Modern Examples of Symmetric Authenticated Encryption of a string
suggest changeCryptography is something very hard and after spending a lot of time reading different examples and seeing how easy it is to introduce some form of vulnerability I found an answer originally written by @jbtule that I think is very good. Enjoy reading:
“The general best practice for symmetric encryption is to use Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data (AEAD), however this isn’t a part of the standard .net crypto libraries. So the first example uses AES256 and then HMAC256, a two step Encrypt then MAC, which requires more overhead and more keys.
The second example uses the simpler practice of AES256-GCM using the open source Bouncy Castle (via nuget).
Both examples have a main function that takes secret message string, key(s) and an optional non-secret payload and return and authenticated encrypted string optionally prepended with the non-secret data. Ideally you would use these with 256bit key(s) randomly generated see NewKey()
.
Both examples also have a helper methods that use a string password to generate the keys. These helper methods are provided as a convenience to match up with other examples, however they are far less secure because the strength of the password is going to be far weaker than a 256 bit key.
Update: Added byte[]
overloads, and only the Gist has the full formatting with 4 spaces indent and api docs due to StackOverflow answer limits.”
.NET Built-in Encrypt(AES)-Then-MAC(HMAC) [Gist]
/*
* This work (Modern Encryption of a String C#, by James Tuley),
* identified by James Tuley, is free of known copyright restrictions.
* https://gist.github.com/4336842
* http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
*/
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Security.Cryptography;
using System.Text;
namespace Encryption
{
public static class AESThenHMAC
{
private static readonly RandomNumberGenerator Random = RandomNumberGenerator.Create();
//Preconfigured Encryption Parameters
public static readonly int BlockBitSize = 128;
public static readonly int KeyBitSize = 256;
//Preconfigured Password Key Derivation Parameters
public static readonly int SaltBitSize = 64;
public static readonly int Iterations = 10000;
public static readonly int MinPasswordLength = 12;
/// <summary>
/// Helper that generates a random key on each call.
/// </summary>
/// <returns></returns>
public static byte[] NewKey()
{
var key = new byte[KeyBitSize / 8];
Random.GetBytes(key);
return key;
}
/// <summary>
/// Simple Encryption (AES) then Authentication (HMAC) for a UTF8 Message.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="secretMessage">The secret message.</param>
/// <param name="cryptKey">The crypt key.</param>
/// <param name="authKey">The auth key.</param>
/// <param name="nonSecretPayload">(Optional) Non-Secret Payload.</param>
/// <returns>
/// Encrypted Message
/// </returns>
/// <exception cref="System.ArgumentException">Secret Message Required!;secretMessage</exception>
/// <remarks>
/// Adds overhead of (Optional-Payload + BlockSize(16) + Message-Padded-To-Blocksize + HMac-Tag(32)) * 1.33 Base64
/// </remarks>
public static string SimpleEncrypt(string secretMessage, byte[] cryptKey, byte[] authKey,
byte[] nonSecretPayload = null)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(secretMessage))
throw new ArgumentException("Secret Message Required!", "secretMessage");
var plainText = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(secretMessage);
var cipherText = SimpleEncrypt(plainText, cryptKey, authKey, nonSecretPayload);
return Convert.ToBase64String(cipherText);
}
/// <summary>
/// Simple Authentication (HMAC) then Decryption (AES) for a secrets UTF8 Message.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="encryptedMessage">The encrypted message.</param>
/// <param name="cryptKey">The crypt key.</param>
/// <param name="authKey">The auth key.</param>
/// <param name="nonSecretPayloadLength">Length of the non secret payload.</param>
/// <returns>
/// Decrypted Message
/// </returns>
/// <exception cref="System.ArgumentException">Encrypted Message Required!;encryptedMessage</exception>
public static string SimpleDecrypt(string encryptedMessage, byte[] cryptKey, byte[] authKey,
int nonSecretPayloadLength = 0)
{
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(encryptedMessage))
throw new ArgumentException("Encrypted Message Required!", "encryptedMessage");
var cipherText = Convert.FromBase64String(encryptedMessage);
var plainText = SimpleDecrypt(cipherText, cryptKey, authKey, nonSecretPayloadLength);
return plainText == null ? null : Encoding.UTF8.GetString(plainText);
}
/// <summary>
/// Simple Encryption (AES) then Authentication (HMAC) of a UTF8 message
/// using Keys derived from a Password (PBKDF2).
