X509Store Class

Definition

Represents an X.509 store, which is a physical store where certificates are persisted and managed. This class cannot be inherited.

public sealed class X509Store : IDisposable
public sealed class X509Store
Inheritance
X509Store
Implements

Examples

This section contains two examples. The first example demonstrates how you can open standard X.509 stores and list the number of certificates in each.

The second example demonstrates how you can add and remove single certificates and ranges of certificates.

Example 1

This example tries to open each standard store in each standard location on the current computer. It prints a summary that shows whether each store exists and, if so, the number of certificates it contains.

The example creates an X509Store object for each combination of standard name and standard location. It calls the Open method with the OpenFlags.OpenExistingOnly flag, which opens the physical store only if it already exists. If the physical store exists, the example uses the Name, Location, and Certificates properties to display the number of certificates in the store.

using System;
using System.Security.Cryptography;
using System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates;

public class Example
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Console.WriteLine("\r\nExists Certs Name and Location");
        Console.WriteLine("------ ----- -------------------------");

        foreach (StoreLocation storeLocation in (StoreLocation[])
            Enum.GetValues(typeof(StoreLocation)))
        {
            foreach (StoreName storeName in (StoreName[])
                Enum.GetValues(typeof(StoreName)))
            {
                X509Store store = new X509Store(storeName, storeLocation);

                try
                {
                    store.Open(OpenFlags.OpenExistingOnly);

                    Console.WriteLine("Yes    {0,4}  {1}, {2}",
                        store.Certificates.Count, store.Name, store.Location);
                }
                catch (CryptographicException)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("No           {0}, {1}",
                        store.Name, store.Location);
                }
            }
            Console.WriteLine();
        }
    }
}

/* This example produces output similar to the following:

Exists Certs Name and Location
------ ----- -------------------------
Yes       1  AddressBook, CurrentUser
Yes      25  AuthRoot, CurrentUser
Yes     136  CA, CurrentUser
Yes      55  Disallowed, CurrentUser
Yes      20  My, CurrentUser
Yes      36  Root, CurrentUser
Yes       0  TrustedPeople, CurrentUser
Yes       1  TrustedPublisher, CurrentUser

No           AddressBook, LocalMachine
Yes      25  AuthRoot, LocalMachine
Yes     131  CA, LocalMachine
Yes      55  Disallowed, LocalMachine
Yes       3  My, LocalMachine
Yes      36  Root, LocalMachine
Yes       0  TrustedPeople, LocalMachine
Yes       1  TrustedPublisher, LocalMachine

 */

Example 2

This example opens an X.509 certificate store, adds and deletes certificates, and then closes the store. It assumes that you have three certificates to add to and remove from a local store.

using System;
using System.Security.Cryptography;
using System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates;
using System.IO;

public class X509store2
{
    public static void Main (string[] args)
    {
        //Create new X509 store called teststore from the local certificate store.
        X509Store store = new X509Store ("teststore", StoreLocation.CurrentUser);
        store.Open (OpenFlags.ReadWrite);
        X509Certificate2 certificate = new X509Certificate2 ();

        //Create certificates from certificate files.
        //You must put in a valid path to three certificates in the following constructors.
        X509Certificate2 certificate1 = new X509Certificate2 ("c:\\mycerts\\*****.cer");
        X509Certificate2 certificate2 = new X509Certificate2 ("c:\\mycerts\\*****.cer");
        X509Certificate2 certificate5 = new X509Certificate2 ("c:\\mycerts\\*****.cer");

        //Create a collection and add two of the certificates.
        X509Certificate2Collection collection = new X509Certificate2Collection ();
        collection.Add (certificate2);
        collection.Add (certificate5);

        //Add certificates to the store.
        store.Add (certificate1);
        store.AddRange (collection);

        X509Certificate2Collection storecollection = (X509Certificate2Collection)store.Certificates;
        Console.WriteLine ("Store name: {0}", store.Name);
        Console.WriteLine ("Store location: {0}", store.Location);
        foreach (X509Certificate2 x509 in storecollection)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("certificate name: {0}",x509.Subject);
        }

