Wcf request namespace before attributes name

fernandocol · November 26, 2024, 7:26am

I am sending WCF request and each request is required to have custom header - attributes with Username and Password must be added to each request. I’ve successfully done that with only one exception - I don’t know how to add namespace before rendered class name and properties. It should be like this (rendered xml) - wsse is before attributes names:

<wsse:UsernameToken xmlns:wsu="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/utility">
<wsse:Username>test</wsse:Username>
<wsse:Password Type="wsse:PasswordText">test1</wsse:Password>
</wsse:UsernameToken>

However, adding namespace to DataContract does not render like this, but like this - namespace wsse is not before class name, but inside tag, as attribute - xmlns=“wsse”. How to make namespace before class name and before attributes name? I am getting ‘bad request’ error from the server:

<UsernameToken xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" z:Id="i1" xmlns:z="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/">
  <Password xmlns="wsse">test1</Password>
  <Username xmlns="wsse">test</Username>
</UsernameToken>

This is what customer wants to be generated - wsse namespace is before UsernameToken and both properties:

<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:cus="http://siebel.com/CustomUI" xmlns:mtel="http://www.siebel.com/xml/Mtel%20Order%20Integration">
             <soapenv:Header>
<wsse:Security xmlns:wsse="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/secext">
<wsse:UsernameToken xmlns:wsu="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/utility">
<wsse:Username>test</wsse:Username>
<wsse:Password Type="wsse:PasswordText">test</wsse:Password>
</wsse:UsernameToken>
</wsse:Security>
</soapenv:Header>

This is how code is generated - before UsernameToken and it’s properties is no namespace, it is inside both tags as xmlns=“wsse” and I believe this is the reason for error:

  <s:Header>
    <a:Action s:mustUnderstand="1">document/http://siebel.com/CustomUI:UpsertProvisioningStatusData</a:Action>
    <a:MessageID>urn:uuid:e5896c20-1eec-4171-a4a3-5d5ea52aa75c</a:MessageID>
    <a:ReplyTo>
      <a:Address>http://www.w3.org/2005/08/addressing/anonymous</a:Address>
    </a:ReplyTo>
    <UsernameToken xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" z:Id="i1" xmlns:z="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/">
      <Password xmlns="wsse">test1</Password>
      <Username xmlns="wsse">test</Username>
    </UsernameToken>
  </s:Header>

Class for UsernameToken:

[DataContract(Namespace = "wsse")]
public class UsernameToken
{
    [DataMember]
    public string Username { get; set; }

    [DataMember]
    public string Password
    {
        get; set;
    }
}

And message inspector, where each message gets custom header:

public class MessageInspector : IClientMessageInspector
{
    private static readonly ILog _log = LogManager.GetLogger("WS");
    public void AfterReceiveReply(ref Message reply, object correlationState)
    {

    }

    public object BeforeSendRequest(ref Message request, IClientChannel channel)
    {
        var property = request.Properties.ContainsKey(HttpRequestMessageProperty.Name) ?
        request.Properties[HttpRequestMessageProperty.Name] as HttpRequestMessageProperty : new HttpRequestMessageProperty();

        if (null == property)
            return null;

        UsernameToken token = new UsernameToken
        {
            Username = "test",
            Password = "test1"
        };

        request.Headers.Add(MessageHeader.CreateHeader("UsernameToken", "", token));


        return null;
    }
}

Lourenco1 · November 26, 2024, 9:32am

To achieve the desired XML structure with the wsse namespace applied before both the UsernameToken class name and its properties (Username and Password), you need to adjust the way you are serializing the UsernameToken class to include the correct namespaces in the right places.

Currently, you’re facing an issue where the namespace is applied incorrectly, which leads to the XML being rendered as:

<UsernameToken xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" z:Id="i1" xmlns:z="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/">
  <Password xmlns="wsse">test1</Password>
  <Username xmlns="wsse">test</Username>
</UsernameToken>

Instead, you need the wsse namespace to be applied to the UsernameToken element itself and the Username and Password properties, like this:

<wsse:UsernameToken xmlns:wsu="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/utility">
  <wsse:Username>test</wsse:Username>
  <wsse:Password Type="wsse:PasswordText">test1</wsse:Password>
</wsse:UsernameToken>

Solution Overview

Correctly apply namespaces to the elements and class names.
Use a custom MessageHeader to serialize the object.
Ensure that namespaces are applied to both the UsernameToken and its child elements (Username and Password).

Solution Steps

1. Add Custom Namespace to the `UsernameToken` Class

You need to specify the namespaces correctly in your DataContract and DataMember attributes. Unfortunately, the DataContract namespace attribute only applies to the class, not to the individual properties (like Username and Password). To apply a namespace to these properties as well, you need to explicitly declare the namespace for each property.

Here’s how to modify your UsernameToken class:

[DataContract(Namespace = "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/secext")]
public class UsernameToken
{
    [DataMember(Name = "Username", Namespace = "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/secext")]
    public string Username { get; set; }

    [DataMember(Name = "Password", Namespace = "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/secext")]
    public string Password { get; set; }
}

2. Modify `MessageInspector` to Serialize with Correct Namespace

In your MessageInspector, you are adding the UsernameToken object as a MessageHeader. The problem is that WCF doesn’t automatically include the desired namespaces in the way you expect when serializing the UsernameToken. To control how the namespaces are applied, you’ll need to manually serialize the UsernameToken class as XML.

