Pkcs11 Excel Class Module Reference Documentation

Pkcs11

Current Version: 9.5.0.90

A wrapper around the Cryptographic Token Interface (Cryptoki API) for thePKCS11 architecture of smart cards and tokens. This class provides functions for accessing, adding, deleting, and performing operations on data, certificates, and keys. It integrates with other Chilkat classes to allow for smartcards and tokens to be used in various protocols (TLS, SSH, PDF, etc.), across different operating systems and programming languages.

This class is introduced in Chilkat v9.5.0.88.

Object Creation

Dim oPkcs11 As Chilkat.Pkcs11
Set oPkcs11 = Chilkat.NewPkcs11

Properties

DebugLogFilePath
DebugLogFilePath As String

If set to a file path, causes each Chilkat method or property call to automatically append it's LastErrorText to the specified log file. The information is appended such that if a hang or crash occurs, it is possible to see the context in which the problem occurred, as well as a history of all Chilkat calls up to the point of the problem. The VerboseLogging property can be set to provide more detailed information.

This property is typically used for debugging the rare cases where a Chilkat method call hangs or generates an exception that halts program execution (i.e. crashes). A hang or crash should generally never happen. The typical causes of a hang are:

  1. a timeout related property was set to 0 to explicitly indicate that an infinite timeout is desired,
  2. the hang is actually a hang within an event callback (i.e. it is a hang within the application code), or
  3. there is an internal problem (bug) in the Chilkat code that causes the hang.

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LastErrorHtml
LastErrorHtml As String (read only)

Provides information in HTML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastErrorText
LastErrorText As String (read only)

Provides information in plain-text format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastErrorXml
LastErrorXml As String (read only)

Provides information in XML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastMethodSuccess
LastMethodSuccess As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

Indicate whether the last method call succeeded or failed. A value of True indicates success, a value of False indicates failure. This property is automatically set for method calls. It is not modified by property accesses. The property is automatically set to indicate success for the following types of method calls:

  • Any method that returns a string.
  • Any method returning a Chilkat object, binary bytes, or a date/time.
  • Any method returning a standard boolean status value where success = True and failure = False.
  • Any method returning an integer where failure is defined by a return value less than zero.

Note: Methods that do not fit the above requirements will always set this property equal to True. For example, a method that returns no value (such as a "void" in C++) will technically always succeed.

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NumCerts
NumCerts As Long (read only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

The number of certificates contained on the smart card or USB token. This property is set when FindAllCerts is called.

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SharedLibPath
SharedLibPath As String
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

On Windows systems, then should be set to the name of the DLL file (if the DLL is located in C:\Windows\System32), or it can be the full path to the DLL.

On Linux, MacOSX, or other non-Windows systems, this can also be either the full path to the .so or .dylib, or just the .so or .dylib filename. On these systems, Chilkat calls the dlopen system function to load the shared library. If just the filename is passed in, the directories searched are those indicated in the dlopen function description at https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man3/dlopen.3.html

More Information and Examples
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VerboseLogging
VerboseLogging As Long

If set to True, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is False. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
Version As String (read only)

Version of the component/library, such as "9.5.0.63"

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Methods

CloseSession
CloseSession() As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

Closes the session on the token (i.e. smart card).

Note: Memory leaks can occur if the session is not properly closed.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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Discover
Discover(onlyTokensPresent As Boolean, json As JsonObject) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

Discovers the readers, smart cards, and USB tokens accessible via PKCS11 on the computer (using the DLL/shared lib specified by SharedLibPath). The onlyTokensPresent specifies if only slots (readers) with tokens (smart cards) present should be returned. The information is written to the json. (For details, see the example below.)

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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FindAllCerts
FindAllCerts() As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

Finds all certificates contained on the smart card (or USB token). This sets the NumCerts property. Each certificate can be obtained by calling GetCert(index) where the 1st cert is at index 0.

Important: Private keys will not be seen unless the PKCS11 session is authenticated. To authenticate, your application must call Login after calling OpenSession.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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FindCert
FindCert(certPart As String, partValue As String, cert As Cert) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

Finds the certificate where the given certPart equals the partValue. Possible values for certPart are: "privateKey", "subjectDN", "subjectDN_withTags", "subjectCN", "serial", or "serial:issuerCN". If certPart equals "privateKey", then pass an empty string in partValue. Specifying "privateKey" means to return the first certificate having a private key.

The cert is loaded with the certificate if successful.

Important: Private keys will not be seen unless the PKCS11 session is authenticated. To authenticate, your application must call Login after calling OpenSession.

