CryptographicException was unhandled: System cannot find the specified file

Question

I am trying to embrace the mysteries of SSL communication and have found a great tutorial on this site. I was trying to test my own certificate. Using Visual Studio 2012, I simply added an existing file (my certificate in .pfx format) and then changed the "certificate" and "password" settings in app.config. However, when trying to run it, I got an error:

CryptographicException was unhandled: System cannot find the specified file

Then, I tried the same in my Web Service. There I got some more details about the error:

System.Security.Cryptography.CryptographicException: System cannot find specified file.     at System.Security.Cryptography.CryptographicException.ThrowCryptogaphicException(Int32 hr)    at System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates.X509Utils._QueryCertFileType(String fileName)    at System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates.X509Certificate.LoadCertificateFromFile(String fileName, Object password, X509KeyStorageFlags keyStorageFlags)    v System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates.X509Certificate2..ctor(String fileName, String password)    v TestServer.DataService.LoadSoap() v c:\Users\Administrator\Documents\Visual Studio 2012\Projects\TestServer\TestServer\DataService.asmx.cs:line 48 

I have written this question to the author of the article, but since his last reply was in March 2012, I am not sure, whether he will reply. If somebody could help me with this problem, I would be very grateful.

P.S.: When exporting the certificate from .cer to .pfx, I have changed the title of the file exported. Although I doubt its effect on the problem, I'd rather mention it.

Answer 1

Did you set the following on the application pool in IIS?

1. Go to IIS Manager
2. Go to the application pool instance
3. Click advanced settings
4. Under Process model, set Load User Profile to true

See this stack question for further reading: What exactly happens when I set LoadUserProfile of IIS pool?

Answer 2

For those of you who received the Cryptographic Exception when attempting to import a X509Certificate2 using the Import method, I found that using the Enum option for MachineKeySet bypassed the need for creating a userContext in IIS, and thus easier to implement.

X509Certificate2 cert = new X509Certificate2(); cert.Import(certificateFilePath, certPasshrase,  X509KeyStorageFlags.PersistKeySet | X509KeyStorageFlags.MachineKeySet);