How do you programmatically end a session in asp.net when Session.Abandon() doesn't work?

Question

Session.Abandon() doesn't seem to do anything. You would expect the Session_end event to fire when Session.Abandon() is called.

Solution 1

This is most likely because your SessionMode is not InProc (the only one that can detect when a session ends).

Quoted from MSDN:

Session Events

ASP.NET provides two events that help you manage user sessions. The Session_OnStart event is raised when a new session starts, and the Session_OnEnd event is raised when a session is abandoned or expires. Session events are specified in the Global.asax file for an ASP.NET application.

The Session_OnEnd event is not supported if the session Mode property is set to a value other than InProc, which is the default mode.

Solution 2

Session.Abandon() is the way to end a session. What is the problem you are encountering?

If its Back button related, that is a completely different issue ( page doesn't postback on Back, instead it runs one from clientside cache so no server side methods will execute).

Additionally, Session_End is problematic. It will only fire on Session.Abandon() when using InProc sessions, so if you are using a different Session mode, it cannot be relied on. Otherwise, Session_End will fire when SessionTimeout is reached ( default is 20 minutes I believe, configured in Web.Config ).

Solution 3

Have you tried using the following?

System.Web.Security.FormsAuthentication.SignOut();

This will clear cookies used for form authentication, although may not be what you're looking for.

You may need to use this in addtion to Session.Abandon()

Solution 4

If sessions appear to persist you might try (in web.config):

<sessionState regenerateExpiredSessionId="true">

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