dotnet-cryptography

name	dotnet-cryptography
description	Selects crypto algorithms and usage. Hashing, AES-GCM, RSA, ECDSA, PQC key derivation.
metadata	{"short-description":".NET skill guidance for security tasks"}

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);

```text

```csharp

// 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");
}

```text

---

## 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).

```csharp

using System.Security.Cryptography;

public static class AesGcmEncryptor
{
    private const int NonceSize = 12; 
       TagSize = ;   

    
    {
         nonce = RandomNumberGenerator.GetBytes(NonceSize);
         ciphertext =  [plaintext.Length];
         tag =  [TagSize];

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

        
         result =  [NonceSize + ciphertext.Length + TagSize];
        nonce.CopyTo(result, );
        ciphertext.CopyTo(result, NonceSize);
        tag.CopyTo(result, NonceSize + ciphertext.Length);
         result;
    }

    
    {
         nonce = encryptedData.AsSpan(, NonceSize);
         ciphertext = encryptedData.AsSpan(NonceSize, encryptedData.Length - NonceSize - TagSize);
         tag = encryptedData.AsSpan(encryptedData.Length - TagSize);
         plaintext =  [ciphertext.Length];

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

```text

```csharp



 Microsoft.AspNetCore.DataProtection;


{
      IDataProtector _protector =
        provider.CreateProtector();

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


builder.Services.AddDataProtection()
    .SetApplicationName()
    .PersistKeysToFileSystem( DirectoryInfo());

```text

---





; prefer -bit
  systems.

```csharp

 System.Security.Cryptography;


  rsa = RSA.Create();


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


[] publicKeyBytes = rsa.ExportRSAPublicKey();
  rsaPublic = RSA.Create();
rsaPublic.ImportRSAPublicKey(publicKeyBytes,  _);
 valid = rsaPublic.VerifyData(data, signature, HashAlgorithmName.SHA256, RSASignaturePadding.Pss);


[] encrypted = rsaPublic.Encrypt(smallPayload, RSAEncryptionPadding.OaepSHA256);
[] decrypted = rsa.Decrypt(encrypted, RSAEncryptionPadding.OaepSHA256);

```text



Prefer ECDSA over RSA  digital signatures   projects -- smaller keys  equivalent security.

```csharp

 System.Security.Cryptography;


  ecdsa = ECDsa.Create(ECCurve.NamedCurves.nistP256);


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


[] publicKey = ecdsa.ExportSubjectPublicKeyInfo();


  ecdsaPublic = ECDsa.Create();
ecdsaPublic.ImportSubjectPublicKeyInfo(publicKey,  _);
 valid = ecdsaPublic.VerifyData(data, signature, HashAlgorithmName.SHA256);

```text

---





PBKDF2  built  .NET  acceptable  password hashing. Use at least , iterations  SHA (OWASP
recommendation).

```csharp

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

   
{
       SaltSize = ;       
       HashSize = ;       
       Iterations = _000; 
       PayloadSize =  + SaltSize + HashSize; 

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

        
        [] result =  [PayloadSize];
        BinaryPrimitives.WriteInt32LittleEndian(result, Iterations);
        salt.CopyTo(result.AsSpan());
        hash.CopyTo(result.AsSpan( + SaltSize));
         Convert.ToBase64String(result);
    }

    
    {
        
        Span<> decoded =  [PayloadSize];
         (!Convert.TryFromBase64String(stored, decoded,   bytesWritten)
            || bytesWritten != PayloadSize)
        {
             ;
        }

         iterations = BinaryPrimitives.ReadInt32LittleEndian(decoded);
         (iterations <= )
             ;

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

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

         CryptographicOperations.FixedTimeEquals(expectedHash, actualHash);
    }
}

```text



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

```csharp


 Konscious.Security.Cryptography;


{
      argon2 =  Argon2id(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(password))
    {
        Salt = salt,
        DegreeOfParallelism = ,  
        MemorySize = ,       
        Iterations = 
    };
     argon2.GetBytes(); 
}

```text

> Prefer ASP.NET Core Identitys `Aes.Create()` defaults to CBC, but prefer AES-GCM  authenticated encryption.
 **Never compare hashes  `==`** -- use `CryptographicOperations.FixedTimeEquals` to prevent timing side-channel
   attacks.
 **Never use MD5  SHA  security purposes** -- they are broken. SHA  acceptable only  non-