CA1060: Move P/Invokes to NativeMethods class

Property	Value
Rule ID	CA1060
Title	Move P/Invokes to NativeMethods class
Category	Design
Fix is breaking or non-breaking	Breaking
Enabled by default in .NET 8	No

Cause

A method uses Platform Invocation Services to access unmanaged code and is not a member of one of the NativeMethods classes.

Rule description

Platform Invocation methods, such as those that are marked by using the System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImportAttribute attribute, or methods that are defined by using the Declare keyword in Visual Basic, access unmanaged code. These methods should be in one of the following classes:

• NativeMethods - This class does not suppress stack walks for unmanaged code permission. (System.Security.SuppressUnmanagedCodeSecurityAttribute must not be applied to this class.) This class is for methods that can be used anywhere because a stack walk will be performed.

• SafeNativeMethods - This class suppresses stack walks for unmanaged code permission. (System.Security.SuppressUnmanagedCodeSecurityAttribute is applied to this class.) This class is for methods that are safe for anyone to call. Callers of these methods are not required to perform a full security review to make sure that the usage is secure because the methods are harmless for any caller.

• UnsafeNativeMethods - This class suppresses stack walks for unmanaged code permission. (System.Security.SuppressUnmanagedCodeSecurityAttribute is applied to this class.) This class is for methods that are potentially dangerous. Any caller of these methods must perform a full security review to make sure that the usage is secure because no stack walk will be performed.

These classes are declared as internal (Friend in Visual Basic) and declare a private constructor to prevent new instances from being created. The methods in these classes should be static and internal (Shared and Friend in Visual Basic).

How to fix violations

To fix a violation of this rule, move the method to the appropriate NativeMethods class. For most applications, moving P/Invokes to a new class that is named NativeMethods is enough.

However, if you are developing libraries for use in other applications, you should consider defining two other classes that are called SafeNativeMethods and UnsafeNativeMethods. These classes resemble the NativeMethods class; however, they are marked by using a special attribute called SuppressUnmanagedCodeSecurityAttribute. When this attribute is applied, the runtime does not perform a full stack walk to make sure that all callers have the UnmanagedCode permission. The runtime ordinarily checks for this permission at startup. Because the check is not performed, it can greatly improve performance for calls to these unmanaged methods. It also enables code that has limited permissions to call these methods.

However, you should use this attribute with great care. It can have serious security implications if it is implemented incorrectly.

For information about how to implement the methods, see the NativeMethods example, SafeNativeMethods example, and UnsafeNativeMethods example.

When to suppress warnings

Do not suppress a warning from this rule.

Example

The following example declares a method that violates this rule. To correct the violation, the RemoveDirectory P/Invoke should be moved to an appropriate class that is designed to hold only P/Invokes.

' Violates rule: MovePInvokesToNativeMethodsClass.
Friend Class UnmanagedApi
    Friend Declare Function RemoveDirectory Lib "kernel32" (
   ByVal Name As String) As Boolean
End Class

// Violates rule: MovePInvokesToNativeMethodsClass.
internal class UnmanagedApi
{
    [DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]
    internal static extern bool RemoveDirectory(string name);
}

NativeMethods example

Because the NativeMethods class should not be marked by using SuppressUnmanagedCodeSecurityAttribute, P/Invokes that are put in it will require UnmanagedCode permission. Because most applications run from the local computer and run together with full trust, this is usually not a problem. However, if you are developing reusable libraries, you should consider defining a SafeNativeMethods or UnsafeNativeMethods class.

The following example shows an Interaction.Beep method that wraps the MessageBeep function from user32.dll. The MessageBeep P/Invoke is put in the NativeMethods class.

Public NotInheritable Class Interaction

    Private Sub New()
    End Sub

    ' Callers require Unmanaged permission        
    Public Shared Sub Beep()
        ' No need to demand a permission as callers of Interaction.Beep                     
        ' will require UnmanagedCode permission                     
        If Not NativeMethods.MessageBeep(-1) Then
            Throw New Win32Exception()
        End If

    End Sub

End Class

Friend NotInheritable Class NativeMethods

    Private Sub New()
    End Sub

    <DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet:=CharSet.Auto)>
    Friend Shared Function MessageBeep(ByVal uType As Integer) As <MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)> Boolean
    End Function

End Class

public static class Interaction
{
    // Callers require Unmanaged permission        
    public static void Beep()
    {
        // No need to demand a permission as callers of Interaction.Beep            
        // will require UnmanagedCode permission            
        if (!NativeMethods.MessageBeep(-1))
            throw new Win32Exception();
    }
}

internal static class NativeMethods
{
    [DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
    [return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
    internal static extern bool MessageBeep(int uType);
}

SafeNativeMethods example

P/Invoke methods that can be safely exposed to any application and that do not have any side effects should be put in a class that is named SafeNativeMethods. You do not have to pay much attention to where they are called from.

The following example shows an Environment.TickCount property that wraps the GetTickCount function from kernel32.dll.

Public NotInheritable Class Environment

    Private Sub New()
    End Sub

    ' Callers do not require Unmanaged permission       
    Public Shared ReadOnly Property TickCount() As Integer
        Get
            ' No need to demand a permission in place of               
            ' UnmanagedCode as GetTickCount is considered               
            ' a safe method               
            Return SafeNativeMethods.GetTickCount()
        End Get
    End Property

End Class

<SuppressUnmanagedCodeSecurityAttribute()>
Friend NotInheritable Class SafeNativeMethods

    Private Sub New()
    End Sub

    <DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet:=CharSet.Auto, ExactSpelling:=True)>
    Friend Shared Function GetTickCount() As Integer
    End Function

End Class

public static class Environment
{
    // Callers do not require UnmanagedCode permission       
    public static int TickCount
    {
        get
        {
            // No need to demand a permission in place of               
            // UnmanagedCode as GetTickCount is considered              
            // a safe method              
            return SafeNativeMethods.GetTickCount();
        }
    }
}

[SuppressUnmanagedCodeSecurityAttribute]
internal static class SafeNativeMethods
{
    [DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, ExactSpelling = true)]
    internal static extern int GetTickCount();
}

UnsafeNativeMethods example

P/Invoke methods that cannot be safely called and that could cause side effects should be put in a class that is named UnsafeNativeMethods. These methods should be rigorously checked to make sure that they are not exposed to the user unintentionally.

The following example shows a Cursor.Hide method that wraps the ShowCursor function from user32.dll.

Public NotInheritable Class Cursor

    Private Sub New()
    End Sub

    Public Shared Sub Hide()
        UnsafeNativeMethods.ShowCursor(False)
    End Sub

End Class

<SuppressUnmanagedCodeSecurityAttribute()>
Friend NotInheritable Class UnsafeNativeMethods

    Private Sub New()
    End Sub

    <DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet:=CharSet.Auto, ExactSpelling:=True)>
    Friend Shared Function ShowCursor(<MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)> ByVal bShow As Boolean) As Integer
    End Function

End Class

public static class Cursor
{
    public static void Hide()
    {
        UnsafeNativeMethods.ShowCursor(false);
    }
}

[SuppressUnmanagedCodeSecurityAttribute]
internal static class UnsafeNativeMethods
{
    [DllImport("user32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, ExactSpelling = true)]
    internal static extern int ShowCursor([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)] bool bShow);
}

See also

• Design rules