PKCS 12
In cryptography, PKCS #12 defines an archive file format for storing many cryptography objects as a single file. It is commonly used to bundle a private key with its X.509 certificate or to bundle all the members of a chain of trust.
| Filename extension | .p12, .pfx |
|---|---|
| Internet media type |
application/x-pkcs12 |
| Uniform Type Identifier (UTI) | com.rsa.pkcs-12 |
| Developed by | RSA Security |
| Initial release | 1996 |
| Latest release | PKCS #12 v1.1 27 October 2012 |
| Type of format | Archive file format |
| Container for | X.509 public key certificates, X.509 private keys, X.509 CRLs, generic data |
| Extended from | