Verifying JWT signed with the RS256 algorithm using public key in C#

Here is an example using IdentityModel.Tokens.Jwt for validation:

string tokenStr = "eyJraWQiOiIxZTlnZGs3IiwiYWxnIjoiUlMyNTYifQ.ewogImlzcyI6ICJodHRwOi8vc2VydmVyLmV4YW1wbGUuY29tIiwKICJzdWIiOiAiMjQ4Mjg5NzYxMDAxIiwKICJhdWQiOiAiczZCaGRSa3F0MyIsCiAibm9uY2UiOiAibi0wUzZfV3pBMk1qIiwKICJleHAiOiAxMzExMjgxOTcwLAogImlhdCI6IDEzMTEyODA5NzAsCiAiY19oYXNoIjogIkxEa3RLZG9RYWszUGswY25YeENsdEEiCn0.XW6uhdrkBgcGx6zVIrCiROpWURs-4goO1sKA4m9jhJIImiGg5muPUcNegx6sSv43c5DSn37sxCRrDZZm4ZPBKKgtYASMcE20SDgvYJdJS0cyuFw7Ijp_7WnIjcrl6B5cmoM6ylCvsLMwkoQAxVublMwH10oAxjzD6NEFsu9nipkszWhsPePf_rM4eMpkmCbTzume-fzZIi5VjdWGGEmzTg32h3jiex-r5WTHbj-u5HL7u_KP3rmbdYNzlzd1xWRYTUs4E8nOTgzAUwvwXkIQhOh5TPcSMBYy6X3E7-_gr9Ue6n4ND7hTFhtjYs3cjNKIA08qm5cpVYFMFMG6PkhzLQ";

RSACryptoServiceProvider rsa = new RSACryptoServiceProvider();
rsa.ImportParameters(
  new RSAParameters()
  {
      Modulus = FromBase64Url("w7Zdfmece8iaB0kiTY8pCtiBtzbptJmP28nSWwtdjRu0f2GFpajvWE4VhfJAjEsOcwYzay7XGN0b-X84BfC8hmCTOj2b2eHT7NsZegFPKRUQzJ9wW8ipn_aDJWMGDuB1XyqT1E7DYqjUCEOD1b4FLpy_xPn6oV_TYOfQ9fZdbE5HGxJUzekuGcOKqOQ8M7wfYHhHHLxGpQVgL0apWuP2gDDOdTtpuld4D2LK1MZK99s9gaSjRHE8JDb1Z4IGhEcEyzkxswVdPndUWzfvWBBWXWxtSUvQGBRkuy1BHOa4sP6FKjWEeeF7gm7UMs2Nm2QUgNZw6xvEDGaLk4KASdIxRQ"),
      Exponent = FromBase64Url("AQAB")
  });

var validationParameters = new TokenValidationParameters
                {
                    RequireExpirationTime = true,
                    RequireSignedTokens = true,
                    ValidateAudience = false,
                    ValidateIssuer = false,
                    ValidateLifetime = false,
                    IssuerSigningKey = new RsaSecurityKey(rsa)
                };

SecurityToken validatedSecurityToken = null;
var handler = new JwtSecurityTokenHandler();
handler.ValidateToken(tokenStr, validationParameters, out validatedSecurityToken);
JwtSecurityToken validatedJwt = validatedSecurityToken as JwtSecurityToken;

For anyone that is looking for a quick method to validate RS256 with a public key that has "-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----"/"-----END PUBLIC KEY------"

Here are two methods with the help of BouncyCastle.

    public bool ValidateJasonWebToken(string fullKey, string jwtToken)
    {
        try
        {
            var rs256Token = fullKey.Replace("-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----", "");
            rs256Token = rs256Token.Replace("-----END PUBLIC KEY-----", "");
            rs256Token = rs256Token.Replace("\n", "");

            Validate(jwtToken, rs256Token);
            return true;
        }
        catch (Exception e)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(e);
            return false;
        }
    }

    private void Validate(string token, string key)
    {
        var keyBytes = Convert.FromBase64String(key); // your key here

