Default SecurityProtocol in .NET 4.5

Question

What is the default security protocol for communicating with servers that support up to TLS 1.2? Will .NET by default, choose the highest security

Answer 1

I got the problem when my customer upgraded TLS from 1.0 to 1.2. My application is using .net framework 3.5 and run on server. So i fixed it by this way:

1. Fix the program

Before call HttpWebRequest.GetResponse() add this command:

ServicePointManager.SecurityProtocol = SecurityProtocolType.Ssl3 | SecurityProtocolType.Tls | SecurityProtocolTypeExtensions.Tls11 | SecurityProtocolTypeExtensions.Tls12;

Extensions 2 DLLs by adding 2 new classes: System.Net and System.Security.Authentication

    namespace System.Net
    {
        using System.Security.Authentication;
        public static class SecurityProtocolTypeExtensions
        {
            public const SecurityProtocolType Tls12 = (SecurityProtocolType)SslProtocolsExtensions.Tls12;
            public const SecurityProtocolType Tls11 = (SecurityProtocolType)SslProtocolsExtensions.Tls11;
            public const SecurityProtocolType SystemDefault = (SecurityProtocolType)0;
        }
    } 

    namespace System.Security.Authentication
    {
        public static class SslProtocolsExtensions
        {
            public const SslProtocols Tls12 = (SslProtocols)0x00000C00;
            public const SslProtocols Tls11 = (SslProtocols)0x00000300;
        }
    } 

2. Update Microsoft batch

Download batch:

• For windows 2008 R2: windows6.1-kb3154518-x64.msu
• For windows 2012 R2: windows8.1-kb3154520-x64.msu

For download batch and more details you can see here:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3154518/support-for-tls-system-default-versions-included-in-the-.net-framework-3.5.1-on-windows-7-sp1-and-server-2008-r2-sp1

Answer 2

Microsoft recently published best practices around this. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/network-programming/tls

Summary

Target .Net Framework 4.7, remove any code setting the SecurityProtocol, thus the OS will ensure you use the most secure solution.

NB: You will also need to ensure that the latest version of TLS is supported & enabled on your OS.

OS                          TLS 1.2 support

Windows 10                  \_ Supported, and enabled by default.
Windows Server 2016         /   
Windows 8.1                 \_ Supported, and enabled by default.
Windows Server 2012 R2      /
Windows 8.0                 \_ Supported, and enabled by default.
Windows Server 2012         /
Windows 7 SP1               \_ Supported, but not enabled by default*.
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1  /
Windows Server 2008         -  Support for TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.1 requires an update. See Update to add support for TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 in Windows Server 2008 SP2.
Windows Vista               -  Not supported.

* To enable TLS1.2 via the registry see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/security/tls/tls-registry-settings#tls-12 

    Path: HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS1.2\Server

        Property: Enabled
        Type: REG_DWORD
        Value: 1

        Property: DisabledByDefault 
        Type: REG_DWORD
        Value: 0

    Path: HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS1.2\Client

        Property: Enabled
        Type: REG_DWORD
        Value: 1

        Property: DisabledByDefault 
        Type: REG_DWORD
        Value: 0

For more information and older frameworks, please refer to the MS link.

Answer 3

Create a text file with a .reg extension and the following contents:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319]
"SchUseStrongCrypto"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319]
"SchUseStrongCrypto"=dword:00000001

Or download it from the following source:

https://tls1test.salesforce.com/s/NET40-Enable-TLS-1_2.reg

Double-click to install...

Answer 4

For completeness, here is a Powershell script that sets aforementioned registry keys:

new-itemproperty -path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319" -name "SchUseStrongCrypto" -Value 1 -PropertyType "DWord";
new-itemproperty -path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319" -name "SchUseStrongCrypto" -Value 1 -PropertyType "DWord"

Answer 5

According to Transport Layer Security (TLS) best practices with the .NET Framework: To ensure .NET Framework applications remain secure, the TLS version should not be hardcoded. Instead set the registry keys: SystemDefaultTlsVersions and SchUseStrongCrypto:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v2.0.50727]
"SystemDefaultTlsVersions"=dword:00000001
"SchUseStrongCrypto"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319]
"SystemDefaultTlsVersions"=dword:00000001
"SchUseStrongCrypto"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v2.0.50727]
"SystemDefaultTlsVersions"=dword:00000001
"SchUseStrongCrypto"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319]
"SystemDefaultTlsVersions"=dword:00000001
"SchUseStrongCrypto"=dword:00000001