Baeldung Pro – NPI EA (cat = Baeldung)
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Baeldung Pro comes with both absolutely No-Ads as well as finally with Dark Mode, for a clean learning experience:

>> Explore a clean Baeldung

Once the early-adopter seats are all used, the price will go up and stay at $33/year.

Partner – Microsoft – NPI EA (cat = Baeldung)
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Azure Container Apps is a fully managed serverless container service that enables you to build and deploy modern, cloud-native Java applications and microservices at scale. It offers a simplified developer experience while providing the flexibility and portability of containers.

Of course, Azure Container Apps has really solid support for our ecosystem, from a number of build options, managed Java components, native metrics, dynamic logger, and quite a bit more.

To learn more about Java features on Azure Container Apps, visit the documentation page.

You can also ask questions and leave feedback on the Azure Container Apps GitHub page.

Partner – Microsoft – NPI EA (cat= Spring Boot)
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Azure Container Apps is a fully managed serverless container service that enables you to build and deploy modern, cloud-native Java applications and microservices at scale. It offers a simplified developer experience while providing the flexibility and portability of containers.

Of course, Azure Container Apps has really solid support for our ecosystem, from a number of build options, managed Java components, native metrics, dynamic logger, and quite a bit more.

To learn more about Java features on Azure Container Apps, you can get started over on the documentation page.

And, you can also ask questions and leave feedback on the Azure Container Apps GitHub page.

Partner – Orkes – NPI EA (cat=Spring)
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Modern software architecture is often broken. Slow delivery leads to missed opportunities, innovation is stalled due to architectural complexities, and engineering resources are exceedingly expensive.

Orkes is the leading workflow orchestration platform built to enable teams to transform the way they develop, connect, and deploy applications, microservices, AI agents, and more.

With Orkes Conductor managed through Orkes Cloud, developers can focus on building mission critical applications without worrying about infrastructure maintenance to meet goals and, simply put, taking new products live faster and reducing total cost of ownership.

Try a 14-Day Free Trial of Orkes Conductor today.

Partner – Orkes – NPI EA (tag=Microservices)
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Modern software architecture is often broken. Slow delivery leads to missed opportunities, innovation is stalled due to architectural complexities, and engineering resources are exceedingly expensive.

Orkes is the leading workflow orchestration platform built to enable teams to transform the way they develop, connect, and deploy applications, microservices, AI agents, and more.

With Orkes Conductor managed through Orkes Cloud, developers can focus on building mission critical applications without worrying about infrastructure maintenance to meet goals and, simply put, taking new products live faster and reducing total cost of ownership.

Try a 14-Day Free Trial of Orkes Conductor today.

eBook – Guide Spring Cloud – NPI EA (cat=Spring Cloud)
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Let's get started with a Microservice Architecture with Spring Cloud:

>> Join Pro and download the eBook

eBook – Mockito – NPI EA (tag = Mockito)
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Mocking is an essential part of unit testing, and the Mockito library makes it easy to write clean and intuitive unit tests for your Java code.

Get started with mocking and improve your application tests using our Mockito guide:

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eBook – Java Concurrency – NPI EA (cat=Java Concurrency)
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Handling concurrency in an application can be a tricky process with many potential pitfalls. A solid grasp of the fundamentals will go a long way to help minimize these issues.

Get started with understanding multi-threaded applications with our Java Concurrency guide:

>> Download the eBook

eBook – Reactive – NPI EA (cat=Reactive)
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Spring 5 added support for reactive programming with the Spring WebFlux module, which has been improved upon ever since. Get started with the Reactor project basics and reactive programming in Spring Boot:

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eBook – Java Streams – NPI EA (cat=Java Streams)
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Since its introduction in Java 8, the Stream API has become a staple of Java development. The basic operations like iterating, filtering, mapping sequences of elements are deceptively simple to use.

But these can also be overused and fall into some common pitfalls.

To get a better understanding on how Streams work and how to combine them with other language features, check out our guide to Java Streams:

>> Join Pro and download the eBook

eBook – Jackson – NPI EA (cat=Jackson)
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Do JSON right with Jackson

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eBook – HTTP Client – NPI EA (cat=Http Client-Side)
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Get the most out of the Apache HTTP Client

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eBook – Maven – NPI EA (cat = Maven)
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Get Started with Apache Maven:

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eBook – Persistence – NPI EA (cat=Persistence)
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Working on getting your persistence layer right with Spring?

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eBook – RwS – NPI EA (cat=Spring MVC)
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Building a REST API with Spring?

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Course – LS – NPI EA (cat=Jackson)
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Get started with Spring and Spring Boot, through the Learn Spring course:

>> LEARN SPRING
Course – RWSB – NPI EA (cat=REST)
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Explore Spring Boot 3 and Spring 6 in-depth through building a full REST API with the framework:

>> The New “REST With Spring Boot”

Course – LSS – NPI EA (cat=Spring Security)
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Yes, Spring Security can be complex, from the more advanced functionality within the Core to the deep OAuth support in the framework.

