How do you do Impersonation in .NET?

Question

"Impersonation" in the .NET space generally means running code under a specific user account. It is a somewhat separate concept than getting access to that user account via a username and password, although these two ideas pair together frequently. I will describe them both, and then explain how to use my SimpleImpersonation library, which uses them internally.

Impersonation

The APIs for impersonation are provided in .NET via the System.Security.Principal namespace:

• Newer code (.NET 4.6+, .NET Core, etc.) should generally use WindowsIdentity.RunImpersonated, which accepts a handle to the token of the user account, and then either an Action or Func<T> for the code to execute.

  WindowsIdentity.RunImpersonated(tokenHandle, () =>
  {
      // do whatever you want as this user.
  });
  

  or

  var result = WindowsIdentity.RunImpersonated(tokenHandle, () =>
  {
      // do whatever you want as this user.
      return result;
  });
  

• Older code used the WindowsIdentity.Impersonate method to retrieve a WindowsImpersonationContext object. This object implements IDisposable, so generally should be called from a using block.

  using (WindowsImpersonationContext context = WindowsIdentity.Impersonate(tokenHandle))
  {
      // do whatever you want as this user.
  }
  

  While this API still exists in .NET Framework, it should generally be avoided, and is not available in .NET Core or .NET Standard.

Accessing the User Account

The API for using a username and password to gain access to a user account in Windows is LogonUser - which is a Win32 native API. There is not currently a built-in .NET API for calling it, so one must resort to P/Invoke.

[DllImport("advapi32.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]
internal static extern bool LogonUser(String lpszUsername, String lpszDomain, String lpszPassword, int dwLogonType, int dwLogonProvider, out IntPtr phToken);

This is the basic call definition, however there is a lot more to consider to actually using it in production:

• Obtaining a handle with the "safe" access pattern.
• Closing the native handles appropriately
• Code access security (CAS) trust levels (in .NET Framework only)
• Passing SecureString when you can collect one safely via user keystrokes.

The amount of code to write to illustrate all of this is beyond what should be in a StackOverflow answer, IMHO.

A Combined and Easier Approach

Instead of writing all of this yourself, consider using my SimpleImpersonation library, which combines impersonation and user access into a single API. It works well in both modern and older code bases, with the same simple API:

var credentials = new UserCredentials(domain, username, password);
Impersonation.RunAsUser(credentials, logonType, () =>
{
    // do whatever you want as this user.
}); 

or

var credentials = new UserCredentials(domain, username, password);
var result = Impersonation.RunAsUser(credentials, logonType, () =>
{
    // do whatever you want as this user.
    return something;
});

Note that it is very similar to the WindowsIdentity.RunImpersonated API, but doesn't require you know anything about token handles.

This is the API as of version 3.0.0. See the project readme for more details. Also note that a previous version of the library used an API with the IDisposable pattern, similar to WindowsIdentity.Impersonate. The newer version is much safer, and both are still used internally.

Here is some good overview of .NET impersonation concepts.

• Michiel van Otegem: WindowsImpersonationContext made easy
• WindowsIdentity.Impersonate Method (check out the code samples)

Basically you will be leveraging these classes that are out of the box in the .NET framework:

• WindowsImpersonationContext
• WindowsIdentity

The code can often get lengthy though and that is why you see many examples like the one you reference that try to simplify the process.

This is probably what you want:

using System.Security.Principal;
using(WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent().Impersonate())
{
     //your code goes here
}

But I really need more details to help you out. You could do impersonation with a config file (if you're trying to do this on a website), or through method decorators (attributes) if it's a WCF service, or through... you get the idea.

Also, if we're talking about impersonating a client that called a particular service (or web app), you need to configure the client correctly so that it passes the appropriate tokens.

Finally, if what you really want do is Delegation, you also need to setup AD correctly so that users and machines are trusted for delegation.

Edit:
Take a look here to see how to impersonate a different user, and for further documentation.

Here's my vb.net port of Matt Johnson's answer. I added an enum for the logon types. LOGON32_LOGON_INTERACTIVE was the first enum value that worked for sql server. My connection string was just trusted. No user name / password in the connection string.

