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.NET Forum / .NET Framework / Security / December 2007

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Securing app.config / web.config

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plinares - 04 Dec 2007 16:30 GMT
Hi all, I'm developing a web application with VS2005 and I've reached
the point where I have do deploy it to some servers and thus secure
sensible information stored in the web.config file ... you're right!
connectionstrings!!!

Well, I've tried aspnet_iisreg with RSA provider,and the public/
private key container and it's cool and it's transparent for the
developer... but I think that there is something that I'm missing
because if someone knows about aspnet_iisreg ... they can easily
decrypt my web config at the deploy server and watch contents. There
is an option when you export RSA keys to include only public keys, but
it would only allow to encrypt and not to decrypt.

What I really would like to know : if there is a way to secure data
inside a web.config or app.config as well, so decryption is only
available to the application itself?. I guess that the way must be to
keep that keys safeley somewhere somehow ... does VS2005 provide a
standard way to do that?

Thanks in advance for any kind of help.

Regards,
Pablo.
Dominick Baier - 04 Dec 2007 16:35 GMT
No - there is no way. If someone gets access to the server in a way that
he can execute commands - there cannot be a protection.

But executing commands on a server and viewing file contents remotely is
a totally different thing. The former is _much_ harder.

-----
Dominick Baier (http://www.leastprivilege.com)

Developing More Secure Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 Applications (http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/books/9989.asp)

> Hi all, I'm developing a web application with VS2005 and I've reached
> the point where I have do deploy it to some servers and thus secure
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> Regards,
> Pablo
Pablo Liñares - 04 Dec 2007 17:41 GMT
Thanks Dominick,

So, as far as I understand the configuration protection is olny a good
solution for web applications because it secures web.config contets
for remote viewing attacks  and it's assumed that direct access to the
server in orde to run commands like aspnet_iisreg or accessing key
containers is secure. If I'm switching to a desktop application ... do
I'll have to secure app.config "all by myself"?
Dominick Baier - 04 Dec 2007 21:36 GMT
Right. There is no such thing as client security. You will not be able to
hide a connection string's password from an determined hacker.

Either use integrated authentication or shield database details using a middle
tier.

-----
Dominick Baier (http://www.leastprivilege.com)

Developing More Secure Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 Applications (http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/books/9989.asp)

> Thanks Dominick,
>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> containers is secure. If I'm switching to a desktop application ... do
> I'll have to secure app.config "all by myself"?

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