SecureBlackbox 2020 iOS Edition

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CertificateManager Class

Properties   Methods   Events   Configuration Settings   Errors  

The CertificateManager class supports importing, exporting, and generating X.509 certificates.

Syntax

SecureBlackboxCertificateManager
SecureBlackboxCertificateManagerSwift

Remarks

Usage of this class includes importing and exporting certificates and keys in various formats, as well as certificate generation.

Loading certificates

In vast majority of SecureBlackbox-powered projects, this component is used to import certificates from files or memory objects for further use in other components, like PDFSigner.

To load a certificate from a file, use the ImportFromFile method. This method supports all existing certificate formats, including PFX, PEM, DER, and P7B. Note that keys contained in PFX and PEM certificates are often encrypted with a password, so you will likely need to provide one for the certificate to be loaded correctly. You can either provide the password via the method's parameter, or provide it on-demand by subscribing to the PasswordNeeded event.

Alternatively, you can use ImportCert to load a certificate from a different type of media, such as a database.

If your certificate and its private key are stored in separate files or buffers - which is often the case where PEM or DER format is used - please load the certificate with the ImportFromFile method first, and then add the key to it with a separate call to the ImportKeyFromFile method. You can mix and match the certificate and key formats in this case; CertificateManager will handle this automatically.

Note that CertificateManager can only keep one certificate at a time. If your PFX or PEM file contains more than one certificate, use CertificateStorage component to load it instead.

Generating certificates

You can use CertificateManager to generate your own certificates. To generate a certificate, please follow the below steps:
  • set all the needed certificate properties - for example, its subject, serial number, and validity period - via the Certificate property.
  • load the CA certificate to a different CertificateManager object, and assign it to the CACertificate property. Note that the CA certificate should have an associated private key. Alternatively, the CA certificate can be loaded using a CertificateStorage object, which allows to import it from a hardware device or a system store.

    Note: you do not need to load and set the CA certificate if generating a self-signed certificate.

  • Call Generate to generate a new keypair and wrap it into a certificate.
  • Save the certificate using ExportToFile or ExportCert methods.

    Note: take care to choose a format that supports storing private keys. If you do not save the new private key at this stage, you won't be able to recover it later.

    Note: you can save the private key separately using the ExportKey method.

Note: you can use the GetSampleCert shortcut to generate a simple certificate for test or debug purposes.

Generating certificate requests

Apart from certificates, CertificateManager can generate certificate requests (PKCS10). The procedure is the same as when generating certificates. The only difference is that you need to use CertificateRequest object to set up the certificate request parameters, and GenerateCSR method to generate the request. You can then save the resulting request to a file using the ExportCSR method.

Property List


The following is the full list of the properties of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

