OpenSSL PKCS12(1openssl) NNNNAAAAMMMMEEEE
pkcs12 - PKCS#12 file utility
SSSSYYYYNNNNOOOOPPPPSSSSIIIISSSSooooppppeeeennnnssssssssllll ppppkkkkccccssss11112222 [---eeexxxxppppoooorrrrtttt] [---ccchhhhaaaaiiiinnnn] [---iiinnnnkkkkeeeeyyyy ffffiiiilllleeeennnnaaaammmmeeee]
[---ccceeeerrrrttttffffiiiilllleeee ffffiiiilllleeeennnnaaaammmmeeee] [---nnnaaaammmmeeee nnnnaaaammmmeeee] [---cccaaaannnnaaaammmmeeee nnnnaaaammmmeeee] [---iiinnnn
ffffiiiilllleeeennnnaaaammmmeeee] [---ooouuuutttt ffffiiiilllleeeennnnaaaammmmeeee] [---nnnoooooooouuuutttt] [---nnnoooommmmaaaaccccvvvveeeerrrr] [---nnnoooocccceeeerrrrttttssss]
[---cccllllcccceeeerrrrttttssss] [---cccaaaacccceeeerrrrttttssss] [---nnnooookkkkeeeeyyyyssss] [---iiinnnnffffoooo] [---dddeeeessss] [---dddeeeessss3333]
[---iiiddddeeeeaaaa] [---nnnooooddddeeeessss] [---nnnooooiiiitttteeeerrrr] [---mmmaaaacccciiiitttteeeerrrr] [---tttwwwwooooppppaaaassssssss] [---dddeeeesssscccceeeerrrrtttt]
[---ccceeeerrrrttttppppbbbbeeee] [---kkkeeeeyyyyppppbbbbeeee] [---kkkeeeeyyyyeeeexxxx] [---kkkeeeeyyyyssssiiiigggg] [---pppaaaasssssssswwwwoooorrrrdddd aaaarrrrgggg]
[---pppaaaassssssssiiiinnnn aaaarrrrgggg] [---pppaaaassssssssoooouuuutttt aaaarrrrgggg] [---rrraaaannnndddd ffffiiiilllleeee((((ssss))))]
DDDDEEEESSSSCCCCRRRRIIIIPPPPTTTTIIIIOOOONNNNThe ppppkkkkccccssss11112222 command allows PKCS#12 files (sometimes referred
to as PFX files) to be created and parsed. PKCS#12 files are
used by several programs including Netscape, MSIE and MS Outlook. CCCCOOOOMMMMMMMMAAAANNNNDDDD OOOOPPPPTTTTIIIIOOOONNNNSSSS There are a lot of options the meaning of some depends ofwhether a PKCS#12 file is being created or parsed. By
default a PKCS#12 file is parsed a PKCS#12 file can be
created by using the ---eeexxxxppppoooorrrrtttt option (see below).
PPPPAAAARRRRSSSSIIIINNNNGGGG OOOOPPPPTTTTIIIIOOOONNNNSSSS-iiiinnnn ffffiiiilllleeeennnnaaaammmmeeee
This specifies filename of the PKCS#12 file to be
parsed. Standard input is used by default.-oooouuuutttt ffffiiiilllleeeennnnaaaammmmeeee
The filename to write certificates and private keys to, standard output by default. They are all written in PEM format.-ppppaaaassssssss aaaarrrrgggg, -ppppaaaassssssssiiiinnnn aaaarrrrgggg
the PKCS#12 file (i.e. input file) password source. For
more information about the format of aaaarrrrgggg see the PPPPAAAASSSSSSSS PPPPHHHHRRRRAAAASSSSEEEE AAAARRRRGGGGUUUUMMMMEEEENNNNTTTTSSSS section in openssl(1).-ppppaaaassssssssoooouuuutttt aaaarrrrgggg
pass phrase source to encrypt any outputed private keys with. For more information about the format of aaaarrrrgggg see the PPPPAAAASSSSSSSS PPPPHHHHRRRRAAAASSSSEEEE AAAARRRRGGGGUUUUMMMMEEEENNNNTTTTSSSS section in openssl(1).-nnnnoooooooouuuutttt
this option inhibits output of the keys and certificatesto the output file version of the PKCS#12 file.
-ccccllllcccceeeerrrrttttssss
only output client certificates (not CA certificates).6/Sep/2001 Last change: 0.9.8o 1 OpenSSL PKCS12(1openssl)
-ccccaaaacccceeeerrrrttttssss
only output CA certificates (not client certificates).-nnnnoooocccceeeerrrrttttssss
no certificates at all will be output.-nnnnooookkkkeeeeyyyyssss
no private keys will be output.-iiiinnnnffffoooo
output additional information about the PKCS#12 file
structure, algorithms used and iteration counts.-ddddeeeessss
use DES to encrypt private keys before outputting.-ddddeeeessss3333
use triple DES to encrypt private keys before outputting, this is the default.-iiiiddddeeeeaaaa
use IDEA to encrypt private keys before outputting.-nnnnooooddddeeeessss
don't encrypt the private keys at all.-nnnnoooommmmaaaaccccvvvveeeerrrr
don't attempt to verify the integrity MAC before reading the file.-ttttwwwwooooppppaaaassssssss
prompt for separate integrity and encryption passwords: most software always assumes these are the same so thisoption will render such PKCS#12 files unreadable.