I built the security material as two full courses - Core and OAuth, to get practical with these more complex scenarios. We explore when and how to use each feature and code through it on the backing project.

You can explore the course here:

>> Learn Spring Security

Course – All Access – NPI EA (cat= Spring)
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All Access is finally out, with all of my Spring courses. Learn JUnit is out as well, and Learn Maven is coming fast. And, of course, quite a bit more affordable. Finally.

>> GET THE COURSE
Course – LSD – NPI EA (tag=Spring Data JPA)
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Spring Data JPA is a great way to handle the complexity of JPA with the powerful simplicity of Spring Boot.

Get started with Spring Data JPA through the guided reference course:

>> CHECK OUT THE COURSE

Partner – LambdaTest – NPI EA (cat=Testing)
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End-to-end testing is a very useful method to make sure that your application works as intended. This highlights issues in the overall functionality of the software, that the unit and integration test stages may miss.

Playwright is an easy-to-use, but powerful tool that automates end-to-end testing, and supports all modern browsers and platforms.

When coupled with LambdaTest (an AI-powered cloud-based test execution platform) it can be further scaled to run the Playwright scripts in parallel across 3000+ browser and device combinations:

>> Automated End-to-End Testing With Playwright

Course – Spring Sale 2025 – NPI EA (cat= Baeldung)
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Yes, we're now running our Spring Sale. All Courses are 25% off until 26th May, 2025:

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Course – Spring Sale 2025 – NPI (cat=Baeldung)
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Yes, we're now running our Spring Sale. All Courses are 25% off until 26th May, 2025:

>> EXPLORE ACCESS NOW

Course – LSS – NPI (cat=Spring Security)
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If you're working on a Spring Security (and especially an OAuth) implementation, definitely have a look at the Learn Spring Security course:

>> LEARN SPRING SECURITY

1. Introduction

In this tutorial, we’ll focus on Spring Security Expressions and practical examples using these expressions. Spring Security Expressions provide a way to define authorization rules in a declarative manner.

They allow for flexibility when specifying who can access specific URLs or execute certain methods. These expressions are crucial for handling security at various levels in our application, from web request authorization to method-level security.

Before looking at more complex implementations, such as ACL, it’s important to have a solid grasp on security expressions, as they can be quite flexible and powerful if used correctly.

2. Maven Dependencies

To use Spring Security in our project, we include the following dependencies in the pom.xml:

<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.security</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-security-web</artifactId>
        <version>6.1.5</version>
   </dependency>
</dependencies>

The spring-security-web dependency is essential for Spring Security, while spring-core and spring-context are required for a fully functional web application.

3. Configuration

Spring Security can be configured using Java-based configuration, which offers better flexibility and is the recommended approach in most modern Spring applications. Below is an example:

@Configuration
@EnableWebSecurity
@EnableGlobalMethodSecurity(prePostEnabled = true)
@ComponentScan("com.baeldung.security")
public class SecurityJavaConfig {
    ...
}

The @EnableGlobalMethodSecurity(prePostEnabled = true) annotation enables the use of @PreAuthorize and @PostAuthorize annotations, allowing for method-level security. With these annotations, we can apply security logic before or after a method executes.

4. Web Security Expressions

Let’s dive into some common Spring Security expressions:

4.1. hasRole(), hasAnyRole()

These expressions are used to specify which roles are required to access specific URLs or methods:

@Bean
public SecurityFilterChain filterChain(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception {
    return http
      .antMatchers("/auth/admin/*").hasRole("ADMIN")
      .antMatchers("/auth/*").hasAnyRole("ADMIN", "USER")
      .build();
}

The above example ensures that only users with the ADMIN role can access URLs starting with /auth/admin/, while both ADMIN and USER roles are allowed access to URLs starting with /auth/.

4.2. hasAuthority(), hasAnyAuthority()

Roles and authorities are both used for access control, but they have slightly different semantics. Authorities don’t require the ROLE_ prefix, which Spring adds automatically for roles. Using authorities instead of roles is recommended, as it allows more flexibility.

Here’s a quick example of defining users with specific authorities:

@Bean
public SecurityFilterChain filterChain(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception {
    return http
      .authorizeHttpRequests(auth -> auth
        .requestMatchers("/auth/admin/*").hasAuthority("ADMIN")
        .requestMatchers("/auth/*").hasAnyAuthority("ADMIN", "USER"
      )
      .build();
}

4.3. permitAll(), denyAll()

These expressions allow us to explicitly permit or deny access to specific URLs. Let’s have a look at the example:

@Bean
public SecurityFilterChain filterChain(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception {
    return http
      .authorizeHttpRequests(auth -> auth
        .requestMatchers("/public/**").permitAll()
        .requestMatchers("/private/**").denyAll()
      )
      .build();
}

This configuration uses permitAll() to allow anyone to access URLs starting with /public/, making them publicly available, while denyAll() completely blocks access to URLs beginning with /private/, effectively disabling those resources.

