Dotnet Cryptography

dotnet-cryptography

Modern .NET cryptography covering hashing (SHA-256/384/512), symmetric encryption (AES-GCM), asymmetric cryptography (RSA, ECDSA), key derivation (PBKDF2, Argon2), and post-quantum algorithms (ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA) for .NET 10+. Includes TFM-aware guidance: what's available on net10.0 vs fallback strategies for net8.0/net9.0.

Scope

• Algorithm selection and correct usage of System.Security.Cryptography APIs
• Hashing for integrity (SHA-256/384/512)
• Symmetric encryption (AES-GCM)
• Asymmetric cryptography (RSA, ECDSA)
• Key derivation (PBKDF2, Argon2)
• Post-quantum cryptography (ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA) for .NET 10+
• Deprecated algorithm warnings

Out of scope

• Secrets management and configuration binding -- see [skill:dotnet-secrets-management]
• OWASP vulnerability categories and deprecated security patterns -- see [skill:dotnet-security-owasp]
• Authentication/authorization implementation (JWT, OAuth, Identity) -- see [skill:dotnet-api-security] and [skill:dotnet-blazor-auth]
• Cloud-specific key management (Azure Key Vault, AWS KMS) -- see [skill:dotnet-advisor]
• TLS/HTTPS configuration -- see [skill:dotnet-advisor]

Cross-references: [skill:dotnet-security-owasp] for OWASP A02 (Cryptographic Failures) and deprecated pattern warnings, [skill:dotnet-secrets-management] for storing keys and secrets securely.

Prerequisites

• .NET 8.0+ (LTS baseline for classical algorithms)
• .NET 10.0+ for post-quantum algorithms (ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA)
• Platform support for PQC: Windows 11 (November 2025+) or OpenSSL 3.5+ on Linux/macOS

Hashing (SHA-2 Family)

Use SHA-256/384/512 for integrity verification, checksums, and content-addressable storage. Never use hashing alone for passwords (see Key Derivation below).

using System.Security.Cryptography;

// Hash a byte array
byte[] data = "Hello, world"u8.ToArray();
byte[] hash = SHA256.HashData(data);

// Hash a stream (efficient for large files)
await using var stream = File.OpenRead("largefile.bin");
byte[] fileHash = await SHA256.HashDataAsync(stream);

// Compare hashes securely (constant-time comparison prevents timing attacks)
bool isEqual = CryptographicOperations.FixedTimeEquals(hash1, hash2);

// HMAC for authenticated hashing (message authentication codes)
byte[] key = RandomNumberGenerator.GetBytes(32); // 256-bit key
byte[] mac = HMACSHA256.HashData(key, data);

// Verify HMAC
byte[] computedMac = HMACSHA256.HashData(key, receivedData);
if (!CryptographicOperations.FixedTimeEquals(mac, computedMac))
{
    throw new CryptographicException("Message authentication failed");
}

Symmetric Encryption (AES-GCM)

AES-GCM is the recommended symmetric encryption for .NET. It provides both confidentiality and authenticity (authenticated encryption with associated data -- AEAD).

using System.Security.Cryptography;

public static class AesGcmEncryptor
{
    private const int NonceSize = 12; // 96-bit nonce (required by GCM)
    private const int TagSize = 16;   // 128-bit authentication tag

    public static byte[] Encrypt(byte[] plaintext, byte[] key)
    {
        var nonce = RandomNumberGenerator.GetBytes(NonceSize);
        var ciphertext = new byte[plaintext.Length];
        var tag = new byte[TagSize];

        using var aes = new AesGcm(key, TagSize);
        aes.Encrypt(nonce, plaintext, ciphertext, tag);

        // Prepend nonce + append tag for transport
        var result = new byte[NonceSize + ciphertext.Length + TagSize];
        nonce.CopyTo(result, 0);
        ciphertext.CopyTo(result, NonceSize);
        tag.CopyTo(result, NonceSize + ciphertext.Length);
        return result;
    }

    public static byte[] Decrypt(byte[] encryptedData, byte[] key)
    {
        var nonce = encryptedData.AsSpan(0, NonceSize);
        var ciphertext = encryptedData.AsSpan(NonceSize, encryptedData.Length - NonceSize - TagSize);
        var tag = encryptedData.AsSpan(encryptedData.Length - TagSize);
        var plaintext = new byte[ciphertext.Length];

        using var aes = new AesGcm(key, TagSize);
        aes.Decrypt(nonce, ciphertext, tag, plaintext);
        return plaintext;
    }
}