Note: If successful, the cert will be linked internally with this PKCS11 session such that certificate can be used for signing on the smart card when used in other Chilkat classes such as XmlDSigGen, Pdf, Crypt2, Mime, MailMan, etc.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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GetCert
GetCert(index As Long, cert As Cert) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

Loads cert with the Nth certificate indicated by index. The 1st certificate is at index 0. The FindAllCerts method must be called beforehand to load the certs from the smart card into this object. After calling FindAllCerts, the NumCerts property is set and each certificate can be retrieved by calling GetCert.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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Initialize
Initialize() As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

Initializes the PKCS#11 library. Should be called after specifying the SharedLibPath. The DLL (or .so/.dylib) is dynamically loaded and the PKCS#11 lib is initialized.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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InitPin
InitPin(pin As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.89

Initializes the normal user's PIN. This must be called from the security officer's (SO) logged-in session.

Note: To unblock a smart card, login to the SO (Security Officer) session using the PUK, and then call this with the new user PIN.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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InitToken
InitToken(slotId As Long, pin As String, tokenLabel As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.89

Initializes a token. slotId is the slot ID of the token's slot.

If the token has not been initialized (i.e. new from the factory), then the pPin parameter becomes the initial value of the SO (Security Officer) PIN. If the token is being reinitialized, the pin parameter is checked against the existing SO PIN to authorize the initialization operation.

When a token is initialized, all objects that can be destroyed are destroyed (i.e., all except for “indestructible” objects such as keys built into the token). Also, access by the normal user is disabled until the SO sets the normal user’s PIN. Depending on the token, some “default” objects may be created, and attributes of some objects may be set to default values.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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Login
Login(userType As Long, pin As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

Authenticates a session with a PIN. The userType can be one of the following integer values:

  1. Security Officer (0)
  2. Normal User (1)
  3. Context Specific (2)

Except for special circumstances, you'll always login as the Normal User.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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Logout
Logout() As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

Logs out from a token (smart card).

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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OpenSession
OpenSession(slotId As Long, readWrite As Boolean) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

Opens a session on the token (i.e. smart card). The slotId is the ID of the slot (not the index). Set slotId equal to -1 to choose the first available non-empty slot. The readWrite indicates whether the session should be read-only or read-write.

The PKCS11 terminology is confusing:

  • A "slot" corresponds to a connected smart card reader or USB hardware token, such as a Feitian ePass3003Auto token.
  • A "token" corresponds to the smart card inserted into the reader. If we have a USB hardware token, such as the epass3003Auto (or many others), then technically there is always a "smart card" inserted, because the USB hardware token is effectively both the reader and smart card wrapped in one inseparable device.
  • The PKCS11 DLL (or .so shared lib, or .dylib) is the vendor supplied PKCS11 implementation (driver) that provides the low-level "C" PKCS11 functions (called by Chilkat internally).
  • Generally, the number of slots will equal the number of connected smart cards or tokens belonging to the vendor of the DLL, or compatible with the DLL. In most cases you'll have your single reader with a single smart card inserted, and therefore only one slot exists.
  • Some PKCS11 DLLs are provided by a 3rd party and support many smart cards. For example, A.E.T. Europe B.V.'s "SafeSign Identity Client Standard Version 3.5" DLL is "aetpkss1.dll". It supports the following tokens:
    • Defensiepas
    • Defensiepas 2
    • G&D Convego Join 4.01 40k/80k
    • G&D SkySIM Hercules
    • G&D SkySIM Scorpius
    • G&D Sm@rtCafé Expert 3.2
    • G&D Sm@rtCafé Expert 4.0
    • G&D Sm@rtCafé Expert 5.0
    • G&D Sm@rtCafé Expert 6.0
    • G&D Sm@rtCafé Expert 7.0
    • G&D Sm@rtCafé Expert 64
    • Gemalto Desineo ICP D72 FXR1 Java
    • Gemalto IDCore 30
    • Gemalto MultiApp ID v2.1
    • Gemalto Optelio D72 FR1
    • Gemalto TOP DL v2
    • Infineon Oracle JCOS Ed.1
    • JCOP21 v2.3
    • Morpho IDealCitiz v2.1
    • Morpho JMV ProCL V3.0
    • NXP J2A080 / J2A081 (JCOP 2.4.1 R3)
    • NXP JD081 (JCOP 2.4.1 R3)
    • NXP J3A080 (JCOP 2.4.1 R3)
    • NXP JCOP 2.4.2 R3
    • NXP JCOP 3 SecID P60
    • Oberthur IDOne Cosmo v7.0
    • RDW ABR kaart
    • Rijkspas
    • Rijkspas 2
    • Sagem YpsID s2
    • Sagem YpsID s3
    • StarSign Crypto USB Token S
    • Swissbit PS-100u SE
    • UZI-pas
    • UZI-pas 2

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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SetPin
SetPin(oldPin As String, newPin As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.89

Modifies the PIN of the user that is currently logged in, or the Normal User PIN if the session is not logged in.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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