Do Not Use Broken Cryptographic Algorithms
Do Not Use Broken Cryptographic Algorithms
Microsoft docsDescription
Broken cryptographic algorithms are not considered secure and their use should be discouraged. The MD5 hash algorithm is susceptible to known collision attacks, though the specific vulnerability will vary based on the context of use. Hashing algorithms used to ensure data integrity (for example, file signature or digital certificate) are particularly vulnerable. In this context, attackers could generate two separate pieces of data, such that benign data can be substituted with malicious data, without changing the hash value or invalidating an associated digital signature.
For encryption algorithms:
- System.Security.Cryptography.DES encryption contains a small key size, which could be brute-forced in less than a day.
- System.Security.Cryptography.RC2 encryption is susceptible to a related-key attack, where the attacker finds mathematical relationships between all key values.
This rule triggers when it finds any of the above cryptographic functions in source code and throws a warning to the user.
Cause
Hashing functions such as System.Security.Cryptography.MD5 and encryption algorithms such as System.Security.Cryptography.DES and System.Security.Cryptography.RC2 can expose significant risk and may result in the exposure of sensitive information through trivial attack techniques, such as brute force attacks and hash collisions.
The cryptographic algorithms list below are subject to known cryptographic attacks. The cryptographic hash algorithm System.Security.Cryptography.MD5 is subject to hash collision attacks. Depending on the usage, a hash collision may lead to impersonation, tampering, or other kinds of attacks on systems that rely on the unique cryptographic output of a hashing function. The encryption algorithms System.Security.Cryptography.DES and System.Security.Cryptography.RC2 are subject to cryptographic attacks that may result in unintended disclosure of encrypted data.
How to fix violations
Use cryptographically stronger options:
- For MD5, use hashes in the SHA-2 family (for example, System.Security.Cryptography.SHA512, System.Security.Cryptography.SHA384, System.Security.Cryptography.SHA256).
- For DES and RC2, use System.Security.Cryptography.Aes encryption.
Example
using System.Security.Cryptography;
...
var hashAlg = MD5.Create();
using System.Security.Cryptography;
...
var hashAlg = SHA256.Create();
using System.Security.Cryptography;
...
RC2 encAlg = RC2.Create();
using System.Security.Cryptography;
...
using (AesManaged encAlg = new AesManaged())
{
...
}
using System.Security.Cryptography;
...
DES encAlg = DES.Create();
using System.Security.Cryptography;
...
using (AesManaged encAlg = new AesManaged())
{
...
}When to suppress
Do not suppress a warning from this rule, unless it's been reviewed by a cryptographic expert.