Chapter 15 Solaris Key Management Framework

Starting in the Solaris 10 8/07 release, the Key Management Framework (KMF) provides tools and programming interfaces for managing public key objects. Public key objects include X.509 certificates and public/private key pairs. The formats for storing these objects can vary. KMF also provides a tool for managing policies that define the use of X.509 certificates by applications.

• Managing Public Key Technologies

• Key Management Framework Utilities

• Using the Key Management Framework (Tasks)

Managing Public Key Technologies

The Key Management Framework (KMF) provides a unified approach to managing public key technologies (PKI). The Solaris OS has several different applications that make use of PKI technologies. Each application provides its own programming interfaces, key storage mechanisms, and administrative utilities. If an application provides a policy enforcement mechanism, the mechanism applies to that application only. With KMF, applications use a unified set of administrative tools, a single set of programming interfaces, and a single policy enforcement mechanism. These features manage the PKI needs of all applications that adopt these interfaces.

KMF unifies the management of public key technologies with the following interfaces:

• pktool command – This command manages PKI objects, such as certificates, in a variety of keystores.

• kmfcfg command – This command manages the PKI policy database

  PKI policy decisions include operations such as the validation method for an operation. Also, PKI policy can limit the scope of a certificate. For example, PKI policy might assert that a certificate can be used only for specific purposes. Such a policy would prevent that certificate from being used for other requests.

• KMF library – This library contains programming interfaces that abstract the underlying keystore mechanism.

  Applications do not have to choose one particular keystore mechanism, but can migrate from one mechanism to another mechanism. The supported keystores are PKCS #11, NSS, and OpenSSL. The library includes a pluggable framework so that new keystore mechanisms can be added. Therefore, applications that use the new mechanisms would require only minor modifications to use a new keystore.

Key Management Framework Utilities

KMF provides methods for managing the storage of keys and provides the overall policy for the use of those keys. KMF manages the policy, keys, and certificates for three public key technologies:

• Tokens from PKCS #11 providers, that is, from the Solaris Cryptographic Framework

• NSS, that is, Network Security Services

• OpenSSL, a file-based keystore

The kmfcfg tool can create, modify, or delete KMF policy entries. KMF manages keystores through the pktool command. For more information, see the kmfcfg(1) and pktool(1) man pages, and the following sections.

KMF Policy Management

KMF policy is stored in a database. This policy database is accessed internally by all applications that use the KMF programming interfaces. The database can constrain the use of the keys and certificates that are managed by the KMF library. When an application attempts to verify a certificate, the application checks the policy database. The kmfcfg command modifies the policy database.

KMF Keystore Management

KMF manages the keystores for three public key technologies, PKCS #11 tokens, NSS, and OpenSSL. For all of these technologies, the pktool command enables you to do the following:

• Generate a self-signed certificate.

• Generate a certificate request.

• Import objects into the keystore.

• List the objects in the keystore.

• Delete objects from the keystore.

• Download a CRL.

For the PKCS #11 and NSS technologies, the pktool command also enables you to set a PIN by generating a passphrase:

• Generate a passphrase for the keystore.

• Generate a passphrase for an object in the keystore.

For examples of using the pktool utility, see the pktool(1) man page and Using the Key Management Framework (Task Map).

Using the Key Management Framework (Task Map)

The Key Management Framework (KMF) enables you to centrally manage public key technologies.

Using the Key Management Framework (Tasks)

This section describes how to use the pktool command to manage your public key objects, such as passwords, passphrases, files, keystores, certificates, and CRLs.

How to Create a Certificate by Using the pktool gencert Command

This procedure creates a self-signed certificate and stores the certificate in the PKCS #11 keystore. As a part of this operation, an RSA public/private key pair is also created. The private key is stored in the keystore with the certificate.

