Signature Class

Definition

Represents the <Signature> element of an XML signature.

C#
public class Signature
Inheritance
Signature

Examples

The following code example uses the Signature class with the SignedXml class to sign and verify an XML document using an envelope signature.

C#
//
// This example signs an XML file using an
// envelope signature. It then verifies the
// signed XML.
//
using System;
using System.Security.Cryptography;
using System.Security.Cryptography.Xml;
using System.Text;
using System.Xml;

public class SignVerifyEnvelope
{

    public static void Main(String[] args)
    {
        // Generate a signing key.
       RSA Key = RSA.Create();

       try
       {

           // Sign an XML file and save the signature to a
           // new file.
           SignXmlFile("Test.xml", "SignedExample.xml", Key);
           Console.WriteLine("XML file signed.");

           // Verify the signature of the signed XML.
           Console.WriteLine("Verifying signature...");

           bool result = VerifyXmlFile("SignedExample.xml");

           // Display the results of the signature verification to
           // the console.
           if (result)
           {
               Console.WriteLine("The XML signature is valid.");
           }
           else
           {
               Console.WriteLine("The XML signature is not valid.");
           }
       }
       catch (CryptographicException e)
       {
           Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
       }
       finally
       {
           // Clear resources associated with the
           // RSA instance.
           Key.Clear();
       }
   }

    // Sign an XML file and save the signature in a new file.
    public static void SignXmlFile(string FileName, string SignedFileName, RSA Key)
    {
        // Check the arguments.
        if (FileName == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("FileName");
        if (SignedFileName == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("SignedFileName");
        if (Key == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("Key");

        // Create a new XML document.
        XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();

        // Format the document to ignore white spaces.
        doc.PreserveWhitespace = false;

        // Load the passed XML file using it's name.
        doc.Load(new XmlTextReader(FileName));

        // Create a SignedXml object.
        SignedXml signedXml = new SignedXml(doc);

        // Add the key to the SignedXml document.
        signedXml.SigningKey = Key;

        // Get the signature object from the SignedXml object.
        Signature XMLSignature = signedXml.Signature;

        // Create a reference to be signed.  Pass ""
        // to specify that all of the current XML
        // document should be signed.
        Reference reference = new Reference("");

        // Add an enveloped transformation to the reference.
        XmlDsigEnvelopedSignatureTransform env = new XmlDsigEnvelopedSignatureTransform();
        reference.AddTransform(env);

        // Add the Reference object to the Signature object.
        XMLSignature.SignedInfo.AddReference(reference);

        // Add an RSAKeyValue KeyInfo (optional; helps recipient find key to validate).
        KeyInfo keyInfo = new KeyInfo();
        keyInfo.AddClause(new RSAKeyValue((RSA)Key));

        // Add the KeyInfo object to the Reference object.
        XMLSignature.KeyInfo = keyInfo;

        // Compute the signature.
        signedXml.ComputeSignature();

        // Get the XML representation of the signature and save
        // it to an XmlElement object.
        XmlElement xmlDigitalSignature = signedXml.GetXml();

        // Append the element to the XML document.
        doc.DocumentElement.AppendChild(doc.ImportNode(xmlDigitalSignature, true));

        if (doc.FirstChild is XmlDeclaration)
        {
            doc.RemoveChild(doc.FirstChild);
        }

        // Save the signed XML document to a file specified
        // using the passed string.
        XmlTextWriter xmltw = new XmlTextWriter(SignedFileName, new UTF8Encoding(false));
        doc.WriteTo(xmltw);
        xmltw.Close();
    }
    // Verify the signature of an XML file and return the result.
    public static Boolean VerifyXmlFile(String Name)
    {
        // Check the arguments.
        if (Name == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("Name");

        // Create a new XML document.
        XmlDocument xmlDocument = new XmlDocument();

        // Format using white spaces.
        xmlDocument.PreserveWhitespace = true;

        // Load the passed XML file into the document.
        xmlDocument.Load(Name);

        // Create a new SignedXml object and pass it
        // the XML document class.
        SignedXml signedXml = new SignedXml(xmlDocument);

        // Find the "Signature" node and create a new
        // XmlNodeList object.
        XmlNodeList nodeList = xmlDocument.GetElementsByTagName("Signature");

        // Load the signature node.
        signedXml.LoadXml((XmlElement)nodeList[0]);

        // Check the signature and return the result.
        return signedXml.CheckSignature();
    }
}

The following code example uses the Signature class with the SignedXml class to sign an object and verify an XML document using a detached signature.

