iOS certificate pinning with Swift and NSURLSession

Question

Howto add certificate pinning to a NSURLSession in Swift?

The OWASP website contains only an example for Objective-C and NSURLConnection.

Unhandsome

Answer 1

Swift 3+ Update:

Just define a delegate class for NSURLSessionDelegate and implement the didReceiveChallenge function (this code is adapted from the objective-c OWASP example):

class NSURLSessionPinningDelegate: NSObject, URLSessionDelegate {

    func urlSession(_ session: URLSession, didReceive challenge: URLAuthenticationChallenge, completionHandler: @escaping (URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition, URLCredential?) -> Swift.Void) {

        // Adapted from OWASP https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Certificate_and_Public_Key_Pinning#iOS

        if (challenge.protectionSpace.authenticationMethod == NSURLAuthenticationMethodServerTrust) {
            if let serverTrust = challenge.protectionSpace.serverTrust {
                let isServerTrusted = SecTrustEvaluateWithError(serverTrust, nil)

                if(isServerTrusted) {
                    if let serverCertificate = SecTrustGetCertificateAtIndex(serverTrust, 0) {
                        let serverCertificateData = SecCertificateCopyData(serverCertificate)
                        let data = CFDataGetBytePtr(serverCertificateData);
                        let size = CFDataGetLength(serverCertificateData);
                        let cert1 = NSData(bytes: data, length: size)
                        let file_der = Bundle.main.path(forResource: "certificateFile", ofType: "der")

                        if let file = file_der {
                            if let cert2 = NSData(contentsOfFile: file) {
                                if cert1.isEqual(to: cert2 as Data) {
                                    completionHandler(URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition.useCredential, URLCredential(trust:serverTrust))
                                    return
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        // Pinning failed
        completionHandler(URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition.cancelAuthenticationChallenge, nil)
    }

}

(you can find a Gist for Swift 2 here - from the initial answer)

Then create the .der file for your website using openssl

openssl s_client -connect my-https-website.com:443 -showcerts < /dev/null | openssl x509 -outform DER > my-https-website.der

and add it to the xcode project. Double check that it's present in the Build phases tab, inside the Copy Bundle Resources list. Otherwise drag and drop it inside this list.

Finally use it in your code to make URL requests:

if let url = NSURL(string: "https://my-https-website.com") {

    let session = URLSession(
            configuration: URLSessionConfiguration.ephemeral,
            delegate: NSURLSessionPinningDelegate(),
            delegateQueue: nil)


    let task = session.dataTask(with: url as URL, completionHandler: { (data, response, error) -> Void in
        if error != nil {
            print("error: \(error!.localizedDescription): \(error!)")
        } else if data != nil {
            if let str = NSString(data: data!, encoding: String.Encoding.utf8.rawValue) {
                print("Received data:\n\(str)")
            } else {
                print("Unable to convert data to text")
            }
        }
    })

    task.resume()
} else {
    print("Unable to create NSURL")
}

Unhandsome

Just a note, the repeat {...} while(false) has not purpose here. In the OWASP Obj-C code it functions to break out of the code in case of failure but as you structured the if statements differently it has no purpose anymore. – Blanchblancha

Thank you @MarcoMiltenburg. I've updated my answer (and my code). – Unhandsome

@Unhandsome note that to save the certificate as a asset is really dangerous. Is really simple to steal the certificate and than the attacker can just use it. – Shizukoshizuoka

@Shizukoshizuoka this is the public certificate, not the private. Yes, a rooted phone could expose app files to an attacker but this is an obvious problem. – Unhandsome

openssl s_client -connect myurl:443 -showcerts < /dev/null | openssl x509 -outform DER > my.url.cer ................Is this command right – Cristionna

@Unhandsome I tried code in your answer and it is giving me error 999 : error: cancelled: Error Domain=NSURLErrorDomain Code=-999 "cancelled" UserInfo={NSErrorFailingURLStringKey=apple.com, NSLocalizedDescription=cancelled, NSErrorFailingURLKey=apple.com} – Menace

this example only available for iOS 12+ – Bhutan

Answer 2

Thanks to the example found in this site: https://www.bugsee.com/blog/ssl-certificate-pinning-in-mobile-applications/ I built a version that pins the public key and not the entire certificate (more convenient if you renew your certificate periodically).