        //Remove a certificate.
        store.Remove (certificate1);
        X509Certificate2Collection storecollection2 = (X509Certificate2Collection)store.Certificates;
        Console.WriteLine ("{1}Store name: {0}", store.Name, Environment.NewLine);
        foreach (X509Certificate2 x509 in storecollection2)
        {
            Console.WriteLine ("certificate name: {0}", x509.Subject);
        }

        //Remove a range of certificates.
        store.RemoveRange (collection);
        X509Certificate2Collection storecollection3 = (X509Certificate2Collection)store.Certificates;
        Console.WriteLine ("{1}Store name: {0}", store.Name, Environment.NewLine);
        if (storecollection3.Count == 0)
        {
            Console.WriteLine ("Store contains no certificates.");
        }
        else
        {
            foreach (X509Certificate2 x509 in storecollection3)
            {
                Console.WriteLine ("certificate name: {0}", x509.Subject);
            }
        }

        //Close the store.
        store.Close ();
    }	
}

Remarks

Use this class to work with an X.509 store.

Important

Starting with the .NET Framework 4.6, this type implements the IDisposable interface. When you have finished using the type, you should dispose of it either directly or indirectly. To dispose of the type directly, call its Dispose method in a try/catch block. To dispose of it indirectly, use a language construct such as using (in C#) or Using (in Visual Basic). For more information, see the "Using an Object that Implements IDisposable" section in the IDisposable interface topic.

For apps that target the .NET Framework 4.5.2 and earlier versions, the X509Store class does not implement the IDisposable interface and therefore does not have a Dispose method.

Constructors

X509Store()

Initializes a new instance of the X509Store class using the personal certificates store of the current user.

X509Store(IntPtr)

Initializes a new instance of the X509Store class using an Intptr handle to an HCERTSTORE store.

X509Store(StoreLocation)

Initializes a new instance of the X509Store class using the personal certificate store from the specified store location value.

X509Store(StoreName, StoreLocation, OpenFlags)

Initializes a new instance of the X509Store class using the specified store name and store location values, then opens it using the specified flags.

X509Store(StoreName, StoreLocation)

Initializes a new instance of the X509Store class using the specified StoreName and StoreLocation values.

X509Store(StoreName)

Initializes a new instance of the X509Store class using the specified store name from the current user's certificate stores.

X509Store(String, StoreLocation, OpenFlags)

Initializes a new instance of the X509Store class using the specified store name and store location values, then opens it using the specified flags.

X509Store(String, StoreLocation)

Initializes a new instance of the X509Store class using a specified store name and store location.

X509Store(String)

Initializes a new instance of the X509Store class using the specified store name.

Properties

Certificates

Returns a collection of certificates located in an X.509 certificate store.

IsOpen

Gets a value that indicates whether the instance is connected to an open certificate store.

Location

Gets the location of the X.509 certificate store.

Name

Gets the name of the X.509 certificate store.

StoreHandle

Gets an IntPtr handle to an HCERTSTORE store.

Methods

Add(X509Certificate2)

Adds a certificate to an X.509 certificate store.

AddRange(X509Certificate2Collection)

Adds a collection of certificates to an X.509 certificate store.

Close()

Closes an X.509 certificate store.

Dispose()

Releases the resources used by this X509Store.

Equals(Object)

Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object.

(Inherited from Object)
GetHashCode()

Serves as the default hash function.

(Inherited from Object)
GetType()

Gets the Type of the current instance.

(Inherited from Object)
MemberwiseClone()

Creates a shallow copy of the current Object.

(Inherited from Object)
Open(OpenFlags)

Opens an X.509 certificate store or creates a new store, depending on OpenFlags flag settings.

Remove(X509Certificate2)

Removes a certificate from an X.509 certificate store.

RemoveRange(X509Certificate2Collection)

Removes a range of certificates from an X.509 certificate store.

ToString()

Returns a string that represents the current object.

(Inherited from Object)

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1