C#
//
// This example signs a URL using an
// envelope signature. It then verifies the
// signed XML.
//
using System;
using System.Security.Cryptography;
using System.Security.Cryptography.Xml;
using System.Text;
using System.Xml;

public class SignVerifyEnvelope
{

    public static void Main(String[] args)
    {
        // Generate a signing key.
       RSA Key = RSA.Create();

       try
       {

           // Sign the detached resource and save the signature in an XML file.
           SignDetachedResource("http://www.microsoft.com", "SignedExample.xml", Key);

           Console.WriteLine("XML file signed.");

           // Verify the signature of the signed XML.
           Console.WriteLine("Verifying signature...");

           bool result = VerifyXmlFile("SignedExample.xml");

           // Display the results of the signature verification to \
           // the console.
           if (result)
           {
               Console.WriteLine("The XML signature is valid.");
           }
           else
           {
               Console.WriteLine("The XML signature is not valid.");
           }
       }
       catch (CryptographicException e)
       {
           Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
       }
       finally
       {
           // Clear resources associated with the
           // RSA instance.
           Key.Clear();
       }
   }

    // Sign an XML file and save the signature in a new file.
    public static void SignDetachedResource(string URIString, string XmlSigFileName, RSA Key)
    {
        // Check the arguments.
        if (URIString == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("URIString");
        if (XmlSigFileName == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("XmlSigFileName");
        if (Key == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("Key");

        // Create a SignedXml object.
        SignedXml signedXml = new SignedXml();

        // Assign the key to the SignedXml object.
        signedXml.SigningKey = Key;

        // Get the signature object from the SignedXml object.
        Signature XMLSignature = signedXml.Signature;

        // Create a reference to be signed.
        Reference reference = new Reference();

        // Add the passed URI to the reference object.
        reference.Uri = URIString;

        // Add the Reference object to the Signature object.
        XMLSignature.SignedInfo.AddReference(reference);

        // Add an RSAKeyValue KeyInfo (optional; helps recipient find key to validate).
        KeyInfo keyInfo = new KeyInfo();
        keyInfo.AddClause(new RSAKeyValue((RSA)Key));

        // Add the KeyInfo object to the Reference object.
        XMLSignature.KeyInfo = keyInfo;

        // Compute the signature.
        signedXml.ComputeSignature();

        // Get the XML representation of the signature and save
        // it to an XmlElement object.
        XmlElement xmlDigitalSignature = signedXml.GetXml();

        // Save the signed XML document to a file specified
        // using the passed string.
        XmlTextWriter xmltw = new XmlTextWriter(XmlSigFileName, new UTF8Encoding(false));
        xmlDigitalSignature.WriteTo(xmltw);
        xmltw.Close();
    }

    // Verify the signature of an XML file and return the result.
    public static Boolean VerifyXmlFile(String Name)
    {
        // Check the arguments.
        if (Name == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("Name");

        // Create a new XML document.
        XmlDocument xmlDocument = new XmlDocument();

        // Format using white spaces.
        xmlDocument.PreserveWhitespace = true;

        // Load the passed XML file into the document.
        xmlDocument.Load(Name);

        // Create a new SignedXml object and pass it
        // the XML document class.
        SignedXml signedXml = new SignedXml(xmlDocument);

        // Find the "Signature" node and create a new
        // XmlNodeList object.
        XmlNodeList nodeList = xmlDocument.GetElementsByTagName("Signature");

        // Load the signature node.
        signedXml.LoadXml((XmlElement)nodeList[0]);

        // Check the signature and return the result.
        return signedXml.CheckSignature();
    }
}

Remarks

The Signature class represents the <Signature> element of an XML signature defined by the XML digital signature specification. The <Signature> element is the root element of an XML digital signature. The SignedInfo, SignatureValue, KeyInfo, and ObjectList properties encapsulate the subelements of the <Signature> element.

For more information about the <Signature> element, see the W3C specification.

Constructors

Signature()

Initializes a new instance of the Signature class.

Properties

Id

Gets or sets the ID of the current Signature.

KeyInfo

Gets or sets the KeyInfo of the current Signature.

ObjectList

Gets or sets a list of objects to be signed.

SignatureValue

Gets or sets the value of the digital signature.

SignedInfo

Gets or sets the SignedInfo of the current Signature.

Methods

AddObject(DataObject)

Adds a DataObject to the list of objects to be signed.

Equals(Object)

Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object.

(Inherited from Object)
GetHashCode()

Serves as the default hash function.

(Inherited from Object)
GetType()

Gets the Type of the current instance.

(Inherited from Object)
GetXml()

Returns the XML representation of the Signature.

LoadXml(XmlElement)

Loads a Signature state from an XML element.

MemberwiseClone()

Creates a shallow copy of the current Object.

(Inherited from Object)
ToString()

Returns a string that represents the current object.

(Inherited from Object)

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET 8 (package-provided), 9 (package-provided)
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7 (package-provided), 4.7, 4.7.1 (package-provided), 4.7.1, 4.7.2 (package-provided), 4.7.2, 4.8 (package-provided), 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 2.0 (package-provided)
Windows Desktop 3.0, 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

See also