.. _mozilla_projects_nss_tools_certutil: certutil ======== .. container:: | Name | certutil — Manage keys and certificate in the NSS database. | Synopsis | certutil [options] `arguments `__ | Description | The Certificate Database Tool, certutil, is a command-line utility that | can create and modify certificate and key database files. It can also | list, generate, modify, or delete certificates within the database, create | or change the password, generate new public and private key pairs, display | the contents of the key database, or delete key pairs within the key | database. | The key and certificate management process generally begins with creating | keys in the key database, then generating and managing certificates in the | certificate database. This document discusses certificate and key database | management. For information security module database management, see the | modutil manpages. | Options and Arguments | Running certutil always requires one (and only one) option to specify the | type of certificate operation. Each option may take arguments, anywhere | from none to multiple arguments. Run the command option and -H to see the | arguments available for each command option. | Options | Options specify an action and are uppercase. | -A | Add an existing certificate to a certificate database. The | certificate database should already exist; if one is not present, | this option will initialize one by default. | -B | Run a series of commands from the specified batch file. This | requires the -i argument. | -C | Create a new binary certificate file from a binary certificate | request file. Use the -i argument to specify the certificate | request file. If this argument is not used, certutil prompts for a | filename. | -D | Delete a certificate from the certificate database. | -E | Add an email certificate to the certificate database. | -F | Delete a private key from a key database. Specify the key to | delete with the -n argument. Specify the database from which to | delete the key with the -d argument. Use the -k argument to | specify explicitly whether to delete a DSA, RSA, or ECC key. If | you don't use the -k argument, the option looks for an RSA key | matching the specified nickname. | When you delete keys, be sure to also remove any certificates | associated with those keys from the certificate database, by using | -D. Some smart cards (for example, the Litronic card) do not let | you remove a public key you have generated. In such a case, only | the private key is deleted from the key pair. You can display the | public key with the command certutil -K -h tokenname. | -G | Generate a new public and private key pair within a key database. | The key database should already exist; if one is not present, this | option will initialize one by default. Some smart cards (for | example, the Litronic card) can store only one key pair. If you | create a new key pair for such a card, the previous pair is | overwritten. | -H | Display a list of the options and arguments used by the | Certificate Database Tool. | -K | List the key ID of keys in the key database. A key ID is the | modulus of the RSA key or the publicValue of the DSA key. IDs are | displayed in hexadecimal ("0x" is not shown). | -L | List all the certificates, or display information about a named | certificate, in a certificate database. Use the -h tokenname | argument to specify the certificate database on a particular | hardware or software token. | -M | Modify a certificate's trust attributes using the values of the -t | argument. | -N | Create new certificate and key databases. | -O | Print the certificate chain. | -R | Create a certificate request file that can be submitted to a | Certificate Authority (CA) for processing into a finished | certificate. Output defaults to standard out unless you use -o | output-file argument. Use the -a argument to specify ASCII output. | -S | Create an individual certificate and add it to a certificate | database. | -T | Reset the key database or token. | -U | List all available modules or print a single named module. | -V | Check the validity of a certificate and its attributes. | -W | Change the password to a key database. | --merge | Merge a source database into the target database. This is used to | merge legacy NSS databases (cert8.db and key3.db) into the newer | SQLite databases (cert9.db and key4.db). | --upgrade-merge | Upgrade an old database and merge it into a new database. This is | used to migrate legacy NSS databases (cert8.db and key3.db) into | the newer SQLite databases (cert9.db and