1. Generate a self-signed certificate.

   % pktool gencert [keystore=keystore] label=label-name \ subject=subject-DN serial=hex-serial-number

   keystore=keystore

   Specifies the keystore by type of public key object. The value can be nss, pkcs11, or ssl. This keyword is optional.

   label=label-name

   Is a unique name that the issuer gives to the certificate.

   subject=subject-DN

   Is the distinguished name for the certificate.

   serial=hex-serial-number

   Is the serial number in hexadecimal format. The issuer of the certificate chooses the number, such as 0x0102030405.

2. Verify the contents of the keystore.

   % pktool list Found number certificates. 1. (X.509 certificate) Label: label-name ID: Fingerprint that binds certificate to private key Subject: subject-DN Issuer: distinguished-name Serial: hex-serial-number n. ...

   This command lists all certificates in the keystore. In the following example, the keystore contains one certificate only.

Example 15–1 Creating a Self-Signed Certificate by Using pktool

In the following example, a user at My Company creates a self-signed certificate and stores the certificate in a keystore for PKCS #11 objects. The keystore is initially empty. If the keystore has not been initialized, the PIN for the softtoken is changeme.

% pktool gencert keystore=pkcs11 label="My Cert" \
subject="C=US, O=My Company, OU=Security Engineering Group, CN=MyCA" \
serial=0x000000001
Enter pin for Sun Software PKCS#11 softtoken:Type PIN for token

% pktool list
Found 1 certificates.
1. (X.509 certificate)
      Label: My Cert
      ID: 12:82:17:5f:80:78:eb:44:8b:98:e3:3c:11:c0:32:5e:b6:4c:ea:eb
      Subject: C=US, O=My Company, OU=Security Engineering Group, CN=MyCA
      Issuer: C=US, O=My Company, OU=Security Engineering Group, CN=MyCA
      Serial: 0x01

How to Import a Certificate Into Your Keystore

This procedure describes how to import a file with PKI information that is encoded with PEM or with raw DER into your keystore. For an export procedure, see Example 15–4.

1. Import the certificate.

   % pktool import keystore=keystore infile=infile-name label=label-name

2. If you are importing private PKI objects, provide passwords when prompted.

   1. At the prompt, provide the password for the file.

      If you are importing PKI information that is private, such as an export file in PKCS #12 format, the file requires a password. The creator of the file that you are importing provides you with the PKCS #12 password.

      Enter password to use for accessing the PKCS12 file:Type PKCS #12 password

   2. At the prompt, type the password for your keystore.

      Enter pin for Sun Software PKCS#11 softtoken: Type PIN for token

3. Verify the contents of the keystore.

   % pktool list Found number certificates. 1. (X.509 certificate) Label: label-name ID: Fingerprint that binds certificate to private key Subject: subject-DN Issuer: distinguished-name Serial: hex-serial-number 2. ...

Example 15–2 Importing a PKCS #12 File Into Your Keystore

In the following example, the user imports a PKCS #12 file from a third party. The pktool import command extracts the private key and the certificate from the gracedata.p12 file, and stores them in the user's preferred keystore.

% pktool import keystore=pkcs11 infile=gracedata.p12 label=GraceCert
Enter password to use for accessing the PKCS12 file:Type PKCS #12 password
Enter pin for Sun Software PKCS#11 softtoken: Type PIN for token
Found 1 certificate(s) and 1 key(s) in gracedata.p12
% pktool list
Found 1 certificates.
1. (X.509 certificate)
        Label: GraceCert
        ID: 12:82:17:5f:80:78:eb:44:8b:98:e3:3c:11:c0:32:5e:b6:4c:ea:eb
        Subject: C=US, O=My Company, OU=Security Engineering Group, CN=MyCA
        Issuer: C=US, O=My Company, OU=Security Engineering Group, CN=MyCA
        Serial: 0x01

Example 15–3 Importing an X.509 Certificate Into Your Keystore

In the following example, the user imports an X.509 certificate in PEM format into the user's preferred keystore. This public certificate is not protected with a password. The user's public keystore is also not protected by a password.

