CAdESSigner Component

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The CAdESSigner component creates CAdES- and CMS-compliant electronic signatures.

Syntax

nsoftware.SecureBlackbox.CAdESSigner

Remarks

CAdESSigner can sign documents and files in compliance with CMS Advanced Electronic Signatures (CAdES) specification. Originally developed by ETSI on the basis of PKCS#7 format and initially adopted in the European Union, CAdES has quickly become a recognized international standard for signing all sorts of electronic documents. CAdESSigner signer = new CAdESSigner(); signer.getNewSignature().setHashAlgorithm("SHA512"); // Default hashing algorithm SHA256 signer.getNewSignature().setLevel(CAdESSignature.aslBaselineT); // Set the level of the signature // Select the file which will be signed signer.setInputFile("MyExe.exe"); // Set the path where the signed file will be saved signer.setOutputFile("signedFile.scs"); // Specify the certificate that shall be used for signing signer.setSigningCertificate(new Certificate("cert.pfx","password")); // Provide the address of the Time Stamping Authority (TSA) server to be used for timestamping the signature signer.setTimestampServer("http://freetsa.org/tsr"); signer.sign(); // Sign

Besides being a signature standard in its own right, CAdES is used as part of other higher-level signature standards, such as PAdES or S/MIME. It provides a convenient framework for creating short-lived and long-term signatures over any kind of documents, and is now used by governments, healthcare providers, banks, and independent service providers all across the globe.

Standards and technologies supported

CAdESSigner offers the following signing capabilities:

• Create and upgrade CAdES signatures in accordance with the most recent CAdES specification (ETSI EN 319 122). Some features from older versions are also supported.
• All profiles are supported (BES, EPES, T, C, X, XL, A, including Baseline and Extended variants).
• Timestamping using external TSAs.
• All industry-standard cryptographic algorithms (RSA, ECDSA, SHA256-512, and many others).

Configuring the signature parameters

Configuring CAdESSigner to make it produce a signature of the right type is the main task you would need to perform in your code. Normally the service or software you will be communicating your signed documents to will provide you with the list of requirements that your signatures should match.

Typically, those will dictate the following key aspects of the signatures:

• The signature Level (such BES, T, XL, A, or XLong). This can be passed as the Level parameter of the Sign method.
• Whether the signature should be detached or enveloping: this can be adjusted via the Detached parameter of the Sign method.
• When creating a timestamped signature (such as T or A), provide the address of your online TSA service via TimestampServer property.
• When creating long-term signatures that include the signing chain and validation material, tune up validation parameters via RevocationCheck, OfflineMode, and IgnoreChainValidationErrors properties.

In some circumstances you will also need to adjust the following lower-level settings:

• Set ClaimedSigningTime to include the local signature creation time (not timestamped by a TTP).
• Specify EPES signature parameters via PolicyHash, PolicyHashAlgorithm, PolicyID, and PolicyURI properties.
• Provide the hash algorithm via the HashAlgorithm property.

Signing certificates

CAdESSigner can use certificates residing on different media. Besides generic certificates stored in PFX or PEM files (A1), it can operate with non-exportable certificates residing on hardware media (A3) or in the cloud.

Non-exportable certificates can be accessed transparently via a Windows CSP or a PKCS#11 driver, if supplied by the certificate issuer. Proprietary interfaces can be plugged in with the external signing feature (see below).

You can use CertificateManager and CertificateStorage components to access the signing certificate. Assign the certificate to SigningCertificate property, and optionally provide the remainder of its chain via SigningChain property.

Note: If signing with a non-exportable key (such as residing on a hardware device or in the cloud), please make sure you keep the original CertificateStorage object open until the signing is completed. This is because the storage component provides a 'bridge' to the private key. If the storage is closed prematurely, this bridge is destroyed, and the private key can't be used.

You don't need to provide a signing certificate or chain when timestamping and upgrading signatures, since this type of operation does not involve the signing private key.

Signing a file

Now that you have set up all signature properties and attached the signing certificate, it is time to proceed to signing. You can provide the input document in one of the following forms: as a file (assign the path to InputFile property), as a stream (assign to InputStream property), or as a byte array (assign to InputBytes). Similarly, the output can be collected in one of the same forms, either by passing the destination path or stream via OutputFile and OutputStream respectively, or by reading the resulting document bytes from the OutputBytes property after the signing completes.

Having set up the input and output (unless using OutputBytes, which should be read later), call the component's Sign method, passing the desired signature level and type as parameters. This will initiate the signing process. Depending on the settings, the signing may be as straightforward as calculating the document hash and signing it with the private key (e.g. in CAdES-BES or B-B variant), or it may involve advanced chain validation routines (CAdES-XL or -A). During the latter the component may contact a number of external revocation information sources (CRL and OCSP servers) to establish the validity of the signing certificate.

If a TSA server was provided via the TimestampServer property, the component will contact it too to timestamp the new signature.

During the signing CAdESSigner may fire events to let your code know of certain conditions. It may fire TLSCertValidate if one of the HTTP endpoints involved in the operation (which may be a CRL, OCSP, or TSA service) works over TLS and needs its certificate to be validated.

Apart from signing, CAdESSigner can perform operations on signatures of other kinds. Use Upgrade method to upgrade an existing CAdES signature to a higher level (e.g. BES to XL). Use Timestamp to add a generic or validation timestamp to an existing signature. Use the Countersign method to add a countersignature to an existing signature. For any of these operations the input should constitute a valid CAdES signature.

External signing and DCAuth

CAdESSigner, like many other components offered by the product, supports two methods of signing with external keys. These methods are fully independent of each other: you can choose the one that suits your usage scenario best.

Synchronous method: ExternalSign

This is a simpler method that basically lets you infiltrate into the heart of the signing routine by taking care of the hash signing operation. The component does the rest of the job (hash calculation, preparation of signature objects, CRL/OCSP retrieval).

To initiate this method, call SignExternal instead of Sign. When the hash is ready, it will be passed back to your code with ExternalSign event. Your event handler needs to sign the hash with the private key and return the created signature back to the component - which will embed it into the document.

You don't need your signing certificate to contain an associated private key when using this method. The certificate itself (its public copy) may be needed though, as it is often included in the hash calculation.

This method is synchronous, meaning SignExternal provides you the results immediately upon its completion.

Asynchronous method: DCAuth

DCAuth is a SecureBlackbox-own know-how technology. This protocol was designed to allow sharing of private keys across environments, allowing the signer and the private key to reside on different systems. It works in the following way:

• The signing party - such as CAdESSigner - initiates the operation using SignAsyncBegin call. This produces two outcomes: a pre-signed document (a document with a blank signature placeholder), and a request state (an object containing a hash that needs to be signed). At this point the CAdESSigner instance can be released, and the process itself terminated (which may be useful when run as part of a web page).
• The request state is passed to the private key holder party. The private key holder passes the request state to a DCAuth object, which parses the request state, extracts the hash, and signs it. The output of DCAuth processing is another object, response state, which contains the signature. The private key holder then sends the response state back to the signing party.
• The signing party re-creates the controls, and passes the response state, together with the pre-signed version of the document, to the signer's SignAsyncEnd method. SignAsyncEnd extracts the signature from the response state and incorporates it into the pre-signed document.