4.4. isAnonymous(), isRememberMe(), isAuthenticated(), isFullyAuthenticated()

These expressions control access based on the user’s authentication status:

  • isAnonymous(): Allows access to unauthenticated users.
  • isAuthenticated(): Restricts access to authenticated users.
  • isFullyAuthenticated(): Requires users to re-authenticate for sensitive operations.
  • isRememberMe(): Allows access to users authenticated via “remember-me” functionality.
@Bean
public SecurityFilterChain filterChain(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception {
    return http
      .authorizeHttpRequests(auth -> auth
        .requestMatchers("/login").anonymous()
        .requestMatchers("/dashboard").authenticated()
        .requestMatchers("/settings").fullyAuthenticated()
      )
      .build();
}

In this example, we use anonymous() to ensure only unauthenticated users can reach /login, authenticated() requires a user to be logged in for /dashboard, and fullyAuthenticated() mandates a fresh login for sensitive /settings access, enhancing security.

4.5. principal, authentication

Spring Security provides access to the current user’s authentication details through the Principal and Authentication objects. These objects contain information about the authenticated user, such as their username and roles.

For instance, when a user makes a request to a protected endpoint, we can retrieve their details using the Principal object:

@GetMapping("/profile")
public String profile(Principal principal) {
    return "Hello, " + principal.getName();
}

In this example, the profile() method extracts the logged-in user’s name from the Principal object and returns a greeting message.

Alternatively, if we need more details about the authentication, such as roles or authentication type, we can use the Authentication object instead:

@GetMapping("/user-details")
public String userDetails(Authentication authentication) {
    return "User: " + authentication.getName() + ", Roles: " + authentication.getAuthorities();
}

4.6. hasPermission() APIs

The hasPermission expression is part of Spring Security’s ACL system, allowing fine-grained permission checks on domain objects. Instead of just checking roles (like hasRole(‘ADMIN’)), it verifies specific permissions for a given resource.

For example, we can enforce that only users with the isEditor permission can approve articles:

@PreAuthorize("hasPermission(#article, 'isEditor')")
public void acceptArticle(Article article) {
   ...
}

To use hasPermission, we must configure a custom PermissionEvaluator. This evaluator defines how permissions are checked for different objects:

@Override
protected MethodSecurityExpressionHandler expressionHandler() {
    DefaultMethodSecurityExpressionHandler expressionHandler = 
      new DefaultMethodSecurityExpressionHandler();
    expressionHandler.setPermissionEvaluator(new CustomInterfaceImplementation());
    return expressionHandler;
}

5. Method-Level Security With @PreAuthorize and @PostAuthorize

Spring Security also allows us to apply security expressions at the method level. With @PreAuthorize and @PostAuthorize, we can execute security checks before or after a method executes. This is particularly useful when securing services based on roles or other conditions.

This example ensures that only users with the ADMIN role can execute the deleteUser() method:

@PreAuthorize("hasRole('ADMIN')")
public void deleteUser(User user) {
    // Method logic
}

In contrast, @PostAuthorize() ensures that the user can only view their own user object after the method has executed:

@PostAuthorize("returnObject.owner == authentication.name")
public User getUser(Long id) {
    // Fetch the user and return
}

6. Path Variables and @PreFilter / @PostFilter

Spring Security also supports filtering collections in methods using @PreFilter and @PostFilter. This is useful when we need to filter data before or after method execution, based on the logged-in user’s authorities or other criteria.

The @PreFilter annotation ensures that only certain elements in a collection are passed to the method, filtering out unauthorized ones before execution:

@PreFilter("filterObject.owner == authentication.name")
public void updatePosts(List<Post> posts) {
    // Update posts for the user
}

The expression filterObject.owner == authentication.name ensures that only posts owned by the logged-in user (authentication.name) are processed.

The @PostFilter annotation ensures that only allowed elements are returned to the caller after execution. This is useful when retrieving data but restricting access to only authorized items. Let’s take a look at this example:

@PostFilter("filterObject.owner == authentication.name")
public List<Post> getPosts() {
    // Get all the posts and ret
}

The @PostFilter annotation filters out any posts that do not belong to the currently authenticated user.

7. Conclusion

In this article, we explored key Spring Security expressions and how they can be applied to protect your web application. By leveraging expressions like hasRole(), hasAuthority(), permitAll(), and various authentication-related expressions, we can fine-tune the security of our application. Additionally, using @PreAuthorize, @PostAuthorize, @PreFilter, and @PostFilter allows for more granular control over method-level security and data filtering.