Update: Removed the forced unwrapping and replaced SecTrustEvaluate.

import Foundation
import CommonCrypto

class SessionDelegate : NSObject, URLSessionDelegate {

private static let rsa2048Asn1Header:[UInt8] = [
    0x30, 0x82, 0x01, 0x22, 0x30, 0x0d, 0x06, 0x09, 0x2a, 0x86, 0x48, 0x86,
    0xf7, 0x0d, 0x01, 0x01, 0x01, 0x05, 0x00, 0x03, 0x82, 0x01, 0x0f, 0x00
];

private static let google_com_pubkey = ["4xVxzbEegwDBoyoGoJlKcwGM7hyquoFg4l+9um5oPOI="];
private static let google_com_full = ["KjLxfxajzmBH0fTH1/oujb6R5fqBiLxl0zrl2xyFT2E="];

func urlSession(_ session: URLSession,
                didReceive challenge: URLAuthenticationChallenge,
                completionHandler: @escaping (URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition, URLCredential?) -> Void) {

    guard let serverTrust = challenge.protectionSpace.serverTrust else {
        completionHandler(.cancelAuthenticationChallenge, nil);
        return;
    }

    // Set SSL policies for domain name check
    let policies = NSMutableArray();
    policies.add(SecPolicyCreateSSL(true, (challenge.protectionSpace.host as CFString)));
    SecTrustSetPolicies(serverTrust, policies);

    var isServerTrusted = SecTrustEvaluateWithError(serverTrust, nil);

    if(isServerTrusted && challenge.protectionSpace.host == "www.google.com") {
        let certificate = SecTrustGetCertificateAtIndex(serverTrust, 0);
        //Compare public key
        if #available(iOS 10.0, *) {
            let policy = SecPolicyCreateBasicX509();
            let cfCertificates = [certificate] as CFArray;

            var trust: SecTrust?
            SecTrustCreateWithCertificates(cfCertificates, policy, &trust);

            guard trust != nil, let pubKey = SecTrustCopyPublicKey(trust!) else {
                completionHandler(.cancelAuthenticationChallenge, nil);
                return;
            }

            var error:Unmanaged<CFError>?
            if let pubKeyData = SecKeyCopyExternalRepresentation(pubKey, &error) {
                var keyWithHeader = Data(bytes: SessionDelegate.rsa2048Asn1Header);
                keyWithHeader.append(pubKeyData as Data);
                let sha256Key = sha256(keyWithHeader);
                if(!SessionDelegate.google_com_pubkey.contains(sha256Key)) {
                    isServerTrusted = false;
                }
            } else {
                isServerTrusted = false;
            }
        } else { //Compare full certificate
            let remoteCertificateData = SecCertificateCopyData(certificate!) as Data;
            let sha256Data = sha256(remoteCertificateData);
            if(!SessionDelegate.google_com_full.contains(sha256Data)) {
                isServerTrusted = false;
            }
        }
    }

    if(isServerTrusted) {
        let credential = URLCredential(trust: serverTrust);
        completionHandler(.useCredential, credential);
    } else {
        completionHandler(.cancelAuthenticationChallenge, nil);
    }

}

func sha256(_ data : Data) -> String {
    var hash = [UInt8](repeating: 0,  count: Int(CC_SHA256_DIGEST_LENGTH))
    data.withUnsafeBytes {
        _ = CC_SHA256($0, CC_LONG(data.count), &hash)
    }
    return Data(bytes: hash).base64EncodedString();
}

}

Alteration

Thanks for this useful answer just completed Xamarin.iOS implementation of the same. rsa2048Asn1Header was really helpful. – Inattentive

How i will get private static let google_com_pubkey = ["4xVxzbEegwDBoyoGoJlKcwGM7hyquoFg4l+9um5oPOI="]; private static let google_com_full = ["KjLxfxajzmBH0fTH1/oujb6R5fqBiLxl0zrl2xyFT2E="];key in my side – Angele

@GamiNilesh: It's explained at the link above (the example I mention). – Alteration