This method is asynchronous in that sense that, from the signing party's viewpoint, it splits the signing operation into the pre-signing and completion stages which can be performed independently from each other and in different execution contexts. This makes this method particularly helpful for use in web pages and other scenarios where the signing key is not available in real time.

Fine-grained chain validation setup

Chain validation is a sophisticated, multi-faceted procedure that involves a lot of variables. Depending on the configuration of your operating environment, the specifics of the PKI framework being used, and the validation policy you need to follow, you may want to tune up your chain validation parameters so they fit them best. A summary of such parameters is given below.

• RevocationCheck lets you choose between and/or prioritize revocation origins. OCSP sources are often preferred to CRL because of their real-time capability and the smaller size of validation tokens they produce.
• OfflineMode is a master switch that stops the component from looking for any validation tokens online. If this property is switched on, the component will only use the KnownCertificates, TrustedCertificates, KnownCRLs, and KnownOCSPs collections to look for the missing validation material.
• IgnoreChainValidationErrors makes the component ignore any major validation issues it encounters (such us an untrusted chain or missing CRL). This option is handy for debugging and for creating signatures in the environments where the signing certificate is not trusted.
• KnownCertificates, KnownCRLs, and KnownOCSPs let you provide your own validation material. This may be useful when working in OfflineMode, where the signer has no access to the validation sources, or where the validation material has already been collected.
• TrustedCertificates lets you provide a list of trust anchors, either as a complement to the system's or as an alternative to it.
• BlockedCertificates lets you provide a list of blocked/distrusted certificates. Any CA certificate contained in it will be deemed untrusted/invalid.

The following parameters are not directly related to chain validation, but may have an implicit effect on it.

• Proxy, SocketSettings, and TLSSettings let you tune up the connectivity and TLS options in accordance with local preferences.
• TLSClientChain lets you provide the client certificate and its chain for TLS client authentication.
• Subscribe to TLSCertValidate to validate any TLS certificates of the services involved in chain validation.

The results of the chain validation procedure, upon its completion, are published in the following properties:

• ChainValidationResult contains the primary result of the chain validation routine: valid, valid but untrusted, invalid, or undefined.
• ChainValidationDetails provides the details of the factors that contributed to the chain validation result, such as an outdated certificate, a missing CRL, or a missing CA certificate.
• ValidationLog contains the detailed chain validation log. The log can often be very helpful in nailing down various validation issues.

Property List

The following is the full list of the properties of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Method List

The following is the full list of the methods of the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Event List

The following is the full list of the events fired by the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

Config Settings

The following is a list of config settings for the component with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

AutoValidateSignatures Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Specifies whether CAdESSigner should validate any present signatures when the document is opened.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool AutoValidateSignatures { get; set; }

Public Property AutoValidateSignatures As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

This setting is switched off by default to speed up document processing. Even if the document is loaded with this property set to false, you can validate the signatures manually on a later stage using the Revalidate method.

BlockedCertificates Property (CAdESSigner Component)

The certificates that must be rejected as trust anchors.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CertificateList BlockedCertificates { get; }

Public Property BlockedCertificates As CertificateList

Remarks

Use this property to provide a list of compromised or blocked certificates. Any chain containing a blocked certificate will fail validation.

This property is not available at design time.

Certificates Property (CAdESSigner Component)

A collection of certificates included in the electronic signature.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CertificateList Certificates { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property Certificates As CertificateList

Remarks

This property includes a collection of certificates of the currently selected info.

This collection is indexed from 0 to count -1.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

CheckTrustedLists Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Specifies whether the component should attempt to validate chain trust via a known Trusted List.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool CheckTrustedLists { get; set; }

Public Property CheckTrustedLists As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

Set this property to true to enable the component to validate chain trust against an internal list of known Trusted Lists (such as EUTL).

CRLs Property (CAdESSigner Component)

A collection of certificate revocation lists embedded into the signature by the signer.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CRLList CRLs { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property CRLs As CRLList

Remarks

Use this property to access the CRLs embedded into the signature by the signer.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

DataBytes Property (CAdESSigner Component)

A byte array containing the external data source.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public byte[] DataBytes { get; set; }

Public Property DataBytes As Byte()

Remarks

Use this property to provide external data source for detached signatures in the form of a byte array.

This property is not available at design time.

DataFile Property (CAdESSigner Component)

A path to a file containing an external data source

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string DataFile { get; set; }

Public Property DataFile As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide an external data source for detached signatures. This property should only be assigned when countersigning or timestamping existing detached signatures. In this case the detached signature should be provided via InputFile, and the corresponding detached data via this property.

DataIsHash Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Specifies whether the data source contains the hash of the data or the actual data.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool DataIsHash { get; set; }

Public Property DataIsHash As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

Use this property to tell the component whether the data source contains the actual data or its hash.

This property is not available at design time.

DataStream Property (CAdESSigner Component)

A stream containing an external data source.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public System.IO.Stream DataStream { get; set; }

Public Property DataStream As System.IO.Stream

Default Value

null

Remarks

Use this property to provide an external data source for detached signatures. This property should only be assigned when countersigning or timestamping existing detached signatures. In this case the detached signature should be provided via InputStream, and the corresponding detached data via this property.

This property is not available at design time.

Detached Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Specifies whether a detached signature should be produced or verified.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool Detached { get; set; }

Public Property Detached As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

Use this property to specify whether a detached signature should be produced or verified.

When this property is set to "true" value, the data will be detached from the signature.

If this property is set to "true" value, the user must provide the detached content via the DataFile or DataStream or DataBytes properties.

When Detached is set to "false" value, the data is included with the signature.

ExternalCrypto Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Provides access to external signing and DC parameters.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public ExternalCrypto ExternalCrypto { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property ExternalCrypto As ExternalCrypto

Remarks

Use this property to tune-up remote cryptography settings. SecureBlackbox supports two independent types of external cryptography: synchronous (based on the ExternalSign event) and asynchronous (based on the DC protocol and the DCAuth signing component).

This property is read-only.

ExtractContent Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Specifies whether a message content should be extracted.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool ExtractContent { get; set; }

Public Property ExtractContent As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

Use this property to specify whether a message content should be extracted when a signature is loaded. This applies only to non-detached signatures with embedded data.

When this property is set to "true" value, the message content will be extracted from the signature.

The user must provide the OutputFile or OutputStream properties with a filename or stream where to save the message content, if none is provided then message content is returned via OutputBytes property.

FIPSMode Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Reserved.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool FIPSMode { get; set; }

Public Property FIPSMode As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

This property is reserved for future use.