/// </summary>
/// <param name="secretMessage">The secret message.</param>
/// <param name="password">The password.</param>
/// <param name="nonSecretPayload">The non secret payload.</param>
/// <returns>
/// Encrypted Message
/// </returns>
/// <exception cref="System.ArgumentException">password</exception>
/// <remarks>
/// Significantly less secure than using random binary keys.
/// Adds additional non secret payload for key generation parameters.
/// </remarks>
public static string SimpleEncryptWithPassword(string secretMessage, string password,
byte[] nonSecretPayload = null)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(secretMessage))
throw new ArgumentException("Secret Message Required!", "secretMessage");
var plainText = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(secretMessage);
var cipherText = SimpleEncryptWithPassword(plainText, password, nonSecretPayload);
return Convert.ToBase64String(cipherText);
}
/// <summary>
/// Simple Authentication (HMAC) and then Descryption (AES) of a UTF8 Message
/// using keys derived from a password (PBKDF2).
/// </summary>
/// <param name="encryptedMessage">The encrypted message.</param>
/// <param name="password">The password.</param>
/// <param name="nonSecretPayloadLength">Length of the non secret payload.</param>
/// <returns>
/// Decrypted Message
/// </returns>
/// <exception cref="System.ArgumentException">Encrypted Message Required!;encryptedMessage</exception>
/// <remarks>
/// Significantly less secure than using random binary keys.
/// </remarks>
public static string SimpleDecryptWithPassword(string encryptedMessage, string password,
int nonSecretPayloadLength = 0)
{
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(encryptedMessage))
throw new ArgumentException("Encrypted Message Required!", "encryptedMessage");
var cipherText = Convert.FromBase64String(encryptedMessage);
var plainText = SimpleDecryptWithPassword(cipherText, password, nonSecretPayloadLength);
return plainText == null ? null : Encoding.UTF8.GetString(plainText);
}
public static byte[] SimpleEncrypt(byte[] secretMessage, byte[] cryptKey, byte[] authKey, byte[] nonSecretPayload = null)
{
//User Error Checks
if (cryptKey == null || cryptKey.Length != KeyBitSize / 8)
throw new ArgumentException(String.Format("Key needs to be {0} bit!", KeyBitSize), "cryptKey");
if (authKey == null || authKey.Length != KeyBitSize / 8)
throw new ArgumentException(String.Format("Key needs to be {0} bit!", KeyBitSize), "authKey");
if (secretMessage == null || secretMessage.Length < 1)
throw new ArgumentException("Secret Message Required!", "secretMessage");
//non-secret payload optional
nonSecretPayload = nonSecretPayload ?? new byte[] { };
byte[] cipherText;
byte[] iv;
using (var aes = new AesManaged
{
KeySize = KeyBitSize,
BlockSize = BlockBitSize,
Mode = CipherMode.CBC,
Padding = PaddingMode.PKCS7
})
{
//Use random IV
aes.GenerateIV();
iv = aes.IV;
using (var encrypter = aes.CreateEncryptor(cryptKey, iv))
using (var cipherStream = new MemoryStream())
{
using (var cryptoStream = new CryptoStream(cipherStream, encrypter, CryptoStreamMode.Write))
using (var binaryWriter = new BinaryWriter(cryptoStream))
{
//Encrypt Data
binaryWriter.Write(secretMessage);
}
cipherText = cipherStream.ToArray();
}
}
//Assemble encrypted message and add authentication
using (var hmac = new HMACSHA256(authKey))
using (var encryptedStream = new MemoryStream())
{
using (var binaryWriter = new BinaryWriter(encryptedStream))
{
//Prepend non-secret payload if any
binaryWriter.Write(nonSecretPayload);
//Prepend IV
binaryWriter.Write(iv);
//Write Ciphertext
binaryWriter.Write(cipherText);
binaryWriter.Flush();
//Authenticate all data
var tag = hmac.ComputeHash(encryptedStream.ToArray());
//Postpend tag
binaryWriter.Write(tag);
}
return encryptedStream.ToArray();
}
}
public static byte[] SimpleDecrypt(byte[] encryptedMessage, byte[] cryptKey, byte[] authKey, int nonSecretPayloadLength = 0)
{
//Basic Usage Error Checks
if (cryptKey == null || cryptKey.Length != KeyBitSize / 8)
throw new ArgumentException(String.Format("CryptKey needs to be {0} bit!", KeyBitSize), "cryptKey");
if (authKey == null || authKey.Length != KeyBitSize / 8)
throw new ArgumentException(String.Format("AuthKey needs to be {0} bit!", KeyBitSize), "authKey");
if (encryptedMessage == null || encryptedMessage.Length == 0)
throw new ArgumentException("Encrypted Message Required!", "encryptedMessage");
using (var hmac = new HMACSHA256(authKey))
{
var sentTag = new byte[hmac.HashSize / 8];
//Calculate Tag
var calcTag = hmac.ComputeHash(encryptedMessage, 0, encryptedMessage.Length - sentTag.Length);
var ivLength = (BlockBitSize / 8);
//if message length is to small just return null
if (encryptedMessage.Length < sentTag.Length + nonSecretPayloadLength + ivLength)
return null;
//Grab Sent Tag
Array.Copy(encryptedMessage, encryptedMessage.Length - sentTag.Length, sentTag, 0, sentTag.Length);
//Compare Tag with constant time comparison
var compare = 0;
for (var i = 0; i < sentTag.Length; i++)
compare |= sentTag[i] ^ calcTag[i];
//if message doesn't authenticate return null
if (compare != 0)
return null;
using (var aes = new AesManaged
{
KeySize = KeyBitSize,
BlockSize = BlockBitSize,
Mode = CipherMode.CBC,
Padding = PaddingMode.PKCS7
})
{
//Grab IV from message
var iv = new byte[ivLength];
Array.Copy(encryptedMessage, nonSecretPayloadLength, iv, 0, iv.Length);
using (var decrypter = aes.CreateDecryptor(cryptKey, iv))
using (var plainTextStream = new MemoryStream())
{
using (var decrypterStream = new CryptoStream(plainTextStream, decrypter, CryptoStreamMode.Write))
using (var binaryWriter = new BinaryWriter(decrypterStream))
{
//Decrypt Cipher Text from Message
binaryWriter.Write(
encryptedMessage,
nonSecretPayloadLength + iv.Length,
encryptedMessage.Length - nonSecretPayloadLength - iv.Length - sentTag.Length
);
}
//Return Plain Text
return plainTextStream.ToArray();
}
}
}
}
public static byte[] SimpleEncryptWithPassword(byte[] secretMessage, string password, byte[] nonSecretPayload = null)
{
nonSecretPayload = nonSecretPayload ?? new byte[] {};
//User Error Checks
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(password) || password.Length < MinPasswordLength)
throw new ArgumentException(String.Format("Must have a password of at least {0} characters!", MinPasswordLength), "password");
if (secretMessage == null || secretMessage.Length ==0)
throw new ArgumentException("Secret Message Required!", "secretMessage");
var payload = new byte[((SaltBitSize / 8) * 2) + nonSecretPayload.Length];
Array.Copy(nonSecretPayload, payload, nonSecretPayload.Length);
int payloadIndex = nonSecretPayload.Length;
byte[] cryptKey;
byte[] authKey;
//Use Random Salt to prevent pre-generated weak password attacks.
using (var generator = new Rfc2898DeriveBytes(password, SaltBitSize / 8, Iterations))
{
var salt = generator.Salt;
//Generate Keys
cryptKey = generator.GetBytes(KeyBitSize / 8);
//Create Non Secret Payload
Array.Copy(salt, 0, payload, payloadIndex, salt.Length);
payloadIndex += salt.Length;
}
//Deriving separate key, might be less efficient than using HKDF,
//but now compatible with RNEncryptor which had a very similar wireformat and requires less code than HKDF.