        AsymmetricKeyParameter asymmetricKeyParameter = PublicKeyFactory.CreateKey(keyBytes);
        RsaKeyParameters rsaKeyParameters = (RsaKeyParameters)asymmetricKeyParameter;
        RSAParameters rsaParameters = new RSAParameters
        {
            Modulus = rsaKeyParameters.Modulus.ToByteArrayUnsigned(),
            Exponent = rsaKeyParameters.Exponent.ToByteArrayUnsigned()
        };
        using (RSACryptoServiceProvider rsa = new RSACryptoServiceProvider())
        {
            rsa.ImportParameters(rsaParameters);
            var validationParameters = new TokenValidationParameters()
            {
                RequireExpirationTime = false,
                RequireSignedTokens = true,
                ValidateAudience = false,
                ValidateIssuer = false,
                IssuerSigningKey = new RsaSecurityKey(rsa)
            };
            var handler = new JwtSecurityTokenHandler();
            var result = handler.ValidateToken(token, validationParameters, out var validatedToken);
        }
    }

This is a combination of http://codingstill.com/2016/01/verify-jwt-token-signed-with-rs256-using-the-public-key/ and @olaf answer that uses system.IdentityModel.Tokens.Jwt

NET Core

To use this in a .NET core web api (.NET Framework see below) in a AddJwtBearer() auth flow I enhanced NvMat's great answer:

Very important is to not use the RSACryptoServiceProvider in an using statement.

    private TokenValidationParameters GetTokenValidationParameters(string key)
    {
        var rs256Token = key.Value.Replace("-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----", "");
        rs256Token = rs256Token.Replace("-----END PUBLIC KEY-----", "");
        rs256Token = rs256Token.Replace("\n", "");

        var keyBytes = Convert.FromBase64String(rs256Token);

        var asymmetricKeyParameter = PublicKeyFactory.CreateKey(keyBytes);
        var rsaKeyParameters = (RsaKeyParameters)asymmetricKeyParameter;
        var rsaParameters = new RSAParameters
        {
            Modulus = rsaKeyParameters.Modulus.ToByteArrayUnsigned(),
            Exponent = rsaKeyParameters.Exponent.ToByteArrayUnsigned()
        };
        var rsa = new RSACryptoServiceProvider();

        rsa.ImportParameters(rsaParameters);

        var validationParameters = new TokenValidationParameters()
        {
            RequireExpirationTime = false,
            RequireSignedTokens = true,
            ValidateAudience = false,
            ValidateIssuer = false,
            IssuerSigningKey = new RsaSecurityKey(rsa),
        };

        return validationParameters;
    }

Then you are able to use authentication in the startup like this:

services.AddAuthentication(x =>
{
    x.DefaultAuthenticateScheme = JwtBearerDefaults.AuthenticationScheme;
    x.DefaultChallengeScheme = JwtBearerDefaults.AuthenticationScheme;
})
.AddJwtBearer(options =>
{
    options.RequireHttpsMetadata = false;
    options.SaveToken = true;
    options.IncludeErrorDetails = true;
    options.TokenValidationParameters = GetTokenValidationParameters(configuration["Key"]);
    options.Audience = configuration["ClientId"];
});

NET Framework

It is also possible to use this approach in a .NET Framework web api project. All you have to do is add this line to your startup Configure() method:

app.UseJwtBearerAuthentication(new JwtBearerAuthenticationOptions()
{
     TokenValidationParameters = GetTokenValidationParameters(ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["Key"])
});

One important thing: Make sure you use a verion >=5.0.0 of the JwtSecurityTokenHandler I had problems with the 4.X.X versions.

You can do this very easily with Jwt.Net. This function will decode and verify the signature of a JWT and return the payload as a dictionary of claims:

private IDictionary<string, object> Decode(string token, string modulus, string exponent)
{
    var urlEncoder = new JwtBase64UrlEncoder();

    var rsaKey = RSA.Create();
    rsaKey.ImportParameters(new RSAParameters() {
        Modulus = urlEncoder.Decode(modulus),
        Exponent = urlEncoder.Decode(exponent)
    });

    var claims = new JwtBuilder()
        .WithAlgorithm(new RS256Algorithm(rsaKey))
        .MustVerifySignature()
        .Decode<IDictionary<string, object>>(token);

    return claims;
}

Sample use:

