Using static variables in Spring annotations

Question

I'm using spring's PreAuthorize annotation as follows:

@PreAuthorize("hasRole('role')");

However, I already have 'role' defined as a static String on another class. If I try to use this value:

@PreAuthorize("hasRole(OtherClass.ROLE)");

I get an error:

org.springframework.expression.spel.SpelEvaluationException: EL1008E:(pos 14): Field or property 'OtherClass' cannot be found on object of type 'org.springframework.security.access.expression.method.MethodSecurityExpressionRoot'

Is there a way to access static variables like this with a PreAuthorize annotation?

Answer 1

Try the following which uses Spring Expression Language to evaluate the type:

@PreAuthorize("hasRole(T(fully.qualified.OtherClass).ROLE)");

Be sure to specify the fully qualified class name.

Documentation

Answer 2

You can also create a bean container with roles, like:

@Component("R")
public final class RoleContainer {
  public static final String ROLE_A = "ROLE_A";
}

then on controller you can use:

@PreAuthorize("hasRole(@R.ROLE_A)")