% pktool import keystore=pkcs11 infile=somecert.pem label="TheirCompany Root Cert"
% pktool list
Found 1 certificates.
1. (X.509 certificate)
        Label: TheirCompany Root Cert
        ID: 21:ae:83:98:24:d1:1f:cb:65:5b:48:75:7d:02:47:cf:98:1f:ec:a0
        Subject: C=US, O=TheirCompany, OU=Security, CN=TheirCompany Root CA
        Issuer: C=US, O=TheirCompany, OU=Security, CN=TheirCompany Root CA
        Serial: 0x01

How to Export a Certificate and Private Key in PKCS #12 Format

You can create a file in PKCS #12 format to export private keys and their associated X.509 certificate to other systems. Access to the file is protected by a password.

1. Find the certificate to export.

   % pktool list Found number certificates. 1. (X.509 certificate) Label: label-name ID: Fingerprint that binds certificate to private key Subject: subject-DN Issuer: distinguished-name Serial: hex-serial-number 2. ...

2. Export the keys and certificate.

   Use the keystore and label from the pktool list command. Provide a file name for the export file. When the name contains a space, surround the name with double quotes.

   % pktool export keystore=keystore outfile=outfile-name label=label-name

3. Protect the export file with a password.

   At the prompt, type the current password for the keystore. At this point, you create a password for the export file. The receiver must provide this password when importing the file.

   Enter pin for Sun Software PKCS#11 softtoken: Type PIN for token Enter password to use for accessing the PKCS12 file:Create PKCS #12 password

   ---

   Tip –

   Send the password separately from the export file. Best practice suggests that you provide the password out of band, such as during a telephone call.

   ---

Example 15–4 Exporting a Certificate and Private Key in PKCS #12 Format

In the following example, a user exports the private keys with their associated X.509 certificate into a standard PKCS #12 file. This file can be imported into other keystores. The PKCS #11 password protects the source keystore. The PKCS #12 password is used to protect private data in the PKCS #12 file. This password is required to import the file.

% pktool list
Found 1 certificates.
1. (X.509 certificate)
      Label: My Cert
      ID: 12:82:17:5f:80:78:eb:44:8b:98:e3:3c:11:c0:32:5e:b6:4c:ea:eb
      Subject: C=US, O=My Company, OU=Security Engineering Group, CN=MyCA
      Issuer: C=US, O=My Company, OU=Security Engineering Group, CN=MyCA
      Serial: 0x01

% pktool export keystore=pkcs11 outfile=mydata.p12 label="My Cert"
Enter pin for Sun Software PKCS#11 softtoken: Type PIN for token
Enter password to use for accessing the PKCS12 file:Create PKCS #12 password

The user then telephones the recipient and provides the PKCS #12 password.

How to Generate a Passphrase by Using the pktool setpin Command

You can generate a passphrase for an object in a keystore, and for the keystore itself. The passphrase is required to access the object or keystore. For an example of generating a passphrase for an object in a keystore, see Example 15–4.

1. Generate a passphrase for access to a keystore.

   % pktool setpin keystore=nss|pkcs11 dir=directory

2. Answer the prompts.

   If the keystore does not have a password already set, press the Return key to create the password.

   Enter current token passphrase:Press the Return key Create new passphrase:Type the passphrase that you want to use Re-enter new passphrase:Retype the passphrase Passphrase changed.

   The keystore is now protected by passphrase. If you lose the passphrase, you lose access to the objects in the keystore.

Example 15–5 Protecting a Keystore With a Passphrase

The following example shows how to set the passphrase for an NSS database. Because no passphrase has been created, the user presses the Return key at the first prompt.

% pktool setpin keystore=nss dir=/var/nss
Enter current token passphrase:Press the Return key
Create new passphrase:    has8n0NdaH
Re-enter new passphrase:  has8n0NdaH
Passphrase changed.