= Spring Security

[NOTE]
====
Spring Security's documentation can be https://docs.spring.io/spring-security/reference/spring-security-docs.zip[downloaded] as a zip file.
====

Spring Security is a framework that provides xref:features/authentication/index.adoc[authentication], xref:features/authorization/index.adoc[authorization], and xref:features/exploits/index.adoc[protection against common attacks].
With first class support for securing both xref:servlet/index.adoc[imperative] and xref:reactive/index.adoc[reactive] applications, it is the de-facto standard for securing Spring-based applications.

For a complete list of features, see the xref:features/index.adoc[Features] section of the reference.

== Getting Started

If you are ready to start securing an application see the Getting Started sections for xref:servlet/getting-started.adoc[servlet] and xref:reactive/getting-started.adoc[reactive]. These sections will walk you through creating your first Spring Security applications.

If you want to understand how Spring Security works, you can refer to the xref:servlet/architecture.adoc[Architecture] section.
// FIXME add link to reactive architecture

If you are already familiar with Spring Security or are upgrading, check out https://docs.spring.io/spring-security/reference/whats-new.html[what's new in the latest release].

If you have any questions, there is a wonderful xref:community.adoc[community] that would love to help you!
