CA2237: Mark ISerializable types with SerializableAttribute

Cause

An externally visible type implements the System.Runtime.Serialization.ISerializable interface and the type is not marked with the System.SerializableAttribute attribute. The rule ignores derived types whose base type is not serializable.

Rule Description

To be recognized by the common language runtime as serializable, types must be marked with the SerializableAttribute attribute even if the type uses a custom serialization routine through implementation of the ISerializable interface.

How to Fix Violations

To fix a violation of this rule, apply the SerializableAttribute attribute to the type.

When to Suppress Warnings

Do not suppress a warning from this rule for exception classes because they must be serializable to work correctly across application domains.

Example

The following example shows a type that violates the rule. Uncomment the SerializableAttribute attribute line to satisfy the rule.

using System;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Security.Permissions;

namespace UsageLibrary
{
   // [SerializableAttribute]
   public class BaseType : ISerializable
   {
      int baseValue;

      public BaseType()
      {
         baseValue = 3;
      }

      protected BaseType(
         SerializationInfo info, StreamingContext context)
      {
         baseValue = info.GetInt32("baseValue");
      }

      [SecurityPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.Demand, 
          SerializationFormatter = true)]
      public virtual void GetObjectData(
         SerializationInfo info, StreamingContext context)
      {
         info.AddValue("baseValue", baseValue);
      }
   }
}

Imports System
Imports System.Runtime.Serialization
Imports System.Security.Permissions

Namespace UsageLibrary

   ' <SerializableAttribute> _ 
   Public Class BaseType
      Implements ISerializable
   
      Dim baseValue As Integer

      Sub New()
         baseValue = 3
      End Sub

      Protected Sub New( _ 
         info As SerializationInfo, context As StreamingContext)
      
         baseValue = info.GetInt32("baseValue")

      End Sub

      <SecurityPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.Demand, _ 
          SerializationFormatter := True)> _ 
      Overridable Sub GetObjectData( _ 
         info As SerializationInfo, context As StreamingContext) _ 
         Implements ISerializable.GetObjectData
      
         info.AddValue("baseValue", baseValue)

      End Sub

   End Class

End Namespace

Related Rules

CA2236: Call base class methods on ISerializable types

CA2240: Implement ISerializable correctly

CA2229: Implement serialization constructors

CA2238: Implement serialization methods correctly

CA2235: Mark all non-serializable fields

CA2239: Provide deserialization methods for optional fields

CA2120: Secure serialization constructors