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Converting a PFX file to PEM, SPC, and PVK files

May 25, 2018 in How do I, Export My, Windows and Code Signing

How to convert PFX/P12 file to SPC/PVK format


Export Certificate with Private Key.

Use the export wizard with the following options:

  • Export Private Key (Yes)
  • DO NOT TICK include all certificates in the certification path if possible
  • TICK enable strong protection
  • DO NOT TICK delete private key


Prerequisite: OpenSSL 0.9.8 or better. OpenSSL 1.x preferred.

Note: If you are running Windows you may download OpenSSL here. Otherwise, you can find compiled binaries directly from the OpenSSL Website or consult your Operating System's package management feature.

Private Key (PVK)

1. Extract your Private Key from the PFX/P12 file to PEM format.

  • openssl pkcs12 -in PFX_FILE -nocerts -nodes -out PEM_KEY_FILE

Note: The PFX/P12 password will be asked. This is the password you gave the file upon exporting it.

2. Format PEM_KEY_FILE using a text editor

  • Remove 'Bag attributes' and 'Key Attributes' from this file and save. The contents of the file should only contain the header (-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----), footer (-----END PRIVATE KEY----- ) and some text between the header and footer.
  • Convert PEM Private Key to PVK format.


OpenSSL 0.9.8 series:
pvk -in PEM_KEY_FILE -topvk -out PVK_FILE

Note #1: In order to use pvk for OpenSSL 0.9.8 series, you must download PVK Transform, which is ONLY available for Microsoft Windows environments

OpenSSL 1.x series:
openssl rsa -in PEM_KEY_FILE -outform PVK -pvk-strong -out PVK_FILE

Note #2: A PEM passphrase may be asked. This will be the password/passphrase that you will use to sign your code.



Software Publisher's Certificate (SPC)

    1. Extract Certificate from P12/PFX file.
      openssl pkcs12 -in PFX_FILE -nokeys -out CERT_PEM_FILE

    1. Convert Certificate to SPC format.
      openssl crl2pkcs7 -nocrl -certfile CERT_PEM_FILE -outform DER -out SPC_FILE


Note: If you have exported your certificate from another browser outside of IE, then please ensure in the CERT_PEM_FILE that ONLY your certificate exists or else code signing will NOT WORK!

Example Conversion

PVK
openssl pkcs12 -in my_pfx_file.pfx -nocerts -nodes -out rsa.pem
openssl rsa -in rsa.pem -outform PVK -pvk-strong -out mykey.pvk

SPC
openssl pkcs12 -in my_pfx_file.pfx -nokeys -nodes -out cert.pem
openssl crl2pkcs7 -nocrl -certfile cert.pem -outform DER -out cert.spc

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