SecTrustEvaluate has been deprecated since iOS 7, and this code is really poorly written, it's rife with force unwrapping. – Defrost

@Defrost you're right, I'll try to update the example. I usually don't use force unwrapping. – Alteration

Answer 3

Here's an updated version for Swift 3

import Foundation
import Security

class NSURLSessionPinningDelegate: NSObject, URLSessionDelegate {

    func urlSession(_ session: URLSession, didReceive challenge: URLAuthenticationChallenge, completionHandler: @escaping (URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition, URLCredential?) -> Swift.Void) {

        // Adapted from OWASP https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Certificate_and_Public_Key_Pinning#iOS

        if (challenge.protectionSpace.authenticationMethod == NSURLAuthenticationMethodServerTrust) {
            if let serverTrust = challenge.protectionSpace.serverTrust {
                var secresult = SecTrustResultType.invalid
                let status = SecTrustEvaluate(serverTrust, &secresult)

                if(errSecSuccess == status) {
                    if let serverCertificate = SecTrustGetCertificateAtIndex(serverTrust, 0) {
                        let serverCertificateData = SecCertificateCopyData(serverCertificate)
                        let data = CFDataGetBytePtr(serverCertificateData);
                        let size = CFDataGetLength(serverCertificateData);
                        let cert1 = NSData(bytes: data, length: size)
                        let file_der = Bundle.main.path(forResource: "name-of-cert-file", ofType: "cer")

                        if let file = file_der {
                            if let cert2 = NSData(contentsOfFile: file) {
                                if cert1.isEqual(to: cert2 as Data) {
                                    completionHandler(URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition.useCredential, URLCredential(trust:serverTrust))
                                    return
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        // Pinning failed
        completionHandler(URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition.cancelAuthenticationChallenge, nil)
    }

}

Shoebill

Answer 4

Save the certificate (as .cer file) of your website in the main bundle. Then use this URLSessionDelegate method:

func urlSession(_ session: URLSession, didReceive challenge: URLAuthenticationChallenge, completionHandler: @escaping (URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition, URLCredential?) -> Void) {

    guard
        challenge.protectionSpace.authenticationMethod == NSURLAuthenticationMethodServerTrust,
        let serverTrust = challenge.protectionSpace.serverTrust,
        SecTrustEvaluate(serverTrust, nil) == errSecSuccess,
        let serverCert = SecTrustGetCertificateAtIndex(serverTrust, 0) else {

            reject(with: completionHandler)
            return
    }

    let serverCertData = SecCertificateCopyData(serverCert) as Data

    guard
        let localCertPath = Bundle.main.path(forResource: "shop.rewe.de", ofType: "cer"),
        let localCertData = NSData(contentsOfFile: localCertPath) as Data?,

        localCertData == serverCertData else {

            reject(with: completionHandler)
            return
    }

    accept(with: serverTrust, completionHandler)

}

...

func reject(with completionHandler: ((URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition, URLCredential?) -> Void)) {
    completionHandler(.cancelAuthenticationChallenge, nil)
}

func accept(with serverTrust: SecTrust, _ completionHandler: ((URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition, URLCredential?) -> Void)) {
    completionHandler(.useCredential, URLCredential(trust: serverTrust))
}

Ulloa

Answer 5

Just a heads up, SecTrustEvaluate is deprecated and should be replaced with SecTrustEvaluateWithError.

So this:

var secresult = SecTrustResultType.invalid
let status = SecTrustEvaluate(serverTrust, &secresult)

if errSecSuccess == status {
   // Proceed with evaluation
   switch result {
   case .unspecified, .proceed:    return true
   default:                        return false
   }
}

The reason i wrote the // Proceed with evaluation section is because you should validate the secresult as well as this could imply that the certificate is actually invalid. You have the option to override this and add any raised issues as exceptions, preferably after prompting the user for a decision.

Should be this:

if SecTrustEvaluateWithError(server, nil) {
   // Certificate is valid, proceed.
}

The second param will capture any error, but if you are not interested in the specifics, you can just pass nil.

Bula

Answer 6

This question is quite old, and all the answers are probably still correct. But for everybody stumbling on this after 2021, there is now an official no-code solution described by Apple in a short blog article.

