XML Digital Signatures

With XML ValidatorBuddy it is easy and convenient to sign and verify XML documents with digital signatures. Use also the toolbar on the main window to issue all of the commands neccessary to sign and verify your XML documents. You can also put certificates on the XML Digital Signatures toolbar to select them quickly if you need some of them frequently to sign XML documents or to verify an existing signature.

The XML Digital Signatures toolbar with a user-defined button to select the sample "DSA xml-tools.com" certificate:

 

How to sign an XML document

1. Select XML document(s)

Select one or more XML files which should be signed with a digital signature from the File Explorer window of XML ValidatorBuddy. All of the selcted files will be signed using the same certificate. Any selected folder is skipped during the signing operation.

2. Use the sign command

Use the "Sign XML with Digital Signature" command either from the toolbar or from the XML menu to sign the selected files. This command is only enabled if one or more files are selected in the File Explorer. A dialog will be displayed to set additional options for the signing operation.

 

To sign one or more files you need to specify a certificate which holds the private key for the signing operation. If there is no certificate selected on the XML Digital Signatures toolbar the fields on the dialog for the currently active certificate will be empty. Use the "Select..." button to select a certificate in this case.

As the dialog shows the DSIG implementation of XML ValidatorBuddy offers all of the important methods and types of XML digital signatures.

  • Enveloped or enveloping signature elements.
  • Support for exclusive canonicalization.
  • A KeyInfo element can be added to the signature to hold the public key. This way no certificate needs to be selected to verify the signature later on.

3. Saving signed files

After a document has been signed it needs to be saved. You can tell XML ValidatorBuddy to automatically append an arbitrary string to the end of the current name of the file, or you can choose to display a standard file dialog for each signed file to set the name and destination of the new document.

The controls to select how to save the signed files are on the bottom of the dialog.

 

Verification of digital signatures

You can use XML ValidatorBuddy to verify the digital signatures of one or multiple files at once. The implementation also supports multiple signatures in one file and shows a detailed report about the verification results for each file separately:

 

1. Select XML document(s)

Select one or more XML files which should be verified from the File Explorer window of XML ValidatorBuddy. Any selected folder is skipped during the verify operation.

2. Use the verify command

Use the "Verify XML Digital Signature" command either from the toolbar or from the XML menu to verify the digital signatures of the selected files. This command is only enabled if one or more files are selected in the File Explorer.

The public key to verify the signature of an XML document is either taken from the certificate selected on the toolbar or, if the signature of the XML document contains a KeyInfo element, directly from the file. Any selected certificate has priority over the public key from the KeyInfo element.

 

Working with certificates

Certificates are used to hold the private and public keys to sign and verify XML documents with digital signatures.

  • Certificates holding RSA, DSA and HMAC keys can be used.
  • MD5 and SHA hash algorithms are supported.

To put a certificate on the XML Digital Signatures toolbar in XML ValidatorBuddy open the "Certificates" page on the Options dialog. Use the "New" button to add a new line to the list of certificates. You can assign a title by clicking the line of the certificate on the list. The title will be displayed on the toolbar to identify the certificate.

 

To select a certificate use the "Assign Certificate..." button. Set the "Show on toolbar" check to show the certificate as a button on the XML Digital Signatures toolbar.

 

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