Performing CRUD Operations and Joining Tables with IOrganizationService When working with Microsoft Dataverse, IOrganizationService is a powerful API that enables direct interaction with the Dataverse environment. This guide demonstrates how to perform CRUD operations and retrieve related records using the OrganizationService in an ASP.NET Core application. Setup Before starting, ensure the required packages are installed: Install-Package Microsoft.CrmSdk.CoreAssemblies Install-Package Microsoft.CrmSdk.XrmTooling.CoreAssembly Connect to Dataverse Establish a connection to your Dataverse environment using a connection string: ...

Securing Your ASP.NET Core Web App: OWASP Top Ten Mitigations Building secure APIs and applications is crucial in today’s interconnected world. This post dives into the OWASP Top Ten vulnerabilities and how you can mitigate them in your ASP.NET Core Web API or application. 1. Injection (A01) Mitigation: Always use parameterized queries or ORM frameworks like Entity Framework. Explanation: Prevent untrusted data from being executed as code by treating it as data. Example: // BAD: vulnerable to SQL injection string sql = $"SELECT * FROM Users WHERE Name = '{userInput}'"; // GOOD: parameterized query string sql = "SELECT * FROM Users WHERE Name = @name"; command.Parameters.AddWithValue("@name", userInput); What can happen: An attacker could inject SQL to exfiltrate or delete sensitive data. 2. Broken Authentication (A02) Mitigation: Use ASP.NET Core Identity with robust password policies and MFA. Example: services.AddIdentity<ApplicationUser, IdentityRole>(options => { options.Password.RequiredLength = 8; options.Password.RequireNonAlphanumeric = true; }); What can happen: Attackers may gain unauthorized access and impersonate users. 3. Sensitive Data Exposure (A03) Mitigation: Use HTTPS and encrypt sensitive data at rest with ASP.NET Core Data Protection. Example: services.AddDataProtection().ProtectKeysWithDpapi(); app.UseHttpsRedirection(); What can happen: Sensitive information could be intercepted by attackers. 4. XML External Entities (XXE) (A04) Mitigation: Disable DTD processing in XML parsers. Example: var settings = new XmlReaderSettings { DtdProcessing = DtdProcessing.Prohibit }; What can happen: Attackers could exploit XXE to extract data or execute malicious actions. 5. Broken Access Control (A05) Mitigation: Use role-based access control. Example: [Authorize(Roles = "Admin")] public IActionResult AdminOnly() => View(); What can happen: Unauthorized users could access restricted resources. 6. Security Misconfiguration (A06) Mitigation: Use secure headers and disable unnecessary features. Example: services.AddHsts(options => { options.Preload = true; options.IncludeSubDomains = true; }); What can happen: Misconfigurations could lead to unauthorized access or system compromise. 7. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) (A07) Mitigation: Sanitize user input with built-in libraries. Example: @Html.Encode(Model.UserInput) What can happen: Attackers could inject malicious scripts into your application. 8. Insecure Deserialization (A08) Mitigation: Avoid deserializing untrusted data. Example: var settings = new JsonSerializerSettings { TypeNameHandling = TypeNameHandling.None }; What can happen: Attackers may inject malicious payloads to execute arbitrary code. 9. Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities (A09) Mitigation: Regularly update dependencies and monitor vulnerabilities. Example: dotnet list package --outdated What can happen: Exploitable vulnerabilities in third-party components could compromise your application. 10. Insufficient Logging & Monitoring (A10) Mitigation: Implement robust logging and monitoring. Example: services.AddApplicationInsightsTelemetry(Configuration["InstrumentationKey"]); Log.Logger = new LoggerConfiguration().WriteTo.Console().CreateLogger(); What can happen: Without logs, attacks may go unnoticed, leading to prolonged damage. Conclusion By following these mitigation strategies, you can significantly improve the security posture of your ASP.NET Core Web API. For more resources, check out the OWASP DotNet Security Cheat Sheet.

Serving a Hugo Site from Multiple Domains Using Relative URLs Want to host the same Hugo site on multiple domains without generating separate versions? By configuring Hugo to use relative URLs, you can efficiently serve the same fileset across multiple domains. Here’s how you can set it up. Steps to Enable Relative URLs in Hugo 1. Configure Hugo to Use Relative URLs In your config.toml (or config.yaml/config.json), enable relative URLs by setting the relativeURLs option to true: ...

