User Accounts.; 2 minutes to read; In this article. Once you have downloaded and installed Visual Studio for Mac, you must sign in to activate your subscription in order to get access all features of Visual Studio for Mac. At the same time, Visual Studio offers a simple user interface that transparently retrieves and manages the secrets for you. This is designed to make you more likely to resist the temptation of having it available at hand but dangerously, right there in the project.
-->By Rick Anderson, Daniel Roth, and Scott Addie
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This document explains techniques for storing and retrieving sensitive data during development of an ASP.NET Core app on a development machine. Never store passwords or other sensitive data in source code. Production secrets shouldn't be used for development or test. Secrets shouldn't be deployed with the app. Instead, secrets should be made available in the production environment through a controlled means like environment variables, Azure Key Vault, etc. You can store and protect Azure test and production secrets with the Azure Key Vault configuration provider.
Environment variables
Environment variables are used to avoid storage of app secrets in code or in local configuration files. Environment variables override configuration values for all previously specified configuration sources.
Configure the reading of environment variable values by calling AddEnvironmentVariables in the Startup constructor:
Consider an ASP.NET Core web app in which Individual User Accounts security is enabled. A default database connection string is included in the project's appsettings.json file with the key DefaultConnection. The default connection string is for LocalDB, which runs in user mode and doesn't require a password. During app deployment, the DefaultConnection key value can be overridden with an environment variable's value. The environment variable may store the complete connection string with sensitive credentials.
Warning
Environment variables are generally stored in plain, unencrypted text. If the machine or process is compromised, environment variables can be accessed by untrusted parties. Additional measures to prevent disclosure of user secrets may be required.
When working with hierarchical keys in environment variables, a colon separator (:) may not work on all platforms (for example, Bash). A double underscore (__) is supported by all platforms and is automatically replaced by a colon.
Secret Manager
The Secret Manager tool stores sensitive data during the development of an ASP.NET Core project. In this context, a piece of sensitive data is an app secret. App secrets are stored in a separate location from the project tree. The app secrets are associated with a specific project or shared across several projects. The app secrets aren't checked into source control.
Warning
The Secret Manager tool doesn't encrypt the stored secrets and shouldn't be treated as a trusted store. It's for development purposes only. The keys and values are stored in a JSON configuration file in the user profile directory.
How the Secret Manager tool works
The Secret Manager tool abstracts away the implementation details, such as where and how the values are stored. You can use the tool without knowing these implementation details. The values are stored in a JSON configuration file in a system-protected user profile folder on the local machine:
File system path:
%APPDATA%MicrosoftUserSecrets<user_secrets_id>secrets.json
File system path:
~/.microsoft/usersecrets/<user_secrets_id>/secrets.json
In the preceding file paths, replace <user_secrets_id> with the UserSecretsId value specified in the .csproj file.
Don't write code that depends on the location or format of data saved with the Secret Manager tool. These implementation details may change. For example, the secret values aren't encrypted, but could be in the future.
Install the Secret Manager tool
The Secret Manager tool is bundled with the .NET Core CLI in .NET Core SDK 2.1.300 or later. For .NET Core SDK versions before 2.1.300, tool installation is necessary.
Tip
Run dotnet --version from a command shell to see the installed .NET Core SDK version number.
A warning is displayed if the .NET Core SDK being used includes the tool:
Install the Microsoft.Extensions.SecretManager.Tools NuGet package in your ASP.NET Core project. For example:
Execute the following command in a command shell to validate the tool installation:
The Secret Manager tool displays sample usage, options, and command help:
Note
You must be in the same directory as the .csproj file to run tools defined in the .csproj file's DotNetCliToolReference elements.
Enable secret storage
The Secret Manager tool operates on project-specific configuration settings stored in your user profile.
The Secret Manager tool includes an init command in .NET Core SDK 3.0.100 or later. To use user secrets, run the following command in the project directory:
The preceding command adds a UserSecretsId element within a PropertyGroup of the .csproj file. By default, the inner text of UserSecretsId is a GUID. The inner text is arbitrary, but is unique to the project.
To use user secrets, define a UserSecretsId element within a PropertyGroup of the .csproj file. The inner text of UserSecretsId is arbitrary, but is unique to the project. Developers typically generate a GUID for the UserSecretsId.
Tip
In Visual Studio, right-click the project in Solution Explorer, and select Manage User Secrets from the context menu. This gesture adds a UserSecretsId element, populated with a GUID, to the .csproj file.
Set a secret
Define an app secret consisting of a key and its value. The secret is associated with the project's UserSecretsId value. For example, run the following command from the directory in which the .csproj file exists:
In the preceding example, the colon denotes that Movies is an object literal with a ServiceApiKey property.
The Secret Manager tool can be used from other directories too. Use the --project option to supply the file system path at which the .csproj file exists. For example:
JSON structure flattening in Visual Studio
Visual Studio's Manage User Secrets gesture opens a secrets.json file in the text editor. Replace the contents of secrets.json with the key-value pairs to be stored. For example:
The JSON structure is flattened after modifications via dotnet user-secrets remove or dotnet user-secrets set. For example, running dotnet user-secrets remove 'Movies:ConnectionString' collapses the Movies object literal. The modified file resembles the following:
Set multiple secrets
A batch of secrets can be set by piping JSON to the set command. In the following example, the input.json file's contents are piped to the set command.
Open a command shell, and execute the following command:
Open a command shell, and execute the following command:
Access a secret
The ASP.NET Core Configuration API provides access to Secret Manager secrets.
If your project targets .NET Framework, install the Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.UserSecrets NuGet package.
