Operation

This chapter describes operational tasks for users with the Administrator and Operator role. Please refer to chapter Roles to learn more about the role.

Important

Please make sure you read the information in the beginning of this document before starting to work.

Key Management

Generate Key

The NetHSM can generate key pairs. It is recommended to specify the key ID option to give it an expressive name.

The supported key types and their corresponding mechanisms are the following.

Key Type	Mechanisms
RSA	RSA_Decryption_RAW RSA_Decryption_PKCS1 RSA_Decryption_OAEP_MD5 RSA_Decryption_OAEP_SHA1 RSA_Decryption_OAEP_SHA224 RSA_Decryption_OAEP_SHA256 RSA_Decryption_OAEP_SHA384 RSA_Decryption_OAEP_SHA512 RSA_Signature_PKCS1 RSA_Signature_PSS_MD5 RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA1 RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA224 RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA256 RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA384 RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA512
Curve25519	EdDSA_Signature
EC_P224	ECDSA_Signature
EC_P256	ECDSA_Signature
EC_P384	ECDSA_Signature
EC_P521	ECDSA_Signature
Generic	AES_Encryption_CBC AES_Decryption_CBC

Keys are assigned to the Namespace of the user that generates the key.

The key can be generated as follows.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Administrator role.

Required Options

Option	Description
-t, --type KEYTYPE	The type for the generated key. Possible values for the KEYTYPE argument can be found in the table above.
-m, --mechanism MECHANISM	The mechanisms for the generated key. Possible values for the MECHANISM argument can be found in the table above.
-l, --length INTEGER	The length of the generated key

Optional Options

Option	Description
-k, --key-id TEXT	The ID of the generated key

Example

$ nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST generate-key --type RSA --mechanism RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA256 --mechanism RSA_Decryption_PKCS1 --length 2048 --key-id myFirstKey

Key myFirstKey generated on NetHSM localhost:8443

Import Key

The NetHSM can import existing private keys to the Key Store.

The supported key types and their corresponding mechanisms are the following.

Key Type	Mechanisms
RSA	RSA_Decryption_RAW RSA_Decryption_PKCS1 RSA_Decryption_OAEP_MD5 RSA_Decryption_OAEP_SHA1 RSA_Decryption_OAEP_SHA224 RSA_Decryption_OAEP_SHA256 RSA_Decryption_OAEP_SHA384 RSA_Decryption_OAEP_SHA512 RSA_Signature_PKCS1 RSA_Signature_PSS_MD5 RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA1 RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA224 RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA256 RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA384 RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA512
Curve25519	EdDSA_Signature
EC_P224	ECDSA_Signature
EC_P256	ECDSA_Signature
EC_P384	ECDSA_Signature
EC_P521	ECDSA_Signature
Generic	AES_Encryption_CBC AES_Decryption_CBC

Keys are assigned to the Namespace of the user that imports the key.

Import a private key from a PEM file into NetHSM as follows.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Administrator role.

Arguments

Argument	Description
FILENAME	Private key file in PEM format

Optional Options

Option	Description
-m, --mechanism MECHANISM	The mechanisms for the generated key. Possible values for the MECHANISM argument can be found in the table above.
-k, --key-id TEXT	The ID of the new key
--tags TEXT	The Tag for the new key

Example

$ nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST import-key \
   --mechanism RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA256 \
   --mechanism RSA_Decryption_PKCS1 \
   --key-id myFirstKey \
   mykey.pem

Key myFirstKey added to NetHSM localhost:8443

Private keys in raw format can be imported as follows.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Administrator role.

Required Options

Option	Description
-t, --type KEYTYPE	The type for the generated key. Possible values for the KEYTYPE argument can be found in the table above.
-m, --mechanism MECHANISM	The mechanisms for the generated key. Possible values for the MECHANISM argument can be found in the table above.
-p, --prime-p TEXT	The prime p for RSA keys, base64-encoded
-q, --prime-q TEXT	The prime q for RSA keys, base64-encoded
-e, --public-exponent TEXT	The public exponent for RSA keys, base64 encoded
-d, --data TEXT	The key data for ED25519 or ECDSA_* keys, base64-encoded

Optional Options

Option	Description
-k, --key-id TEXT	The ID of the new key
--tags TEXT	The Tag for the new key

Example

$ nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST add-key \
   --type RSA \
   --mechanism RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA256 \
   --mechanism RSA_Decryption_PKCS1 \
   --key-id myFirstKey \
   --public-exponent AQAB \
   --prime-p "AOnWFZ+JrI/xOXJU04uYCZOiPVUWd6CSbVseEYrYQYxc7dVroePshz29tc+VEOUP5T0O8lXMEkjFAwjW6C9QTAsPyl6jwyOQluMRIkdN4/7BAg3HAMuGd7VmkGyYrnZWW54sLWp1JD6XJG33kF+9OSar9ETPoVyBgK5punfiUFEL" \
   --prime-q "ANT1kWDdP9hZoFKT49dwdM/S+3ZDnxQa7kZk9p+JKU5RaU9e8pS2GOJljHwkES1FH6CUGeIaUi81tRKe2XZhe/163sEyMcxkaaRbBbTc1v6ZDKILFKKt4eX7LAQfhL/iFlgi6pcyUM8QDrm1QeFgGz11ChM0JuQw1WwkX06lg8iv"

Key myFirstKey added to NetHSM localhost:8443

Delete Key

The NetHSM can delete keys from the Key Store. Users can only delete keys in their Namespace.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Administrator role.

