let’s dive deeper into the topic to better understand how interceptors can enhance security in Spring Boot applications.

Key Components of the Implementation

1. Custom Annotation for Role-Based Access Control
   We define a custom annotation, @RoleInterceptor, to specify the role required to access specific endpoints.
2. Interceptor Handler
   A HandlerInterceptor is implemented to enforce the role check at runtime.
3. Configuration
   The custom interceptor is registered with Spring’s InterceptorRegistry.

Step 1: Define the Custom Annotation

We create a custom annotation named @RoleInterceptor with an attribute to specify the required role.

This annotation will be used to mark endpoints that require role-based access.

Step 2: Implement the Interceptor Handler

The RoleInterceptorHandler class implements HandlerInterceptor to enforce role-based access control.

• Logic: The preHandle method inspects the request and checks if the user has the required role based on the annotation. If the role doesn’t match, it sets the HTTP response status to 403 Forbidden.

Step 3: Register the Interceptor

The WebConfig class registers the custom interceptor.

Step 4: Use the Annotation in Controllers

Apply the @RoleInterceptor annotation to secure specific endpoints.

How It Works

1. When a request is made to /admin, the RoleInterceptorHandler checks if the current user has the ADMIN role.
2. If the user has the role, the request proceeds; otherwise, a 403 Forbidden response is returned.

Conclusion

This implementation demonstrates how custom interceptors can enhance the security and maintainability of Spring Boot applications. By centralizing role checks within an interceptor, we ensure a clean and modular approach to enforcing role-based access control.

Explore the GitHub Repository for the complete source code.