- CACertBytesReturns raw certificate data in DER format.
- CACertHandleAllows to get or set a 'handle', a unique identifier of the underlying property object.
- certBytesReturns raw certificate data in DER format.
- certCAIndicates whether the certificate has a CA capability (a setting in BasicConstraints extension).
- certCAKeyIDA unique identifier (fingerprint) of the CA certificate's private key.
- certCRLDistributionPointsLocations of the CRL (Certificate Revocation List) distribution points used to check this certificate's validity.
- certCurveSpecifies the elliptic curve of the EC public key.
- certFingerprintContains the fingerprint (a hash imprint) of this certificate.
- certFriendlyNameContains an associated alias (friendly name) of the certificate.
- certHandleAllows to get or set a 'handle', a unique identifier of the underlying property object.
- certHashAlgorithmSpecifies the hash algorithm to be used in the operations on the certificate (such as key signing) SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SHA1 SHA1 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SHA224 SHA224 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SHA256 SHA256 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SHA384 SHA384 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SHA512 SHA512 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_MD2 MD2 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_MD4 MD4 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_MD5 MD5 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_RIPEMD160 RIPEMD160 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_CRC32 CRC32 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SSL3 SSL3 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_GOST_R3411_1994 GOST1994 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_WHIRLPOOL WHIRLPOOL SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_POLY1305 POLY1305 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SHA3_224 SHA3_224 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SHA3_256 SHA3_256 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SHA3_384 SHA3_384 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SHA3_512 SHA3_512 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_BLAKE2S_128 BLAKE2S_128 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_BLAKE2S_160 BLAKE2S_160 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_BLAKE2S_224 BLAKE2S_224 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_BLAKE2S_256 BLAKE2S_256 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_BLAKE2B_160 BLAKE2B_160 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_BLAKE2B_256 BLAKE2B_256 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_BLAKE2B_384 BLAKE2B_384 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_BLAKE2B_512 BLAKE2B_512 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SHAKE_128 SHAKE_128 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SHAKE_256 SHAKE_256 SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SHAKE_128_LEN SHAKE_128_LEN SB_HASH_ALGORITHM_SHAKE_256_LEN SHAKE_256_LEN .
- certIssuerThe common name of the certificate issuer (CA), typically a company name.
- certIssuerRDNA collection of information, in the form of [OID, Value] pairs, uniquely identifying the certificate issuer.
- certKeyAlgorithmSpecifies the public key algorithm of this certificate.
- certKeyBitsReturns the length of the public key.
- certKeyFingerprintReturns a fingerprint of the public key contained in the certificate.
- certKeyUsageIndicates the purposes of the key contained in the certificate, in the form of an OR'ed flag set.
- certKeyValidReturns True if the certificate's key is cryptographically valid, and False otherwise.
- certOCSPLocationsLocations of OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol) services that can be used to check this certificate's validity, as recorded by the CA.
- certOriginReturns the origin of this certificate.
- certPolicyIDsContains identifiers (OIDs) of the applicable certificate policies.
- certPrivateKeyBytesContains the certificate's private key.
- certPrivateKeyExistsIndicates whether the certificate has an associated private key.
- certPrivateKeyExtractableIndicates whether the private key is extractable.
- certPublicKeyBytesContains the certificate's public key in DER format.
- certSelfSignedIndicates whether the certificate is self-signed (root) or signed by an external CA.
- certSerialNumberReturns the certificate's serial number.
- certSigAlgorithmIndicates the algorithm that was used by the CA to sign this certificate.
- certSubjectThe common name of the certificate holder, typically an individual's name, a URL, an e-mail address, or a company name.
- certSubjectKeyIDContains a unique identifier (fingerprint) of the certificate's private key.
- certSubjectRDNA collection of information, in the form of [OID, Value] pairs, uniquely identifying the certificate holder (subject).
- certValidFromThe time point at which the certificate becomes valid, in UTC.
- certValidToThe time point at which the certificate expires, in UTC.
- certRequestBytesProvides access to raw certificate request data in DER format.
- certRequestCurveSpecifies the elliptic curve of the EC public key.
- certRequestHandleAllows to get or set a 'handle', a unique identifier of the underlying property object.
- certRequestHashAlgorithmSpecifies the hash algorithm to be used in the operations on the certificate request (such as signing).
- certRequestKeyAlgorithmSpecifies the public key algorithm of this certificate request.
- certRequestKeyBitsReturns the length of the public key.
- certRequestKeyUsageIndicates the purposes of the key contained in the certificate request, in the form of an OR'ed flag set.
- certRequestKeyValidReturns True if the certificate's key is cryptographically valid, and False otherwise.
- certRequestPrivateKeyBytesContains the certificate's private key.
- certRequestPublicKeyBytesContains the public key incorporated in the request, in DER format.
- certRequestSigAlgorithmIndicates the algorithm that was used by the requestor to sign this certificate request.
- certRequestSubjectThe common name of the certificate holder, typically an individual's name, a URL, an e-mail address, or a company name.
- certRequestSubjectRDNA collection of information, in the form of [OID, Value] pairs, uniquely identifying the certificate holder (subject).
- certRequestValidIndicates whether or not the signature on the request is valid and matches the public key contained in the request.
- externalCryptoCustomParamsCustom parameters to be passed to the signing service (uninterpreted).
- externalCryptoDataAdditional data to be included in the async state and mirrored back by the requestor.
- externalCryptoExternalHashCalculationSpecifies whether the message hash is to be calculated at the external endpoint.
- externalCryptoHashAlgorithmSpecifies the request's signature hash algorithm.
- externalCryptoKeyIDThe ID of the pre-shared key used for DC request authentication.
- externalCryptoKeySecretThe pre-shared key used for DC request authentication.
- externalCryptoMethodSpecifies the asynchronous signing method.
- externalCryptoModeSpecifies the external cryptography mode.
- externalCryptoPublicKeyAlgorithmProvide public key algorithm here if the certificate is not available on the pre-signing stage.