IgnoreChainValidationErrors Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Makes the component tolerant to chain validation errors.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool IgnoreChainValidationErrors { get; set; }

Public Property IgnoreChainValidationErrors As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

If this property is set to True, any errors emerging during certificate chain validation will be ignored. This setting may be handy if the purpose of validation is the creation of an LTV signature, and the validation is performed in an environment that doesn't trust the signer's certificate chain.

InputBytes Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Use this property to pass the input to component in byte array form.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public byte[] InputBytes { get; set; }

Public Property InputBytes As Byte()

Remarks

Assign a byte array containing the data to be processed to this property.

This property is not available at design time.

InputFile Property (CAdESSigner Component)

A path to a file containing the data to be signed or updated

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string InputFile { get; set; }

Public Property InputFile As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide the data to work on. In case of the first-time signing, point this property to your data file. If countersigning, upgrading, or timestamping an existing signature, provide your existing signature file.

If updating a detached signature, you might need to provide the original data via DataFile property.

The data provided via this property can alternatively be provided from memory via InputStream property.

InputStream Property (CAdESSigner Component)

A stream containing the data to be signed.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public System.IO.Stream InputStream { get; set; }

Public Property InputStream As System.IO.Stream

Default Value

null

Remarks

Use this property to provide the data to work on. In case of the first-time signing, point this property to your data to-be-signed. If countersigning, upgrading, or timestamping an existing signature, provide a stream containing your signature.

If updating a detached signature, you might need to provide the original data via DataStream property.

The data provided via this property can alternatively be provided in a file via InputFile property.

This property is not available at design time.

KnownCertificates Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Additional certificates for chain validation.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CertificateList KnownCertificates { get; }

Public Property KnownCertificates As CertificateList

Remarks

Use this property to supply a list of additional certificates that might be needed for chain validation. An example of a scenario where you might want to do that is when intermediary CA certificates are absent from the standard system locations (or when there are no standard system locations), and therefore should be supplied to the component manually.

The purpose of the certificates to be added to this collection is roughly equivalent to that of the Intermediate Certification Authorities system store in Windows.

Do not add trust anchors or root certificates to this collection: add them to TrustedCertificates instead.

This property is not available at design time.

KnownCRLs Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Additional CRLs for chain validation.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CRLList KnownCRLs { get; }

Public Property KnownCRLs As CRLList

Remarks

Use this property to supply additional CRLs that might be needed for chain validation. This property may be helpful when a chain is validated in offline mode, and the associated CRLs are stored separately from the signed message or document.

This property is not available at design time.

KnownOCSPs Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Additional OCSP responses for chain validation.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public OCSPResponseList KnownOCSPs { get; }

Public Property KnownOCSPs As OCSPResponseList

Remarks

Use this property to supply additional OCSP responses that might be needed for chain validation. This property may be helpful when a chain is validated in offline mode, and the associated OCSP responses are stored separately from the signed message or document.

This property is not available at design time.

NewSignature Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Provides access to new signature properties.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CAdESSignature NewSignature { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property NewSignature As CAdESSignature

Remarks

Use this property to tune-up signature properties.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

OCSPs Property (CAdESSigner Component)

A collection of OCSP responses embedded into the signature.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public OCSPResponseList OCSPs { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property OCSPs As OCSPResponseList

Remarks

Use this property to access the OCSP responses embedded into the signature by its creator.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

OfflineMode Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Switches the component to offline mode.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public bool OfflineMode { get; set; }

Public Property OfflineMode As Boolean

Default Value

False

Remarks

When working in offline mode, the component restricts itself from using any online revocation information sources, such as CRL or OCSP responders.

Offline mode may be useful if there is a need to verify the completeness of the validation information included within the signature or provided via KnownCertificates, KnownCRLs, and other related properties.

OutputBytes Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Use this property to read the output the component object has produced.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public byte[] OutputBytes { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property OutputBytes As Byte()

Remarks

Read the contents of this property after the operation has completed to read the produced output. This property will only be set if the OutputFile and OutputStream properties had not been assigned.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

OutputFile Property (CAdESSigner Component)

A file where the signed data is to be saved.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string OutputFile { get; set; }

Public Property OutputFile As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide a path to the file where to save the resulting signed message.

OutputStream Property (CAdESSigner Component)

A stream where the signed data is to be written to.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public System.IO.Stream OutputStream { get; set; }

Public Property OutputStream As System.IO.Stream

Default Value

null

Remarks

Use this property to provide the stream where the resulting signed data should be written to. This is an alternative to OutputFile.

This property is not available at design time.

Profile Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Specifies a pre-defined profile to apply when creating the signature.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string Profile { get; set; }

Public Property Profile As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Advanced signatures come in many variants, which are often defined by parties that needs to process them or by local standards. SecureBlackbox profiles are sets of pre-defined configurations which correspond to particular signature variants. By specifying a profile, you are pre-configuring the component to make it produce the signature that matches the configuration corresponding to that profile.

Proxy Property (CAdESSigner Component)

The proxy server settings.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public ProxySettings Proxy { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property Proxy As ProxySettings

Remarks

Use this property to tune up the proxy server settings.

This property is read-only.

RevocationCheck Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Specifies the kind(s) of revocation check to perform for all chain certificates.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CAdESSignerRevocationChecks RevocationCheck { get; set; }

enum CAdESSignerRevocationChecks {
  crcNone,
  crcAuto,
  crcAllCRL,
  crcAllOCSP,
  crcAllCRLAndOCSP,
  crcAnyCRL,
  crcAnyOCSP,
  crcAnyCRLOrOCSP,
  crcAnyOCSPOrCRL
}

Public Property RevocationCheck As CadessignerRevocationChecks

Enum CAdESSignerRevocationChecks
  crcNone
  crcAuto
  crcAllCRL
  crcAllOCSP
  crcAllCRLAndOCSP
  crcAnyCRL
  crcAnyOCSP
  crcAnyCRLOrOCSP
  crcAnyOCSPOrCRL
End Enum

Default Value

1

Remarks

Revocation checking is necessary to ensure the integrity of the chain and obtain up-to-date certificate validity and trustworthiness information.

Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) and Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) responses serve the same purpose of ensuring that the certificate had not been revoked by the Certificate Authority (CA) at the time of use. Depending on your circumstances and security policy requirements, you may want to use either one or both of the revocation information source types.

This setting controls the way the revocation checks are performed for every certificate in the chain. Typically certificates come with two types of revocation information sources: CRL (certificate revocation lists) and OCSP responders. CRLs are static objects periodically published by the CA at some online location. OCSP responders are active online services maintained by the CA that can provide up-to-date information on certificate statuses in near real time.

There are some conceptual differences between the two. CRLs are normally larger in size. Their use involves some latency because there is normally some delay between the time when a certificate was revoked and the time the subsequent CRL mentioning that is published. The benefits of CRL is that the same object can provide statuses for all certificates issued by a particular CA, and that the whole technology is much simpler than OCSP (and thus is supported by more CAs).

