PKCS#12

The standard container for shipping a private key and certificate together, ubiquitous in B2B.

Definition

A PKCS#12 file wraps a private key, its certificate and the intermediate chain, all encrypted under a passphrase. It is the usual import/export format for AS2 keystores, Peppol Access Points and browsers.

Origin

PKCS#12 format published by RSA Laboratories and standardized in IETF RFC 7292, "PKCS #12: Personal Information Exchange Syntax v1.1".

Example in context

openssl pkcs12 -export -inkey ap.key -in ap.crt -certfile chain.crt -out ap.p12 — assembles key, certificate and chain into an AS2 keystore.

Related terms

• CSR (PKCS#10) — the request behind the bundled certificate.
• X.509 — the certificate held inside the PKCS#12.