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<certificate> of <clientCertificate> Element

  • Article

Specifies an X.509 certificate used to sign and encrypt messages.

Schema Hierarchy

<system.serviceModel>
  <behaviors>
    <serviceBehaviors>
      <behavior> of <serviceBehaviors>
        <serviceCredentials>
          <clientCertificate> of <serviceCredentials>
            <certificate> of <clientCertificate> Element

Syntax

<certificate findValue = "String" 
storeLocation = "CurrentUser/LocalMachine"
storeName="AddressBook/AuthRoot/CertificateAuthority/Disallowed/My/Root/TrustedPeople/TrustedPublisher"
X509FindType="FindByThumbPrint/FindBySubjectName/FindBySubjectDistinguishedName/FindByIssuerName/FindByIssuerDistinguishedName/FindBySerialNumber/FindByTimeValid/FindByTimeNotYetValid/FindByTemplateName/FindByApplicationPolicy/FindByCertificatePolicy/FindByExtension/FindByKeyUsage/FindBySubjectKeyIdentifier"
/>

Attributes and Elements

The following sections describe attributes, child elements, and parent elements

Attributes

Attribute Description

findValue

A string that contains the value to search for in the X.509 certificate store. The type contained in the attribute must satisfy the requirements of the specified X509FindType. The default is an empty string.

storeLocation

Specifies the location of the X.509 certificate store that the client uses to validate the server’s certificate against. Valid values include the following:

  • LocalMachine: the certificate store assigned to the local machine.

  • CurrentUser: the certificate store assigned to the current user.

The default is LocalMachine.

storeName

Specifies the name of the X.509 certificate store to open. Valid values include the following:

  • AddressBook: Certificate store for other users.

  • AuthRoot: Certificate store for third-party certification authorities (CAs).

  • CertificationAuthority: Certificate store for intermediate certification authorities (CAs).

  • Disallowed: Certificate store for revoked certificates.

  • My: Certificate store for personal certificates.

  • Root: Certificate store for trusted root certification authorities (CAs).

  • TrustedPeople: Certificate store for directly trusted people and resources.

  • TrustedPublisher: Certificate store for directly trusted publishers.

The default is My.

X509FindType

Defines the type of X.509 search to be executed. Valid values include the following:

  • FindByThumbPrint

  • FindBySubjectName

  • FindBySubjectDistinguishedName

  • FindByIssuerName

  • FindByIssuerDistinguishedName

  • FindBySerialNumber

  • FindByTimeValid

  • FindByTimeNotYetValid

  • FindByTemplateName

  • FindByApplicationPolicy

  • FindByCertificatePolicy

  • FindByExtension

  • FindByKeyUsage

  • FindBySubjectKeyIdentifier

The type contained in the findValue attribute must satisfy the requirements of the specified X509FindType.

The default value is FindBySubjectDistinguishedName.

Child Elements

None.

Parent Elements

Element Description

<clientCertificate> of <serviceCredentials>

Remarks

The <certificate> element is used when the service must have the client's certificate in advance to communicate securely with the client. This occurs when using the duplex communication pattern. In the more typical request/response pattern, the client includes its certificate in the request, which the service uses to encrypt and sign its response back to the client. In the duplex communication pattern, however, the service does not have a request from the client and therefore it needs the client's certificate in advance to secure the message to the client. Therefore you must obtain the client's certificate in an out-of-band negotiation, and specify the certificate using this element. For more information about duplex services, see How to: Create a Duplex Contract.

Example

The following code specifies how to find an appropriate X.509 certificate and a custom validation type in the <authentication> element.

<serviceBehaviors>
 <behavior name="myServiceBehavior">
  <clientCertificate>
   <certificate 
         findValue="www.cohowinery.com" 
         storeLocation="CurrentUser" 
         storeName="TrustedPeople"
         x509FindType="FindByIssuerName" />
   <authentication customCertificateValidatorType="MyTypes.Coho"
    certificateValidationMode="Custom" 
    revocationMode="Offline"
    includeWindowsGroups="false" 
    mapClientCertificateToWindowsAccount="true" />
  </clientCertificate>
 </behavior>
</serviceBehaviors>

See Also

Reference

Certificate
Certificate
X509ClientCertificateCredentialsElement

Other Resources

Security Behaviors in WCF
How To: Create a Service Employing a Custom Certificate Validator
Working with Certificates