credentials Element for forms for authentication (ASP.NET Settings Schema)

Article
11/03/2006

Allows optional definitions of name and password credentials within the configuration file. You also can implement a custom password scheme to use an external source, such as a database, to control validation.

Caution
This method of storing credentials should be used only in applications that do not require a high level of security.

<credentials 
   passwordFormat="[Clear|SHA1|MD5]"
>
  <user />
</credentials>

Attributes and Elements

The following sections describe attributes, child elements, and parent elements.

Attributes

passwordFormat

Required attribute.

Specifies the encryption format for storing passwords.

This attribute can be one of the following values.

Value	Description
Clear	Specifies that passwords are not encrypted.
MD5	Specifies that passwords are encrypted with the MD5 hash algorithm.
SHAI	Specifies that passwords are encrypted with the SHA1 hash algorithm.

The default is SHA1.

Child Elements

Element	Description
clear	Removes all references to inherited connection strings allowing only those that are added by the current user element.
remove	Removes a reference to an inherited user account from the collection of credentials.
user	Adds a definition of user name and password credentials to the collection of credentials.

Parent Elements

Element	Description
configuration	Specifies the required root element in every configuration file that is used by the common language runtime and the .NET Framework applications.
system.web	Specifies the root element for the ASP.NET configuration settings in a configuration file and contains configuration elements that configure ASP.NET Web applications and control how the applications behave.
authentication	Configures the ASP.NET authentication scheme that is used to identify users who view an ASP.NET application.
forms	Configures an ASP.NET application for custom forms–based authentication.

Remarks

The credentials element allows optional definitions of name and password credentials within the configuration file. You also can implement a custom password scheme to use an external source, such as a database, to control validation. If multiple applications are running on a single server, the attributes of the forms element must be configured in the Web.config file for each application. For more information, see Forms Authentication Across Applications.

Default Configuration

The following default credentials element is not explicitly configured in the Machine.config or root Web.config file. However, it is the default configuration that is returned by the application.

<credentials passwordFormat="SHA1" />

Example

The following code example demonstrates how to specify the authentication mode, logon page, and logon credentials encryption format. Credentials for three user accounts are stored in the configuration file.

<configuration>
   <system.web>
      <authentication mode="Forms">
         <forms name="401kApp" loginUrl="/login.aspx">
            <credentials passwordFormat = "SHA1">
               <user 
                  name="UserName1" 
                  password="SHA1EncryptedPassword1"/>
               <user 
                  name="UserName2" 
                  password="SHA1EncryptedPassword2"/>
               <user 
                  name="UserName3" 
                  password="SHA1EncryptedPassword3"/>
            </credentials>
         </forms>
      </authentication>
   </system.web>
</configuration>

Element Information

Configuration section handler	AuthenticationSection
Configuration member	Credentials
Configurable locations	Machine.config Root-level Web.config Application-level Web.config
Requirements	Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) version 5.0, 5.1, or 6.0 The .NET Framework version 1.0, 1.1, or 2.0 Microsoft Visual Studio 2003 or Visual Studio 2005

Concepts

Forms Authentication Across Applications
ASP.NET Configuration File Hierarchy and Inheritance
Securing ASP.NET Configuration
ASP.NET Configuration Scenarios

Other Resources

ASP.NET Authentication
General Configuration Settings (ASP.NET)
ASP.NET Configuration Settings
Configuring ASP.NET Applications
ASP.NET Configuration Files
ASP.NET Configuration API

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