using (var generator = new Rfc2898DeriveBytes(password, SaltBitSize / 8, Iterations))
{
var salt = generator.Salt;
//Generate Keys
authKey = generator.GetBytes(KeyBitSize / 8);
//Create Rest of Non Secret Payload
Array.Copy(salt, 0, payload, payloadIndex, salt.Length);
}
return SimpleEncrypt(secretMessage, cryptKey, authKey, payload);
}
public static byte[] SimpleDecryptWithPassword(byte[] encryptedMessage, string password, int nonSecretPayloadLength = 0)
{
//User Error Checks
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(password) || password.Length < MinPasswordLength)
throw new ArgumentException(String.Format("Must have a password of at least {0} characters!", MinPasswordLength), "password");
if (encryptedMessage == null || encryptedMessage.Length == 0)
throw new ArgumentException("Encrypted Message Required!", "encryptedMessage");
var cryptSalt = new byte[SaltBitSize / 8];
var authSalt = new byte[SaltBitSize / 8];
//Grab Salt from Non-Secret Payload
Array.Copy(encryptedMessage, nonSecretPayloadLength, cryptSalt, 0, cryptSalt.Length);
Array.Copy(encryptedMessage, nonSecretPayloadLength + cryptSalt.Length, authSalt, 0, authSalt.Length);
byte[] cryptKey;
byte[] authKey;
//Generate crypt key
using (var generator = new Rfc2898DeriveBytes(password, cryptSalt, Iterations))
{
cryptKey = generator.GetBytes(KeyBitSize / 8);
}
//Generate auth key
using (var generator = new Rfc2898DeriveBytes(password, authSalt, Iterations))
{
authKey = generator.GetBytes(KeyBitSize / 8);
}
return SimpleDecrypt(encryptedMessage, cryptKey, authKey, cryptSalt.Length + authSalt.Length + nonSecretPayloadLength);
}
}
}
Bouncy Castle AES-GCM [Gist]
/*
* This work (Modern Encryption of a String C#, by James Tuley),
* identified by James Tuley, is free of known copyright restrictions.
* https://gist.github.com/4336842
* http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
*/
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
using Org.BouncyCastle.Crypto;
using Org.BouncyCastle.Crypto.Engines;
using Org.BouncyCastle.Crypto.Generators;
using Org.BouncyCastle.Crypto.Modes;
using Org.BouncyCastle.Crypto.Parameters;
using Org.BouncyCastle.Security;
namespace Encryption
{
public static class AESGCM
{
private static readonly SecureRandom Random = new SecureRandom();
//Preconfigured Encryption Parameters
public static readonly int NonceBitSize = 128;
public static readonly int MacBitSize = 128;
public static readonly int KeyBitSize = 256;
//Preconfigured Password Key Derivation Parameters
public static readonly int SaltBitSize = 128;
public static readonly int Iterations = 10000;
public static readonly int MinPasswordLength = 12;
/// <summary>
/// Helper that generates a random new key on each call.
/// </summary>
/// <returns></returns>
public static byte[] NewKey()
{
var key = new byte[KeyBitSize / 8];
Random.NextBytes(key);
return key;
}
/// <summary>
/// Simple Encryption And Authentication (AES-GCM) of a UTF8 string.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="secretMessage">The secret message.</param>
/// <param name="key">The key.</param>
/// <param name="nonSecretPayload">Optional non-secret payload.</param>
/// <returns>
/// Encrypted Message
/// </returns>
/// <exception cref="System.ArgumentException">Secret Message Required!;secretMessage</exception>
/// <remarks>
/// Adds overhead of (Optional-Payload + BlockSize(16) + Message + HMac-Tag(16)) * 1.33 Base64
/// </remarks>
public static string SimpleEncrypt(string secretMessage, byte[] key, byte[] nonSecretPayload = null)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(secretMessage))
throw new ArgumentException("Secret Message Required!", "secretMessage");
var plainText = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(secretMessage);
var cipherText = SimpleEncrypt(plainText, key, nonSecretPayload);
return Convert.ToBase64String(cipherText);
}
/// <summary>
/// Simple Decryption & Authentication (AES-GCM) of a UTF8 Message
/// </summary>
/// <param name="encryptedMessage">The encrypted message.</param>
/// <param name="key">The key.</param>
/// <param name="nonSecretPayloadLength">Length of the optional non-secret payload.</param>
/// <returns>Decrypted Message</returns>
public static string SimpleDecrypt(string encryptedMessage, byte[] key, int nonSecretPayloadLength = 0)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(encryptedMessage))
throw new ArgumentException("Encrypted Message Required!", "encryptedMessage");
var cipherText = Convert.FromBase64String(encryptedMessage);
var plainText = SimpleDecrypt(cipherText, key, nonSecretPayloadLength);
return plainText == null ? null : Encoding.UTF8.GetString(plainText);
}
/// <summary>
/// Simple Encryption And Authentication (AES-GCM) of a UTF8 String
/// using key derived from a password (PBKDF2).