It is based on the App Transport Security concept that enforces encrypted network connection on all apps on macOS and iOS. You can now simply add a list of server URLs and their (CA) certificate hashes to your Info.plist to pin them. If the certificate of your endpoint does not match the hash, URLSession will return a certificate error that you can handle like any other network error.

In your Info.plist you add it like this (sample code from Apple):

<key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key>
<dict>
    <key>NSPinnedDomains</key>
    <dict>
        <key>example.org</key>
        <dict>
            <key>NSIncludesSubdomains</key>
            <true/>
            <key>NSPinnedCAIdentities</key>
            <array>
                <dict>
                    <key>SPKI-SHA256-BASE64</key>
                    <string>r/mIkG3eEpVdm+u/ko/cwxzOMo1bk4TyHIlByibiA5E=</string>
                </dict>
            </array>
        </dict>
    </dict>
</dict>

To get the SHA256 Base 64 hash value, download the server's public certificate (usually you can easily do that with your browser) and run the following OpenSSL commands on it:

$ cat ca.pem | openssl x509 -inform pem -noout -outform pem -pubkey | openssl pkey -pubin -inform pem -outform der | openssl dgst -sha256 -binary | openssl enc -base64

Rusch

Answer 7

The openssl command in @lifeisfoo's answer will give an error in OS X for certain SSL certificates that use newer ciphers like ECDSA.

If you're getting the following error when you run the openssl command in @lifeisfoo's answer:

    write:errno=54
    unable to load certificate
    1769:error:0906D06C:PEM routines:PEM_read_bio:no start
    line:/BuildRoot/Library/Caches/com.apple.xbs/Sources/OpenSSL098/OpenSSL09        
    8-59.60.1/src/crypto/pem/pem_lib.c:648:Expecting: TRUSTED CERTIFICATE

You're website's SSL certificate probably is using an algorithm that isn't supported in OS X's default openssl version (v0.9.X, which does NOT support ECDSA, among others).

Here's the fix:

To get the proper .der file, you'll have to first brew install openssl, and then replace the openssl command from @lifeisfoo's answer with:

/usr/local/Cellar/openssl/1.0.2h_1/bin/openssl [rest of the above command]

Homebrew install command:

/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

hope that helps.

Sassy

Also, if you're having trouble with session-management related errors, might want to look at changing: configuration: NSURLSessionConfiguration.ephemeralSessionConfiguration(), to configuration: NSURLSessionConfiguration.defaultSessionConfiguration() – Sassy

Answer 8

You can try this.

import Foundation
import Security

class NSURLSessionPinningDelegate: NSObject, URLSessionDelegate {

      let certFileName = "name-of-cert-file"
      let certFileType = "cer"

      func urlSession(_ session: URLSession, 
                  didReceive challenge: URLAuthenticationChallenge, 
                  completionHandler: @escaping (URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition, URLCredential?) -> Swift.Void) {

    if (challenge.protectionSpace.authenticationMethod == NSURLAuthenticationMethodServerTrust) {
        if let serverTrust = challenge.protectionSpace.serverTrust {
            var secresult = SecTrustResultType.invalid
            let status = SecTrustEvaluate(serverTrust, &secresult)

            if(errSecSuccess == status) {
                if let serverCertificate = SecTrustGetCertificateAtIndex(serverTrust, 0) {
                    let serverCertificateData = SecCertificateCopyData(serverCertificate)
                    let data = CFDataGetBytePtr(serverCertificateData);
                    let size = CFDataGetLength(serverCertificateData);
                    let certificateOne = NSData(bytes: data, length: size)
                    let filePath = Bundle.main.path(forResource: self.certFileName, 
                                                         ofType: self.certFileType)

                    if let file = filePath {
                        if let certificateTwo = NSData(contentsOfFile: file) {
                            if certificateOne.isEqual(to: certificateTwo as Data) {
                                completionHandler(URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition.useCredential, 
                                                  URLCredential(trust:serverTrust))
                                return
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }

    // Pinning failed
    completionHandler(URLSession.AuthChallengeDisposition.cancelAuthenticationChallenge, nil)
}
}

Source: https://www.steveclarkapps.com/using-certificate-pinning-xcode/

Stepsister