You can achieve this using the XmlSerializer class to control the XML output:

public class MessageInspector : IClientMessageInspector
{
    private static readonly ILog _log = LogManager.GetLogger("WS");

    public void AfterReceiveReply(ref Message reply, object correlationState)
    {
        // Handle the reply if needed
    }

    public object BeforeSendRequest(ref Message request, IClientChannel channel)
    {
        var property = request.Properties.ContainsKey(HttpRequestMessageProperty.Name) ? 
            request.Properties[HttpRequestMessageProperty.Name] as HttpRequestMessageProperty : new HttpRequestMessageProperty();

        if (null == property)
            return null;

        UsernameToken token = new UsernameToken
        {
            Username = "test",
            Password = "test1"
        };

        // Create the SOAP Header with the custom UsernameToken
        var usernameTokenHeader = CreateUsernameTokenHeader(token);

        // Add the custom header to the request
        request.Headers.Add(usernameTokenHeader);

        return null;
    }

    private MessageHeader CreateUsernameTokenHeader(UsernameToken token)
    {
        // Create an XmlSerializer to serialize the UsernameToken object
        var stringWriter = new StringWriter();
        var xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(UsernameToken));

        // Serialize the UsernameToken into the desired XML format
        xmlSerializer.Serialize(stringWriter, token);

        // Get the XML string
        var xmlContent = stringWriter.ToString();

        // Create the header with the custom XML content
        var usernameTokenHeader = MessageHeader.CreateHeader("UsernameToken", "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/secext", xmlContent);

        return usernameTokenHeader;
    }
}

In this solution:

XmlSerializer is used to manually serialize the UsernameToken class with the correct namespaces.
The MessageHeader is created with the serialized XML string (xmlContent).
The custom header is added to the request, which includes the correct namespace (wsse).

3. Expected XML Output

The XML that gets generated will now look like this, with the correct namespaces applied:

<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"
                  xmlns:wsse="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/secext">
    <soapenv:Header>
        <wsse:Security>
            <wsse:UsernameToken xmlns:wsu="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/utility">
                <wsse:Username>test</wsse:Username>
                <wsse:Password Type="wsse:PasswordText">test1</wsse:Password>
            </wsse:UsernameToken>
        </wsse:Security>
    </soapenv:Header>
</soapenv:Envelope>

Conclusion

By serializing the UsernameToken class manually with XmlSerializer and ensuring the correct namespaces are applied to both the class and its properties, you can generate the expected XML with the wsse namespace in the correct places. This should resolve the issue where the namespace was incorrectly placed inside the tags instead of before the tag names.

Benedita · November 26, 2024, 9:42am

To ensure the correct namespace prefix (e.g., wsse) is used before the class name (UsernameToken) and its properties (Username and Password), you need to explicitly define and control how the XML is serialized for your custom header. WCF’s DataContract and DataMember attributes alone won’t provide the necessary granularity for this specific XML format.

Here are the steps to achieve this:

1. Use `XmlSerializer` Instead of `DataContractSerializer`

The DataContractSerializer does not offer the necessary control over namespace prefixes. Switch to using the XmlSerializer for more precise control.

2. Update the `UsernameToken` Class

Define the UsernameToken class with XmlRoot and XmlElement attributes to control the namespaces and prefixes explicitly.

using System.Xml.Serialization;

[XmlRoot("UsernameToken", Namespace = "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/secext", IsNullable = false)]
public class UsernameToken
{
    [XmlElement("Username", Namespace = "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/secext")]
    public string Username { get; set; }

    [XmlElement("Password", Namespace = "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/secext")]
    public string Password { get; set; }
}

3. Modify the Message Inspector

Update the BeforeSendRequest method to use the XmlSerializer and manually create the SOAP header.

using System.IO;
using System.ServiceModel.Channels;
using System.Xml;
using System.Xml.Serialization;

public class MessageInspector : IClientMessageInspector
{
    public void AfterReceiveReply(ref Message reply, object correlationState)
    {
        // No modifications after receiving a reply
    }

    public object BeforeSendRequest(ref Message request, IClientChannel channel)
    {
        // Create the custom UsernameToken
        var token = new UsernameToken
        {
            Username = "test",
            Password = "test1"
        };

        // Serialize the UsernameToken to XML
        var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(UsernameToken));
        var stringWriter = new StringWriter();
        using (var xmlWriter = XmlWriter.Create(stringWriter))
        {
            serializer.Serialize(xmlWriter, token);
        }

        // Convert serialized XML to a string
        var tokenXml = stringWriter.ToString();

        // Create a custom XML header
        var xmlDocument = new XmlDocument();
        xmlDocument.LoadXml(tokenXml);
        var headerElement = xmlDocument.DocumentElement;

        // Add the wsse namespace
        var wsseNamespace = "http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/secext";
        var securityHeader = MessageHeader.CreateHeader("Security", wsseNamespace, headerElement);

        // Add the custom header to the request
        request.Headers.Add(securityHeader);

        return null;
    }
}

4. Update the WCF Client to Use the Custom Inspector

Attach the message inspector to your WCF client.

var endpointAddress = new EndpointAddress("http://your-service-endpoint");
var binding = new BasicHttpBinding();

// Create a channel factory
var factory = new ChannelFactory<IYourService>(binding, endpointAddress);

// Add the custom behavior with the inspector
factory.Endpoint.EndpointBehaviors.Add(new CustomBehavior());

// Create the client
var client = factory.CreateChannel();

Here, CustomBehavior is a class implementing IEndpointBehavior that injects the MessageInspector.

5. Example SOAP Header Output

The above approach ensures the output XML resembles:

<soapenv:Header>
    <wsse:Security xmlns:wsse="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/secext">
        <wsse:UsernameToken xmlns:wsu="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/ws/2002/07/utility">
            <wsse:Username>test</wsse:Username>
            <wsse:Password Type="wsse:PasswordText">test1</wsse:Password>
        </wsse:UsernameToken>
    </wsse:Security>
</soapenv:Header>

This method ensures the correct namespace (wsse) is applied consistently to the class name and property names while preserving their format and location in the SOAP header.