This setting lets you adjust the validation course by including or excluding certain types of revocation sources from the validation process. The crcAnyOCSPOrCRL setting (give preference to the faster OCSP route and only demand one source to succeed) is a good choice for most typical validation environments. The "crcAll*" modes are much stricter, and may be used in scenarios where bulletproof validity information is essential.

Note: If no CRL or OCSP endpoints are provided by the CA, the revocation check will be considered successful. This is because the CA chose not to supply revocation information for its certificates, meaning they are considered irrevocable.

Note: Within each of the above settings, if any retrieved CRL or OCSP response indicates that the certificate has been revoked, the revocation check fails.

Signatures Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Contains the list of signatures included in the CAdES signature.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CAdESSignatureList Signatures { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property Signatures As CAdESSignatureList

Remarks

Use this property to access all signatures in the CAdES signature.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

SignedAttributes Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Custom signature attributes to be covered by the electronic signature.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public SignatureAttributeList SignedAttributes { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property SignedAttributes As SignatureAttributeList

Remarks

Signature attributes are used to store auxiliary information in the signature. Values included as signed attributes are covered by the signature.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

SigningCertificate Property (CAdESSigner Component)

The certificate to be used for signing.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public Certificate SigningCertificate { get; set; }

Public Property SigningCertificate As Certificate

Remarks

Use this property to specify the certificate that shall be used for signing the data. Note that this certificate should have a private key associated with it. Use SigningChain to supply the rest of the certificate chain for inclusion into the signature.

This property is not available at design time.

SigningChain Property (CAdESSigner Component)

The signing certificate chain.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CertificateList SigningChain { get; }

Public Property SigningChain As CertificateList

Remarks

Use this property to provide the chain for the signing certificate. Use the SigningCertificate property, if it is available, to provide the signing certificate itself.

This property is not available at design time.

SocketSettings Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Manages network connection settings.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public SocketSettings SocketSettings { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property SocketSettings As SocketSettings

Remarks

Use this property to tune up network connection parameters.

This property is read-only.

Timestamps Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Contains a collection of timestamps for the processed document.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public TimestampInfoList Timestamps { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property Timestamps As TimestampInfoList

Remarks

Use this property to access the timestamps included in the processed document.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

TimestampServer Property (CAdESSigner Component)

The address of the timestamping server.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string TimestampServer { get; set; }

Public Property TimestampServer As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to provide the address of the Time Stamping Authority (TSA) server to be used for timestamping the signature.

SecureBlackbox supports RFC3161-compliant timestamping servers, available via HTTP or HTTPS.

If your timestamping service enforces credential-based user authentication (basic or digest), you can provide the credentials in the same URL:

http://user:password@timestamp.server.com/TsaService

For TSAs using certificate-based TLS authentication, provide the client certificate via the TLSClientChain property.

If this property is left empty, no timestamp will be added to the signature.

Starting from summer 2021 update (Vol. 2), the virtual timestamping service is supported, which allows you to intervene in the timestamping routine and provide your own handling for the TSA exchange. This may be handy if the service that you are requesting timestamps from uses a non-standard TSP protocol or requires special authentication option.

To employ the virtual service, assign an URI of the following format to this property:

virtual://localhost?hashonly=true&includecerts=true&reqpolicy=1.2.3.4.5&halg=SHA256&ignorenonce=true

Subscribe to Notification event to get notified about the virtualized timestamping event. The EventID of the timestamping event is TimestampRequest. Inside the event handler, read the base16-encoded request from the EventParam parameter and forward it to the timestamping authority. Upon receiving the response, pass it back to the component, encoded in base16, via the TimestampResponse config property:

component.Config("TimestampResponse=308208ab...");

Note that all the exchange with your custom TSA should take place within the same invocation of the Notification event.

The hashonly parameter of the virtual URI tells the component to only return the timestamp message imprint via the EventParam parameter. If set to false, EventParam will contain the complete RFC3161 timestamping request.

The includecerts parameter specifies that the requestCertificates parameter of the timestamping request should be set to true.

The reqpolicy parameter lets you specify the request policy, and the halg parameter specifies the hash algorithm to use for timestamping.

The ignorenonce parameter allows you to switch off client nonce verification to enable compatibility with TSA services that do not support nonce mirroring.

All the parameters are optional.

TLSClientChain Property (CAdESSigner Component)

The TLS client certificate chain.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CertificateList TLSClientChain { get; }

Public Property TLSClientChain As CertificateList

Remarks

Assign a certificate chain to this property to enable TLS client authentication in the component. Note that the client's end-entity certificate should have a private key associated with it.

Use the CertificateStorage or CertificateManager components to import the certificate from a file, system store, or PKCS11 device.

This property is not available at design time.

TLSServerChain Property (CAdESSigner Component)

The TLS server's certificate chain.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CertificateList TLSServerChain { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property TLSServerChain As CertificateList

Remarks

Use this property to access the certificate chain sent by the TLS server. This property is ready to read when the TLSCertValidate event is fired by the client component.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

TLSSettings Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Manages TLS layer settings.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public TLSSettings TLSSettings { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property TLSSettings As TLSSettings

Remarks

Use this property to tune up the TLS layer parameters.

This property is read-only.

TrustedCertificates Property (CAdESSigner Component)

A list of trusted certificates for chain validation.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public CertificateList TrustedCertificates { get; }

Public Property TrustedCertificates As CertificateList

Remarks

Use this property to supply a list of trusted certificates that might be needed for chain validation. An example of a scenario where you might want to do that is when root CA certificates are absent from the standard system locations (or when there are no standard system locations), and therefore should be supplied to the component manually.

The purpose of this certificate collection is largely the same as that of the Windows Trusted Root Certification Authorities system store.

Use this property with extreme care as it directly affects chain verifiability; a wrong certificate added to the trusted list may result in bad chains being accepted, and forfeited signatures being recognized as genuine. Only add certificates that originate from the parties that you know and trust.

This property is not available at design time.

UnsignedAttributes Property (CAdESSigner Component)

Custom unsigned attributes to be included in the electronic signature.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public SignatureAttributeList UnsignedAttributes { get; }

Public ReadOnly Property UnsignedAttributes As SignatureAttributeList

Remarks

Signature attributes are used to store auxiliary information in the signature. Values included as unsigned attributes are not covered by the signature and can be changed or removed without affecting the signature.

This property is read-only and not available at design time.

ValidationMoment Property (CAdESSigner Component)

The time point at which signature validity is to be established.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string ValidationMoment { get; set; }

Public Property ValidationMoment As String

Default Value

""

Remarks

Use this property to specify the moment in time at which signature validity should be established. The time is in UTC. Leave the setting empty to stick to the default moment (either the signature creation time or the current time).

The validity of the same signature may differ depending on the time point chosen due to temporal changes in chain validities, revocation statuses, and timestamp times.

