How to decrypt data using the BouncyCastle Blowfish implementation?

Question

I'm consuming an external API which returns me a Blowfish encrypted JSON array. First I tried to implement Blowfish encrypt/decrypt methods using the BountyCastle package based on this post c# Bouncy Castle Blowfish Decryption - Pad block corrupted.

internal class Program
{
    private static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        string key = "KgKnVRujrgAv4XjD4bKCqdQVN5De0DCw8zpu1URnPw8="; // random
        string content = "[{'id':1},{'id':2}]";

        string encryptedContent = Encrypt(content, key);
        string decryptedContent = Decrypt(encryptedContent, key);

        /*
         
            decryptedContent returns 
        
                [{'id':1},{'id':2}]\0\0\0\0\0

            so I think this should be fine
         
         */
    }

    private static string Encrypt(string content, string encryptionKey)
    {
        byte[] contentBytes = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(content);

        return SharedCode(
            contentBytes,
            encryptionKey,
            true,
            encryptedContentBytes => BitConverter
                .ToString(encryptedContentBytes)
                .Replace("-", ""));
    }

    private static string Decrypt(string encryptedContent, string decryptionKey)
    {
        byte[] contentBytes = Hex.Decode(encryptedContent);

        return SharedCode(contentBytes, decryptionKey, false, decryptedContentBytes =>
        {
            string decryptedContentString = BitConverter
                .ToString(decryptedContentBytes)
                .Replace("-", "");

            byte[] hexBytes = new byte[decryptedContentString.Length / 2];
            
            for (int i = 0; i < hexBytes.Length; i++)
            {
                string currentHexString = decryptedContentString.Substring(i * 2, 2);
                hexBytes[i] = Convert.ToByte(currentHexString, 16);
            }

            return Encoding.UTF8.GetString(hexBytes);
        });
    }

    private static string SharedCode(byte[] contentBytes, string key, bool forceEncryption, Func<byte[], string> processor)
    {
        BlowfishEngine blowfishEngine = new BlowfishEngine();
        PaddedBufferedBlockCipher paddedBufferedBlockCipher = new PaddedBufferedBlockCipher(blowfishEngine);
        byte[] keyBytes = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(key);
        KeyParameter keyParameter = new KeyParameter(keyBytes);
        paddedBufferedBlockCipher.Init(forceEncryption, keyParameter);
        int outputLength = paddedBufferedBlockCipher.GetOutputSize(contentBytes.Length);
        byte[] outputBytes = new byte[outputLength];
        int processedBytes = paddedBufferedBlockCipher.ProcessBytes(contentBytes, 0, contentBytes.Length, outputBytes, 0);
        paddedBufferedBlockCipher.DoFinal(outputBytes, processedBytes);

        return processor(outputBytes);
    }
}

Now I want to decrypt the API response. The Api returns me the following Blowfish encrypted JSON body content

$-1$cb8ba9e30b19ff2a$d1157421764fe503d1fa9810fb9e6c3b424a1e8d014a321f5a2fb47ec6ebc8287d4d6236448d3623be42cf927fb883ca48810037c1a62bd229f937727c272c76420eb1f630bb2856c27d10c955220a1539f64e07c5708db90787ac470cad8372ea086501981c7a53ca69740c7ccfced856e234a6801efcf1f71178e75646441ba2716ea75a75ff3e6e002ba08ad18efeef95a909c9a5c68087cc63ed138a63c6788b9bbc43f3c04d2a496660f84ac98f011d3930c61ce9d5565131d2cba65db7c9bef824dd9a6594

I received a decryption key and this PHP code sample as a "documentation". The response itself contains three groups

a string for the switch statement (e.g. -1)
a hex string representing a salt
a hex string representing the content

.

