boot REST endpoint is accessed without credentials with HTTP Basic authentication enabled?

Consider a Spring Boot application with HTTP Basic authentication enabled on a REST endpoint. What is the response when a client tries to access the endpoint without sending any credentials?

Spring Boot

spring.security.user.name=user
spring.security.user.password=pass

@RestController
public class MyController {
  @GetMapping("/data")
  public String getData() {
    return "secret data";
  }
}

A The server responds with HTTP status 200 OK and returns the data without authentication.

B The server responds with HTTP status 403 Forbidden without any authentication prompt.

C The server responds with HTTP status 401 Unauthorized and a WWW-Authenticate header prompting for credentials.

D The server responds with HTTP status 500 Internal Server Error due to missing credentials.

💡 Hint

Think about how HTTP Basic authentication challenges clients when no credentials are provided.

When HTTP Basic authentication is enabled, accessing a protected endpoint without credentials causes the server to respond with 401 Unauthorized and a WWW-Authenticate header. This header tells the client to provide credentials.

📝 Syntax

intermediate

Which code snippet correctly configures HTTP Basic authentication in Spring Boot using Java configuration?

Choose the correct Java configuration snippet to enable HTTP Basic authentication in a Spring Boot application.

A

http
  .authorizeRequests().anyRequest().permitAll()
  .httpBasic();

B

http
  .authorizeHttpRequests(auth -> auth.anyRequest().authenticated())
  .httpBasic(withDefaults());

C

http
  .authorizeHttpRequests(auth -> auth.anyRequest().authenticated())
  .formLogin();

D

http
  .authorizeHttpRequests(auth -> auth.anyRequest().authenticated())
  .oauth2Login();

💡 Hint

Look for the method that enables HTTP Basic authentication and requires authentication for all requests.

Option B uses the modern Spring Security DSL to require authentication for all requests and enables HTTP Basic authentication with default settings.

❓ state_output

advanced

What is the value of the 'Authorization' header sent by the client in HTTP Basic authentication for username 'admin' and password '1234'?

When a client sends credentials using HTTP Basic authentication with username 'admin' and password '1234', what is the exact value of the 'Authorization' header?

A Basic YWRtaW46MTIzNA==

B Bearer YWRtaW46MTIzNA==

C Basic admin:1234

D Token YWRtaW46MTIzNA==

💡 Hint

Remember HTTP Basic authentication encodes 'username:password' in Base64 and prefixes with 'Basic '.

The string 'admin:1234' encoded in Base64 is 'YWRtaW46MTIzNA=='. The header value is 'Basic ' plus this encoded string.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Why does this Spring Boot HTTP Basic authentication configuration fail to protect the endpoint?

Given the following Spring Security configuration, why does the endpoint '/api/data' remain accessible without authentication?

Spring Boot

http
  .authorizeHttpRequests(auth -> auth
    .requestMatchers("/public/**").permitAll()
    .anyRequest().permitAll())
  .httpBasic(withDefaults());

A Because '.anyRequest().permitAll()' allows all requests without authentication, overriding the HTTP Basic setup.

B Because '.requestMatchers("/public/**").permitAll()' blocks authentication for all endpoints.

C Because HTTP Basic authentication requires '.formLogin()' to work properly.

D Because the 'httpBasic()' method is missing in the configuration.

💡 Hint

Check the order and effect of authorization rules in the configuration.

The '.anyRequest().permitAll()' rule allows all requests without authentication, so HTTP Basic authentication is effectively disabled for all endpoints.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

Which statement best describes the security limitation of HTTP Basic authentication in Spring Boot?

Consider the security model of HTTP Basic authentication in Spring Boot. Which statement correctly identifies a key limitation?

A HTTP Basic authentication automatically encrypts credentials, so it is safe to use over plain HTTP.

B HTTP Basic authentication requires OAuth tokens to function securely.

C HTTP Basic authentication stores credentials in cookies, which can be vulnerable to cross-site scripting attacks.

D HTTP Basic authentication sends credentials encoded but not encrypted, so it should only be used over HTTPS to protect credentials.

💡 Hint

Think about how HTTP Basic authentication transmits credentials over the network.

HTTP Basic authentication encodes credentials in Base64, which is not encryption. Without HTTPS, credentials can be intercepted easily.