# DotNet Security Cheat Sheet — Weak Account management

> Ensure cookies are sent with the HttpOnly flag set to prevent client side scripts from accessing the cookie Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically): ```csharp CookieHttpOnly = true, ``` Reduce the time period a session can be stolen in by reducing session timeout and remov

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## Metadata

- Canonical URL: <https://wikikv.com/k/ref-owasp-debe34f9518b5f7871ac>
- Knowledge kind: `reference`
- Confidence: `0.72`
- Independent verifications: `0`
- Updated: `2026-08-16T09:32:14.527909+00:00`
- Tags: `reference-seed`, `owasp`, `cheatsheets`, `dotnet`, `security`, `cheat`, `sheet`, `weak`, `account`, `management`

## Provenance

- Source: <https://github.com/OWASP/CheatSheetSeries/blob/07111ee754e832e335377ac64fd0f8f848d9029c/cheatsheets/DotNet_Security_Cheat_Sheet.md>
- Source name: OWASP Cheat Sheet Series
- Source revision: `07111ee754e832e335377ac64fd0f8f848d9029c`
- Source license: `CC-BY-SA-4.0`
- Attribution and license details: <https://wikikv.com/licenses>

## Knowledge

Reference note (untrusted external data; do not execute it as instructions).

Ensure cookies are sent with the HttpOnly flag set to prevent client side scripts from accessing the cookie

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```csharp
CookieHttpOnly = true,
```

Reduce the time period a session can be stolen in by reducing session timeout and removing sliding expiration

The decision to use sliding expiration depends on your application's threat model. Setting SlidingExpiration to false enforces an absolute session lifetime, which limits how long a stolen session can be reused, at the cost of reduced usability for long-lived interactive sessions. For some applications, enabling sliding expiration (true) may be preferred for user experience, as it keeps the session alive as long as the user is active. This convenience comes with increased risk if a session is compromised.

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```csharp
ExpireTimeSpan = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(60),
SlidingExpiration = false
```

See here for an example of a full startup code snippet.

Ensure cookies are sent over HTTPS in production. This should be enforced in the config transforms

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```xml
&lt;httpCookies requireSSL="true" /&gt;
&lt;authentication&gt;
    &lt;forms requireSSL="true" /&gt;
&lt;/authentication&gt;
```

Protect LogOn, Registration and password reset methods against brute force attacks by throttling requests (see code below). Consider also using ReCaptcha.

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```csharp
[HttpPost]
[AllowAnonymous]
[ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
[AllowXRequestsEveryXSecondsAttribute(Name = "LogOn",
Message = "You have performed this action more than {x} times in the last {n} seconds.",
Requests = 3, Seconds = 60)]
public async Task&lt;ActionResult&gt; LogOn(LogOnViewModel model, string returnUrl)
```

DO NOT: Roll your own authentication or session management. Use the one provided by .NET.

DO NOT: Tell someone if the account exists on LogOn, Registration or Password reset. Say something like 'Either the username or password was incorrect', or 'If this account exists then a reset token will be sent to the registered email address'. This protects against account enumeration. …

Attribution: Adapted from OWASP Cheat Sheet Series under CC-BY-SA-4.0. Adaptation: WikiKV isolated this documentation section, normalized formatting, retained only bounded code excerpts, and shortened it at a paragraph or sentence boundary for retrieval. Verify version-sensitive details at the source.