12. Import/Export

Scenarios: 4
FFI Functions: ~30
Status: ⏳ Planned

This category encompasses all scenarios for importing and exporting certificates and keys. PEM, PFX/PKCS#12, PKCS#7 and interoperability with other systems.

Scenarios

ID Scenario Description Complexity Status
12.1 PEM Export/Import Base64-encoded certificates ⭐⭐ ⏳
12.2 PFX/PKCS#12 Certificate + Private Key Bundle ⭐⭐⭐ ⏳
12.3 PKCS#7 Chain Export certificate chain ⭐⭐ ⏳
12.4 Interoperability OpenSSL, Windows, Java ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⏳

Formats

flowchart TB subgraph CERT["📜 Certificates"] PEM_C[".crt.pem
Base64 + Header"] DER_C[".crt.der
Binary DER"] end subgraph KEY["🔑 Keys"] PEM_K[".key.pem
PKCS#8 Base64"] DER_K[".key.der
PKCS#8 Binary"] ENC_K[".key.enc.pem
Encrypted PKCS#8"] end subgraph BUNDLE["📦 Bundles"] PFX[".pfx / .p12
Cert + Key"] P7B[".p7b
Cert Chain"] end PEM_C <--> DER_C PEM_K <--> DER_K PEM_K <--> ENC_K PEM_C --> PFX PEM_K --> PFX PEM_C --> P7B style PFX fill:#e8f5e9 style P7B fill:#e3f2fd

Format Overview

Format Extension Contains Encrypted Usage
PEM .pem, .crt, .key Single objects Optional Linux, OpenSSL
DER .der, .cer Single objects No Binary protocols
PFX/PKCS#12 .pfx, .p12 Cert + Key + Chain Yes Windows, Java
PKCS#7 .p7b, .p7c Certificate chain No Chain distribution
JKS .jks Java KeyStore Yes Java applications

Interoperability

From/To OpenSSL Windows Java .NET
OpenSSL - PFX PKCS#7 → JKS PEM
Windows PFX → PEM - PFX PFX
Java JKS → PEM JKS → PFX - PFX
.NET PEM PFX PFX -

Quick Start Code

PEM Export

// Certificate as PEM
string certPem = certificate.ToPem();
File.WriteAllText("server.crt.pem", certPem);
 
// Private Key encrypted as PEM
string keyPem = privateKey.ToEncryptedPem(
    password: securePassword,
    algorithm: EncryptionAlgorithm.Aes256Gcm
);
File.WriteAllText("server.key.pem", keyPem);

PFX/PKCS#12 Export

// Create PFX with certificate, key and chain
byte[] pfxData = ctx.ExportToPfx(
    certificate: serverCert,
    privateKey: serverKey,
    chain: new[] { intermediateCert, rootCert },
    password: pfxPassword,
    friendlyName: "Server Certificate"
);
 
File.WriteAllBytes("server.pfx", pfxData);

PFX Import

// Load PFX
var (cert, key, chain) = ctx.ImportFromPfx(
    pfxPath: "server.pfx",
    password: pfxPassword
);
 
Console.WriteLine($"Certificate: {cert.Subject}");
Console.WriteLine($"Chain length: {chain.Length}");

PKCS#7 Chain Export

// Certificate chain as P7B
byte[] p7bData = ctx.ExportChainToPkcs7(
    certificates: new[] { serverCert, intermediateCert, rootCert }
);
 
File.WriteAllBytes("chain.p7b", p7bData);

OpenSSL Commands

PEM → PFX

openssl pkcs12 -export \
  -in server.crt.pem \
  -inkey server.key.pem \
  -certfile chain.pem \
  -out server.pfx \
  -name "Server Certificate"

PFX → PEM

# Extract certificate
openssl pkcs12 -in server.pfx -clcerts -nokeys -out server.crt.pem
 
# Extract private key
openssl pkcs12 -in server.pfx -nocerts -out server.key.pem
 
# Extract chain
openssl pkcs12 -in server.pfx -cacerts -nokeys -out chain.pem

DER → PEM

openssl x509 -in cert.der -inform DER -out cert.pem -outform PEM
Category Relationship
11. Key Management Export keys
4. Certificate Management Backup/Restore
10. TLS/mTLS Deploy certificates

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Wolfgang van der Stille @ EMSR DATA d.o.o. - Post-Quantum Cryptography Professional

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