Method List


The following is the full list of the methods of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

- configSets or retrieves a configuration setting.
- downloadDownloads a certificate from a remote location.
- exportCertExports the certificate in the chosen format.
- exportCSRExports a Certificate Signing Request (CSR).
- exportKeyExports the certificate's private key.
- exportKeyToFileExports the private key to a file in the chosen format.
- exportToFileExports the certificate to a file.
- generateGenerates a new certificate.
- generateAsyncBeginInitiates asynchronous (DC) certificate generation.
- generateAsyncEndCompletes asynchronous certificate generation.
- generateCSRCreates a new certificate signing request (CSR).
- generateExternalGenerates a new certificate with an external signing device.
- getSampleCertGenerates a sample certificate for the specified purpose.
- importCertImports a certificate.
- importFromFileLoads a certificate from a file.
- importKeyImports a private key.
- importKeyFromFileImports a private key from a file.
- updateRenews the certificate.
- validateValidates the certificate.

Event List


The following is the full list of the events fired by the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

- onErrorInformation about errors during certificate loading, saving or validation.
- onExternalSignHandles remote or external signing initiated by the SignExternal method or other source.
- onNotificationThis event notifies the application about an underlying control flow event.
- onPasswordNeededThis event is fired when a decryption password is needed.

Configuration Settings


The following is a list of configuration settings for the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.

KeyExchangePINThe KeyExchange PIN to provide to the key in runtime.
SignaturePINThe Signature PIN to provide to the key in runtime.
TempPathPath for storing temporary files.
CheckKeyIntegrityBeforeUseEnables or disable private key integrity check before use.
CookieCachingSpecifies whether a cookie cache should be used for HTTP(S) transports.
CookiesGets or sets local cookies for the class (supported for HTTPClient, RESTClient and SOAPClient only).
DefDeriveKeyIterationsSpecifies the default key derivation algorithm iteration count.
EnableClientSideSSLFFDHEEnables or disables finite field DHE key exchange support in TLS clients.
GlobalCookiesGets or sets global cookies for all the HTTP transports.
HttpUserAgentSpecifies the user agent name to be used by all HTTP clients.
LogDestinationSpecifies the debug log destination.
LogDetailsSpecifies the debug log details to dump.
LogFileSpecifies the debug log filename.
LogFiltersSpecifies the debug log filters.
LogFlushModeSpecifies the log flush mode.
LogLevelSpecifies the debug log level.
LogMaxEventCountSpecifies the maximum number of events to cache before further action is taken.
LogRotationModeSpecifies the log rotation mode.
MaxASN1BufferLengthSpecifies the maximal allowed length for ASN.1 primitive tag data.
MaxASN1TreeDepthSpecifies the maximal depth for processed ASN.1 trees.
OCSPHashAlgorithmSpecifies the hash algorithm to be used to identify certificates in OCSP requests.
UseOwnDNSResolverSpecifies whether the client classes should use own DNS resolver.
UseSharedSystemStoragesSpecifies whether the validation engine should use a global per-process copy of the system certificate stores.
UseSystemOAEPAndPSSEnforces or disables the use of system-driven RSA OAEP and PSS computations.
UseSystemRandomEnables or disables the use of the OS PRNG.

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SecureBlackbox 2020 iOS Edition - Version 20.0 [Build 8166]