SignedXml.AddReference(Reference) Method

Definition

Namespace:

System.Security.Cryptography.Xml

Assembly:

System.Security.Cryptography.Xml.dll

Source:

SignedXml.cs

Adds a Reference object to the SignedXml object that describes a digest method, digest value, and transform to use for creating an XML digital signature.

C#

public void AddReference(System.Security.Cryptography.Xml.Reference reference);

Parameters

reference

Reference

The Reference object that describes a digest method, digest value, and transform to use for creating an XML digital signature.

Examples

The following code example shows how to sign and verify an entire XML document using an enveloped 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 shows how to sign and verify a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) addressable object 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();
    }
}

The following code example shows how to sign and verify a single element of an XML document using an enveloping 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
       {
           // Specify an element to sign.
           string[] elements =  { "#tag1" };

           // Sign an XML file and save the signature to a
           // new file.
           SignXmlFile("Test.xml", "SignedExample.xml", Key, elements);
           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, string[] ElementsToSign)
    {
        // Check the arguments.
        if (FileName == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("FileName");
        if (SignedFileName == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("SignedFileName");
        if (Key == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("Key");
        if (ElementsToSign == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("ElementsToSign");

        // 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;

        // Loop through each passed element to sign
        // and create a reference.
        foreach (string s in ElementsToSign)
        {
            // Create a reference to be signed.
            Reference reference = new Reference();
            reference.Uri = s;

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

            // Add the reference to the SignedXml object.
            signedXml.AddReference(reference);
        }

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

Remarks

The AddReference method adds a <Reference> element to the SignedXml object that describes a digest method, digest value, and transform to use for creating an XML digital signature. The <Reference> element is a subelement of the <SignedInfo> element.

The AddReference method internally calls the AddReference method of the SignedInfo object encapsulated by the SignedXml object. You can also add a Reference object by directly calling the AddReference method from the SignedInfo property.

For more information about XML digital signatures, see the XMLDSIG specification.

Applies to