string jwt = "eyJraWQiOiIxZTlnZGs3IiwiYWxnIjoiUlMyNTYifQ.ewogImlzcyI6ICJodHRwOi8vc2VydmVyLmV4YW1wbGUuY29tIiwKICJzdWIiOiAiMjQ4Mjg5NzYxMDAxIiwKICJhdWQiOiAiczZCaGRSa3F0MyIsCiAibm9uY2UiOiAibi0wUzZfV3pBMk1qIiwKICJleHAiOiAxMzExMjgxOTcwLAogImlhdCI6IDEzMTEyODA5NzAsCiAiY19oYXNoIjogIkxEa3RLZG9RYWszUGswY25YeENsdEEiCn0.XW6uhdrkBgcGx6zVIrCiROpWURs-4goO1sKA4m9jhJIImiGg5muPUcNegx6sSv43c5DSn37sxCRrDZZm4ZPBKKgtYASMcE20SDgvYJdJS0cyuFw7Ijp_7WnIjcrl6B5cmoM6ylCvsLMwkoQAxVublMwH10oAxjzD6NEFsu9nipkszWhsPePf_rM4eMpkmCbTzume-fzZIi5VjdWGGEmzTg32h3jiex-r5WTHbj-u5HL7u_KP3rmbdYNzlzd1xWRYTUs4E8nOTgzAUwvwXkIQhOh5TPcSMBYy6X3E7-_gr9Ue6n4ND7hTFhtjYs3cjNKIA08qm5cpVYFMFMG6PkhzLQ";
string modulus = "w7Zdfmece8iaB0kiTY8pCtiBtzbptJmP28nSWwtdjRu0f2GFpajvWE4VhfJAjEsOcwYzay7XGN0b-X84BfC8hmCTOj2b2eHT7NsZegFPKRUQzJ9wW8ipn_aDJWMGDuB1XyqT1E7DYqjUCEOD1b4FLpy_xPn6oV_TYOfQ9fZdbE5HGxJUzekuGcOKqOQ8M7wfYHhHHLxGpQVgL0apWuP2gDDOdTtpuld4D2LK1MZK99s9gaSjRHE8JDb1Z4IGhEcEyzkxswVdPndUWzfvWBBWXWxtSUvQGBRkuy1BHOa4sP6FKjWEeeF7gm7UMs2Nm2QUgNZw6xvEDGaLk4KASdIxRQ";
string exponent = "AQAB";

try
{
    IDictionary<string, object> claims = Decode(jwt, modulus, exponent);
}
catch (SignatureVerificationException)
{
    // signature invalid, handle it here
}

.NET JWT Signature Verification using System.Security.Cryptography - No 3rd Party DLLs

var errorMessage = string.Empty;

// Google RSA well known Public Key data is available at https://accounts.google.com/.well-known/openid-configuration by navigating to the path described in the "jwks_uri" parameter.
// {
//     e: "AQAB",        // RSA Exponent
//     n: "ya_7gV....",  // RSA Modulus aka Well Known Public Key
//     alg: "RS256"      // RSA Algorithm
// }

var verified = VerifyJWT_RS256_Signature(
    jwt: "oicjwt....", 
    publicKey: "ya_7gV....", 
    exponent: "AQAB",
    errorMessage: out errorMessage);

if (!verified)
{
    // TODO: log error: 
    // TODO: Do something
}

NOTE: The following method verifies OpenID Connect JWT Signatures signed with Asymetric RS256 keys. OpenID Connect providers may opt to use other versions of Asymetric keys or even Symetric keys like HS256. This method does not directly support other key types.

