---
title: "Backend routing"
manual: "TYPO3 Explained"
version: "11.5"
permalink: "https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:backend-routing@11.5"
source: "ApiOverview/Backend/BackendRouting.rst"
rendered: "2026-10-21T15:30:00+00:00"
---

> [!WARNING]
> **Attention**
>
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> is no longer being maintained. Use the version switcher on the top
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>
> Need more time before upgrading?
> You can purchase Extended Long Term Support (ELTS) for TYPO3 v11 here:
> [TYPO3 ELTS](https://typo3.com/services/extended-support-elts).

# Backend routing {#backend-routing}

Each request to the backend is eventually executed by a controller.
A list of routes is defined which maps a given request to a controller
and an action.

Routes are defined inside extensions, in the files

-   `Configuration/Backend/Routes.php` for general requests
-   `Configuration/Backend/AjaxRoutes.php` for Ajax calls

Here is an extract of [EXT:backend/Configuration/Backend/Routes.php (GitHub)](https://github.com/typo3/typo3/blob/11.5/typo3/sysext/backend/Configuration/Backend/Routes.php):

**EXT:backend/Configuration/Backend/Routes.php (excerpt)**

```php
<?php

use TYPO3\CMS\Backend\Controller;

return [
    // Login screen of the TYPO3 Backend
    'login' => [
        'path' => '/login',
        'access' => 'public',
        'target' => Controller\LoginController::class . '::formAction'
    ],

    // Main backend rendering setup (previously called backend.php) for the TYPO3 Backend
    'main' => [
        'path' => '/main',
        'referrer' => 'required,refresh-always',
        'target' => Controller\BackendController::class . '::mainAction'
    ],
    // ...
];
```

So, a route file essentially returns an array containing route mappings. A route
is defined by a key, a path, a referrer and a target. The "public" `access`
property indicates that no authentication is required for that action.

> [!NOTE]
> The current route object is available as [route attribute](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:typo3-request-attribute-route@11.5) in the PSR-7 request object of every
> backend request. It is added through the PSR-15 middleware stack and can be
> retrieved using `$request->getAttribute('route')`.

## Backend routing and cross-site scripting {#backend-routing-and-cross-site-scripting}

Public backend routes (those having option `'access' => 'public'`) do not
require any session token, but can be used to redirect to a route that requires
a session token internally. For this context, the backend user logged in must
have a valid session.

This scenario can lead to situations where an existing cross-site scripting
vulnerability (XSS) bypasses the mentioned session token, which can be
considered cross-site request forgery (CSRF). The difference in terminology is
that this scenario occurs on same-site requests and not cross-site - however,
potential security implications are still the same.

Backend routes can enforce the existence of an HTTP referrer header by adding a
`referrer` to routes to mitigate the described scenario.

```php
'main' => [
    'path' => '/main',
    'referrer' => 'required,refresh-empty',
    'target' => Controller\BackendController::class . '::mainAction'
],
```

Values for `referrer` are declared as a comma-separated list:

-   `required` enforces existence of HTTP `Referer` header that has to match
    the currently used backend URL (for example, `https://example.org/typo3/`),
    the request will be denied otherwise.
-   `refresh-empty` triggers an HTML-based refresh in case HTTP `Referer`
    header is not given or empty - this attempt uses an HTML refresh, since
    regular HTTP `Location` redirect still would not set a referrer. It implies
    this technique should only be used on plain HTML responses and will not have
    any impact, for example, on JSON or XML response types.

This technique should be used on all public routes (without session token) that
internally redirect to a restricted route (having a session token). The goal is
to protect and keep information about the current session token internal.

The request sequence in the TYPO3 Core looks like this:

1.  HTTP request to `https://example.org/typo3/` having a valid user
    session
1.  Internally **public** backend route `/login` is processed
1.  Internally redirects to **restricted** backend route `/main` since an
    existing and valid backend user session was found
    \+ HTTP redirect to `https://example.org/typo3/main?token=...`
    \+ exposing the token is mitigated with `referrer` route option mentioned
    above

> [!WARNING]
> **Attention**
>
> Please keep in mind these steps are part of a mitigation strategy, which
> requires to be aware of mentioned implications when implementing custom web
> applications.

## Generating backend URLs {#generating-backend-urls}

Using the UriBuilder API, you can generate any kind of URL for the backend, may
it be a module, a typical route or an Ajax call. Therefore use either
`buildUriFromRoute()` or `buildUriFromRoutePath()`. The
`UriBuilder` then returns a PSR-7 conform `Uri` object that can be
cast to a string when needed. Furthermore, the `UriBuilder` automatically
generates and applies the mentioned session token.

Example within a controller (we use here a non-Extbase controller):

**EXT:my_extension/Classes/Controller/MyRouteController.php**

```php
<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace MyVendor\MyExtension\Controller;

use Psr\Http\Message\ResponseInterface;
use Psr\Http\Message\ServerRequestInterface;
use TYPO3\CMS\Backend\Routing\UriBuilder;

final class MyRouteController
{
    private UriBuilder $uriBuilder;

    public function __construct(UriBuilder $uriBuilder)
    {
        $this->uriBuilder = $uriBuilder;
    }

    public function handle(ServerRequestInterface $request): ResponseInterface
    {
        // .. do some stuff

        // Using a route identifier
        $uri = $this->uriBuilder->buildUriFromRoute(
            'web_layout',
            ['id' => 42]
        );

        // Using a route path
        $uri = $this->uriBuilder->buildUriFromRoutePath(
            '/record/edit',
            [
                'edit' => [
                    'pages' => [
                        123 => 'edit',
                    ],
                ],
            ]
        );

        // ... do some other stuff
    }
}

```

## More Information {#more-information}

Please refer to the following resources and look at how the TYPO3 source code
handles backend routing in your TYPO3 version.

-   [TYPO3 request object](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3coreapi:typo3-request@11.5)
-   TYPO3 Core: [EXT:backend/Configuration/Backend/AjaxRoutes.php (GitHub)](https://github.com/typo3/typo3/blob/11.5/typo3/sysext/backend/Configuration/Backend/AjaxRoutes.php)
-   TYPO3 Core: [EXT:backend/Configuration/Backend/Routes.php (GitHub)](https://github.com/typo3/typo3/blob/11.5/typo3/sysext/backend/Configuration/Backend/Routes.php)