Arguments

Argument	Description
KEY_ID	The key ID of the key to delete

Example

$ nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST delete-key myFirstKey

Key myFirstKey deleted on NetHSM localhost:8443

List Keys

The NetHSM can list all keys in the Key Store that are in the Namespace of the current user.

The list can be retrieved as follows.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Administrator or Operator role.

Optional Options

Option	Description
-f, --filter TEXT	The Tag to search for

Example

$ nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST list-keys

Keys on NetHSM localhost:8443:

Key ID          Type       Mechanisms                                      Operations  Tags
-----------     ----       ----------------------------------------------  ----------  ----
myFirstKey      RSA        RSA_Decryption_PKCS1, RSA_Signature_PSS_SHA256  0

Show Key Details

The NetHSM can output more detailed information about a stored key. Users can only access keys in their Namespace.

The detailed information can be retrieved as follows.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Administrator or Operator role.

Example

$ nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST get-key myFirstKey

Key myFirstKey on NetHSM localhost:8443:
Type:            RSA
Mechanisms:      RSA_Decryption_RAW
Operations:      0
Modulus:         r62XHPWMDdEf2I1WEpSxGowY/fQF8lMPtv3EUQJE/PLWBvehF8G0QY3AVVZ3etlQWiKreOuGDx4Nr2PFNYAu5f+JP2Jc1lsFNOYF8D82RF41MBySbQR+k+44N/04B0ahTBCxX+ovFH7Sd6SzvxMPa7EKvhaOsLbgyrPlFZxQnhIEqJRCSo5DRRD+CRCPpGXsVXgFbJrNilh21i8OZCct4nC2OS191MeDKmCH4tjrfLMwOKJE8zKlwhdtA1uMY49+JuaC48GUFsLYwbLp1723Uv1PjZjC5jbUhScD0u9I+iNrqznAeka4dWsJ9jgA+h6hblSgCs0I3MWOsMXx/Y5PGQ==
Public exponent: AQAB

The public key of a key can be retrieved as follows. It’s in PKCS#8 format.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Administrator or Operator role.

Example

$ nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST get-key myFirstKey --public-key

-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
MIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEAr62XHPWMDdEf2I1WEpSx
GowY/fQF8lMPtv3EUQJE/PLWBvehF8G0QY3AVVZ3etlQWiKreOuGDx4Nr2PFNYAu
5f+JP2Jc1lsFNOYF8D82RF41MBySbQR+k+44N/04B0ahTBCxX+ovFH7Sd6SzvxMP
a7EKvhaOsLbgyrPlFZxQnhIEqJRCSo5DRRD+CRCPpGXsVXgFbJrNilh21i8OZCct
4nC2OS191MeDKmCH4tjrfLMwOKJE8zKlwhdtA1uMY49+JuaC48GUFsLYwbLp1723
Uv1PjZjC5jbUhScD0u9I+iNrqznAeka4dWsJ9jgA+h6hblSgCs0I3MWOsMXx/Y5P
GQIDAQAB
-----END PUBLIC KEY-----

The public key can be inspected for example with OpenSSL as follows.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Administrator or Operator role.

Example

nitropy nethsm --host= $NETHSM_HOST get-key myFirstKey --public-key | openssl rsa -pubin -text

