Agent skill

azure-security-keyvault-keys-dotnet

Azure Key Vault Keys SDK for .NET. Client library for managing cryptographic keys in Azure Key Vault and Managed HSM. Use for key creation, rotation, encryption, decryption, signing, and verification. Triggers: "Key Vault keys", "KeyClient", "CryptographyClient", "RSA key", "EC key", "encrypt decrypt .NET", "key rotation", "HSM".

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SKILL.md

Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys (.NET)

Client library for managing cryptographic keys in Azure Key Vault and Managed HSM.

Installation

bash
dotnet add package Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys
dotnet add package Azure.Identity

Current Version: 4.7.0 (stable)

Environment Variables

bash
KEY_VAULT_NAME=<your-key-vault-name>
# Or full URI
AZURE_KEYVAULT_URL=https://<vault-name>.vault.azure.net

Client Hierarchy

KeyClient (key management)
├── CreateKey / CreateRsaKey / CreateEcKey
├── GetKey / GetKeys
├── UpdateKeyProperties
├── DeleteKey / PurgeDeletedKey
├── BackupKey / RestoreKey
└── GetCryptographyClient() → CryptographyClient

CryptographyClient (cryptographic operations)
├── Encrypt / Decrypt
├── WrapKey / UnwrapKey
├── Sign / Verify
└── SignData / VerifyData

KeyResolver (key resolution)
└── Resolve(keyId) → CryptographyClient

Authentication

DefaultAzureCredential (Recommended)

csharp
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys;

var keyVaultName = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("KEY_VAULT_NAME");
var kvUri = $"https://{keyVaultName}.vault.azure.net";

var client = new KeyClient(new Uri(kvUri), new DefaultAzureCredential());

Service Principal

csharp
var credential = new ClientSecretCredential(
    tenantId: "<tenant-id>",
    clientId: "<client-id>",
    clientSecret: "<client-secret>");

var client = new KeyClient(new Uri(kvUri), credential);

Key Management

Create Keys

csharp
// Create RSA key
KeyVaultKey rsaKey = await client.CreateKeyAsync("my-rsa-key", KeyType.Rsa);
Console.WriteLine($"Created key: {rsaKey.Name}, Type: {rsaKey.KeyType}");

// Create RSA key with options
var rsaOptions = new CreateRsaKeyOptions("my-rsa-key-2048")
{
    KeySize = 2048,
    HardwareProtected = false, // true for HSM-backed
    ExpiresOn = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow.AddYears(1),
    NotBefore = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow,
    Enabled = true
};
rsaOptions.KeyOperations.Add(KeyOperation.Encrypt);
rsaOptions.KeyOperations.Add(KeyOperation.Decrypt);

KeyVaultKey rsaKey2 = await client.CreateRsaKeyAsync(rsaOptions);

// Create EC key
var ecOptions = new CreateEcKeyOptions("my-ec-key")
{
    CurveName = KeyCurveName.P256,
    HardwareProtected = true // HSM-backed
};
KeyVaultKey ecKey = await client.CreateEcKeyAsync(ecOptions);

// Create Oct (symmetric) key for wrap/unwrap
var octOptions = new CreateOctKeyOptions("my-oct-key")
{
    KeySize = 256,
    HardwareProtected = true
};
KeyVaultKey octKey = await client.CreateOctKeyAsync(octOptions);

Retrieve Keys

csharp
// Get specific key (latest version)
KeyVaultKey key = await client.GetKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");
Console.WriteLine($"Key ID: {key.Id}");
Console.WriteLine($"Key Type: {key.KeyType}");
Console.WriteLine($"Version: {key.Properties.Version}");

// Get specific version
KeyVaultKey keyVersion = await client.GetKeyAsync("my-rsa-key", "version-id");

// List all keys
await foreach (KeyProperties keyProps in client.GetPropertiesOfKeysAsync())
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Key: {keyProps.Name}, Enabled: {keyProps.Enabled}");
}

// List key versions
await foreach (KeyProperties version in client.GetPropertiesOfKeyVersionsAsync("my-rsa-key"))
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Version: {version.Version}, Created: {version.CreatedOn}");
}