<?php
function decryptData(string $data, string $key): string{
    $matches = [];
    if(!preg_match('|^\$([^$]{2,4})\$([a-f0-9]{16,64})\$|i', $data, $matches)){
        return '';
    }
    $data = (string) substr($data, strlen($matches[0]));
    switch($matches[1]){
        default:
            return '';
        case '-1':
            $data = (string) hex2bin($data);
        case '-1a':
            $algo = 'blowfish';
            return (string) openssl_decrypt($data, $algo, (string) base64_decode($key), OPENSSL_RAW_DATA, (string) hex2bin($matches[2]));
    }
}

I personally don't know what's the purpose of the salt since I don't need it for my implementation but I tried to update my code to this

internal class Program
{
    private static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        string key = "KgKnVRujrgAv4XjD4bKCqdQVN5De0DCw8zpu1URnPw8"; // this decryption key is not the correct one to use
        string apiResponse = "$-1$cb8ba9e30b19ff2a$d1157421764fe503d1fa9810fb9e6c3b424a1e8d014a321f5a2fb47ec6ebc8287d4d6236448d3623be42cf927fb883ca48810037c1a62bd229f937727c272c76420eb1f630bb2856c27d10c955220a1539f64e07c5708db90787ac470cad8372ea086501981c7a53ca69740c7ccfced856e234a6801efcf1f71178e75646441ba2716ea75a75ff3e6e002ba08ad18efeef95a909c9a5c68087cc63ed138a63c6788b9bbc43f3c04d2a496660f84ac98f011d3930c61ce9d5565131d2cba65db7c9bef824dd9a6594";

        Match matches = Regex.Match(apiResponse, @"^\$([^$]{2,4})\$([a-f0-9]{16,64})\$([a-f0-9]*)");
        Group algorithm = matches.Groups[1];
        Group salt = matches.Groups[2];
        Group content = matches.Groups[3];
        string encryptedContent = content.ToString();
        string decryptedContent = Decrypt(encryptedContent, key);
    }

    private static string Decrypt(string encryptedContent, string decryptionKey)
    {
        byte[] contentBytes = Hex.Decode(encryptedContent);
        BlowfishEngine blowfishEngine = new BlowfishEngine();
        PaddedBufferedBlockCipher paddedBufferedBlockCipher = new PaddedBufferedBlockCipher(blowfishEngine);
        byte[] keyBytes = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(decryptionKey);
        KeyParameter keyParameter = new KeyParameter(keyBytes);
        paddedBufferedBlockCipher.Init(false, keyParameter);
        int outputLength = paddedBufferedBlockCipher.GetOutputSize(contentBytes.Length);
        byte[] outputBytes = new byte[outputLength];
        int processedBytes = paddedBufferedBlockCipher.ProcessBytes(contentBytes, 0, contentBytes.Length, outputBytes, 0);
        paddedBufferedBlockCipher.DoFinal(outputBytes, processedBytes); // throws Org.BouncyCastle.Crypto.InvalidCipherTextException: 'pad block corrupted'

        string decryptedContentString = BitConverter
            .ToString(outputBytes)
            .Replace("-", "");

        byte[] hexBytes = new byte[decryptedContentString.Length / 2];

        for (int i = 0; i < hexBytes.Length; i++)
        {
            string currentHexString = decryptedContentString.Substring(i * 2, 2);
            hexBytes[i] = Convert.ToByte(currentHexString, 16);
        }

        return Encoding.UTF8.GetString(hexBytes);
    }
}

Unfortunately the code at

paddedBufferedBlockCipher.DoFinal(outputBytes, processedBytes);

throws a

Org.BouncyCastle.Crypto.InvalidCipherTextException: 'pad block corrupted'

exception. Does someone know how to decrypt this Api response?

May still be about encoding. Perhaps the content is not in UTF8. — Drag and Drop
I also tried Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(content); but get the same error then ... — Olaf Svenson
The data is hex-encoded, so hex-decode it. The $ indicate a special format, reminds me of Unix crypt format for passwords. In that case it's not encryption, it's hashing — President James K. Polk
@PresidentJamesK.Polk sorry, I don't understand. I'm already trying to decode it with Hex.Decode(content) — Olaf Svenson
ok, right. Hex.Decode() expects valid hex characters, the '$' and the '-' being invalid. But the main point is that you need to consult the documentation for the "external API" to understand this particular data format. What exactly does the "-1" algorithm mean? — President James K. Polk

Topaco Topaco · Accepted Answer · 2021-03-01T12:44:03

The PHP code first separates the three parts. The second part is the IV, which is hex decoded and thus has a size of 8 bytes. The third part is the data, which is first hex decoded because of the -1 in the first part and then decrypted using the key and IV by applying Blowfish in CBC mode with PKCS7 padding.