key4.db). | Arguments | Option arguments modify an action and are lowercase. | -a | Use ASCII format or allow the use of ASCII format for input or | output. This formatting follows RFC 1113. For certificate | requests, ASCII output defaults to standard output unless | redirected. | -b validity-time | Specify a time at which a certificate is required to be valid. Use | when checking certificate validity with the -V option. The format | of the validity-time argument is YYMMDDHHMMSS[+HHMM|-HHMM|Z], | which allows offsets to be set relative to the validity end time. | Specifying seconds (SS) is optional. When specifying an explicit | time, use a Z at the end of the term, YYMMDDHHMMSSZ, to close it. | When specifying an offset time, use YYMMDDHHMMSS+HHMM or | YYMMDDHHMMSS-HHMM for adding or subtracting time, respectively. | If this option is not used, the validity check defaults to the | current system time. | -c issuer | Identify the certificate of the CA from which a new certificate | will derive its authenticity. Use the exact nickname or alias of | the CA certificate, or use the CA's email address. Bracket the | issuer string with quotation marks if it contains spaces. | -d [sql:]directory | Specify the database directory containing the certificate and key | database files. | certutil 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. | -e | Check a certificate's signature during the process of validating a | certificate. | -f password-file | Specify a file that will automatically supply the password to | include in a certificate or to access a certificate database. This | is a plain-text file containing one password. Be sure to prevent | unauthorized access to this file. | -g keysize | Set a key size to use when generating new public and private key | pairs. The minimum is 512 bits and the maximum is 8192 bits. The | default is 1024 bits. Any size between the minimum and maximum is | allowed. | -h tokenname | Specify the name of a token to use or act on. Unless specified | otherwise the default token is an internal slot (specifically, | internal slot 2). This slot can also be explicitly named with the | string "internal". An internal slots is a virtual slot maintained | in software, rather than a hardware device. Internal slot 2 is | used by key and certificate services. Internal slot 1 is used by | cryptographic services. | -i input_file | Pass an input file to the command. Depending on the command | option, an input file can be a specific certificate, a certificate | request file, or a batch file of commands. | -k rsa|dsa|ec|all | Specify the type of a key. The valid options are RSA, DSA, ECC, or | all. The default value is rsa. Specifying the type of key can | avoid mistakes caused by duplicate nicknames. | -k key-type-or-id | Specify the type or specific ID of a key. Giving a key type | generates a new key pair; giving the ID of an existing key reuses | that key pair (which is required to renew certificates). | -l | Display detailed information when validating a certificate with | the -V option. | -m serial-number | Assign a unique serial number to a certificate being created. This | operation should be performed by a CA. The default serial number | is 0 (zero). Serial numbers are limited to integers. | -n nickname | Specify the nickname of a certificate or key to list, create, add | to a database, modify, or validate. Bracket the nickname string | with quotation marks if it contains spaces. | -o output-file | Specify the output file name for new certificates or binary | certificate requests. Bracket the output-file string with | quotation marks if it contains spaces. If this argument is not | used the output destination defaults to standard output. | -P dbPrefix | Specify the prefix used on the certificate and key database file. | This option is provided as a special case. Changing the names of | the certificate and key databases is not recommended. | -p phone | Specify a contact telephone number to include in new certificates | or certificate requests. Bracket this string with quotation marks | if it contains spaces. | -q pqgfile | Read an alternate PQG value from the specified file when | generating DSA key pairs. If this argument is not used, certutil | generates its own PQG value. PQG files are created with a separate | DSA utility. | -q curve-name | Set the elliptic curve name to use when generating ECC key pairs. | A complete list of ECC curves is given in the help (-H). | -r | Display a certificate's binary DER encoding when listing | information about that certificate with the -L option. | -s subject | Identify