In ASP.NET Core 2.0 or later, the user secrets configuration source is automatically added in development mode when the project calls CreateDefaultBuilder to initialize a new instance of the host with preconfigured defaults. CreateDefaultBuilder calls AddUserSecrets when the EnvironmentName is Development:
When CreateDefaultBuilder isn't called, add the user secrets configuration source explicitly by calling AddUserSecrets in the Startup constructor. Call AddUserSecrets only when the app runs in the Development environment, as shown in the following example:
Install the Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.UserSecrets NuGet package.
Add the user secrets configuration source with a call to AddUserSecrets in the Startup constructor:
User secrets can be retrieved via the Configuration API:
Map secrets to a POCO
Mapping an entire object literal to a POCO (a simple .NET class with properties) is useful for aggregating related properties.
Assume the app's secrets.json file contains the following two secrets:
To map the preceding secrets to a POCO, use the Configuration API's object graph binding feature. The following code binds to a custom MovieSettings POCO and accesses the ServiceApiKey property value:
The Movies:ConnectionString and Movies:ServiceApiKey secrets are mapped to the respective properties in MovieSettings:
String replacement with secrets
Storing passwords in plain text is insecure. For example, a database connection string stored in appsettings.json may include a password for the specified user:
A more secure approach is to store the password as a secret. For example:
Remove the Password key-value pair from the connection string in appsettings.json. For example:
The secret's value can be set on a SqlConnectionStringBuilder object's Password property to complete the connection string:
List the secrets
Assume the app's secrets.json file contains the following two secrets:
Run the following command from the directory in which the .csproj file exists:
The following output appears:
In the preceding example, a colon in the key names denotes the object hierarchy within secrets.json.
Remove a single secret
Assume the app's secrets.json file contains the following two secrets:
Run the following command from the directory in which the .csproj file exists:
The app's secrets.json file was modified to remove the key-value pair associated with the MoviesConnectionString key:
Running dotnet user-secrets list displays the following message:
Remove all secrets
Assume the app's secrets.json file contains the following two secrets:
Run the following command from the directory in which the .csproj file exists:
All user secrets for the app have been deleted from the secrets.json file: Download cerita silat jawa pdf.
Running dotnet user-secrets list displays the following message:
Additional resources
- See this issue for information on accessing Secret Manager from IIS.
Overview
This article describes how to securely save secret application configuration settings for Azure applications.
Traditionally all web application configuration settings are saved in configuration files such as Web.config. This practice leads to checking in secret settings such as Cloud credentials to public source control systems like GitHub. Meanwhile, it could be hard to follow security best practice because of the overhead required to change source code and reconfigure development settings.
To make sure the development process is secure, tooling and framework libraries are created to save application secret settings securely with minimal or no source code change.
ASP.NET and .NET Core applications
Save secret settings in User Secret store that is outside of source control folder
If you are doing a quick prototype or you don't have internet access, start with moving your secret settings outside of source control folder to User Secret store. User Secret store is a file saved under user profiler folder, so secrets are not checked in to source control. The following diagram demonstrates how User Secret works.
If you are running .NET core console application, use Key Vault to save your secret securely.
Save secret settings in Azure Key Vault
If you are developing a project and need to share source code securely, use Azure Key Vault.
Create a Key Vault in your Azure subscription. Fill out all required fields on the UI and click Create on the bottom of the blade
Grant you and your team members access to the Key Vault. If you have a large team, you can create an Azure Active Directory group and add that security group access to the Key Vault. In the Secret Permissions dropdown, check Get and List under Secret Management Operations.If you already have your web app created, grant the web app access to the Key Vault so it can access the key vault without storing secret configuration in App Settings or files. Search for your web app by its name and add it the same way you grant users access.
Add your secret to Key Vault on the Azure portal. For nested configuration settings, replace ':' with '--' so the Key Vault secret name is valid. ':' is not allowed to be in the name of a Key Vault secret.
Note
Prior to Visual Studio 2017 V15.6 we used to recommend installing the Azure Services Authentication extension for Visual Studio. But it is deprecated now as the functionality is integrated within the Visual Studio . Hence if you are on an older version of visual Studio 2017 , we suggest you to update to at least VS 2017 15.6 or up so that you can use this functionality natively and access the Key-vault from using the Visual Studio sign-in Identity itself.
Add the following NuGet packages to your project:
Add the following code to Program.cs file:
Add your Key Vault URL to launchsettings.json file. The environment variable name KEYVAULT_ENDPOINT is defined in the code you added in step 6.
Start debugging the project. It should run successfully.
ASP.NET and .NET applications
.NET 4.7.1 supports Key Vault and Secret configuration builders, which ensures secrets can be moved outside of source control folder without code changes.To proceed, download .NET 4.7.1 and migrate your application if it's using an older version of .NET framework.
Save secret settings in a secret file that is outside of source control folder
If you are writing a quick prototype and don't want to provision Azure resources, go with this option.
Install the following NuGet package to your project
Create a file that's similar to the following. Save it under a location outside of your project folder.
Define the secret file to be a configuration builder in your Web.config file. Put this section before appSettings section.
Specify appSettings section is using the secret configuration builder. Make sure there is an entry for the secret setting with a dummy value.
Debug your app. It should run successfully.
Save secret settings in an Azure Key Vault
Follow instructions from ASP.NET core section to configure a Key Vault for your project.
Install the following NuGet package to your project
Define Key Vault configuration builder in Web.config. Put this section before appSettings section. Replace vaultName to be the Key Vault name if your Key Vault is in public Azure, or full URI if you are using Sovereign cloud.
Specify appSettings section is using the Key Vault configuration builder. Make sure there is any entry for the secret setting with a dummy value.
Start debugging the project. It should run successfully.