  <PermissionSet(SecurityAction.Demand, Name:="FullTrust")> _
  Public Class Impersonation
    Implements IDisposable

    Public Enum LogonTypes
      ''' <summary>
      ''' This logon type is intended for users who will be interactively using the computer, such as a user being logged on  
      ''' by a terminal server, remote shell, or similar process.
      ''' This logon type has the additional expense of caching logon information for disconnected operations; 
      ''' therefore, it is inappropriate for some client/server applications,
      ''' such as a mail server.
      ''' </summary>
      LOGON32_LOGON_INTERACTIVE = 2

      ''' <summary>
      ''' This logon type is intended for high performance servers to authenticate plaintext passwords.
      ''' The LogonUser function does not cache credentials for this logon type.
      ''' </summary>
      LOGON32_LOGON_NETWORK = 3

      ''' <summary>
      ''' This logon type is intended for batch servers, where processes may be executing on behalf of a user without 
      ''' their direct intervention. This type is also for higher performance servers that process many plaintext
      ''' authentication attempts at a time, such as mail or Web servers. 
      ''' The LogonUser function does not cache credentials for this logon type.
      ''' </summary>
      LOGON32_LOGON_BATCH = 4

      ''' <summary>
      ''' Indicates a service-type logon. The account provided must have the service privilege enabled. 
      ''' </summary>
      LOGON32_LOGON_SERVICE = 5

      ''' <summary>
      ''' This logon type is for GINA DLLs that log on users who will be interactively using the computer. 
      ''' This logon type can generate a unique audit record that shows when the workstation was unlocked. 
      ''' </summary>
      LOGON32_LOGON_UNLOCK = 7

      ''' <summary>
      ''' This logon type preserves the name and password in the authentication package, which allows the server to make 
      ''' connections to other network servers while impersonating the client. A server can accept plaintext credentials 
      ''' from a client, call LogonUser, verify that the user can access the system across the network, and still 
      ''' communicate with other servers.
      ''' NOTE: Windows NT:  This value is not supported. 
      ''' </summary>
      LOGON32_LOGON_NETWORK_CLEARTEXT = 8

      ''' <summary>
      ''' This logon type allows the caller to clone its current token and specify new credentials for outbound connections.
      ''' The new logon session has the same local identifier but uses different credentials for other network connections. 
      ''' NOTE: This logon type is supported only by the LOGON32_PROVIDER_WINNT50 logon provider.
      ''' NOTE: Windows NT:  This value is not supported. 
      ''' </summary>
      LOGON32_LOGON_NEW_CREDENTIALS = 9
    End Enum

    <DllImport("advapi32.dll", SetLastError:=True, CharSet:=CharSet.Unicode)> _
    Private Shared Function LogonUser(lpszUsername As [String], lpszDomain As [String], lpszPassword As [String], dwLogonType As Integer, dwLogonProvider As Integer, ByRef phToken As SafeTokenHandle) As Boolean
    End Function

    Public Sub New(Domain As String, UserName As String, Password As String, Optional LogonType As LogonTypes = LogonTypes.LOGON32_LOGON_INTERACTIVE)
      Dim ok = LogonUser(UserName, Domain, Password, LogonType, 0, _SafeTokenHandle)
      If Not ok Then
        Dim errorCode = Marshal.GetLastWin32Error()
        Throw New ApplicationException(String.Format("Could not impersonate the elevated user.  LogonUser returned error code {0}.", errorCode))
      End If

      WindowsImpersonationContext = WindowsIdentity.Impersonate(_SafeTokenHandle.DangerousGetHandle())
    End Sub

    Private ReadOnly _SafeTokenHandle As New SafeTokenHandle
    Private ReadOnly WindowsImpersonationContext As WindowsImpersonationContext

    Public Sub Dispose() Implements System.IDisposable.Dispose
      Me.WindowsImpersonationContext.Dispose()
      Me._SafeTokenHandle.Dispose()
    End Sub

    Public NotInheritable Class SafeTokenHandle
      Inherits SafeHandleZeroOrMinusOneIsInvalid

      <DllImport("kernel32.dll")> _
      <ReliabilityContract(Consistency.WillNotCorruptState, Cer.Success)> _
      <SuppressUnmanagedCodeSecurity()> _
      Private Shared Function CloseHandle(handle As IntPtr) As <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)> Boolean
      End Function

      Public Sub New()
        MyBase.New(True)
      End Sub

      Protected Overrides Function ReleaseHandle() As Boolean
        Return CloseHandle(handle)
      End Function
    End Class

  End Class

You need to Use with a Using statement to contain some code to run impersonated.