AddAttribute Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Adds an attribute to the signature.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public int AddAttribute(string OID, byte[] value, bool signedAttribute);

Public Function AddAttribute(ByVal OID As String, ByVal Value As Byte(), ByVal SignedAttribute As Boolean) As Integer

Remarks

Use this method to add a signed or unsigned attribute to the collection of attributes included in the new signature.

Note that CAdESSigner creates certain mandatory and/or widely used attributes automatically in accordance with requirements for a specific signing profile. For example, attributes such as SigningCertificateV2 or SigningTime are always added. Policy attributes are added if specified via the PolicyID or PolicyURI properties of the signature object.

Use the OID parameter to provide the object identifier of the attribute, in string form. For example, the OID for the SigningCertificateV2 attribute is 1.2.840.113549.1.9.16.2.47. The Value parameter should contain a well-formed, DER-encoded representation of the attribute value, in accordance with its specification.

Archive Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Archives the signature.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Archive(string sigLabel, bool baseline);

Public Sub Archive(ByVal SigLabel As String, ByVal Baseline As Boolean)

Remarks

Call this method to produce an archival signature. Archival signature (CAdES-A) is built on top of CAdES-XL by certifying it with an archival timestamp.

Set Baseline to True to produce a baseline CAdES-A.

Close Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Closes an opened container.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Close(bool saveChanges);

Public Sub Close(ByVal SaveChanges As Boolean)

Remarks

Use this method to close a previously opened container. Set SaveChanges to true to apply any changes made.

Config Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Sets or retrieves a configuration setting.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string Config(string configurationString);

Public Function Config(ByVal ConfigurationString As String) As String

Remarks

Config is a generic method available in every component. It is used to set and retrieve configuration settings for the component.

These settings are similar in functionality to properties, but they are rarely used. In order to avoid "polluting" the property namespace of the component, access to these internal properties is provided through the Config method.

To set a configuration setting named PROPERTY, you must call Config("PROPERTY=VALUE"), where VALUE is the value of the setting expressed as a string. For boolean values, use the strings "True", "False", "0", "1", "Yes", or "No" (case does not matter).

To read (query) the value of a configuration setting, you must call Config("PROPERTY"). The value will be returned as a string.

CreateNew Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Create a new CAdES signature.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void CreateNew();

Public Sub CreateNew()

Remarks

Use this method to create a new CAdES signature. When finished, call Close to complete or discard the operation.

DoAction Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Performs an additional action.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string DoAction(string actionID, string actionParams);

Public Function DoAction(ByVal ActionID As String, ByVal ActionParams As String) As String

Remarks

DoAction is a generic method available in every component. It is used to perform an additional action introduced after the product major release. The list of actions is not fixed, and may be flexibly extended over time.

The unique identifier (case insensitive) of the action is provided in the ActionID parameter.

ActionParams contains the value of a single parameter, or a list of multiple parameters for the action in the form of PARAM1=VALUE1;PARAM2=VALUE2;....

Common ActionIDs:

ExtractAsyncData Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Extracts user data from the DC signing service response.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string ExtractAsyncData(string asyncReply);

Public Function ExtractAsyncData(ByVal AsyncReply As String) As String

Remarks

Call this method before finalizing the asynchronous signing process to extract the data passed to the ExternalCrypto.Data property on the pre-signing stage.

The Data parameter can be used to pass some state or document identifier along with the signing request from the pre-signing to the completion async stage.

Open Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Opens an existing container for signing or updating.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Open();

Public Sub Open()

Remarks

Use this method to open a container for signing or updating. When finished, call Close to complete or discard the operation.

Reset Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Resets the component settings.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Reset();

Public Sub Reset()

Remarks

Reset is a generic method available in every component.

Revalidate Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Revalidates a signature in accordance with current settings.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Revalidate(string sigLabel);

Public Sub Revalidate(ByVal SigLabel As String)

Remarks

Use this method to re-validate a signature in the opened CAdES signature.

SelectInfo Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Select signature information for a specific entity.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SelectInfo(string entityLabel, int infoType, bool clearSelection);

Public Sub SelectInfo(ByVal EntityLabel As String, ByVal InfoType As Integer, ByVal ClearSelection As Boolean)

Remarks

Use this method to select (or filter) signature-related information for a specific signature element.

Provide the unique label of the entity that you are interested in via the EntityLabel parameter. Use one of the following filters, or their combination, to specify what information you are interested in:

Following the call, the relevant pieces of information will be copied to the respective component properties (Certificates, CRLs, OCSPs). Note that you can accumulate information in the properties by making repeated calls to SelectInfo and keeping ClearSelection set to false.

This method is useful if you would like to read/display detailed information about a particular signature or timestamp.

Sign Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Creates a new CAdES signature over the provided data.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Sign();

Public Sub Sign()

Remarks

Call this method to produce a new signature over the provided data.

SignAsyncBegin Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Initiates the asynchronous signing operation.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public string SignAsyncBegin();

Public Function SignAsyncBegin() As String

Remarks

When using the DC framework, call this method to initiate the asynchronous signing process. Upon completion, a pre-signed copy of the document will be saved in OutputFile (or OutputStream). Keep the pre-signed copy somewhere local, and pass the returned string ('the request state') to the DC processor for handling.

Upon receiving the response state from the DC processor, assign the path to the pre-signed copy to InputFile (or InputStream), and call SignAsyncEnd to finalize the signing.

Note that depending on the signing method and DC configuration used, you may still need to provide the public part of the signing certificate via the SigningCertificate property.

Use the ExternalCrypto.AsyncDocumentID property to supply a unique document ID to include in the request. This is helpful when creating batches of multiple async requests, as it allows you to pass the whole response batch to SignAsyncEnd and expect it to recover the correct response from the batch automatically.

AsyncState is a message of the distributed cryptography (DC) protocol. The DC protocol is based on the exchange of async states between a DC client (an application that wants to sign a PDF, XML, or Office document) and a DC server (an application that controls access to the private key). An async state can carry one or more signing requests, comprised of document hashes, or one or more signatures produced over those hashes.

In a typical scenario you get a client-side async state from the SignAsyncBegin method. This state contains document hashes to be signed on the DC server side. You then send the async state to the DC server (often represented by the DCAuth component), which processes it and produces a matching signature state. The async state produced by the server is then passed to the SignAsyncEnd method.

SignAsyncEnd Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Completes the asynchronous signing operation.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SignAsyncEnd(string asyncReply);

Public Sub SignAsyncEnd(ByVal AsyncReply As String)

Remarks

When using the DC framework, call this method upon receiving the response state from the DC processor to complete the asynchronous signing process.

Before calling this method, assign the path to the pre-signed copy of the document obtained from the prior SignAsyncBegin call to InputFile (or InputStream). The method will embed the signature into the pre-signed document, and save the complete signed document to OutputFile (or OutputStream).

Note that depending on the signing method and DC configuration used, you may still need to provide the public part of the signing certificate via the SigningCertificate property.