To check the C# implementation, test data is useful:

As 20 bytes key the following Base64 decoded key is applied:

  MDEyMzQ1Njc4OTAxMjM0NTY3ODk=

As ciphertext is used:

  $-1$cb8ba9e30b19ff2a$1cb8430f6b9c109e4334874408dbd26be36b0c9600383d63afd70669efcec38bea1290dfbe6b71519b1f48b514957845

If you use this data in the PHP code, decryptData() returns:

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

The following changes must be made in the C# code:

Consideration of the IV
Use of the CBC mode and PKCS7 paddings
Base64 decoding of the key

This results e.g. in the implementation below:

private static void Main(string[] args)
{
    //string key = "KgKnVRujrgAv4XjD4bKCqdQVN5De0DCw8zpu1URnPw8"; // this decryption key is not the correct one to use
    //string apiResponse = "$-1$cb8ba9e30b19ff2a$d1157421764fe503d1fa9810fb9e6c3b424a1e8d014a321f5a2fb47ec6ebc8287d4d6236448d3623be42cf927fb883ca48810037c1a62bd229f937727c272c76420eb1f630bb2856c27d10c955220a1539f64e07c5708db90787ac470cad8372ea086501981c7a53ca69740c7ccfced856e234a6801efcf1f71178e75646441ba2716ea75a75ff3e6e002ba08ad18efeef95a909c9a5c68087cc63ed138a63c6788b9bbc43f3c04d2a496660f84ac98f011d3930c61ce9d5565131d2cba65db7c9bef824dd9a6594";

    string key = "MDEyMzQ1Njc4OTAxMjM0NTY3ODk=";
    string apiResponse = "$-1$cb8ba9e30b19ff2a$1cb8430f6b9c109e4334874408dbd26be36b0c9600383d63afd70669efcec38bea1290dfbe6b71519b1f48b514957845";

    Match matches = Regex.Match(apiResponse, @"^\$([^$]{2,4})\$([a-f0-9]{16,64})\$([a-f0-9]*)");
    Group algorithm = matches.Groups[1];
    Group iv = matches.Groups[2];                                                               // 2nd part is the IV
    Group content = matches.Groups[3];      

    string decryptedContent = Decrypt(content.ToString(), key, iv.ToString());                  // Pass additionally the IV
    Console.WriteLine(decryptedContent);
}

private static string Decrypt(string encryptedContent, string decryptionKey, string iv)
{
    byte[] contentBytes = Hex.Decode(encryptedContent);

    byte[] keyBytes = Convert.FromBase64String(decryptionKey);                                  // Base64 decode the key
    KeyParameter keyParameter = new KeyParameter(keyBytes);
    ParametersWithIV keyParamWithIv = new ParametersWithIV(keyParameter, Hex.Decode(iv));       // Consider the IV

    BlowfishEngine blowfishEngine = new BlowfishEngine(); 
    PaddedBufferedBlockCipher paddedBufferedBlockCipher = new PaddedBufferedBlockCipher(new CbcBlockCipher(blowfishEngine), new Pkcs7Padding()); // Consider CBC mode and PKCS7 padding
    paddedBufferedBlockCipher.Init(false, keyParamWithIv);
    int outputLength = paddedBufferedBlockCipher.GetOutputSize(contentBytes.Length);
    byte[] outputBytes = new byte[outputLength];
    int processedBytes = paddedBufferedBlockCipher.ProcessBytes(contentBytes, 0, contentBytes.Length, outputBytes, 0);
    processedBytes += paddedBufferedBlockCipher.DoFinal(outputBytes, processedBytes); 
    
    return Encoding.UTF8.GetString(outputBytes, 0, processedBytes); // The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
}

If this code is executed, the test plaintext results. Therefore, with this code your ciphertext should be decryptable using your key.

How to decrypt data using the BouncyCastle Blowfish implementation?

1 Answers