// ASP.NET Core Data Protection API -- preferred for web application scenarios
// Handles key management, rotation, and storage automatically
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.DataProtection;

public sealed class TokenProtector(IDataProtectionProvider provider)
{
    private readonly IDataProtector _protector =
        provider.CreateProtector("Tokens.V1");

    public string Protect(string plaintext) => _protector.Protect(plaintext);
    public string Unprotect(string ciphertext) => _protector.Unprotect(ciphertext);
}

// Registration:
builder.Services.AddDataProtection()
    .SetApplicationName("MyApp")
    .PersistKeysToFileSystem(new DirectoryInfo("/keys"));

Asymmetric Cryptography (RSA, ECDSA)

RSA

Use RSA for encryption of small payloads (key wrapping) and digital signatures. Minimum 2048-bit keys; prefer 4096-bit for new systems.

using System.Security.Cryptography;

// Generate an RSA key pair
using var rsa = RSA.Create(4096);

// Sign data
byte[] signature = rsa.SignData(data, HashAlgorithmName.SHA256, RSASignaturePadding.Pss);

// Verify signature (with public key)
byte[] publicKeyBytes = rsa.ExportRSAPublicKey();
using var rsaPublic = RSA.Create();
rsaPublic.ImportRSAPublicKey(publicKeyBytes, out _);
bool valid = rsaPublic.VerifyData(data, signature, HashAlgorithmName.SHA256, RSASignaturePadding.Pss);

// Encrypt with OAEP padding (never use PKCS#1 v1.5 for new code)
byte[] encrypted = rsaPublic.Encrypt(smallPayload, RSAEncryptionPadding.OaepSHA256);
byte[] decrypted = rsa.Decrypt(encrypted, RSAEncryptionPadding.OaepSHA256);

ECDSA

Prefer ECDSA over RSA for digital signatures in new projects -- smaller keys with equivalent security.

using System.Security.Cryptography;

// Generate ECDSA key (P-256 = NIST curve, widely supported)
using var ecdsa = ECDsa.Create(ECCurve.NamedCurves.nistP256);

// Sign data
byte[] signature = ecdsa.SignData(data, HashAlgorithmName.SHA256);

// Export public key for verification
byte[] publicKey = ecdsa.ExportSubjectPublicKeyInfo();

// Import and verify
using var ecdsaPublic = ECDsa.Create();
ecdsaPublic.ImportSubjectPublicKeyInfo(publicKey, out _);
bool valid = ecdsaPublic.VerifyData(data, signature, HashAlgorithmName.SHA256);

Key Derivation (Password Hashing)

PBKDF2 (Built-in)

PBKDF2 is built into .NET and acceptable for password hashing. Use at least 600,000 iterations with SHA-256 (OWASP recommendation).

using System.Buffers.Binary;
using System.Security.Cryptography;

public static class PasswordHasher
{
    private const int SaltSize = 16;       // 128-bit salt
    private const int HashSize = 32;       // 256-bit derived key
    private const int Iterations = 600_000; // OWASP 2023 recommendation for SHA-256
    private const int PayloadSize = 4 + SaltSize + HashSize; // iteration count + salt + hash

    public static string HashPassword(string password)
    {
        byte[] salt = RandomNumberGenerator.GetBytes(SaltSize);
        byte[] hash = Rfc2898DeriveBytes.Pbkdf2(
            password,
            salt,
            Iterations,
            HashAlgorithmName.SHA256,
            HashSize);

        // Store iteration count (fixed little-endian), salt, and hash together
        byte[] result = new byte[PayloadSize];
        BinaryPrimitives.WriteInt32LittleEndian(result, Iterations);
        salt.CopyTo(result.AsSpan(4));
        hash.CopyTo(result.AsSpan(4 + SaltSize));
        return Convert.ToBase64String(result);
    }

    public static bool VerifyPassword(string password, string stored)
    {
        // Defensive parsing: reject malformed input without exceptions
        Span<byte> decoded = stackalloc byte[PayloadSize];
        if (!Convert.TryFromBase64String(stored, decoded, out int bytesWritten)
            || bytesWritten != PayloadSize)
        {
            return false;
        }

        int iterations = BinaryPrimitives.ReadInt32LittleEndian(decoded);
        if (iterations <= 0)
            return false;

        var salt = decoded.Slice(4, SaltSize);
        var expectedHash = decoded.Slice(4 + SaltSize, HashSize);

        byte[] actualHash = Rfc2898DeriveBytes.Pbkdf2(
            password,
            salt,
            iterations,
            HashAlgorithmName.SHA256,
            HashSize);

        return CryptographicOperations.FixedTimeEquals(expectedHash, actualHash);
    }
}

Argon2 (via NuGet)

Argon2id is the recommended algorithm for password hashing when a NuGet dependency is acceptable. It is memory-hard, resisting GPU/ASIC attacks better than PBKDF2.