/// </summary>
/// <param name="secretMessage">The secret message.</param>
/// <param name="password">The password.</param>
/// <param name="nonSecretPayload">The non secret payload.</param>
/// <returns>
/// Encrypted Message
/// </returns>
/// <remarks>
/// Significantly less secure than using random binary keys.
/// Adds additional non secret payload for key generation parameters.
/// </remarks>
public static string SimpleEncryptWithPassword(string secretMessage, string password,
byte[] nonSecretPayload = null)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(secretMessage))
throw new ArgumentException("Secret Message Required!", "secretMessage");
var plainText = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(secretMessage);
var cipherText = SimpleEncryptWithPassword(plainText, password, nonSecretPayload);
return Convert.ToBase64String(cipherText);
}
/// <summary>
/// Simple Decryption and Authentication (AES-GCM) of a UTF8 message
/// using a key derived from a password (PBKDF2)
/// </summary>
/// <param name="encryptedMessage">The encrypted message.</param>
/// <param name="password">The password.</param>
/// <param name="nonSecretPayloadLength">Length of the non secret payload.</param>
/// <returns>
/// Decrypted Message
/// </returns>
/// <exception cref="System.ArgumentException">Encrypted Message Required!;encryptedMessage</exception>
/// <remarks>
/// Significantly less secure than using random binary keys.
/// </remarks>
public static string SimpleDecryptWithPassword(string encryptedMessage, string password,
int nonSecretPayloadLength = 0)
{
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(encryptedMessage))
throw new ArgumentException("Encrypted Message Required!", "encryptedMessage");
var cipherText = Convert.FromBase64String(encryptedMessage);
var plainText = SimpleDecryptWithPassword(cipherText, password, nonSecretPayloadLength);
return plainText == null ? null : Encoding.UTF8.GetString(plainText);
}
public static byte[] SimpleEncrypt(byte[] secretMessage, byte[] key, byte[] nonSecretPayload = null)
{
//User Error Checks
if (key == null || key.Length != KeyBitSize / 8)
throw new ArgumentException(String.Format("Key needs to be {0} bit!", KeyBitSize), "key");
if (secretMessage == null || secretMessage.Length == 0)
throw new ArgumentException("Secret Message Required!", "secretMessage");
//Non-secret Payload Optional
nonSecretPayload = nonSecretPayload ?? new byte[] { };
//Using random nonce large enough not to repeat
var nonce = new byte[NonceBitSize / 8];
Random.NextBytes(nonce, 0, nonce.Length);
var cipher = new GcmBlockCipher(new AesFastEngine());
var parameters = new AeadParameters(new KeyParameter(key), MacBitSize, nonce, nonSecretPayload);
cipher.Init(true, parameters);
//Generate Cipher Text With Auth Tag
var cipherText = new byte[cipher.GetOutputSize(secretMessage.Length)];
var len = cipher.ProcessBytes(secretMessage, 0, secretMessage.Length, cipherText, 0);
cipher.DoFinal(cipherText, len);
//Assemble Message
using (var combinedStream = new MemoryStream())
{
using (var binaryWriter = new BinaryWriter(combinedStream))
{
//Prepend Authenticated Payload
binaryWriter.Write(nonSecretPayload);
//Prepend Nonce
binaryWriter.Write(nonce);
//Write Cipher Text
binaryWriter.Write(cipherText);
}
return combinedStream.ToArray();
}
}
public static byte[] SimpleDecrypt(byte[] encryptedMessage, byte[] key, int nonSecretPayloadLength = 0)