Update Key Properties

csharp
KeyVaultKey key = await client.GetKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");

key.Properties.ExpiresOn = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow.AddYears(2);
key.Properties.Tags["environment"] = "production";

KeyVaultKey updatedKey = await client.UpdateKeyPropertiesAsync(key.Properties);

Delete and Purge Keys

csharp
// Start delete operation
DeleteKeyOperation operation = await client.StartDeleteKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");

// Wait for deletion to complete (required before purge)
await operation.WaitForCompletionAsync();
Console.WriteLine($"Deleted key scheduled purge date: {operation.Value.ScheduledPurgeDate}");

// Purge immediately (if soft-delete is enabled)
await client.PurgeDeletedKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");

// Or recover deleted key
KeyVaultKey recoveredKey = await client.StartRecoverDeletedKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");

Backup and Restore

csharp
// Backup key
byte[] backup = await client.BackupKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");
await File.WriteAllBytesAsync("key-backup.bin", backup);

// Restore key
byte[] backupData = await File.ReadAllBytesAsync("key-backup.bin");
KeyVaultKey restoredKey = await client.RestoreKeyBackupAsync(backupData);

Cryptographic Operations

Get CryptographyClient

csharp
// From KeyClient
KeyVaultKey key = await client.GetKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");
CryptographyClient cryptoClient = client.GetCryptographyClient(
    key.Name, 
    key.Properties.Version);

// Or create directly with key ID
CryptographyClient cryptoClient = new CryptographyClient(
    new Uri("https://myvault.vault.azure.net/keys/my-rsa-key/version"),
    new DefaultAzureCredential());

Encrypt and Decrypt

csharp
byte[] plaintext = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("Secret message to encrypt");

// Encrypt
EncryptResult encryptResult = await cryptoClient.EncryptAsync(
    EncryptionAlgorithm.RsaOaep256, 
    plaintext);
Console.WriteLine($"Encrypted: {Convert.ToBase64String(encryptResult.Ciphertext)}");

// Decrypt
DecryptResult decryptResult = await cryptoClient.DecryptAsync(
    EncryptionAlgorithm.RsaOaep256, 
    encryptResult.Ciphertext);
string decrypted = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(decryptResult.Plaintext);
Console.WriteLine($"Decrypted: {decrypted}");

Wrap and Unwrap Keys

csharp
// Key to wrap (e.g., AES key)
byte[] keyToWrap = new byte[32]; // 256-bit key
RandomNumberGenerator.Fill(keyToWrap);

// Wrap key
WrapResult wrapResult = await cryptoClient.WrapKeyAsync(
    KeyWrapAlgorithm.RsaOaep256, 
    keyToWrap);

// Unwrap key
UnwrapResult unwrapResult = await cryptoClient.UnwrapKeyAsync(
    KeyWrapAlgorithm.RsaOaep256, 
    wrapResult.EncryptedKey);

Sign and Verify

csharp
// Data to sign
byte[] data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("Data to sign");

// Sign data (computes hash internally)
SignResult signResult = await cryptoClient.SignDataAsync(
    SignatureAlgorithm.RS256, 
    data);

// Verify signature
VerifyResult verifyResult = await cryptoClient.VerifyDataAsync(
    SignatureAlgorithm.RS256, 
    data, 
    signResult.Signature);
Console.WriteLine($"Signature valid: {verifyResult.IsValid}");

// Or sign pre-computed hash
using var sha256 = SHA256.Create();
byte[] hash = sha256.ComputeHash(data);

SignResult signHashResult = await cryptoClient.SignAsync(
    SignatureAlgorithm.RS256, 
    hash);

Key Resolver

csharp
using Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys.Cryptography;

var resolver = new KeyResolver(new DefaultAzureCredential());

// Resolve key by ID to get CryptographyClient
CryptographyClient cryptoClient = await resolver.ResolveAsync(
    new Uri("https://myvault.vault.azure.net/keys/my-key/version"));

