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Configuring Azure Key Vault in a .NET Core Web API

Introduction

Protecting sensitive information such as connection strings, API keys, and certificates is a crucial aspect of application security. Azure Key Vault provides a secure and centralized storage solution for managing secrets, keys, and certificates. Integrating Azure Key Vault into a .NET Core Web API enhances security by separating sensitive information from the codebase. This step-by-step guide will walk you through the process of configuring Azure Key Vault in a .NET Core Web API.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following.

  1. An Azure subscription.
  2. Visual Studio or any preferred code editor.
  3. .NET Core SDK installed.
  4. Azure Key Vault instance created in your Azure subscription.

Step 1. Set Up Azure Key Vault

  1. Log in to the Azure portal (https://portal.azure.com) and create an Azure Key Vault instance.
  2. Note down the Key Vault URI and credentials (Client ID, Client Secret, or Certificate) for authentication.
  3. Add secrets, keys, or certificates to your Key Vault as per your application requirements.

Step 2. Install Azure Key Vault NuGet Packages

In your .NET Core Web API project.

  1. Open your project in Visual Studio.
  2. Install the Azure.Identity and Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets NuGet packages. 
    dotnet add package Azure.Identity
dotnet add package Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets

Step 3. Configure Azure Key Vault in .NET Core Web API

  1. Open your appsettings.json file and add placeholders for your secrets. 
    {
  "KeyVault": {
    "VaultUri": "your_key_vault_uri"
  },
  "AllowedHosts": "*"
}
  2. In your Startup.cs, configure the Key Vault client. 
    using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets;

public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
    // Other configurations
    
    var keyVaultUri = Configuration["KeyVault:VaultUri"];
    var client = new SecretClient(new Uri(keyVaultUri), new DefaultAzureCredential());
    services.AddSingleton(client);
}
  3. Access the secrets in your controller or service. 
    using Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets;

[ApiController]
[Route("[controller]")]
public class SecretsController : ControllerBase
{
    private readonly SecretClient _secretClient;

    public SecretsController(SecretClient secretClient)
    {
        _secretClient = secretClient;
    }

    [HttpGet("{secretName}")]
    public async Task<string> GetSecret(string secretName)
    {
        var secret = await _secretClient.GetSecretAsync(secretName);
        return secret.Value.Value;
    }
}

Step 4. Test Azure Key Vault Integration

  1. Run your .NET Core Web API project.
  2. Access the endpoint configured to retrieve secrets (/secrets/{secretName}) using Postman or a browser, replacing {secretName} with the name of the secret stored in your Key Vault.

Conclusion

Integrating Azure Key Vault into your .NET Core Web API offers a secure and efficient way to manage sensitive information. By following this step-by-step guide, you can enhance the security of your applications by centralizing and securely accessing secrets stored in Azure Key Vault. Remember to manage access policies and permissions within Azure Key Vault to control who can retrieve or manage the stored secrets, ensuring the highest level of security for your applications.


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