Automatic URL Parameter Encoding Failing

Question

Background

In HomeController.cs I have:

[HttpGet]
public GetPerson(string name)
{
    return View(new PersonModel { ... });
}

In Global.asax.cs I have:

public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
    routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");

    routes.MapRoute(
        "Word", "person/{name}",
         new { controller = "Home", action = "GetPerson" });

    routes.MapRoute(
        "Default", "{controller}/{action}",
        new { controller = "Home", action = "Index" });
}

In SomePage.cshtml I have, effectively, this:

@{ var name = "Winston S. Churchill"; }
<a href="@Url.Action("GetPerson", "Home", new { name })">@name</a>

Problem

If I click the link for Winston S. Churchill, I am routed to the URL http://localhost/person/Winston%20S.%20Churchill, which yields the standard 404 page:

HTTP Error 404.0 - Not Found

The resource you are looking for has been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

This only happens if the name variable contains a . (period). All my code works perfectly fine when the name is, for example, Winston Churchill.

How can I make ASP.NET MVC 3 percent-encode the . (period) in the URL?

Or, how can I make the routing work without . (period) being percent-encoded?

Unacceptable Workaround (if presented without justification)

If I change the route to the following, everything works.

routes.MapRoute(
    "Word", "person",
     new { controller = "Home", action = "GetPerson" });

However, the URL becomes http://localhost/person?name=Winston%20S.%20Churchill, which isn't what I want. I want the name in the path part of the URL, not the query.

Timothy Shields · Accepted Answer · 2013-08-10 02:07:50Z

5

Routes which contain a period and unknown extension are interpreted by IIS as static files and not sent through the .NET pipeline. For example, the URL you cite is interpreted as a static file with a %20Churchill extension.

You can force ASP.NET to handle all requests by adding this to web.config:

<system.webServer>
  <modules runAllManagedModulesForAllRequests="true" />
</system.webServer>

You'll also need this, to handle name values that end with a period (as opposed to just containing one):

<system.web>
    <httpRuntime relaxedUrlToFileSystemMapping="true" />
</system.web>

All /person/{name} URLs will then be picked up by your ASP.NET code.

If you would rather not use this setting, the easiest workaround would be to use a custom encoding:

name.Replace(".","--")

edited Aug 10, 2013 at 2:07

Timothy Shields

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answered Aug 10, 2013 at 1:42

James

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5 Comments

Timothy Shields Over a year ago

Are there any safety issues with this that could be unexpected?

Timothy Shields Over a year ago

Also, while this works for Winston S. Churchill (I just tried it), it fails for Albert Gore Jr. (note period at end).

James Over a year ago

No safety issues, but it means that ASP.NET will try to process all requests so files that actually are static (images, CSS, etc.) will take a tiny bit longer to load. In practice, you are unlikely to notice a difference. To fix the issue with the terminating period, try adding <httpRuntime relaxedUrlToFileSystemMapping="true" /> to <system.web>.

Andy T Over a year ago

The issue with runAllManagedModulesForAllRequests is not really a security one, but with performance since all requests will be handled by managed modules even request for static files.

Timothy Shields Over a year ago

Excellent. My site has very little static content (shortcut icon is it so far). The two changes you outlined worked great. I'm going to edit your answer to highlight the relaxedUrlToFileSystemMapping setting.

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Automatic URL Parameter Encoding Failing

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