Use the ExternalCrypto.AsyncDocumentID parameter to pass a specific document ID if using batched AsyncReply. If used, it should match the value provided on the pre-signing (SignAsyncBegin) stage.

AsyncState is a message of the distributed cryptography (DC) protocol. The DC protocol is based on the exchange of async states between a DC client (an application that wants to sign a PDF, XML, or Office document) and a DC server (an application that controls access to the private key). An async state can carry one or more signing requests, comprised of document hashes, or one or more signatures produced over those hashes.

In a typical scenario you get a client-side async state from the SignAsyncBegin method. This state contains document hashes to be signed on the DC server side. You then send the async state to the DC server (often represented by the DCAuth component), which processes it and produces a matching signature state. The async state produced by the server is then passed to the SignAsyncEnd method.

SignExternal Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Signs the document using an external signing facility.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void SignExternal();

Public Sub SignExternal()

Remarks

Use this method to create a CAdES signature using an external signing facility for the cryptographic computations. SignRemote delegates the low-level signing operation to an external, remote, or custom signing engine. This method is useful if the signature has to be made by a device accessible through a custom or non-standard signing interface.

When all preparations are done and hash is computed, the component fires ExternalSign event which allows to pass the hash value for signing.

Timestamp Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Use this method to add timestamp.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Timestamp(string sigLabel, int timestampType);

Public Sub Timestamp(ByVal SigLabel As String, ByVal TimestampType As Integer)

Remarks

Call this method to add a timestamp to the signature. Use the TimestampServer property to provide the address of the TSA (Time Stamping Authority) server which should be used for timestamping. Use the TimestampType parameter to specify the type of timestamp to create

Supported timestamp types:

Upgrade Method (CAdESSigner Component)

Upgrades existing CAdES to a new level.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public void Upgrade(string sigLabel, int upgradeKind);

Public Sub Upgrade(ByVal SigLabel As String, ByVal UpgradeKind As Integer)

Remarks

CMS Advanced Electronic Signatures (CAdES) standard defines a number of different 'levels' of signatures which can be used for different purposes. Use this method to upgrade CAdES to a new level specified by UpgradeKind. Signatures can normally be upgraded from less sophisticated levels (BES, EPES) to more sophisticated (T, XL, A).

Supported levels:

The supported additional upgrade kinds are:

ChainElementDownload Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Fires when there is a need to download a chain element from an online source.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnChainElementDownloadHandler OnChainElementDownload;

public delegate void OnChainElementDownloadHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerChainElementDownloadEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerChainElementDownloadEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int Kind { get; }
  public string CertRDN { get; }
  public string CACertRDN { get; }
  public string Location { get; }
  public int Action { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnChainElementDownload As OnChainElementDownloadHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnChainElementDownloadHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerChainElementDownloadEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerChainElementDownloadEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Kind As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property CertRDN As String
  Public ReadOnly Property CACertRDN As String
  Public ReadOnly Property Location As String
  Public Property Action As Integer
End Class

Remarks

Subscribe to this event to be notified about validation element retrievals. Use the Action parameter to suppress the download if required.

ChainElementNeeded Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Fires when an element required to validate the chain was not located.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnChainElementNeededHandler OnChainElementNeeded;

public delegate void OnChainElementNeededHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerChainElementNeededEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerChainElementNeededEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int Kind { get; }
  public string CertRDN { get; }
  public string CACertRDN { get; }
}

Public Event OnChainElementNeeded As OnChainElementNeededHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnChainElementNeededHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerChainElementNeededEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerChainElementNeededEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Kind As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property CertRDN As String
  Public ReadOnly Property CACertRDN As String
End Class

Remarks

Subscribe to this event to be notified about missing validation elements. Use the KnownCRLs, KnownCertificates, and KnownOCSPs properties in the event handler to provide the missing piece.

ChainValidated Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Reports the completion of a certificate chain validation.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnChainValidatedHandler OnChainValidated;

public delegate void OnChainValidatedHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerChainValidatedEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerChainValidatedEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int Index { get; }
  public string EntityLabel { get; }
  public string SubjectRDN { get; }
  public int ValidationResult { get; }
  public int ValidationDetails { get; }
  public bool Cancel { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnChainValidated As OnChainValidatedHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnChainValidatedHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerChainValidatedEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerChainValidatedEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Index As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property EntityLabel As String
  Public ReadOnly Property SubjectRDN As String
  Public ReadOnly Property ValidationResult As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property ValidationDetails As Integer
  Public Property Cancel As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

This event is fired when a certificate chain validation routine completes. SubjectRDN identifies the owner of the validated certificate.

ValidationResult set to 0 (zero) indicates successful chain validation.

ChainValidationProgress Event (CAdESSigner Component)

This event is fired multiple times during chain validation to report various stages of the validation procedure.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnChainValidationProgressHandler OnChainValidationProgress;

public delegate void OnChainValidationProgressHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerChainValidationProgressEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerChainValidationProgressEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string EventKind { get; }
  public string CertRDN { get; }
  public string CACertRDN { get; }
  public int Action { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnChainValidationProgress As OnChainValidationProgressHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnChainValidationProgressHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerChainValidationProgressEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerChainValidationProgressEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property EventKind As String
  Public ReadOnly Property CertRDN As String
  Public ReadOnly Property CACertRDN As String
  Public Property Action As Integer
End Class

Remarks

Subscribe to this event to be notified about chain validation progress. Use the Action parameter to alter the validation flow.

The EventKind parameter reports the nature of the event being reported. The CertRDN and CACertRDN parameters report the distinguished names of the certificates that are relevant for the event invocation (one or both can be empty, depending on EventKind). Use the Action parameter to adjust the validation flow.

Error Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Information about errors during CAdES signing.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnErrorHandler OnError;

public delegate void OnErrorHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerErrorEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerErrorEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int ErrorCode { get; }
  public string Description { get; }
}

Public Event OnError As OnErrorHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnErrorHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerErrorEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerErrorEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property ErrorCode As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property Description As String
End Class

Remarks

The event is fired in case of exceptional conditions during message processing.

ErrorCode contains an error code and Description contains a textual description of the error. For a list of valid error codes and their descriptions, please refer to the Messages section.

ExternalSign Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Handles remote or external signing initiated by the SignExternal method or other source.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnExternalSignHandler OnExternalSign;

public delegate void OnExternalSignHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerExternalSignEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerExternalSignEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string OperationId { get; }
  public string HashAlgorithm { get; }
  public string Pars { get; }
  public string Data { get; }
  public string SignedData { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnExternalSign As OnExternalSignHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnExternalSignHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerExternalSignEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerExternalSignEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property OperationId As String
  Public ReadOnly Property HashAlgorithm As String
  Public ReadOnly Property Pars As String
  Public ReadOnly Property Data As String
  Public Property SignedData As String
End Class

Remarks

Assign a handler to this event if you need to delegate a low-level signing operation to an external, remote, or custom signing engine. Depending on the settings, the handler will receive a hashed or unhashed value to be signed.

