CA5390: Do not hard-code encryption key

Property	Value
Rule ID	CA5390
Title	Do not hard-code encryption key
Category	Security
Fix is breaking or non-breaking	Non-breaking
Enabled by default in .NET 9	No

Cause

The key parameter of the System.Security.Cryptography.AesCcm or System.Security.Cryptography.AesGcm constructor, System.Security.Cryptography.SymmetricAlgorithm.Key property, or the rgbKey parameter of the System.Security.Cryptography.SymmetricAlgorithm.CreateEncryptor or System.Security.Cryptography.SymmetricAlgorithm.CreateDecryptor method is hard-coded by one of the following:

• Byte array.
• System.Convert.FromBase64String.
• All the overloads of System.Text.Encoding.GetBytes.

By default, this rule analyzes the entire codebase, but this is configurable.

Rule description

For a symmetric algorithm to be successful, the secret key must be known only to the sender and the receiver. When a key is hard-coded, it is easily discovered. Even with compiled binaries, it is easy for malicious users to extract it. Once the private key is compromised, the cipher text can be decrypted directly and is not protected anymore.

How to fix violations

• Consider redesigning your application to use a secure key management system, such as Azure Key Vault.
• Keep credentials and keys in a secure location separate from your source code.

When to suppress warnings

Do not suppress a warning from this rule.

Configure code to analyze

Use the following options to configure which parts of your codebase to run this rule on.

• Exclude specific symbols
• Exclude specific types and their derived types

You can configure these options for just this rule, for all rules it applies to, or for all rules in this category (Security) that it applies to. For more information, see Code quality rule configuration options.

Exclude specific symbols

You can exclude specific symbols, such as types and methods, from analysis. For example, to specify that the rule should not run on any code within types named MyType, add the following key-value pair to an .editorconfig file in your project:

dotnet_code_quality.CAXXXX.excluded_symbol_names = MyType

Allowed symbol name formats in the option value (separated by |):

• Symbol name only (includes all symbols with the name, regardless of the containing type or namespace).
• Fully qualified names in the symbol's documentation ID format. Each symbol name requires a symbol-kind prefix, such as M: for methods, T: for types, and N: for namespaces.
• .ctor for constructors and .cctor for static constructors.

Examples:

Option Value	Summary
dotnet_code_quality.CAXXXX.excluded_symbol_names = MyType	Matches all symbols named MyType.
dotnet_code_quality.CAXXXX.excluded_symbol_names = MyType1|MyType2	Matches all symbols named either MyType1 or MyType2.
dotnet_code_quality.CAXXXX.excluded_symbol_names = M:NS.MyType.MyMethod(ParamType)	Matches specific method MyMethod with the specified fully qualified signature.
dotnet_code_quality.CAXXXX.excluded_symbol_names = M:NS1.MyType1.MyMethod1(ParamType)|M:NS2.MyType2.MyMethod2(ParamType)	Matches specific methods MyMethod1 and MyMethod2 with the respective fully qualified signatures.

Exclude specific types and their derived types

You can exclude specific types and their derived types from analysis. For example, to specify that the rule should not run on any methods within types named MyType and their derived types, add the following key-value pair to an .editorconfig file in your project:

dotnet_code_quality.CAXXXX.excluded_type_names_with_derived_types = MyType

Allowed symbol name formats in the option value (separated by |):

• Type name only (includes all types with the name, regardless of the containing type or namespace).
• Fully qualified names in the symbol's documentation ID format, with an optional T: prefix.

Examples:

Option Value	Summary
dotnet_code_quality.CAXXXX.excluded_type_names_with_derived_types = MyType	Matches all types named MyType and all of their derived types.
dotnet_code_quality.CAXXXX.excluded_type_names_with_derived_types = MyType1|MyType2	Matches all types named either MyType1 or MyType2 and all of their derived types.
dotnet_code_quality.CAXXXX.excluded_type_names_with_derived_types = M:NS.MyType	Matches specific type MyType with given fully qualified name and all of its derived types.
dotnet_code_quality.CAXXXX.excluded_type_names_with_derived_types = M:NS1.MyType1|M:NS2.MyType2	Matches specific types MyType1 and MyType2 with the respective fully qualified names, and all of their derived types.

Pseudo-code examples

Hard-coded byte array violation

using System;
using System.Security.Cryptography;

class ExampleClass
{
    public void ExampleMethod(byte[] someOtherBytesForIV)
    {
        byte[] rgbKey = new byte[] {1, 2, 3};
        SymmetricAlgorithm rijn = SymmetricAlgorithm.Create();
        rijn.CreateEncryptor(rgbKey, someOtherBytesForIV);
    }
}

Hard-coded Convert.FromBase64String violation

using System;
using System.Security.Cryptography;

class ExampleClass
{
    public void ExampleMethod(byte[] someOtherBytesForIV)
    {
        byte[] key = Convert.FromBase64String("AAAAAaazaoensuth");
        SymmetricAlgorithm rijn = SymmetricAlgorithm.Create();
        rijn.CreateEncryptor(key, someOtherBytesForIV);
    }
}

Hard-coded Encoding.GetBytes violation

using System.Text;
using System.Security.Cryptography;

class ExampleClass
{
    public void ExampleMethod(byte[] someOtherBytesForIV)
    {
        byte[] key = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes("AAAAAaazaoensuth");
        SymmetricAlgorithm rijn = SymmetricAlgorithm.Create();
        rijn.CreateEncryptor(key, someOtherBytesForIV);
    }
}

Solution

using System.Text;
using System.Security.Cryptography;

class ExampleClass
{
    public void ExampleMethod(char[] chars, byte[] someOtherBytesForIV)
    {
        byte[] key = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(chars);
        SymmetricAlgorithm rijn = SymmetricAlgorithm.Create();
        rijn.CreateEncryptor(key, someOtherBytesForIV);
    }
}