Public-Key: (2048 bit)
Modulus:
   00:af:ad:97:1c:f5:8c:0d:d1:1f:d8:8d:56:12:94:
   b1:1a:8c:18:fd:f4:05:f2:53:0f:b6:fd:c4:51:02:
   44:fc:f2:d6:06:f7:a1:17:c1:b4:41:8d:c0:55:56:
   77:7a:d9:50:5a:22:ab:78:eb:86:0f:1e:0d:af:63:
   c5:35:80:2e:e5:ff:89:3f:62:5c:d6:5b:05:34:e6:
   05:f0:3f:36:44:5e:35:30:1c:92:6d:04:7e:93:ee:
   38:37:fd:38:07:46:a1:4c:10:b1:5f:ea:2f:14:7e:
   d2:77:a4:b3:bf:13:0f:6b:b1:0a:be:16:8e:b0:b6:
   e0:ca:b3:e5:15:9c:50:9e:12:04:a8:94:42:4a:8e:
   43:45:10:fe:09:10:8f:a4:65:ec:55:78:05:6c:9a:
   cd:8a:58:76:d6:2f:0e:64:27:2d:e2:70:b6:39:2d:
   7d:d4:c7:83:2a:60:87:e2:d8:eb:7c:b3:30:38:a2:
   44:f3:32:a5:c2:17:6d:03:5b:8c:63:8f:7e:26:e6:
   82:e3:c1:94:16:c2:d8:c1:b2:e9:d7:bd:b7:52:fd:
   4f:8d:98:c2:e6:36:d4:85:27:03:d2:ef:48:fa:23:
   6b:ab:39:c0:7a:46:b8:75:6b:09:f6:38:00:fa:1e:
   a1:6e:54:a0:0a:cd:08:dc:c5:8e:b0:c5:f1:fd:8e:
   4f:19
Exponent: 65537 (0x10001)
writing RSA key
-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
MIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEAr62XHPWMDdEf2I1WEpSx
GowY/fQF8lMPtv3EUQJE/PLWBvehF8G0QY3AVVZ3etlQWiKreOuGDx4Nr2PFNYAu
5f+JP2Jc1lsFNOYF8D82RF41MBySbQR+k+44N/04B0ahTBCxX+ovFH7Sd6SzvxMP
a7EKvhaOsLbgyrPlFZxQnhIEqJRCSo5DRRD+CRCPpGXsVXgFbJrNilh21i8OZCct
4nC2OS191MeDKmCH4tjrfLMwOKJE8zKlwhdtA1uMY49+JuaC48GUFsLYwbLp1723
Uv1PjZjC5jbUhScD0u9I+iNrqznAeka4dWsJ9jgA+h6hblSgCs0I3MWOsMXx/Y5P
GQIDAQAB
-----END PUBLIC KEY-----

Tags for Keys

Tags can be used to set fine-grained access restrictions on keys, and are an optional feature. One or more Tags can be assigned to a key. The Operator users can see all keys, but only use those with at least one corresponding Tag. If a key has no Tag it can be used by all Operator users. A Tag can not be modified by an Operator user.

To learn about how to use Tags on Operator accounts, please refer to chapter Tags for Users.

Note

Tags are managed without restrictions by users with the Administrator role.

The Tag can be added as follows.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Administrator role.

Arguments

Argument	Description
KEY_ID	The key ID to set the tag on
TAG	The tag to set on the key

Example

$ nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST add-key-tag myFirstKey berlin

Added tag berlin for key myFirstKey on the NetHSM localhost:8443

The Tag can be deleted as follows.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Administrator role.

Arguments

Argument	Description
KEY_ID	The key ID to set the tag on.
TAG	The tag to set on the key.

Example

$ nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST delete-key-tag myFirstKey berlin

Deleted tag berlin for key myFirstKey on the NetHSM localhost:8443

Key Certificates

It is possible to set and query certificates for the keys stored on a NetHSM.

The supported MIME types are as follows.

• application/x-pem-file

• application/x-x509-ca-cert

• application/pgp-keys

The certificate can be set as follows.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Administrator role.

Required Options

Option	Description
-k, --key-id TEXT	The ID of the key to set the certificate for

Optional Options

Option	Description
-m, --mime-type MIME_TYPE	The MIME type of the certificate. The available MIME types are listed above.

Arguments

Argument	Description
FILENAME	Certificate file

Example

$ nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST set-certificate --key-id myFirstKey --mime-type application/x-pem-file /tmp/cert.pem

Updated the certificate for key myFirstKey on NetHSM localhost:8443

The certificate can be retrieved as follows.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Administrator or Operator role.

Required Options

Option	Description
-k, --key-id TEXT	The ID of the key to get the certificate for

Example

$ nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST get-certificate --key-id myFirstKey

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----

Key Certificate Signing Requests

The NetHSM supports generating CSR (Certificate Signing Requests) for the stored keys.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Administrator or Operator role.

Required Options

Option	Description
-k, --key-id TEXT	The ID of the key to generate the CSR for
--country TEXT	The country name
--state-or-province TEXT	The state or province name
--locality TEXT	The locality name
--organization TEXT	The organization name
--organizational-unit TEXT	The organization unit name
--common-name TEXT	The common name
--email-address TEXT	The email address

Example

$ nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST csr --key-id myFirstKey --country="DE" --state-or-province="Berlin" --locality="Berlin" --organization="Nitrokey" --organizational-unit="" --common-name=nitrokey.com --email-address="info@nitrokey.com"