The event handler must pass the value of Data to the signer, obtain the signature, and pass it back to the component via the SignedData parameter.

OperationId provides a comment about the operation and its origin. It depends on the exact component being used, and may be empty. HashAlgorithm specifies the hash algorithm being used for the operation, and Pars contains algorithm-dependent parameters.

The component uses base16 (hex) encoding for the Data, SignedData, and Pars parameters. If your signing engine uses a different input and output encoding, you may need to decode and/or encode the data before and/or after the signing.

A sample MD5 hash encoded in base16: a0dee2a0382afbb09120ffa7ccd8a152 - lower case base16 A0DEE2A0382AFBB09120FFA7CCD8A152 - upper case base16

A sample event handler that uses the .NET RSACryptoServiceProvider class may look like the following: signer.OnExternalSign += (s, e) => { var cert = new X509Certificate2("cert.pfx", "", X509KeyStorageFlags.Exportable); var key = (RSACryptoServiceProvider)cert.PrivateKey; var dataToSign = e.Data.FromBase16String(); var signedData = key.SignHash(dataToSign, "2.16.840.1.101.3.4.2.1"); e.SignedData = signedData.ToBase16String(); };

Loaded Event (CAdESSigner Component)

This event is fired when the CAdES signature has been loaded into memory.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnLoadedHandler OnLoaded;

public delegate void OnLoadedHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerLoadedEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerLoadedEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public bool Cancel { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnLoaded As OnLoadedHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnLoadedHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerLoadedEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerLoadedEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public Property Cancel As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

The handler for this event is a good place to check CAdES signature properties, which may be useful when preparing the signature.

Set Cancel to true to terminate CAdES signature processing on this stage.

Notification Event (CAdESSigner Component)

This event notifies the application about an underlying control flow event.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnNotificationHandler OnNotification;

public delegate void OnNotificationHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerNotificationEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerNotificationEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string EventID { get; }
  public string EventParam { get; }
}

Public Event OnNotification As OnNotificationHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnNotificationHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerNotificationEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerNotificationEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property EventID As String
  Public ReadOnly Property EventParam As String
End Class

Remarks

The component fires this event to let the application know about some event, occurrence, or milestone in the component. For example, it may fire to report completion of the document processing. The list of events being reported is not fixed, and may be flexibly extended over time.

The unique identifier of the event is provided in the EventID parameter. EventParam contains any parameters accompanying the occurrence. Depending on the type of the component, the exact action it is performing, or the document being processed, one or both may be omitted.

This component can fire this event with the following EventID values:

SignatureFound Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Signifies the start of signature validation.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnSignatureFoundHandler OnSignatureFound;

public delegate void OnSignatureFoundHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerSignatureFoundEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerSignatureFoundEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int Index { get; }
  public string EntityLabel { get; }
  public string IssuerRDN { get; }
  public byte[] SerialNumber { get; }
  public byte[] SubjectKeyID { get; }
  public bool CertFound { get; }
  public bool ValidateSignature { get; set; }
  public bool ValidateChain { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnSignatureFound As OnSignatureFoundHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnSignatureFoundHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerSignatureFoundEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerSignatureFoundEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Index As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property EntityLabel As String
  Public ReadOnly Property IssuerRDN As String
  Public ReadOnly Property SerialNumber As Byte()
  Public ReadOnly Property SubjectKeyID As Byte()
  Public ReadOnly Property CertFound As Boolean
  Public Property ValidateSignature As Boolean
  Public Property ValidateChain As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

This event tells the application that signature validation is about to start, and provides the details about the signer's certificate via its IssuerRDN, SerialNumber, and SubjectKeyID parameters. It fires for every signature located in the verified document or message.

The CertFound parameter is set to True if the component has found the needed certificate in one of the known locations, and to False otherwise, in which case you must provide it manually via the KnownCertificates property.

Signature validation consists of two independent stages: cryptographic signature validation and chain validation. Separate validation results are reported for each, with the SignatureValidationResult and ChainValidationResult properties respectively.

Use the ValidateSignature and ValidateChain parameters to tell the verifier which stages to include in the validation.

SignatureValidated Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Marks the completion of the signature validation routine.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnSignatureValidatedHandler OnSignatureValidated;

public delegate void OnSignatureValidatedHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerSignatureValidatedEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerSignatureValidatedEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int Index { get; }
  public string EntityLabel { get; }
  public string IssuerRDN { get; }
  public byte[] SerialNumber { get; }
  public byte[] SubjectKeyID { get; }
  public int ValidationResult { get; }
  public bool Cancel { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnSignatureValidated As OnSignatureValidatedHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnSignatureValidatedHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerSignatureValidatedEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerSignatureValidatedEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Index As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property EntityLabel As String
  Public ReadOnly Property IssuerRDN As String
  Public ReadOnly Property SerialNumber As Byte()
  Public ReadOnly Property SubjectKeyID As Byte()
  Public ReadOnly Property ValidationResult As Integer
  Public Property Cancel As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

This event is fired upon the completion of the signature validation routine, and reports the respective validation result.

Use the IssuerRDN, SerialNumber, and/or SubjectKeyID parameters to identify the signing certificate.

ValidationResult is set to 0 if the validation has been successful, or to a non-zero value in case of a validation failure.

TimestampFound Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Signifies the start of a timestamp validation routine.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnTimestampFoundHandler OnTimestampFound;

public delegate void OnTimestampFoundHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerTimestampFoundEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerTimestampFoundEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int Index { get; }
  public string EntityLabel { get; }
  public string IssuerRDN { get; }
  public byte[] SerialNumber { get; }
  public byte[] SubjectKeyID { get; }
  public bool CertFound { get; }
  public bool ValidateTimestamp { get; set; }
  public bool ValidateChain { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnTimestampFound As OnTimestampFoundHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnTimestampFoundHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerTimestampFoundEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerTimestampFoundEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Index As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property EntityLabel As String
  Public ReadOnly Property IssuerRDN As String
  Public ReadOnly Property SerialNumber As Byte()
  Public ReadOnly Property SubjectKeyID As Byte()
  Public ReadOnly Property CertFound As Boolean
  Public Property ValidateTimestamp As Boolean
  Public Property ValidateChain As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

This event fires for every timestamp identified during signature processing, and reports the details about the signer's certificate via its IssuerRDN, SerialNumber, and SubjectKeyID parameters.

The CertFound parameter is set to True if the component has found the needed certificate in one of the known locations, and to False otherwise, in which case you must provide it manually via the KnownCertificates property.

Just like with signature validation, timestamp validation consists of two independent stages: cryptographic signature validation and chain validation. Separate validation results are reported for each, with the ValidationResult and ChainValidationResult properties respectively.

Use the ValidateSignature and ValidateChain parameters to tell the verifier which stages to include in the validation.

