NSS tools : pk12util

Name

   pk12util — Export and import keys and certificate to or from a PKCS #12
   file and the NSS database

Synopsis

   pk12util [-i p12File [-h tokenname] [-v] [common-options] ] [ -l p12File
   [-h tokenname] [-r] [common-options] ] [ -o p12File -n certname [-c
   keyCipher] [-C certCipher] [-m|--key_len keyLen] [-n|--cert_key_len
   certKeyLen] [common-options] ] [ common-options are: [-d [sql:]directory]
   [-P dbprefix] [-k slotPasswordFile|-K slotPassword] [-w
   p12filePasswordFile|-W p12filePassword] ]

Description

   The PKCS #12 utility, pk12util, enables sharing certificates among any
   server that supports PKCS#12. The tool can import certificates and keys
   from PKCS#12 files into security databases, export certificates, and list
   certificates and keys.

Options and Arguments

   Options

   -i p12file

           Import keys and certificates from a PKCS#12 file into a security
           database.

   -l p12file

           List the keys and certificates in PKCS#12 file.

   -o p12file

           Export keys and certificates from the security database to a
           PKCS#12 file.

   Arguments

   -n certname

           Specify the nickname of the cert and private key to export.

   -d [sql:]directory

           Specify the database directory into which to import to or export
           from certificates and keys.

           pk12util supports two types of databases: the legacy security
           databases (cert8.db, key3.db, and secmod.db) and new SQLite
           databases (cert9.db, key4.db, and pkcs11.txt). If the prefix sql:
           is not used, then the tool assumes that the given databases are in
           the old format.

   -P prefix

           Specify the prefix used on the certificate and key databases. This
           option is provided as a special case. Changing the names of the
           certificate and key databases is not recommended.

   -h tokenname

           Specify the name of the token to import into or export from.

   -v

           Enable debug logging when importing.

   -k slotPasswordFile

           Specify the text file containing the slot's password.

   -K slotPassword

           Specify the slot's password.

   -w p12filePasswordFile

           Specify the text file containing the pkcs #12 file password.

   -W p12filePassword

           Specify the pkcs #12 file password.

   -c keyCipher

           Specify the key encryption algorithm.

   -C certCipher

           Specify the key cert (overall package) encryption algorithm.

   -m | --key-len keyLength

           Specify the desired length of the symmetric key to be used to
           encrypt the private key.

   -n | --cert-key-len certKeyLength

           Specify the desired length of the symmetric key to be used to
           encrypt the certificates and other meta-data.

   -r

           Dumps all of the data in raw (binary) form. This must be saved as
           a DER file. The default is to return information in a pretty-print
           ASCII format, which displays the information about the
           certificates and public keys in the p12 file.

Return Codes

     o 0 - No error

     o 1 - User Cancelled

     o 2 - Usage error

     o 6 - NLS init error

     o 8 - Certificate DB open error

     o 9 - Key DB open error

     o 10 - File initialization error

     o 11 - Unicode conversion error

     o 12 - Temporary file creation error

     o 13 - PKCS11 get slot error

     o 14 - PKCS12 decoder start error

     o 15 - error read from import file

     o 16 - pkcs12 decode error

     o 17 - pkcs12 decoder verify error

     o 18 - pkcs12 decoder validate bags error

     o 19 - pkcs12 decoder import bags error

     o 20 - key db conversion version 3 to version 2 error

     o 21 - cert db conversion version 7 to version 5 error

     o 22 - cert and key dbs patch error

     o 23 - get default cert db error

     o 24 - find cert by nickname error

     o 25 - create export context error

     o 26 - PKCS12 add password itegrity error

     o 27 - cert and key Safes creation error

     o 28 - PKCS12 add cert and key error

     o 29 - PKCS12 encode error

Examples

   Importing Keys and Certificates

   The most basic usage of pk12util for importing a certificate or key is the
   PKCS#12 input file (-i) and some way to specify the security database
   being accessed (either -d for a directory or -h for a token).

 pk12util -i p12File [-h tokenname] [-v] [-d [sql:]directory] [-P dbprefix] [-k slotPasswordFile|-K slotPassword] [-w p12filePasswordFile|-W p12filePassword]

   For example:

 # pk12util -i /tmp/cert-files/users.p12 -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb

 Enter a password which will be used to encrypt your keys.
 The password should be at least 8 characters long,
 and should contain at least one non-alphabetic character.