View more detail from my previous answer I have created an nuget package Nuget

Code on Github

sample : you can use :

           string login = "";
           string domain = "";
           string password = "";

           using (UserImpersonation user = new UserImpersonation(login, domain, password))
           {
               if (user.ImpersonateValidUser())
               {
                   File.WriteAllText("test.txt", "your text");
                   Console.WriteLine("File writed");
               }
               else
               {
                   Console.WriteLine("User not connected");
               }
           }

Vieuw the full code :

using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.Security.Principal;


/// <summary>
/// Object to change the user authticated
/// </summary>
public class UserImpersonation : IDisposable
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Logon method (check athetification) from advapi32.dll
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="lpszUserName"></param>
    /// <param name="lpszDomain"></param>
    /// <param name="lpszPassword"></param>
    /// <param name="dwLogonType"></param>
    /// <param name="dwLogonProvider"></param>
    /// <param name="phToken"></param>
    /// <returns></returns>
    [DllImport("advapi32.dll")]
    private static extern bool LogonUser(String lpszUserName,
        String lpszDomain,
        String lpszPassword,
        int dwLogonType,
        int dwLogonProvider,
        ref IntPtr phToken);

    /// <summary>
    /// Close
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="handle"></param>
    /// <returns></returns>
    [DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
    public static extern bool CloseHandle(IntPtr handle);

    private WindowsImpersonationContext _windowsImpersonationContext;
    private IntPtr _tokenHandle;
    private string _userName;
    private string _domain;
    private string _passWord;

    const int LOGON32_PROVIDER_DEFAULT = 0;
    const int LOGON32_LOGON_INTERACTIVE = 2;

    /// <summary>
    /// Initialize a UserImpersonation
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="userName"></param>
    /// <param name="domain"></param>
    /// <param name="passWord"></param>
    public UserImpersonation(string userName, string domain, string passWord)
    {
        _userName = userName;
        _domain = domain;
        _passWord = passWord;
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Valiate the user inforamtion
    /// </summary>
    /// <returns></returns>
    public bool ImpersonateValidUser()
    {
        bool returnValue = LogonUser(_userName, _domain, _passWord,
                LOGON32_LOGON_INTERACTIVE, LOGON32_PROVIDER_DEFAULT,
                ref _tokenHandle);

        if (false == returnValue)
        {
            return false;
        }

        WindowsIdentity newId = new WindowsIdentity(_tokenHandle);
        _windowsImpersonationContext = newId.Impersonate();
        return true;
    }

    #region IDisposable Members

    /// <summary>
    /// Dispose the UserImpersonation connection
    /// </summary>
    public void Dispose()
    {
        if (_windowsImpersonationContext != null)
            _windowsImpersonationContext.Undo();
        if (_tokenHandle != IntPtr.Zero)
            CloseHandle(_tokenHandle);
    }

    #endregion
}

I'm aware that I'm quite late for the party, but I consider that the library from Phillip Allan-Harding, it's the best one for this case and similar ones.

You only need a small piece of code like this one:

private const string LOGIN = "mamy";
private const string DOMAIN = "mongo";
private const string PASSWORD = "HelloMongo2017";

private void DBConnection()
{
    using (Impersonator user = new Impersonator(LOGIN, DOMAIN, PASSWORD, LogonType.LOGON32_LOGON_NEW_CREDENTIALS, LogonProvider.LOGON32_PROVIDER_WINNT50))
    {
    }
}

And add his class:

.NET (C#) Impersonation with Network Credentials

My example can be used if you require the impersonated logon to have network credentials, but it has more options.