The code backing this article is available on GitHub. Once you're logged in as a Baeldung Pro Member, start learning and coding on the project.
Baeldung Pro – NPI EA (cat = Baeldung)
announcement - icon

Baeldung Pro comes with both absolutely No-Ads as well as finally with Dark Mode, for a clean learning experience:

>> Explore a clean Baeldung

Once the early-adopter seats are all used, the price will go up and stay at $33/year.

Partner – Microsoft – NPI EA (cat = Spring Boot)
announcement - icon

Azure Container Apps is a fully managed serverless container service that enables you to build and deploy modern, cloud-native Java applications and microservices at scale. It offers a simplified developer experience while providing the flexibility and portability of containers.

Of course, Azure Container Apps has really solid support for our ecosystem, from a number of build options, managed Java components, native metrics, dynamic logger, and quite a bit more.

To learn more about Java features on Azure Container Apps, visit the documentation page.

You can also ask questions and leave feedback on the Azure Container Apps GitHub page.

Partner – Orkes – NPI EA (cat = Spring)
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Modern software architecture is often broken. Slow delivery leads to missed opportunities, innovation is stalled due to architectural complexities, and engineering resources are exceedingly expensive.

Orkes is the leading workflow orchestration platform built to enable teams to transform the way they develop, connect, and deploy applications, microservices, AI agents, and more.

With Orkes Conductor managed through Orkes Cloud, developers can focus on building mission critical applications without worrying about infrastructure maintenance to meet goals and, simply put, taking new products live faster and reducing total cost of ownership.

Try a 14-Day Free Trial of Orkes Conductor today.

Partner – Orkes – NPI EA (tag = Microservices)
announcement - icon

Modern software architecture is often broken. Slow delivery leads to missed opportunities, innovation is stalled due to architectural complexities, and engineering resources are exceedingly expensive.

Orkes is the leading workflow orchestration platform built to enable teams to transform the way they develop, connect, and deploy applications, microservices, AI agents, and more.

With Orkes Conductor managed through Orkes Cloud, developers can focus on building mission critical applications without worrying about infrastructure maintenance to meet goals and, simply put, taking new products live faster and reducing total cost of ownership.

Try a 14-Day Free Trial of Orkes Conductor today.

eBook – HTTP Client – NPI EA (cat=HTTP Client-Side)
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The Apache HTTP Client is a very robust library, suitable for both simple and advanced use cases when testing HTTP endpoints. Check out our guide covering basic request and response handling, as well as security, cookies, timeouts, and more:

>> Download the eBook

eBook – Java Concurrency – NPI EA (cat=Java Concurrency)
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Handling concurrency in an application can be a tricky process with many potential pitfalls. A solid grasp of the fundamentals will go a long way to help minimize these issues.

Get started with understanding multi-threaded applications with our Java Concurrency guide:

>> Download the eBook

eBook – Java Streams – NPI EA (cat=Java Streams)
announcement - icon

Since its introduction in Java 8, the Stream API has become a staple of Java development. The basic operations like iterating, filtering, mapping sequences of elements are deceptively simple to use.

But these can also be overused and fall into some common pitfalls.

To get a better understanding on how Streams work and how to combine them with other language features, check out our guide to Java Streams:

>> Join Pro and download the eBook

eBook – Persistence – NPI EA (cat=Persistence)
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Working on getting your persistence layer right with Spring?

Explore the eBook

Course – LS – NPI EA (cat=REST)

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Get started with Spring Boot and with core Spring, through the Learn Spring course:

>> CHECK OUT THE COURSE

Course – Spring Sale 2025 – NPI EA (cat= Baeldung)
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Yes, we're now running our Spring Sale. All Courses are 25% off until 26th May, 2025:

>> EXPLORE ACCESS NOW

Course – Spring Sale 2025 – NPI (All)
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Yes, we're now running our Spring Sale. All Courses are 25% off until 26th May, 2025:

>> EXPLORE ACCESS NOW

Course – LSS – NPI (cat=Security/Spring Security)
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I just announced the new Learn Spring Security course, including the full material focused on the new OAuth2 stack in Spring Security:

>> CHECK OUT THE COURSE

Partner – Microsoft – NPI (cat=Spring)
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Azure Container Apps is a fully managed serverless container service that enables you to build and deploy modern, cloud-native Java applications and microservices at scale. It offers a simplified developer experience while providing the flexibility and portability of containers.

Of course, Azure Container Apps has really solid support for our ecosystem, from a number of build options, managed Java components, native metrics, dynamic logger, and quite a bit more.

To learn more about Java features on Azure Container Apps, visit the documentation page.

You can also ask questions and leave feedback on the Azure Container Apps GitHub page.

eBook Jackson – NPI EA – 3 (cat = Jackson)