How do you use Symfony Profiler and Web Debug Toolbar to debug security issues?

3 Test Authentication and Authorization

The third step is to test your authentication and authorization mechanisms. Authentication is the process of verifying the identity of the user, while authorization is the process of checking the permissions of the user to access certain resources. You can test your authentication and authorization from the Profiler by clicking on the Security menu and then on the Access Decision Log tab. You will see a list of access decisions made by your application, such as whether the user has a certain role, attribute, or expression. You can also see the reason for each decision, such as the voter class, the strategy, and the result.

4 Debug Firewalls and Access Control

The fourth step is to debug your firewalls and access control rules. Firewalls are sections of your application that define how users are authenticated and authorized for different URLs. Access control rules are expressions that define the permissions for specific URLs, methods, or roles. You can debug your firewalls and access control rules from the Profiler by clicking on the Security menu and then on the Firewall tab. You will see a list of firewalls configured for your application, their names, patterns, listeners, and options. You can also see which firewall matched the current request and why.

5 Monitor Logs and Events

The fifth step is to monitor your logs and events related to security. Logs are messages that record the activity and errors of your application, while events are actions that trigger certain listeners or subscribers. You can monitor your logs and events from the Web Debug Toolbar by clicking on the log icon or the event icon. You will see a summary of the log messages and the event dispatches for the current request. You can also monitor your logs and events from the Profiler by clicking on the Logs menu or the Events menu. You will see more details about the log levels, channels, contexts, and messages, as well as the event names, listeners, priorities, and arguments.

6 Use Debug Commands

The sixth step is to use some of the debug commands provided by Symfony to inspect and test your security configuration. These commands are useful to check the validity and consistency of your security settings, such as firewalls, access control rules, roles, voters, and providers. You can run these commands from your terminal by using the bin/console debug: prefix. For example, you can use the debug:firewall command to list all the firewalls and their options, or the debug:access-decision command to test a specific access decision expression.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?