 Enter new password:
 Re-enter password:
 Enter password for PKCS12 file:
 pk12util: PKCS12 IMPORT SUCCESSFUL

   Exporting Keys and Certificates

   Using the pk12util command to export certificates and keys requires both
   the name of the certificate to extract from the database (-n) and the
   PKCS#12-formatted output file to write to. There are optional parameters
   that can be used to encrypt the file to protect the certificate material.

 pk12util -o p12File -n certname [-c keyCipher] [-C certCipher] [-m|--key_len keyLen] [-n|--cert_key_len certKeyLen] [-d [sql:]directory] [-P dbprefix] [-k slotPasswordFile|-K slotPassword] [-w p12filePasswordFile|-W p12filePassword]

   For example:

 # pk12util -o certs.p12 -n Server-Cert -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb
 Enter password for PKCS12 file:
 Re-enter password:

   Listing Keys and Certificates

   The information in a .p12 file are not human-readable. The certificates
   and keys in the file can be printed (listed) in a human-readable
   pretty-print format that shows information for every certificate and any
   public keys in the .p12 file.

 pk12util -l p12File [-h tokenname] [-r] [-d [sql:]directory] [-P dbprefix] [-k slotPasswordFile|-K slotPassword] [-w p12filePasswordFile|-W p12filePassword]

   For example, this prints the default ASCII output:

 # pk12util -l certs.p12

 Enter password for PKCS12 file:
 Key(shrouded):
     Friendly Name: Thawte Freemail Member's Thawte Consulting (Pty) Ltd. ID

     Encryption algorithm: PKCS #12 V2 PBE With SHA-1 And 3KEY Triple DES-CBC
         Parameters:
             Salt:
                 45:2e:6a:a0:03:4d:7b:a1:63:3c:15:ea:67:37:62:1f
             Iteration Count: 1 (0x1)
 Certificate:
     Data:
         Version: 3 (0x2)
         Serial Number: 13 (0xd)
         Signature Algorithm: PKCS #1 SHA-1 With RSA Encryption
         Issuer: "E=personal-freemail@thawte.com,CN=Thawte Personal Freemail C
             A,OU=Certification Services Division,O=Thawte Consulting,L=Cape T
             own,ST=Western Cape,C=ZA"
 ....

   Alternatively, the -r prints the certificates and then exports them into
   separate DER binary files. This allows the certificates to be fed to
   another application that supports .p12 files. Each certificate is written
   to a sequentially-number file, beginning with file0001.der and continuing
   through file000N.der, incrementing the number for every certificate:

 # pk12util -l test.p12 -r
 Enter password for PKCS12 file:
 Key(shrouded):
     Friendly Name: Thawte Freemail Member's Thawte Consulting (Pty) Ltd. ID

     Encryption algorithm: PKCS #12 V2 PBE With SHA-1 And 3KEY Triple DES-CBC
         Parameters:
             Salt:
                 45:2e:6a:a0:03:4d:7b:a1:63:3c:15:ea:67:37:62:1f
             Iteration Count: 1 (0x1)
 Certificate    Friendly Name: Thawte Personal Freemail Issuing CA - Thawte Consulting

 Certificate    Friendly Name: Thawte Freemail Member's Thawte Consulting (Pty) Ltd. ID

Password Encryption

   PKCS#12 provides for not only the protection of the private keys but also
   the certificate and meta-data associated with the keys. Password-based
   encryption is used to protect private keys on export to a PKCS#12 file
   and, optionally, the entire package. If no algorithm is specified, the
   tool defaults to using PKCS12 V2 PBE with SHA1 and 3KEY Triple DES-cbc for
   private key encryption. PKCS12 V2 PBE with SHA1 and 40 Bit RC4 is the
   default for the overall package encryption when not in FIPS mode. When in
   FIPS mode, there is no package encryption.

   The private key is always protected with strong encryption by default.

   Several types of ciphers are supported.