public static bool VerifyJWT_RS256_Signature(string jwt, string publicKey, string exponent, out string errorMessage)
{
    if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(jwt))
    {
        errorMessage = "Error verifying JWT token signature: Javascript Web Token was null or empty.";
        return false;
    }

    var jwtArray = jwt.Split('.');
    if (jwtArray.Length != 3 && jwtArray.Length != 5)
    {
        errorMessage = "Error verifying JWT token signature: Javascript Web Token did not match expected format. Parts count was " + jwtArray.Length + " when it should have been 3 or 5.";
        return false;
    }

    if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(publicKey))
    {
        errorMessage = "Error verifying JWT token signature: Well known RSA Public Key modulus was null or empty.";
        return false;
    }

    if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(exponent))
    {
        errorMessage = "Error verifying JWT token signature: Well known RSA Public Key exponent was null or empty.";
        return false;
    }

    try
    {
        string publicKeyFixed = (publicKey.Length % 4 == 0 ? publicKey : publicKey + "====".Substring(publicKey.Length % 4)).Replace("_", "/").Replace("-", "+");
        var publicKeyBytes = Convert.FromBase64String(publicKeyFixed);

        var jwtSignatureFixed = (jwtArray[2].Length % 4 == 0 ? jwtArray[2] : jwtArray[2] + "====".Substring(jwtArray[2].Length % 4)).Replace("_", "/").Replace("-", "+");
        var jwtSignatureBytes = Convert.FromBase64String(jwtSignatureFixed);

        RSACryptoServiceProvider rsa = new RSACryptoServiceProvider();
        rsa.ImportParameters(
            new RSAParameters()
            {
                Modulus = publicKeyBytes,
                Exponent = Convert.FromBase64String(exponent)
            }
        );

        SHA256 sha256 = SHA256.Create();
        byte[] hash = sha256.ComputeHash(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(jwtArray[0] + '.' + jwtArray[1]));

        RSAPKCS1SignatureDeformatter rsaDeformatter = new RSAPKCS1SignatureDeformatter(rsa);
        rsaDeformatter.SetHashAlgorithm("SHA256");
        if (!rsaDeformatter.VerifySignature(hash, jwtSignatureBytes))
        {
            errorMessage = "Error verifying JWT token signature: hash did not match expected value.";
            return false;
        }
    }
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
        errorMessage = "Error verifying JWT token signature: " + ex.Message;
        return false;
        //throw ex;
    }

    errorMessage = string.Empty;
    return true;
}

NOTE: Verifying the signature of an OpenID Connect JWT (Javascript Web Token) is only one necessary step of the JWT verification process. Make sure to set a NONCE value which your system can use to prevent Replay attacks. Make sure to validate each parameter of the JWT package for completeness and accuracy.

Try to use JwtUtils nuget package It has pretty simple API:

string publicKey = "@MIIJKgIBAAKCAgEA9GF97STxVGbXpBFmudS/RRT58mfiR/+t2zb4f/uF3qmYb
yuJy2v8xOMbHvMkoKLPLc590zGV88HNvzJHkF5N5HWTB9ZZEWcehf6RcTA==";

if (JWT.RS256.ValidateSignature("{YOUR_JWT_TOKEN}", publicKey))
{
   // Token signature valid
}

If you have multiple public keys like from Google Cloud or Firebase, you can use Microsoft.IdentityModel.JsonWebTokens to validate them all:

1. (Optionally) download and convert them into SecurityKeys, you should cache them on a server (note that if you use MemoryCache, you need to Dispose them manually when evicted). In the code below, my server needs to validate tokens from both Google Sign-in and Firebase so I merge them together. If you only need public keys from one place, the code would be much simpler.

var http = httpFac.CreateClient();

var certs = await Task.WhenAll(JwtCertUrls.Select(async url =>
{
    var jwks = await http
        .GetFromJsonAsync<Dictionary<string, string>>(url);
    ArgumentNullException.ThrowIfNull(jwks);

    return jwks.Select(cert =>
    {
        var x509Data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(cert.Value);
        var x509Cert = new X509Certificate2(x509Data);

        return new X509SecurityKey(
            x509Cert,
            cert.Key);
    });                    
}));

return certs
    .SelectMany(q => q);

2. Put them in and validate:

    public async Task<JsonWebToken> ValidateTokenAsync(string token, IEnumerable<SecurityKey> securityKeys)
    {
        var parameters = new TokenValidationParameters()
        {
            IssuerSigningKeys = securityKeys,
        };

        var handler = new JsonWebTokenHandler();

        var result = await handler.ValidateTokenAsync(token, parameters);
        if (result.IsValid)
        {
            return result.SecurityToken as JsonWebToken
                ?? throw new InvalidDataException();
        }
        else
        {
            throw new UnauthorizedAccessException();
        }
    }