a particular certificate owner for new certificates or | certificate requests. Bracket this string with quotation marks if | it contains spaces. The subject identification format follows RFC | #1485. | -t trustargs | Specify the trust attributes to modify in an existing certificate | or to apply to a certificate when creating it or adding it to a | database. There are three available trust categories for each | certificate, expressed in the order SSL, email, object signing for | each trust setting. In each category position, use none, any, or | all of the attribute codes: | o p - Valid peer | o P - Trusted peer (implies p) | o c - Valid CA | o T - Trusted CA to issue client certificates (implies c) | o C - Trusted CA to issue server certificates (SSL only) | (implies c) | o u - Certificate can be used for authentication or signing | o w - Send warning (use with other attributes to include a | warning when the certificate is used in that context) | The attribute codes for the categories are separated by commas, | and the entire set of attributes enclosed by quotation marks. For | example: | -t "TCu,Cu,Tuw" | Use the -L option to see a list of the current certificates and | trust attributes in a certificate database. | -u certusage | Specify a usage context to apply when validating a certificate | with the -V option. | The contexts are the following: | o C (as an SSL client) | o V (as an SSL server) | o S (as an email signer) | o R (as an email recipient) | o O (as an OCSP status responder) | o J (as an object signer) | -v valid-months | Set the number of months a new certificate will be valid. The | validity period begins at the current system time unless an offset | is added or subtracted with the -w option. If this argument is not | used, the default validity period is three months. When this | argument is used, the default three-month period is automatically | added to any value given in the valid-month argument. For example, | using this option to set a value of 3 would cause 3 to be added to | the three-month default, creating a validity period of six months. | You can use negative values to reduce the default period. For | example, setting a value of -2 would subtract 2 from the default | and create a validity period of one month. | -w offset-months | Set an offset from the current system time, in months, for the | beginning of a certificate's validity period. Use when creating | the certificate or adding it to a database. Express the offset in | integers, using a minus sign (-) to indicate a negative offset. If | this argument is not used, the validity period begins at the | current system time. The length of the validity period is set with | the -v argument. | -X | Force the key and certificate database to open in read-write mode. | This is used with the -U and -L command options. | -x | Use certutil to generate the signature for a certificate being | created or added to a database, rather than obtaining a signature | from a separate CA. | -y exp | Set an alternate exponent value to use in generating a new RSA | public key for the database, instead of the default value of | 65537. The available alternate values are 3 and 17. | -z noise-file | Read a seed value from the specified file to generate a new | private and public key pair. This argument makes it possible to | use hardware-generated seed values or manually create a value from | the keyboard. The minimum file size is 20 bytes. | -0 SSO_password | Set a site security officer password on a token. | -1 \| --keyUsage keyword,keyword | Set a Netscape Certificate Type Extension in the certificate. | There are several available keywords: | o digital signature | o nonRepudiation | o keyEncipherment | o dataEncipherment | o keyAgreement | o certSigning | o crlSigning | o critical | -2 | Add a basic constraint extension to a certificate that is being | created or added to a database. This extension supports the | certificate chain verification process. certutil prompts for the | certificate constraint extension to select. | X.509 certificate extensions are described in RFC 5280. | -3 | Add an authority key ID extension to a certificate that is being | created or added to a database. This extension supports the | identification of a particular certificate, from among multiple | certificates associated with one subject name, as the correct | issuer of a certificate. The Certificate Database Tool will prompt | you to select the authority key ID extension. | X.509 certificate extensions are described in RFC 5280. | -4 | Add a CRL distribution point extension to a