// Use for encryption
EncryptResult result = await cryptoClient.EncryptAsync(
    EncryptionAlgorithm.RsaOaep256, 
    plaintext);

Key Rotation

csharp
// Rotate key (creates new version)
KeyVaultKey rotatedKey = await client.RotateKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");
Console.WriteLine($"New version: {rotatedKey.Properties.Version}");

// Get rotation policy
KeyRotationPolicy policy = await client.GetKeyRotationPolicyAsync("my-rsa-key");

// Update rotation policy
policy.ExpiresIn = "P90D"; // 90 days
policy.LifetimeActions.Add(new KeyRotationLifetimeAction
{
    Action = KeyRotationPolicyAction.Rotate,
    TimeBeforeExpiry = "P30D" // Rotate 30 days before expiry
});

await client.UpdateKeyRotationPolicyAsync("my-rsa-key", policy);

Key Types Reference

Type Purpose
KeyClient Key management operations
CryptographyClient Cryptographic operations
KeyResolver Resolve key ID to CryptographyClient
KeyVaultKey Key with cryptographic material
KeyProperties Key metadata (no crypto material)
CreateRsaKeyOptions RSA key creation options
CreateEcKeyOptions EC key creation options
CreateOctKeyOptions Symmetric key options
EncryptResult Encryption result
DecryptResult Decryption result
SignResult Signing result
VerifyResult Verification result
WrapResult Key wrap result
UnwrapResult Key unwrap result

Algorithms Reference

Encryption Algorithms

Algorithm Key Type Description
RsaOaep RSA RSA-OAEP
RsaOaep256 RSA RSA-OAEP-256
Rsa15 RSA RSA 1.5 (legacy)
A128Gcm Oct AES-128-GCM
A256Gcm Oct AES-256-GCM

Signature Algorithms

Algorithm Key Type Description
RS256 RSA RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 SHA-256
RS384 RSA RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 SHA-384
RS512 RSA RSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 SHA-512
PS256 RSA RSASSA-PSS SHA-256
ES256 EC ECDSA P-256 SHA-256
ES384 EC ECDSA P-384 SHA-384
ES512 EC ECDSA P-521 SHA-512

Key Wrap Algorithms

Algorithm Key Type Description
RsaOaep RSA RSA-OAEP
RsaOaep256 RSA RSA-OAEP-256
A128KW Oct AES-128 Key Wrap
A256KW Oct AES-256 Key Wrap

Best Practices

  1. Use Managed Identity — Prefer DefaultAzureCredential over secrets
  2. Enable soft-delete — Protect against accidental deletion
  3. Use HSM-backed keys — Set HardwareProtected = true for sensitive keys
  4. Implement key rotation — Use automatic rotation policies
  5. Limit key operations — Only enable required KeyOperations
  6. Set expiration dates — Always set ExpiresOn for keys
  7. Use specific versions — Pin to versions in production
  8. Cache CryptographyClient — Reuse for multiple operations

Error Handling

csharp
using Azure;

try
{
    KeyVaultKey key = await client.GetKeyAsync("my-key");
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex) when (ex.Status == 404)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Key not found");
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex) when (ex.Status == 403)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Access denied - check RBAC permissions");
}
catch (RequestFailedException ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Key Vault error: {ex.Status} - {ex.Message}");
}

Required RBAC Roles

Role Permissions
Key Vault Crypto Officer Full key management
Key Vault Crypto User Use keys for crypto operations
Key Vault Reader Read key metadata

Related SDKs

SDK Purpose Install
Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys Keys (this SDK) dotnet add package Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys
Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets Secrets dotnet add package Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets
Azure.Security.KeyVault.Certificates Certificates dotnet add package Azure.Security.KeyVault.Certificates
Azure.Identity Authentication dotnet add package Azure.Identity

Reference Links

Resource URL
NuGet Package https://www.nuget.org/packages/Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys
API Reference https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/azure.security.keyvault.keys
Quickstart https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/key-vault/keys/quick-create-net
GitHub Source https://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-net/tree/main/sdk/keyvault/Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys

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