// Requires: <PackageReference Include="Konscious.Security.Cryptography.Argon2" Version="1.*" />
using Konscious.Security.Cryptography;

public static byte[] HashWithArgon2(string password, byte[] salt)
{
    using var argon2 = new Argon2id(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(password))
    {
        Salt = salt,
        DegreeOfParallelism = 4,  // threads
        MemorySize = 65536,       // 64 MB
        Iterations = 3
    };
    return argon2.GetBytes(32); // 256-bit hash
}

Prefer ASP.NET Core Identity's PasswordHasher<T> for web applications -- it handles PBKDF2 with correct parameters and format versioning automatically. Use custom hashing only for non-Identity scenarios.

Post-Quantum Cryptography (.NET 10+)

.NET 10 introduces post-quantum cryptography (PQC) through the System.Security.Cryptography namespace. These algorithms resist attacks from both classical and quantum computers.

Platform Requirements

PQC APIs require OS-level support:

• Windows: Windows 11 (November 2025 update) or Windows Server 2025 with PQC updates
• Linux/macOS: OpenSSL 3.5 or newer

Always check IsSupported before using PQC types. On unsupported platforms, fall back to classical algorithms.

ML-KEM (FIPS 203) -- Key Encapsulation

ML-KEM replaces classical key exchange (ECDH) for establishing shared secrets. It is the most mature .NET 10 PQC API (not marked [Experimental] at class level).

#if NET10_0_OR_GREATER
using System.Security.Cryptography;

if (!MLKem.IsSupported)
{
    Console.WriteLine("ML-KEM not available on this platform");
    return;
}

// Generate a key pair
using MLKem privateKey = MLKem.GenerateKey(MLKemAlgorithm.MLKem768);

// Export public encapsulation key (share with peer)
byte[] publicKeyBytes = privateKey.ExportEncapsulationKey();

// Peer: import public key and encapsulate a shared secret
using MLKem publicKey = MLKem.ImportEncapsulationKey(
    MLKemAlgorithm.MLKem768, publicKeyBytes);
publicKey.Encapsulate(out byte[] ciphertext, out byte[] sharedSecret1);

// Original holder: decapsulate to recover the same shared secret
byte[] sharedSecret2 = privateKey.Decapsulate(ciphertext);

// Both parties now have the same shared secret for symmetric encryption
bool match = sharedSecret1.AsSpan().SequenceEqual(sharedSecret2);
#endif

Parameter sets:

Prefer MLKem768 for general use (balances security and performance).

ML-DSA (FIPS 204) -- Digital Signatures

ML-DSA replaces RSA/ECDSA for quantum-resistant digital signatures.

#if NET10_0_OR_GREATER
using System.Security.Cryptography;

if (!MLDsa.IsSupported)
{
    Console.WriteLine("ML-DSA not available on this platform");
    return;
}

// Generate signing key
using MLDsa key = MLDsa.GenerateKey(MLDsaAlgorithm.MLDsa65);

// Sign data
byte[] data = "Document to sign"u8.ToArray();
byte[] signature = new byte[key.Algorithm.SignatureSizeInBytes];
key.SignData(data, signature);

// Export public key for verification
byte[] publicKeyBytes = key.ExportMLDsaPublicKey();

// Verify with public key
using MLDsa publicKey = MLDsa.ImportMLDsaPublicKey(
    MLDsaAlgorithm.MLDsa65, publicKeyBytes);
bool valid = publicKey.VerifyData(data, signature);
#endif

Parameter sets:

SLH-DSA (FIPS 205) -- Hash-Based Signatures

SLH-DSA (Stateless Hash-Based Digital Signature Algorithm) provides extremely conservative long-term signatures. Use when mathematical structure of lattice-based schemes (ML-DSA) is a concern. The entire SlhDsa class is [Experimental] (SYSLIB5006) -- Windows has not yet added native support.

