This version is still in development and is not considered stable yet. For the latest stable version, please use Spring Data MongoDB 4.4.5!

Encryption

Client Side Encryption is a feature that encrypts data in your application before it is sent to MongoDB. We recommend you get familiar with the concepts, ideally from the MongoDB Documentation to learn more about its capabilities and restrictions before you continue applying Encryption through Spring Data.

Make sure to set the drivers com.mongodb.AutoEncryptionSettings to use client-side encryption. MongoDB does not support encryption for all field types. Specific data types require deterministic encryption to preserve equality comparison functionality.

Client Side Field Level Encryption (CSFLE)

Choosing CSFLE gives you full flexibility and allows you to use different keys for a single field, eg. in a one key per tenant scenario.
Please make sure to consult the MongoDB CSFLE Documentation before you continue reading.

Automatic Encryption (CSFLE)

MongoDB supports Client-Side Field Level Encryption out of the box using the MongoDB driver with its Automatic Encryption feature. Automatic Encryption requires a JSON Schema that allows to perform encrypted read and write operations without the need to provide an explicit en-/decryption step.

Please refer to the JSON Schema section for more information on defining a JSON Schema that holds encryption information.

To make use of a the MongoJsonSchema it needs to be combined with AutoEncryptionSettings which can be done eg. via a MongoClientSettingsBuilderCustomizer.

@Bean
MongoClientSettingsBuilderCustomizer customizer(MappingContext mappingContext) {
    return (builder) -> {

        // ... keyVaultCollection, kmsProvider, ...

        MongoJsonSchemaCreator schemaCreator = MongoJsonSchemaCreator.create(mappingContext);
        MongoJsonSchema patientSchema = schemaCreator
            .filter(MongoJsonSchemaCreator.encryptedOnly())
            .createSchemaFor(Patient.class);

        AutoEncryptionSettings autoEncryptionSettings = AutoEncryptionSettings.builder()
            .keyVaultNamespace(keyVaultCollection)
            .kmsProviders(kmsProviders)
            .extraOptions(extraOpts)
            .schemaMap(Collections.singletonMap("db.patient", patientSchema.schemaDocument().toBsonDocument()))
            .build();

        builder.autoEncryptionSettings(autoEncryptionSettings);
    };
}

Explicit Encryption (CSFLE)

Explicit encryption uses the MongoDB driver’s encryption library (org.mongodb:mongodb-crypt) to perform encryption and decryption tasks. The @ExplicitEncrypted annotation is a combination of the @Encrypted annotation used for JSON Schema creation and a Property Converter. In other words, @ExplicitEncrypted uses existing building blocks to combine them for simplified explicit encryption support.

Fields annotated with @ExplicitEncrypted are always encrypted as whole. Consider the following example:

@ExplicitEncrypted(…)
String simpleValue;        (1)

@ExplicitEncrypted(…)
Address address;           (2)

@ExplicitEncrypted(…)
List<...> list;            (3)

@ExplicitEncrypted(…)
Map<..., ...> mapOfString; (4)
1 Encrypts the value of the simple type such as a String if not null.
2 Encrypts the entire Address object and all its nested fields as Document. To only encrypt parts of the Address, like Address#street the street field within Address needs to be annotated with @ExplicitEncrypted.
3 Collection-like fields are encrypted as single value and not per entry.
4 Map-like fields are encrypted as single value and not as a key/value entry.

Client-Side Field Level Encryption allows you to choose between a deterministic and a randomized algorithm. Depending on the chosen algorithm, different operations may be supported. To pick a certain algorithm use @ExplicitEncrypted(algorithm), see EncryptionAlgorithms for algorithm constants. Please read the Encryption Types manual for more information on algorithms and their usage.

To perform the actual encryption we require a Data Encryption Key (DEK). Please refer to the MongoDB Documentation for more information on how to set up key management and create a Data Encryption Key. The DEK can be referenced directly via its id or a defined alternative name. The @EncryptedField annotation only allows referencing a DEK via an alternative name. It is possible to provide an EncryptionKeyResolver, which will be discussed later, to any DEK.

Example 1. Reference the Data Encryption Key
@EncryptedField(algorithm=…, altKeyName = "secret-key") (1)
String ssn;
@EncryptedField(algorithm=…, altKeyName = "/name")      (2)
String ssn;
1 Use the DEK stored with the alternative name secret-key.
2 Uses a field reference that will read the actual field value and use that for key lookup. Always requires the full document to be present for save operations. Fields cannot be used in queries/aggregations.

By default, the @ExplicitEncrypted(value=…) attribute references a MongoEncryptionConverter. It is possible to change the default implementation and exchange it with any PropertyValueConverter implementation by providing the according type reference. To learn more about custom PropertyValueConverters and the required configuration, please refer to the Property Converters - Mapping specific fields section.

Queryable Encryption (QE)

Choosing QE enables you to run different types of queries, like range or equality, against encrypted fields.
Please make sure to consult the MongoDB QE Documentation before you continue reading to learn more about QE features and limitations.

Collection Setup

Queryable Encryption requires upfront declaration of certain aspects allowed within an actual query against an encrypted field. The information covers the algorithm in use as well as allowed query types along with their attributes and must be provided when creating the collection.

MongoOperations#createCollection(…​) can be used to do the initial setup for collections utilizing QE. The configuration for QE via Spring Data uses the same building blocks (a JSON Schema creation) as CSFLE, converting the schema/properties into the configuration format required by MongoDB.