TimestampRequest Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Fires when the component is ready to request a timestamp from an external TSA.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnTimestampRequestHandler OnTimestampRequest;

public delegate void OnTimestampRequestHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerTimestampRequestEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerTimestampRequestEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string TSA { get; }
  public string TimestampRequest { get; }
  public string TimestampResponse { get; set; }
  public bool SuppressDefault { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnTimestampRequest As OnTimestampRequestHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnTimestampRequestHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerTimestampRequestEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerTimestampRequestEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property TSA As String
  Public ReadOnly Property TimestampRequest As String
  Public Property TimestampResponse As String
  Public Property SuppressDefault As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

Subscribe to this event to intercept timestamp requests. You can use it to override timestamping requests and perform them in your code.

The TSA parameter indicates the timestamping service being used. It matches the value passed to the TimestampServer property. Set the SuppressDefault parameter to false if you would like to stop the built-in TSA request from going ahead. The built-in TSA request is also not performed if the returned TimestampResponse parameter is not empty.

TimestampValidated Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Reports the completion of the timestamp validation routine.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnTimestampValidatedHandler OnTimestampValidated;

public delegate void OnTimestampValidatedHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerTimestampValidatedEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerTimestampValidatedEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public int Index { get; }
  public string EntityLabel { get; }
  public string IssuerRDN { get; }
  public byte[] SerialNumber { get; }
  public byte[] SubjectKeyID { get; }
  public string Time { get; }
  public int ValidationResult { get; }
  public int ChainValidationResult { get; }
  public int ChainValidationDetails { get; }
  public bool Cancel { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnTimestampValidated As OnTimestampValidatedHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnTimestampValidatedHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerTimestampValidatedEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerTimestampValidatedEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Index As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property EntityLabel As String
  Public ReadOnly Property IssuerRDN As String
  Public ReadOnly Property SerialNumber As Byte()
  Public ReadOnly Property SubjectKeyID As Byte()
  Public ReadOnly Property Time As String
  Public ReadOnly Property ValidationResult As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property ChainValidationResult As Integer
  Public ReadOnly Property ChainValidationDetails As Integer
  Public Property Cancel As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

This event is fired upon the completion of the timestamp validation routine, and reports the respective validation result.

ValidationResult is set to 0 if the validation has been successful, or to a non-zero value in case of a failure.

TLSCertNeeded Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Fires when a remote TLS party requests a client certificate.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnTLSCertNeededHandler OnTLSCertNeeded;

public delegate void OnTLSCertNeededHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerTLSCertNeededEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerTLSCertNeededEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Host { get; }
  public string CANames { get; }
}

Public Event OnTLSCertNeeded As OnTLSCertNeededHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnTLSCertNeededHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerTLSCertNeededEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerTLSCertNeededEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Host As String
  Public ReadOnly Property CANames As String
End Class

Remarks

This event fires to notify the implementation that a remote TLS server has requested a client certificate. The Host parameter identifies the host that makes a request, and the CANames parameter (optional, according to the TLS spec) advises on the accepted issuing CAs.

Use the TLSClientChain property in response to this event to provide the requested certificate. Please make sure the client certificate includes the associated private key. Note that you may set the certificates before the connection without waiting for this event to fire.

This event is preceded by the TLSHandshake event for the given host and, if the certificate was accepted, succeeded by the TLSEstablished event.

TLSCertValidate Event (CAdESSigner Component)

This event is fired upon receipt of the TLS server's certificate, allowing the user to control its acceptance.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnTLSCertValidateHandler OnTLSCertValidate;

public delegate void OnTLSCertValidateHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerTLSCertValidateEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerTLSCertValidateEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string ServerHost { get; }
  public string ServerIP { get; }
  public bool Accept { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnTLSCertValidate As OnTLSCertValidateHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnTLSCertValidateHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerTLSCertValidateEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerTLSCertValidateEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property ServerHost As String
  Public ReadOnly Property ServerIP As String
  Public Property Accept As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

This event is fired during a TLS handshake. Use the TLSServerChain property to access the certificate chain. In general, components may contact a number of TLS endpoints during their work, depending on their configuration.

Accept is assigned in accordance with the outcome of the internal validation check performed by the component, and can be adjusted if needed.

TLSEstablished Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Fires when a TLS handshake with Host successfully completes.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnTLSEstablishedHandler OnTLSEstablished;

public delegate void OnTLSEstablishedHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerTLSEstablishedEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerTLSEstablishedEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Host { get; }
  public string Version { get; }
  public string Ciphersuite { get; }
  public byte[] ConnectionId { get; }
  public bool Abort { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnTLSEstablished As OnTLSEstablishedHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnTLSEstablishedHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerTLSEstablishedEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerTLSEstablishedEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Host As String
  Public ReadOnly Property Version As String
  Public ReadOnly Property Ciphersuite As String
  Public ReadOnly Property ConnectionId As Byte()
  Public Property Abort As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

The component uses this event to notify the application about a successful completion of a TLS handshake.

The Version, Ciphersuite, and ConnectionId parameters indicate the security parameters of the new connection. Use the Abort parameter if you need to terminate the connection at this stage.

TLSHandshake Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Fires when a new TLS handshake is initiated, before the handshake commences.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnTLSHandshakeHandler OnTLSHandshake;

public delegate void OnTLSHandshakeHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerTLSHandshakeEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerTLSHandshakeEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Host { get; }
  public bool Abort { get; set; }
}

Public Event OnTLSHandshake As OnTLSHandshakeHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnTLSHandshakeHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerTLSHandshakeEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerTLSHandshakeEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Host As String
  Public Property Abort As Boolean
End Class

Remarks

The component uses this event to notify the application about the start of a new TLS handshake to Host. If the handshake is successful, this event will be followed by the TLSEstablished event. If the server chooses to request a client certificate, the TLSCertNeeded event will also be fired.

TLSShutdown Event (CAdESSigner Component)

Reports the graceful closure of a TLS connection.

Syntax

• C#
• VB.NET

public event OnTLSShutdownHandler OnTLSShutdown;

public delegate void OnTLSShutdownHandler(object sender, CAdESSignerTLSShutdownEventArgs e);

public class CAdESSignerTLSShutdownEventArgs : EventArgs {
  public string Host { get; }
}

Public Event OnTLSShutdown As OnTLSShutdownHandler

Public Delegate Sub OnTLSShutdownHandler(sender As Object, e As CAdESSignerTLSShutdownEventArgs)

Public Class CAdESSignerTLSShutdownEventArgs Inherits EventArgs
  Public ReadOnly Property Host As String
End Class

Remarks

This event notifies the application about the closure of an earlier established TLS connection. Note that only graceful connection closures are reported.

CAdESSignature Type

Represents an individual signature in a CAdES container.

Remarks

This type contains information about a signature found in CAdES container. It holds various information about the signature, including its coverage and validation results.

Fields

Constructors

• C#
• VB.NET

public CAdESSignature();

Public CAdESSignature()

Certificate Type

Encapsulates an individual X.509 certificate.

Remarks

This type keeps and provides access to X.509 certificate details.

Fields