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RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider Class

.NET Framework 2.0

Other Versions

Note: This class is new in the .NET Framework version 2.0.

Provides a ProtectedConfigurationProvider that uses RSA encryption to encrypt and decrypt configuration data.

Namespace: System.Configuration
Assembly: System.Configuration (in system.configuration.dll)

Syntax

C++

public sealed class RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider : ProtectedConfigurationProvider

public final class RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider extends ProtectedConfigurationProvider

JScript

public final class RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider extends ProtectedConfigurationProvider

Remarks

The RSAProtectedConfigurationProvider class gives you a way to encrypt sensitive information stored in a configuration file, which helps protect it from unauthorized access. You use the built-in RSAProtectedConfigurationProvider by declaring the provider and making appropriate settings in the configuration file instead of creating an instance of this class, as shown in the example later in this topic.

The RSAProtectedConfigurationProvider uses the cryptography functions provided by RSA class to encrypt and decrypt configuration sections.

Note
Before ASP.NET can decrypt encrypted information in your configuration file, the identity of your ASP.NET application must have read access to the encryption key used to encrypt and decrypt the configuration data. For more information, see Walkthrough: Encrypting Configuration Information Using Protected Configuration.

Example

The following code example shows how to use the standard RSAProtectedConfigurationProvider to protect or unprotect a configuration section.

using System;
using System.Configuration;

public class UsingRsaProtectedConfigurationProvider
{

    // Protect the connectionStrings section.
    private static void ProtectConfiguration()
    {

        // Get the application configuration file.
        System.Configuration.Configuration config =
                ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(
                ConfigurationUserLevel.None);

        // Define the Rsa provider name.
        string provider =
            "RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider";

        // Get the section to protect.
        ConfigurationSection connStrings =
            config.ConnectionStrings;

        if (connStrings != null)
        {
            if (!connStrings.SectionInformation.IsProtected)
            {
                if (!connStrings.ElementInformation.IsLocked)
                {
                    // Protect the section.
                    connStrings.SectionInformation.ProtectSection(provider);

                    connStrings.SectionInformation.ForceSave = true;
                    config.Save(ConfigurationSaveMode.Full);

                    Console.WriteLine("Section {0 is now protected by {1",
                        connStrings.SectionInformation.Name,
                        connStrings.SectionInformation.ProtectionProvider.Name);

                
                else
                    Console.WriteLine(
                         "Can't protect, section {0 is locked",
                         connStrings.SectionInformation.Name);
            
            else
                Console.WriteLine(
                    "Section {0 is already protected by {1",
                    connStrings.SectionInformation.Name,
                    connStrings.SectionInformation.ProtectionProvider.Name);

        
        else
            Console.WriteLine("Can't get the section {0",
                connStrings.SectionInformation.Name);
              
    


    // Unprotect the connectionStrings section.
    private static void UnProtectConfiguration()
    {

        // Get the application configuration file.
        System.Configuration.Configuration config =
                ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(
                ConfigurationUserLevel.None);

        // Get the section to unprotect.
        ConfigurationSection connStrings =
            config.ConnectionStrings;

        if (connStrings != null)
        {
            if (connStrings.SectionInformation.IsProtected)
            {
                if (!connStrings.ElementInformation.IsLocked)
                {
                    // Unprotect the section.
                    connStrings.SectionInformation.UnprotectSection();

                    connStrings.SectionInformation.ForceSave = true;
                    config.Save(ConfigurationSaveMode.Full);

                    Console.WriteLine("Section {0 is now unprotected.",
                        connStrings.SectionInformation.Name);

                
                else
                    Console.WriteLine(
                         "Can't unprotect, section {0 is locked",
                         connStrings.SectionInformation.Name);
            
            else
                Console.WriteLine(
                    "Section {0 is already unprotected.",
                    connStrings.SectionInformation.Name);
                
        
        else
            Console.WriteLine("Can't get the section {0",
                connStrings.SectionInformation.Name);

    


    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {

        string selection = string.Empty;

        if (args.Length == 0)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(
                "Select protect or unprotect");
            return;
        

        selection = args[0].ToLower();

        switch (selection)
        {
            case "protect":
                ProtectConfiguration();
                break;

            case "unprotect":
                UnProtectConfiguration();
                break;
 
            default:
                Console.WriteLine("Unknown selection");
                break;
        

        Console.Read();

The following example shows an excerpt from a configuration file after encryption.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
  <connectionStrings configProtectionProvider="RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider">
    <EncryptedData Type="http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#Element"
        xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#">
      <EncryptionMethod Algorithm="http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#tripledes-cbc" />
      <KeyInfo xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#">
        <EncryptedKey xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#">
          <EncryptionMethod Algorithm="http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#rsa-1_5" />
          <KeyInfo xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#">
            <KeyName>Rsa Key</KeyName>
          </KeyInfo>
          <CipherData>
            <CipherValue>B702tRDVHJjC3CYXt7I0ucCDjdht/Vyk/DdUhwQyt7vepSD85dwCP8ox9Y1BUdjajFeTFfFBsGypbli5HPGRYamQdrVkPo07bBBXNT5H02qxREguGUU4iDtV1Xp8BLVZjQMV4ZgP6Wbctw2xRvPC7GvKHLI4fUN/Je5LmutsijA=</CipherValue>
          </CipherData>
        </EncryptedKey>
      </KeyInfo>
      <CipherData>
        <CipherValue>ME+XJA2TAj3QN3yT4pJq3sRArC0i7Cz3Da71BkaRe9QNfuVuUjcv0jeGUN4wDdOAZ7LPq6UpVrpirY3kQcALDvPJ5nKxk++Mw75rjtIO8eh2goTY9rCK6zanfzaDshFy7IqItpvs/y2kmij25nM3ury6uO0hCf0UbEL1mbT2jXDqvcrHZUobO1Ef6bygBZ/8HpU+VfF9CTCob/BBE9zUkK37EQhcduwsnzBvDblYbF/Rd+F4lxAkZnecGLfCZjOzJB4xH1a0vvWtPR7zNwL/7I0uHzQjyMdWrkBnotMjoR70R7NELBotCogWO0MBimncKigdR3dTTdrCd72a7UJ4LMlEQaZXGIJp4PIg6qVDHII=</CipherValue>
      </CipherData>
    </EncryptedData>
  </connectionStrings>
</configuration>

Inheritance Hierarchy

System.Object
   System.Configuration.Provider.ProviderBase
     System.Configuration.ProtectedConfigurationProvider
      System.Configuration.RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider

Thread Safety

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Platforms

Windows 98, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see System Requirements.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 2.0

Reference

RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider Members
System.Configuration Namespace
ProtectedConfigurationProvider Class
DpapiProtectedConfigurationProvider Class
RSA

Other Resources

Cryptographic Services
Walkthrough: Encrypting Configuration Information Using Protected Configuration
Walkthrough: Creating and Exporting an RSA Key Container
Specifying a Protected Configuration Provider

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