  • Manual Collection Setup

  • Derived Collection Setup

  • MongoDB Collection Info

CollectionOptions collectionOptions = CollectionOptions.encryptedCollection(options -> options
	.queryable(encrypted(string("ssn")).algorithm("Indexed"), equality().contention(0))
	.queryable(encrypted(int32("age")).algorithm("Range"), range().contention(8).min(0).max(150))
	.queryable(encrypted(int64("address.sign")).algorithm("Range"), range().contention(2).min(-10L).max(10L))
);

mongoTemplate.createCollection(Patient.class, collectionOptions); (1)
1 Using the template to create the collection may prevent capturing generated keyIds. In this case render the Document from the options and use the createEncryptedCollection(…​) method via the encryption library. 
class Patient {

    @Id String id;

    @Encrypted(algorithm = "Indexed") //
    @Queryable(queryType = "equality", contentionFactor = 0)
    String ssn;

    @RangeEncrypted(contentionFactor = 8, rangeOptions = "{ 'min' : 0, 'max' : 150 }")
    Integer age;

    Address address;
}

MongoJsonSchema patientSchema = MongoJsonSchemaCreator.create(mappingContext)
    .filter(MongoJsonSchemaCreator.encryptedOnly())
    .createSchemaFor(Patient.class);

CollectionOptions collectionOptions = CollectionOptions.encryptedCollection(patientSchema);

mongoTemplate.createCollection(Patient.class, collectionOptions); (1)
1 Using the template to create the collection may prevent capturing generated keyIds. In this case render the Document from the options and use the createEncryptedCollection(…​) method via the encryption library.

The Queryable annotation allows to define allowed query types for encrypted fields. @RangeEncrypted is a combination of @Encrypted and @Queryable for fields allowing range queries. It is possible to create custom annotations out of the provided ones.

{
    name: 'patient',
    type: 'collection',
    options: {
      encryptedFields: {
        escCollection: 'enxcol_.test.esc',
        ecocCollection: 'enxcol_.test.ecoc',
        fields: [
          {
            keyId: ...,
            path: 'ssn',
            bsonType: 'string',
            queries: [ { queryType: 'equality', contention: Long('0') } ]
          },
          {
            keyId: ...,
            path: 'age',
            bsonType: 'int',
            queries: [ { queryType: 'range', contention: Long('8'), min: 0, max: 150 } ]
          },
          {
            keyId: ...,
            path: 'address.sign',
            bsonType: 'long',
            queries: [ { queryType: 'range', contention: Long('2'), min: Long('-10'), max: Long('10') } ]
          }
        ]
      }
    }
}

  • It is not possible to use both QE and CSFLE within the same collection.

  • It is not possible to query a range indexed field with an equality operator.

  • It is not possible to query an equality indexed field with a range operator.

  • It is not possible to set bypassAutoEncrytion(true).

  • It is not possible to use self maintained encryption keys via @Encrypted in combination with Queryable Encryption.

  • Contention is only optional on the server side, the clients requires you to set the value (Default us 8).

  • Additional options for eg. min and max need to match the actual field type. Make sure to use $numberLong etc. to ensure target types when parsing bson String.

  • Queryable Encryption will an extra field safeContent to each of your documents. Unless explicitly excluded the field will be loaded into memory when retrieving results.

Automatic Encryption (QE)

MongoDB supports Queryable Encryption out of the box using the MongoDB driver with its Automatic Encryption feature. Automatic Encryption requires a JSON Schema that allows to perform encrypted read and write operations without the need to provide an explicit en-/decryption step.

All you need to do is create the collection according to the MongoDB documentation. You may utilize techniques to create the required configuration outlined in the section above.

Explicit Encryption (QE)

Explicit encryption uses the MongoDB driver’s encryption library (org.mongodb:mongodb-crypt) to perform encryption and decryption tasks based on the meta information provided by annotation within the domain model.

There is no official support for using Explicit Queryable Encryption. The audacious user may combine @Encrypted and @Queryable with @ValueConverter(MongoEncryptionConverter.class) at their own risk.

MongoEncryptionConverter Setup

The converter setup for MongoEncryptionConverter requires a few steps as several components are involved. The bean setup consists of the following:

  1. The ClientEncryption engine

  2. A MongoEncryptionConverter instance configured with ClientEncryption and a EncryptionKeyResolver.

  3. A PropertyValueConverterFactory that uses the registered MongoEncryptionConverter bean.

The EncryptionKeyResolver uses an EncryptionContext providing access to the property allowing for dynamic DEK resolution.

Example 2. Sample MongoEncryptionConverter Configuration
class Config extends AbstractMongoClientConfiguration {

    @Autowired ApplicationContext appContext;

    @Bean
    ClientEncryption clientEncryption() {                                                            (1)
        ClientEncryptionSettings encryptionSettings = ClientEncryptionSettings.builder();
        // …

        return ClientEncryptions.create(encryptionSettings);
    }

    @Bean
    MongoEncryptionConverter encryptingConverter(ClientEncryption clientEncryption) {

        Encryption<BsonValue, BsonBinary> encryption = MongoClientEncryption.just(clientEncryption);
        EncryptionKeyResolver keyResolver = EncryptionKeyResolver.annotated((ctx) -> …);             (2)

        return new MongoEncryptionConverter(encryption, keyResolver);                                (3)
    }

    @Override
    protected void configureConverters(MongoConverterConfigurationAdapter adapter) {

        adapter
            .registerPropertyValueConverterFactory(PropertyValueConverterFactory.beanFactoryAware(appContext)); (4)
    }
}
1 Set up a Encryption engine using com.mongodb.client.vault.ClientEncryption. The instance is stateful and must be closed after usage. Spring takes care of this because ClientEncryption is Closeable.
2 Set up an annotation-based EncryptionKeyResolver to determine the EncryptionKey from annotations.
3 Create the MongoEncryptionConverter.
4 Enable for a PropertyValueConverter lookup from the BeanFactory.