Setting Up a Development Environment for SharePoint with Microsoft Graph API Setting up a development environment for SharePoint, especially one integrated with the Microsoft Graph API, doesn’t have to be daunting! This guide breaks it down step by step. 1. Choose Your SharePoint Environment You have two main options: SharePoint Online (Office 365): Perfect for Microsoft Graph integration—always current and feature-rich. SharePoint Server (On-Premises): More complex and doesn’t directly support Microsoft Graph. For beginners, SharePoint Online is a no-brainer! ...

Here’s a more detailed explanation of each of my Docker containers and what they specialize in: 1. Authelia Authelia provides identity verification through single sign-on (SSO) and two-factor authentication (2FA). It’s ideal for securing your self-hosted services, requiring users to verify their identity before accessing them. You can configure authentication methods like one-time passwords (OTP) or push notifications. 2. CrowdSec CrowdSec is a modern intrusion detection system that analyzes server logs and identifies suspicious behaviors. It acts as a collaborative threat defense mechanism, sharing community-wide information to prevent cyberattacks. It can block harmful IP addresses, making it a robust tool for proactive security. ...

The Two-Phase Commit (2PC) Pattern: Ensuring Consistency in Distributed Systems The Two-Phase Commit (2PC) Pattern is a distributed protocol that guarantees all or none of the operations in a distributed system are successfully completed, ensuring data consistency and integrity. It is essential for achieving atomic transactions across multiple resources, such as databases or services, in distributed systems. Coordinator +------------------+ | | | Transaction | | Coordinator | | | +------------------+ / \ / \ Participant1 Participant2 +---------+ +---------+ | | | | | Node | | Node | | | | | +---------+ +---------+ What is Two-Phase Commit? The Two-Phase Commit protocol divides the transaction process into two phases to coordinate operations across multiple participants: ...

Two-Phase Commit (2PC) vs Outbox Pattern: Ensuring Data Consistency The Two-Phase Commit (2PC) Pattern and the Outbox Pattern are two prominent strategies for achieving data consistency in distributed systems. While they both solve similar problems, they employ different approaches. Let’s dive into these patterns to help you determine which is best suited for your application needs. Two-Phase Commit (2PC) Pattern The 2PC Pattern is a distributed protocol designed to ensure that all participants in a distributed transaction either commit or rollback their changes, maintaining data consistency across systems. ...

Two-Phase Commit (2PC) vs Paxos vs Raft: Distributed Systems Protocols Two-Phase Commit (2PC), Paxos, and Raft are widely used protocols in distributed systems. While they may overlap in their goals of achieving consistency and reliability, they are tailored for different purposes and come with their own strengths and weaknesses. Let’s explore these protocols and understand their distinctions. Two-Phase Commit (2PC) Purpose: Ensures atomicity in distributed transactions, ensuring that all participants either commit or abort collectively. ...

Understanding Distributed Locks: Use Cases, Benefits, and Implementation Distributed locks play a vital role in ensuring safe and synchronized access to shared resources in distributed systems. Let’s explore when and why to use distributed locks, their benefits, and practical implementation examples. 1. Introduction to Distributed Locks A distributed lock ensures that only one process or service can access a shared resource at a time, even in a system with multiple nodes. For example, you can use distributed locks to: ...

Understanding FetchXML: Breaking Down a Query Example FetchXML is a powerful XML-based query language for retrieving data from Microsoft Dataverse. Let’s break down a sample FetchXML query and understand its components. FetchXML Query <fetch> <entity name='contact'> <attribute name='fullname' /> <attribute name='emailaddress1' /> <link-entity name='account' from='accountid' to='parentcustomerid' alias='account'> <filter> <condition attribute='accountid' operator='eq' value='ACCOUNT_ID' /> </filter> </link-entity> </entity> </fetch> Explanation of Components <fetch>: The root element of the query, containing the definition of what data to retrieve. <entity>: Defines the primary entity for the query. In this example: ...