   Symmetric CBC ciphers for PKCS#5 V2

           DES_CBC

              o RC2-CBC

              o RC5-CBCPad

              o DES-EDE3-CBC (the default for key encryption)

              o AES-128-CBC

              o AES-192-CBC

              o AES-256-CBC

              o CAMELLIA-128-CBC

              o CAMELLIA-192-CBC

              o CAMELLIA-256-CBC

   PKCS#12 PBE ciphers

           PKCS #12 PBE with Sha1 and 128 Bit RC4

              o PKCS #12 PBE with Sha1 and 40 Bit RC4

              o PKCS #12 PBE with Sha1 and Triple DES CBC

              o PKCS #12 PBE with Sha1 and 128 Bit RC2 CBC

              o PKCS #12 PBE with Sha1 and 40 Bit RC2 CBC

              o PKCS12 V2 PBE with SHA1 and 128 Bit RC4

              o PKCS12 V2 PBE with SHA1 and 40 Bit RC4 (the default for
                non-FIPS mode)

              o PKCS12 V2 PBE with SHA1 and 3KEY Triple DES-cbc

              o PKCS12 V2 PBE with SHA1 and 2KEY Triple DES-cbc

              o PKCS12 V2 PBE with SHA1 and 128 Bit RC2 CBC

              o PKCS12 V2 PBE with SHA1 and 40 Bit RC2 CBC

   PKCS#5 PBE ciphers

           PKCS #5 Password Based Encryption with MD2 and DES CBC

              o PKCS #5 Password Based Encryption with MD5 and DES CBC

              o PKCS #5 Password Based Encryption with SHA1 and DES CBC

   With PKCS#12, the crypto provider may be the soft token module or an
   external hardware module. If the cryptographic module does not support the
   requested algorithm, then the next best fit will be selected (usually the
   default). If no suitable replacement for the desired algorithm can be
   found, the tool returns the error no security module can perform the
   requested operation.

NSS Database Types

   NSS originally used BerkeleyDB databases to store security information.
   The last versions of these legacy databases are:

     o cert8.db for certificates

     o key3.db for keys

     o secmod.db for PKCS #11 module information

   BerkeleyDB has performance limitations, though, which prevent it from
   being easily used by multiple applications simultaneously. NSS has some
   flexibility that allows applications to use their own, independent
   database engine while keeping a shared database and working around the
   access issues. Still, NSS requires more flexibility to provide a truly
   shared security database.

   In 2009, NSS introduced a new set of databases that are SQLite databases
   rather than BerkleyDB. These new databases provide more accessibility and
   performance:

     o cert9.db for certificates

     o key4.db for keys

     o pkcs11.txt, which is listing of all of the PKCS #11 modules contained
       in a new subdirectory in the security databases directory

   Because the SQLite databases are designed to be shared, these are the
   shared database type. The shared database type is preferred; the legacy
   format is included for backward compatibility.

   By default, the tools (certutil, pk12util, modutil) assume that the given
   security databases follow the more common legacy type. Using the SQLite
   databases must be manually specified by using the sql: prefix with the
   given security directory. For example:

 # pk12util -i /tmp/cert-files/users.p12 -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb

   To set the shared database type as the default type for the tools, set the
   NSS_DEFAULT_DB_TYPE environment variable to sql:

 export NSS_DEFAULT_DB_TYPE="sql"

   This line can be set added to the ~/.bashrc file to make the change
   permanent.

   Most applications do not use the shared database by default, but they can
   be configured to use them. For example, this how-to article covers how to
   configure Firefox and Thunderbird to use the new shared NSS databases:

     o https://wiki.mozilla.org/NSS_Shared_DB_Howto

   For an engineering draft on the changes in the shared NSS databases, see
   the NSS project wiki:

     o https://wiki.mozilla.org/NSS_Shared_DB

See Also

   certutil (1)

   modutil (1)

   The NSS wiki has information on the new database design and how to
   configure applications to use it.

     o https://wiki.mozilla.org/NSS_Shared_DB_Howto

     o https://wiki.mozilla.org/NSS_Shared_DB

Additional Resources

   For information about NSS and other tools related to NSS (like JSS), check
   out the NSS project wiki at
   [1]http://www.mozilla.org/projects/security/pki/nss/. The NSS site relates
   directly to NSS code changes and releases.

   Mailing lists: https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-tech-crypto

   IRC: Freenode at #dogtag-pki

Authors

   The NSS tools were written and maintained by developers with Netscape, Red
   Hat, and Sun.

   Authors: Elio Maldonado <emaldona@redhat.com>, Deon Lackey
   <dlackey@redhat.com>.

Copyright

   (c) 2010, Red Hat, Inc. Licensed under the GNU Public License version 2.

References

   Visible links
   1. http://www.mozilla.org/projects/security/pki/nss/

Document Tags and Contributors

 Contributors to this page: fscholz, emaldona@redhat.com
 Last updated by: fscholz,