#if NET10_0_OR_GREATER
using System.Security.Cryptography;

// SlhDsa is [Experimental] -- suppress SYSLIB5006 only when intentional
#pragma warning disable SYSLIB5006
if (SlhDsa.IsSupported)
{
    using SlhDsa key = SlhDsa.GenerateKey(SlhDsaAlgorithm.SlhDsaSha2_128s);
    byte[] data = "Long-term document"u8.ToArray();
    byte[] signature = new byte[key.Algorithm.SignatureSizeInBytes];
    key.SignData(data, signature);
    bool valid = key.VerifyData(data, signature);
}
#pragma warning restore SYSLIB5006
#endif

Fallback Strategy for net8.0/net9.0

Post-quantum algorithms are only available in .NET 10+. For applications targeting earlier TFMs:

1. Use classical algorithms now: ECDSA (P-256/P-384) for signatures, ECDH + AES-GCM for key exchange/encryption. These remain secure against classical attacks.
2. Prepare for migration: Isolate cryptographic operations behind interfaces so algorithm swaps require minimal code changes.
3. Multi-target when ready: Use #if NET10_0_OR_GREATER conditionals or separate assemblies per TFM to add PQC support alongside classical fallbacks.
4. Harvest-now-decrypt-later: For data that must remain confidential for 10+ years, consider migrating to .NET 10 sooner to protect against future quantum decryption of captured ciphertext.

Interoperability Caveats

• Key and signature sizes: PQC keys and signatures are significantly larger than classical equivalents (e.g., ML-DSA-65 signature is 3,309 bytes vs ECDSA P-256 at 64 bytes). This affects storage, bandwidth, and protocol message sizes.
• No cross-platform PQC yet: PQC APIs depend on OS crypto libraries. An app compiled for net10.0 will fail at runtime on older OS versions. Always gate behind IsSupported.
• PKCS#8/X.509 formats are experimental: Import/export of PQC keys in standard certificate formats is [Experimental] pending IETF RFC finalization. Do not persist PQC keys in PKCS#8 format in production yet.
• Composite/hybrid signatures: CompositeMLDsa (hybrid ML-DSA + classical) is fully [Experimental] with no native OS support. Use it only for prototyping.
• TLS integration: ML-DSA and SLH-DSA certificates work in TLS 1.3+ via SslStream, but only when the OS crypto library supports PQC in TLS. Verify with your deployment target.
• Performance: ML-KEM and ML-DSA are fast. SLH-DSA is significantly slower for signing (seconds, not milliseconds) -- use it only when hash-based security guarantees are required.

Deprecated Cryptographic APIs

The following cryptographic algorithms are broken or obsolete. Do not use them in new code.

For the full list of deprecated security patterns beyond cryptography (CAS, APTCA, .NET Remoting, DCOM, BinaryFormatter), see [skill:dotnet-security-owasp] which is the canonical owner of deprecated security pattern warnings.

Agent Gotchas

1. Never reuse a nonce with AES-GCM -- reusing a nonce with the same key breaks both confidentiality and authenticity. Always generate a fresh random nonce per encryption operation.
2. Never use ECB mode -- ECB encrypts identical plaintext blocks to identical ciphertext blocks, leaking patterns. .NET's Aes.Create() defaults to CBC, but prefer AES-GCM for authenticated encryption.
3. Never compare hashes with == -- use CryptographicOperations.FixedTimeEquals to prevent timing side-channel attacks.
4. Never use MD5 or SHA-1 for security purposes -- they are broken. SHA-1 is acceptable only for non-security checksums (e.g., git object hashes) where collision resistance is not a security requirement.
5. Never hardcode encryption keys -- use [skill:dotnet-secrets-management] for key storage. Generate keys with RandomNumberGenerator.GetBytes.
6. Minimum RSA key size is 2048 bits -- NIST deprecated 1024-bit RSA keys. Use 4096 for new systems.
7. PBKDF2 iteration count must be high -- OWASP recommends 600,000 iterations with SHA-256 (as of 2023). Lower counts are brute-forceable.
8. PQC IsSupported checks are mandatory -- calling PQC APIs on unsupported platforms throws PlatformNotSupportedException. Always check before use.
9. Do not suppress SYSLIB5006 globally -- suppress the experimental diagnostic only at the specific call site where you intentionally use experimental PQC APIs.

References

• ASP.NET Core Security
• Security in .NET
• Secure Coding Guidelines for .NET
• Cryptography Model in .NET
• Post-Quantum Cryptography in .NET
• ASP.NET Core Data Protection
• OWASP Password Storage Cheat Sheet
• NIST FIPS 203 (ML-KEM)
• NIST FIPS 204 (ML-DSA)
• NIST FIPS 205 (SLH-DSA)