FFFFIIIILLLLEEEE CCCCRRRREEEEAAAATTTTIIIIOOOONNNN OOOOPPPPTTTTIIIIOOOONNNNSSSS-eeeexxxxppppoooorrrrtttt
This option specifies that a PKCS#12 file will be
created rather than parsed.-oooouuuutttt ffffiiiilllleeeennnnaaaammmmeeee
This specifies filename to write the PKCS#12 file to.
Standard output is used by default.-iiiinnnn ffffiiiilllleeeennnnaaaammmmeeee
The filename to read certificates and private keys from, standard input by default. They must all be in PEM format. The order doesn't matter but one private key and its corresponding certificate should be present. If additional certificates are present they will also beincluded in the PKCS#12 file.
6/Sep/2001 Last change: 0.9.8o 2 OpenSSL PKCS12(1openssl)
-iiiinnnnkkkkeeeeyyyy ffffiiiilllleeeennnnaaaammmmeeee
file to read private key from. If not present then a private key must be present in the input file.-nnnnaaaammmmeeee ffffrrrriiiieeeennnnddddllllyyyynnnnaaaammmmeeee
This specifies the "friendly name" for the certificate and private key. This name is typically displayed in list boxes by software importing the file.-cccceeeerrrrttttffffiiiilllleeee ffffiiiilllleeeennnnaaaammmmeeee
A filename to read additional certificates from.-ccccaaaannnnaaaammmmeeee ffffrrrriiiieeeennnnddddllllyyyynnnnaaaammmmeeee
This specifies the "friendly name" for other certificates. This option may be used multiple times to specify names for all certificates in the order they appear. Netscape ignores friendly names on other certificates whereas MSIE displays them.-ppppaaaassssssss aaaarrrrgggg, -ppppaaaassssssssoooouuuutttt aaaarrrrgggg
the PKCS#12 file (i.e. output file) password source. For
more information about the format of aaaarrrrgggg see the PPPPAAAASSSSSSSS PPPPHHHHRRRRAAAASSSSEEEE AAAARRRRGGGGUUUUMMMMEEEENNNNTTTTSSSS section in openssl(1).-ppppaaaassssssssiiiinnnn ppppaaaasssssssswwwwoooorrrrdddd
pass phrase source to decrypt any input private keys with. For more information about the format of aaaarrrrgggg see the PPPPAAAASSSSSSSS PPPPHHHHRRRRAAAASSSSEEEE AAAARRRRGGGGUUUUMMMMEEEENNNNTTTTSSSS section in openssl(1).-cccchhhhaaaaiiiinnnn
if this option is present then an attempt is made to include the entire certificate chain of the user certificate. The standard CA store is used for this search. If the search fails it is considered a fatal error.-ddddeeeesssscccceeeerrrrtttt
encrypt the certificate using triple DES, this mayrender the PKCS#12 file unreadable by some "export
grade" software. By default the private key is encrypted using triple DES and the certificate using 40 bit RC2.-kkkkeeeeyyyyppppbbbbeeee aaaallllgggg, -cccceeeerrrrttttppppbbbbeeee aaaallllgggg
these options allow the algorithm used to encrypt the private key and certificates to be selected. Althoughany PKCS#5 v1.5 or PKCS#12 algorithms can be selected it
is advisable only to use PKCS#12 algorithms. See the
list in the NNNNOOOOTTTTEEEESSSS section for more information.-kkkkeeeeyyyyeeeexxxx||||-kkkkeeeeyyyyssssiiiigggg
specifies that the private key is to be used for key exchange or just signing. This option is only6/Sep/2001 Last change: 0.9.8o 3 OpenSSL PKCS12(1openssl) interpreted by MSIE and similar MS software. Normally "export grade" software will only allow 512 bit RSA keys to be used for encryption purposes but arbitrary length
keys for signing. The ---kkkeeeeyyyyssssiiiigggg option marks the key for
signing only. Signing only keys can be used for S/MIME signing, authenticode (ActiveX control signing) and SSL client authentication, however due to a bug only MSIE 5.0 and later support the use of signing only keys for SSL client authentication.