certificate that is | being created or added to a database. This extension identifies | the URL of a certificate's associated certificate revocation list | (CRL). certutil prompts for the URL. | X.509 certificate extensions are described in RFC 5280. | -5 \| --nsCertType keyword,keyword | Add a Netscape certificate type extension to a certificate that is | being created or added to the database. There are several | available keywords: | o sslClient | o sslServer | o smime | o objectSigning | o sslCA | o smimeCA | o objectSigningCA | o critical | X.509 certificate extensions are described in RFC 5280. | -6 \| --extKeyUsage keyword,keyword | Add an extended key usage extension to a certificate that is being | created or added to the database. Several keywords are available: | o serverAuth | o clientAuth | o codeSigning | o emailProtection | o timeStamp | o ocspResponder | o stepUp | o critical | X.509 certificate extensions are described in RFC 5280. | -7 emailAddrs | Add a comma-separated list of email addresses to the subject | alternative name extension of a certificate or certificate request | that is being created or added to the database. Subject | alternative name extensions are described in Section 4.2.1.7 of | RFC 3280. | -8 dns-names | Add a comma-separated list of DNS names to the subject alternative | name extension of a certificate or certificate request that is | being created or added to the database. Subject alternative name | extensions are described in Section 4.2.1.7 of RFC 3280. | --extAIA | Add the Authority Information Access extension to the certificate. | X.509 certificate extensions are described in RFC 5280. | --extSIA | Add the Subject Information Access extension to the certificate. | X.509 certificate extensions are described in RFC 5280. | --extCP | Add the Certificate Policies extension to the certificate. X.509 | certificate extensions are described in RFC 5280. | --extPM | Add the Policy Mappings extension to the certificate. X.509 | certificate extensions are described in RFC 5280. | --extPC | Add the Policy Constraints extension to the certificate. X.509 | certificate extensions are described in RFC 5280. | --extIA | Add the Inhibit Any Policy Access extension to the certificate. | X.509 certificate extensions are described in RFC 5280. | --extSKID | Add the Subject Key ID extension to the certificate. X.509 | certificate extensions are described in RFC 5280. | --source-dir certdir | Identify the certificate database directory to upgrade. | --source-prefix certdir | Give the prefix of the certificate and key databases to upgrade. | --upgrade-id uniqueID | Give the unique ID of the database to upgrade. | --upgrade-token-name name | Set the name of the token to use while it is being upgraded. | -@ pwfile | Give the name of a password file to use for the database being | upgraded. | Usage and Examples | Most of the command options in the examples listed here have more | arguments available. The arguments included in these examples are the most | common ones or are used to illustrate a specific scenario. Use the -H | option to show the complete list of arguments for each command option. | Creating New Security Databases | Certificates, keys, and security modules related to managing certificates | are stored in three related databases: | o cert8.db or cert9.db | o key3.db or key4.db | o secmod.db or pkcs11.txt | These databases must be created before certificates or keys can be | generated. | certutil -N -d [sql:]directory | Creating a Certificate Request | A certificate request contains most or all of the information that is used | to generate the final certificate. This request is submitted separately to | a certificate authority and is then approved by some mechanism | (automatically or by human review). Once the request is approved, then the | certificate is generated. | $ certutil -R -k key-type-or-id [-q pqgfile|curve-name] -g key-size -s subject [-h tokenname] -d [sql:]directory [-p phone] [-o output-file] [-a] | The -R command options requires four arguments: | o -k to specify either the key type to generate or, when renewing a | certificate, the existing key pair to use | o -g to set the keysize of the key to generate | o -s to set the subject name of the certificate | o -d to give the security database directory | The new certificate request can be output in ASCII format (-a) or can be | written to a specified file (-o). | For example: | $ certutil -R -k ec -q nistb409 -g 512 -s "CN=John Smith,O=Example Corp,L=Mountain View,ST=California,C=US" -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb -p 650-555-0123 -a -o cert.cer | Generating key. This may take a few moments... | Certificate request generated by Netscape | Phone: 650-555-0123 | Common Name: John Smith | Email: (not ed) | Organization: Example Corp | State: California | Country: US | -----BEGIN NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- | MIIBIDCBywIBADBmMQswCQYDVQQGEwJVUzETMBEGA1UECBMKQ2FsaWZvcm5pYTEW | MBQGA1UEBxMNTW91bnRhaW4gVmlldzEVMBMGA1UEChMMRXhhbXBsZSBDb3JwMRMw | EQYDVQQDEwpKb2huIFNtaXRoMFwwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEBBQADSwAwSAJBAMVUpDOZ | KmHnOx7reP8Cc0Lk+fFWEuYIDX9W5K/BioQOKvEjXyQZhit9aThzBVMoSf1Y1S8J | CzdUbCg1+IbnXaECAwEAAaAAMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBBQUAA0EAryqZvpYrUtQ486Ny | qmtyQNjIi1F8c1Z+TL4uFYlMg8z6LG/J/u1E5t1QqB5e9Q4+BhRbrQjRR1JZx3tB | 1hP9Gg== | -----END NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- | Creating a Certificate | A valid certificate must be issued by a trusted CA. This can be done by | specifying a CA certificate (-c) that is stored in the certificate | database. If a CA key pair is not available, you can create a self-signed | certificate using the -x argument with the -S command option. | $ certutil -S -k rsa|dsa|ec -n certname -s subject [-c issuer \|-x] -t trustargs -d [sql:]directory [-m serial-number] [-v valid-months] [-w offset-months] [-p phone] [-1] [-2] [-3] [-4] [-5 keyword] [-6 keyword] [-7 emailAddress] [-8 dns-names] [--extAIA] [--extSIA] [--extCP] [--extPM] [--extPC] [--extIA] [--extSKID] | The series of numbers and --ext\* options set certificate extensions that | can be added to the certificate when it is generated by the CA. | For example, this creates a self-signed certificate: | $ certutil -S -s "CN=Example CA" -n my-ca-cert -x -t "C,C,C" -1 -2 -5 -m 3650 | From there, new certificates can reference the self-signed certificate: | $ certutil -S -s "CN=My Server Cert" -n my-server-cert -c "my-ca-cert" -t "u,u,u" -1 -5 -6 -8 -m 730 | Generating a Certificate from a Certificate Request | When a certificate request is created, a certificate can be generated by | using the request and then referencing a certificate authority signing | certificate (the issuer specified in the -c argument). The issuing | certificate must be in the certificate database in the specified | directory. | certutil -C -c issuer -i cert-request-file -o output-file [-m serial-number] [-v valid-months] [-w offset-months] -d [sql:]directory [-1] [-2] [-3] [-4] [-5 keyword] [-6 keyword] [-7 emailAddress] [-8 dns-names] | For example: | $ certutil -C -c "my-ca-cert" -i /home/certs/cert.req -o cert.cer -m 010 -v 12 -w 1 -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb -1 nonRepudiation,dataEncipherment -5 sslClient -6 clientAuth -7 jsmith@example.com | Generating Key Pairs | Key pairs are generated automatically with a certificate request or | certificate, but they can also be generated independently using the -G | command option. | certutil -G -d [sql:]directory \| -h tokenname -k key-type -g key-size [-y exponent-value] -q pqgfile|curve-name | For example: | $ certutil -G -h lunasa -k ec -g 256 -q sect193r2 | Listing Certificates | The -L command option lists all of the certificates listed in the | certificate database. The path to the directory (-d) is required. | $ certutil -L -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb | Certificate Nickname Trust Attributes | SSL,S/MIME,JAR/XPI | CA Administrator of Instance pki-ca1's Example Domain ID u,u,u | TPS Administrator's Example Domain ID u,u,u | Google Internet Authority ,, | Certificate Authority - Example Domain CT,C,C | Using additional arguments with -L can return and print the information | for a single, specific certificate. For example, the -n argument passes | the certificate name, while the -a argument prints the certificate in | ASCII format: | $ certutil -L -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb -a -n "Certificate Authority - Example Domain" | -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- | MIIDmTCCAoGgAwIBAgIBATANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQUFADA5MRcwFQYDVQQKEw5FeGFt | cGxlIERvbWFpbjEeMBwGA1UEAxMVQ2VydGlmaWNhdGUgQXV0aG9yaXR5MB4XDTEw | MDQyOTIxNTY1OFoXDTEyMDQxODIxNTY1OFowOTEXMBUGA1UEChMORXhhbXBsZSBE | b21haW4xHjAcBgNVBAMTFUNlcnRpZmljYXRlIEF1dGhvcml0eTCCASIwDQYJKoZI | hvcNAQEBBQADggEPADCCAQoCggEBAO/bqUli2KwqXFKmMMG93KN1SANzNTXA/Vlf | Tmrih3hQgjvR1ktIY9aG6cB7DSKWmtHp/+p4PUCMqL4ZrSGt901qxkePyZ2dYmM2 | RnelK+SEUIPiUtoZaDhNdiYsE/yuDE8vQWj0vHCVL0w72qFUcSQ/WZT7FCrnUIUI | udeWnoPSUn70gLhcj/lvxl7K9BHyD4Sq5CzktwYtFWLiiwV+ZY/Fl6JgbGaQyQB2 | bP4iRMfloGqsxGuB1evWVDF1haGpFDSPgMnEPSLg3/3dXn+HDJbZ29EU8/xKzQEb | 3V0AHKbu80zGllLEt2Zx/WDIrgJEN9yMfgKFpcmL+BvIRsmh0VsCAwEAAaOBqzCB | qDAfBgNVHSMEGDAWgBQATgxHQyRUfKIZtdp55bZlFr+tFzAPBgNVHRMBAf8EBTAD | AQH/MA4GA1UdDwEB/wQEAwIBxjAdBgNVHQ4EFgQUAE4MR0MkVHyiGbXaeeW2ZRa/ | rRcwRQYIKwYBBQUHAQEEOTA3MDUGCCsGAQUFBzABhilodHRwOi8vbG9jYWxob3N0 | LmxvY2FsZG9tYWluOjkxODAvY2Evb2NzcDANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQUFAAOCAQEAi8Gk | L3XO43u7/TDOeEsWPmq+jZsDZ3GZ85Ajt3KROLWeKVZZZa2E2Hnsvf2uXbk5amKe | lRxdSeRH9g85pv4KY7Z8xZ71NrI3+K3uwmnqkc6t0hhYb1mw/gx8OAAoluQx3biX | JBDxjI73Cf7XUopplHBjjiwyGIJUO8BEZJ5L+TF4P38MJz1snLtzZpEAX5bl0U76 | bfu/tZFWBbE8YAWYtkCtMcalBPj6jn2WD3M01kGozW4mmbvsj1cRB9HnsGsqyHCu | U0ujlL1H/RWcjn607+CTeKH9jLMUqCIqPJNOa+kq/6F7NhNRRiuzASIbZc30BZ5a | nI7q5n1USM3eWQlVXw== | -----END CERTIFICATE----- | Listing Keys | Keys are the original material used to encrypt certificate data. The keys | generated for certificates are stored separately, in the key database. | To list all keys in the database, use the -K command option and the | (required) -d argument to give the path to the directory. | $ certutil -K -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb | certutil: Checking token "NSS Certificate DB" in slot "NSS User Private Key and Certificate Services " | < 0> rsa 455a6673bde9375c2887ec8bf8016b3f9f35861d Thawte Freemail Member's Thawte Consulting (Pty) Ltd. ID | < 1> rsa 40defeeb522ade11090eacebaaf1196a172127df Example Domain Administrator Cert | < 2> rsa 1d0b06f44f6c03842f7d4f4a1dc78b3bcd1b85a5 John Smith user cert | There are ways to narrow the keys listed in the search results: | o To return a specific key, use the -n name argument with the name of | the key. | o If there are multiple security devices loaded, then the -h tokenname | argument can search a specific token or all tokens. | o If there are multiple key types available, then the -k key-type | argument can search a specific type of key, like RSA, DSA, or ECC. | Listing Security Modules | The devices that can be used to store certificates -- both internal | databases and external devices like smart cards -- are recognized and used | by loading security modules. The -U command option lists all of the | security modules listed in the secmod.db database. The path to the | directory (-d) is required. | $ certutil -U -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb | slot: NSS User Private Key and Certificate Services | token: NSS Certificate DB | slot: NSS Internal Cryptographic Services | token: NSS Generic Crypto Services | Adding Certificates to the Database | Existing certificates or certificate requests can be added manually to the | certificate database, even if they were generated elsewhere. This uses the | -A command option. | certutil -A -n certname -t trustargs -d [sql:]directory [-a] [-i input-file] | For example: | $ certutil -A -n "CN=My SSL Certificate" -t "u,u,u" -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb -i /home/example-certs/cert.cer | A related command option, -E, is used specifically to add email | certificates to the certificate database. The -E command has the same | arguments as the -A command. The trust arguments for certificates have the | format SSL,S/MIME,Code-signing, so the middle trust settings relate most | to email certificates (though the others can be set). For example: | $ certutil -E -n "CN=John Smith Email Cert" -t ",Pu," -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb -i /home/example-certs/email.cer | Deleting Certificates to the Database | Certificates can be deleted from a database using the -D option. The only | required options are to give the security database directory and to | identify the certificate nickname. | certutil -D -d [sql:]directory -n "nickname" | For example: | $ certutil -D -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb -n "my-ssl-cert" | Validating Certificates | A certificate contains an expiration date in itself, and expired | certificates are easily rejected. However, certificates can also be | revoked before they hit their expiration date. Checking whether a | certificate has been revoked requires validating the certificate. | Validation can also be used to ensure that the certificate is only used | for the purposes it was initially issued for. Validation is carried out by | the -V command option. | certutil -V -n certificate-name [-b time] [-e] [-u cert-usage] -d [sql:]directory | For example, to validate an email certificate: | $ certutil -V -n "John Smith's Email Cert" -e -u S,R -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb | Modifying Certificate Trust Settings | The trust settings (which relate to the operations that a certificate is | allowed to be used for) can be changed after a certificate is created or | added to the database. This is especially useful for CA certificates, but | it can be performed for any type of certificate. | certutil -M -n certificate-name -t trust-args -d [sql:]directory | For example: | $ certutil -M -n "My CA Certificate" -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb -t "CTu,CTu,CTu" | Printing the Certificate Chain | Certificates can be issued in chains because every certificate authority | itself has a certificate; when a CA issues a certificate, it essentially | stamps that certificate with its own fingerprint. The -O prints the full | chain of a certificate, going from the initial CA (the root CA) through | ever intermediary CA to the actual certificate. For example, for an email | certificate with two CAs in the chain: | $ certutil -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb -O -n "jsmith@example.com" | "Builtin Object Token:Thawte Personal Freemail CA" [E=personal-freemail@thawte.com,CN=Thawte Personal Freemail CA,OU=Certification Services Division,O=Thawte Consulting,L=Cape Town,ST=Western Cape,C=ZA] | "Thawte Personal Freemail Issuing CA - Thawte Consulting" [CN=Thawte Personal Freemail Issuing CA,O=Thawte Consulting (Pty) Ltd.,C=ZA] | "(null)" [E=jsmith@example.com,CN=Thawte Freemail Member] | Resetting a Token | The device which stores certificates -- both external hardware devices and | internal software databases -- can be blanked and reused. This operation | is performed on the device which stores the data, not directly on the | security databases, so the location must be referenced through the token | name (-h) as well as any directory path. If there is no external token | used, the default value is internal. | certutil -T -d [sql:]directory -h token-name -0 security-officer-password | Many networks have dedicated personnel who handle changes to security | tokens (the security officer). This person must supply the password to | access the specified token. For example: | $ certutil -T -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb -h nethsm -0 secret | Upgrading or Merging the Security Databases | Many networks or applications may be using older BerkeleyDB versions of | the certificate database (cert8.db). Databases can be upgraded to the new | SQLite version of the database (cert9.db) using the --upgrade-merge | command option or existing databases can be merged with the new cert9.db | databases using the ---merge command. | The --upgrade-merge command must give information about the original | database and then use the standard arguments (like -d) to give the | information about the new databases. The command also requires information | that the tool uses for the process to upgrade and write over the original | database. | certutil --upgrade-merge -d [sql:]directory [-P dbprefix] --source-dir directory --source-prefix dbprefix --upgrade-id id --upgrade-token-name name [-@ password-file] | For example: | $ certutil --upgrade-merge -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb --source-dir /opt/my-app/alias/ --source-prefix serverapp- --upgrade-id 1 --upgrade-token-name internal | The --merge command only requires information about the location of the | original database; since it doesn't change the format of the database, it | can write over information without performing interim step. | certutil --merge -d [sql:]directory [-P dbprefix] --source-dir directory --source-prefix dbprefix [-@ password-file] | For example: | $ certutil --merge -d sql:/home/my/sharednssdb --source-dir /opt/my-app/alias/ --source-prefix serverapp- | Running certutil Commands from a Batch File | A series of commands can be run sequentially from a text file with the -B | command option. The only argument for this specifies the input file. | $ certutil -B -i /path/to/batch-file | 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: | $ certutil -L -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 | pk12util (1) | modutil (1) | certutil has arguments or operations that use features defined in several | IETF RFCs. | o `http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5280 `__ | o `http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1113 `__ | o `http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1485 `__ | 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 , Deon Lackey | . | 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/ `__