{
//User Error Checks
if (key == null || key.Length != KeyBitSize / 8)
throw new ArgumentException(String.Format("Key needs to be {0} bit!", KeyBitSize), "key");
if (encryptedMessage == null || encryptedMessage.Length == 0)
throw new ArgumentException("Encrypted Message Required!", "encryptedMessage");
using (var cipherStream = new MemoryStream(encryptedMessage))
using (var cipherReader = new BinaryReader(cipherStream))
{
//Grab Payload
var nonSecretPayload = cipherReader.ReadBytes(nonSecretPayloadLength);
//Grab Nonce
var nonce = cipherReader.ReadBytes(NonceBitSize / 8);
var cipher = new GcmBlockCipher(new AesFastEngine());
var parameters = new AeadParameters(new KeyParameter(key), MacBitSize, nonce, nonSecretPayload);
cipher.Init(false, parameters);
//Decrypt Cipher Text
var cipherText = cipherReader.ReadBytes(encryptedMessage.Length - nonSecretPayloadLength - nonce.Length);
var plainText = new byte[cipher.GetOutputSize(cipherText.Length)];
try
{
var len = cipher.ProcessBytes(cipherText, 0, cipherText.Length, plainText, 0);
cipher.DoFinal(plainText, len);
}
catch (InvalidCipherTextException)
{
//Return null if it doesn't authenticate
return null;
}
return plainText;
}
}
public static byte[] SimpleEncryptWithPassword(byte[] secretMessage, string password, byte[] nonSecretPayload = null)
{
nonSecretPayload = nonSecretPayload ?? new byte[] {};
//User Error Checks
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(password) || password.Length < MinPasswordLength)
throw new ArgumentException(String.Format("Must have a password of at least {0} characters!", MinPasswordLength), "password");
if (secretMessage == null || secretMessage.Length == 0)
throw new ArgumentException("Secret Message Required!", "secretMessage");
var generator = new Pkcs5S2ParametersGenerator();
//Use Random Salt to minimize pre-generated weak password attacks.
var salt = new byte[SaltBitSize / 8];
Random.NextBytes(salt);
generator.Init(
PbeParametersGenerator.Pkcs5PasswordToBytes(password.ToCharArray()),
salt,
Iterations);
//Generate Key
var key = (KeyParameter)generator.GenerateDerivedMacParameters(KeyBitSize);
//Create Full Non Secret Payload
var payload = new byte[salt.Length + nonSecretPayload.Length];
Array.Copy(nonSecretPayload, payload, nonSecretPayload.Length);
Array.Copy(salt,0, payload,nonSecretPayload.Length, salt.Length);
return SimpleEncrypt(secretMessage, key.GetKey(), payload);
}
public static byte[] SimpleDecryptWithPassword(byte[] encryptedMessage, string password, int nonSecretPayloadLength = 0)
{
//User Error Checks
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(password) || password.Length < MinPasswordLength)
throw new ArgumentException(String.Format("Must have a password of at least {0} characters!", MinPasswordLength), "password");
if (encryptedMessage == null || encryptedMessage.Length == 0)
throw new ArgumentException("Encrypted Message Required!", "encryptedMessage");
var generator = new Pkcs5S2ParametersGenerator();
//Grab Salt from Payload
var salt = new byte[SaltBitSize / 8];
Array.Copy(encryptedMessage, nonSecretPayloadLength, salt, 0, salt.Length);
generator.Init(
PbeParametersGenerator.Pkcs5PasswordToBytes(password.ToCharArray()),
salt,
Iterations);
//Generate Key
var key = (KeyParameter)generator.GenerateDerivedMacParameters(KeyBitSize);
return SimpleDecrypt(encryptedMessage, key.GetKey(), salt.Length + nonSecretPayloadLength);
}
}
}