WCF Message Security Samples

This page provides ready‑to‑run samples that demonstrate how to secure WCF messages using the .NET Framework 3.5. The examples cover:

Message encryption and signing
Custom security tokens
Configuring security via app.config
Programmatic security setup

Overview

Sample Code

Download

The MessageSecuritySample project contains a simple WCF service that uses Message security with an IssuedToken. The client authenticates using a custom X.509 certificate.

Key configuration highlights:

<system.serviceModel>
  <bindings>
    <wsHttpBinding>
      <binding name="SecureBinding">
        <security mode="Message">
          <message clientCredentialType="Certificate"/>
        </security>
      </binding>
    </wsHttpBinding>
  </bindings>
  <services>
    <service name="Samples.WcfMessageSecurity.Service">
      <endpoint address="" binding="wsHttpBinding"
                bindingConfiguration="SecureBinding"
                contract="Samples.WcfMessageSecurity.IService"/>
    </service>
  </services>
</system.serviceModel>

Service Interface

namespace Samples.WcfMessageSecurity
{
    [ServiceContract]
    public interface IService
    {
        [OperationContract]
        string GetSecureData(string input);
    }
}

Service Implementation

public class Service : IService
{
    public string GetSecureData(string input)
    {
        return $"Secure response for: {input}";
    }
}

Client Call (C#)

var client = new ServiceClient("SecureBinding");
client.ClientCredentials.ClientCertificate
      .SetCertificate(
          StoreLocation.CurrentUser,
          StoreName.My,
          X509FindType.FindBySubjectName,
          "clientCert");
Console.WriteLine(client.GetSecureData("Hello"));

Download the complete sample as a ZIP archive:

Or clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/microsoft/WCF-MessageSecurity-Sample.git