-nnnnoooommmmaaaacccciiiitttteeeerrrr, -nnnnooooiiiitttteeeerrrr
these options affect the iteration counts on the MAC and key algorithms. Unless you wish to produce files compatible with MSIE 4.0 you should leave these options alone. To discourage attacks by using large dictionaries of common passwords the algorithm that derives keys from passwords can have an iteration count applied to it: this causes a certain part of the algorithm to be repeated and slows it down. The MAC is used to check the file integrity but since it will normally have the same password as the keys and certificates it could also be attacked. By default both MAC and encryption iteration counts are set to 2048, using these options the MAC and encryption iteration counts can be set to 1, since this reduces the file security you should not use these options unless you really have to. Most software supports both MAC and key iteration counts. MSIE 4.0 doesn't support MAC iteration counts so it needs the---nnnoooommmmaaaacccciiiitttteeeerrrr option.
-mmmmaaaacccciiiitttteeeerrrr
This option is included for compatibility with previous versions, it used to be needed to use MAC iterations counts but they are now used by default.-rrrraaaannnndddd ffffiiiilllleeee((((ssss))))
a file or files containing random data used to seed the random number generator, or an EGD socket (seeRAND_egd(3)). Multiple files can be specified separated
by a OS-dependent character. The separator is ;;;; for
MS-Windows, ,,,, for OpenVMS, and :::: for all others.
NNNNOOOOTTTTEEEESSSS Although there are a large number of options most of themare very rarely used. For PKCS#12 file parsing only ---iiinnnn and
---ooouuuutttt need to be used for PKCS#12 file creation ---eeexxxxppppoooorrrrtttt and
---nnnaaaammmmeeee are also used.
If none of the ---cccllllcccceeeerrrrttttssss, ---cccaaaacccceeeerrrrttttssss or ---nnnoooocccceeeerrrrttttssss options are
present then all certificates will be output in the order6/Sep/2001 Last change: 0.9.8o 4 OpenSSL PKCS12(1openssl)
they appear in the input PKCS#12 files. There is no
guarantee that the first certificate present is the one corresponding to the private key. Certain software which requires a private key and certificate and assumes the first certificate in the file is the one corresponding to the private key: this may not always be the case. Using the---cccllllcccceeeerrrrttttssss option will solve this problem by only outputting
the certificate corresponding to the private key. If the CA certificates are required then they can be output to aseparate file using the ---nnnooookkkkeeeeyyyyssss ---cccaaaacccceeeerrrrttttssss options to just
output CA certificates.The ---kkkeeeeyyyyppppbbbbeeee and ---ccceeeerrrrttttppppbbbbeeee algorithms allow the precise
encryption algorithms for private keys and certificates to be specified. Normally the defaults are fine but occasionally software can't handle triple DES encryptedprivate keys, then the option ---kkkeeeeyyyyppppbbbbeeee PPPPBBBBEEEE---SSSHHHHAAAA1111---RRRCCCC2222----44440000 can be
used to reduce the private key encryption to 40 bit RC2. A complete description of all algorithms is contained in the ppppkkkkccccssss8888 manual page. EEEEXXXXAAAAMMMMPPPPLLLLEEEESSSSParse a PKCS#12 file and output it to a file:
openssl pkcs12 -in file.p12 -out file.pem
Output only client certificates to a file:openssl pkcs12 -in file.p12 -clcerts -out file.pem
Don't encrypt the private key:openssl pkcs12 -in file.p12 -out file.pem -nodes
Print some info about a PKCS#12 file:
openssl pkcs12 -in file.p12 -info -noout
Create a PKCS#12 file:
openssl pkcs12 -export -in file.pem -out file.p12 -name "My Certificate"
Include some extra certificates:openssl pkcs12 -export -in file.pem -out file.p12 -name "My Certificate" \
-certfile othercerts.pem
BBBBUUUUGGGGSSSSSome would argue that the PKCS#12 standard is one big bug
:-)
6/Sep/2001 Last change: 0.9.8o 5 OpenSSL PKCS12(1openssl)
Versions of OpenSSL before 0.9.6a had a bug in the PKCS#12
key generation routines. Under rare circumstances this couldproduce a PKCS#12 file encrypted with an invalid key. As a
result some PKCS#12 files which triggered this bug from
other implementations (MSIE or Netscape) could not be decrypted by OpenSSL and similarly OpenSSL could producePKCS#12 files which could not be decrypted by other
implementations. The chances of producing such a file are relatively small: less than 1 in 256. A side effect of fixing this bug is that any old invalidlyencrypted PKCS#12 files cannot no longer be parsed by the
fixed version. Under such circumstances the ppppkkkkccccssss11112222 utility will report that the MAC is OK but fail with a decryption error when extracting private keys. This problem can be resolved by extracting the private keysand certificates from the PKCS#12 file using an older
version of OpenSSL and recreating the PKCS#12 file from the
keys and certificates using a newer version of OpenSSL. For example:old-openssl -in bad.p12 -out keycerts.pem
openssl -in keycerts.pem -export -name "My PKCS#12 file" -out fixed.p12
SSSSEEEEEEEE AAAALLLLSSSSOOOO pkcs8(1)6/Sep/2001 Last change: 0.9.8o 6 OpenSSL PKCS12(1openssl)
6/Sep/2001 Last change: 0.9.8o 7