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
MIHxMIGkAgEAMHExbzAJBgNVBAYTAkRFMA0GA1UEBwwGQmVybGluMA0GA1UECAwG
QmVybGluMA8GA1UECgwITml0cm9rZXkwEwYDVQQDDAxuaXRyb2tleS5jb20wHgYJ
KoZIhvcNAQkBFhFpbmZvQG5pdHJva2V5LmNvbTAqMAUGAytlcAMhADJMNAifke6s
u7CYqHGDy3xGtXVOUNbTJG6Gn4oki+j3oAAwBQYDK2VwA0EAQilRK2Mf6kfJ4ByI
WCn9A+8IHsnE7iFcuFZpmaKfcJwZiaQppHvPg/Z0zqldzviPQ1cjKR7hSZG+8GHH
gWjEDg==
-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----

Key Operations

All operations described in this chapter can only be executed for keys that are in the Namespace of the current user.

Encrypt

The NetHSM can encrypt data for symmetric keys, stored in the Key Store. In contrast encrypting data with asymmetric keys can not be done on the NetHSM, because of the concept in public-key cryptography to make the public key available to everybody. For asymmetric keys the NetHSM provides the public key, which can be used for encryption with an external tool. Please refer to the Show Key Details to learn more about how to retrieve the public key of a key in the Key Store.

Data can be encrypted for a symmetric key as follows.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Operator role.

Required Options

Option	Description
-k, --key-id TEXT	The ID of the key to encrypt the data with
-d, --data TEXT	The data in Base64 encoding
-m, --mode [AES_CBC]	The encrypt mode
-iv, --initialization-vector TEXT	The initialization vector in Base64 encoding

Example

$ nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST encrypt -k myFirstKey -d "TmV0SFNNIHJ1bGV6enp6enp6enp6enp6enp6enp6IQo=" -m AES_CBC -iv "aYlwUI4A9zL9tts4dMAq+A=="

Encrypted: Uk+9pgucdxTnbyIb/6+BDJef+HfRWhw+Eg3RcCvyHaU=
Initialization vector: aYlwUI4A9zL9tts4dMAq+A==

This prints the encrypted and base64 encoded message NetHSM rulezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!, and the initialization vector.

Data can be encrypted for asymmetric keys with OpenSSL as follows.

$ echo 'NetHSM rulez!' | openssl pkeyutl -encrypt -pubin -inkey public.pem | base64 > data.crypt

This writes the encrypted and base64 encoded message NetHSM rulez! into the file data.crypt, using the public key from public.pem.

Decrypt

The NetHSM can decrypt data for an private key stored in the Key Store on the NetHSM. This example uses the encrypted message from the previous chapter Encrypt.

The supported decrypt modes are as follows.

• RAW

• PKCS1

• OAEP_MD5

• OAEP_SHA1

• OAEP_SHA224

• OAEP_SHA256

• OAEP_SHA384

• OAEP_SHA512

• AES_CBC

The data can be decrypted as follows.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Operator role.

Required Options

Option	Description
-k, --key-id TEXT	The ID of the key to decrypt the data width
-d, --data TEXT	The encrypted data in Base64 encoding
-m, --mode MODE	The decrypt mode. Available modes are listed above.

Example

$ nitropy nethsm -h $NETHSM_HOST decrypt -k myFirstKey -d "$(cat data.crypt)" -m PKCS1 | base64 -d

NetHSM rulez!

Sign

The NetHSM can sign data for a private key stored in the Key Store on the NetHSM. For signatures with a RSA and ECDSA key, a digest must be calculate first.

To calculate a digest the data is required first. A message is created as follows.

$ echo 'NetHSM rulez!' > data

The digest is calculated with OpenSSL as follows.

$ openssl dgst -sha256 -binary data | base64 > data.digest

The supported signing modes are as follows.

• PKCS1

• PSS_MD5

• PSS_SHA1

• PSS_SHA224

• PSS_SHA256

• PSS_SHA384

• PSS_SHA512

• EdDSA

• ECDSA

From the digest a signature can be created as follows.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Operator role.

Required Options

Option	Description
-k, --key-id TEXT	The ID of the key to sign the data width
-d, --data TEXT	The data to sign encoded using Base64
-m, --mode MODE	The sign mode

Example

$ nitropy nethsm -h $NETHSM_HOST sign -k myFirstKey -m PKCS1 -d "$(cat data.digest)" | base64 -d > data.sig

The created signature can be verified with OpenSSL as follows.

$ openssl dgst -sha256 -verify public.pem -signature data.sig -sigopt rsa_padding_mode:pss -sigopt rsa_pss_saltlen:-1 data

Verified OK

Random

The NetHSM can provide random bytes as a Base64 string.

nitropyREST API

Required Role

This operation requires an authentication with the Operator role.

Arguments

Argument	Description
LENGTH	Bytes to retrieve

Example

nitropy nethsm --host $NETHSM_HOST random 4

94A2rg==