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Security Fundamentals & Crypto · Intermediate

Public Key Cryptography Standards #12 (PKCS #12)

Password-protected archive format (.pfx/.p12) that bundles a certificate, its chain, and the private key.

Definition

PKCS #12 is used to import or export a certificate together with its private key, such as moving a server certificate between systems. The file is encrypted with a password. Because it contains the private key, it must be handled as highly sensitive.

Example

openssl pkcs12 -export -inkey site.key -in site.crt -certfile chain.crt -out site.pfx

Exam tip

PFX/P12 contains the private key; P7B does not.

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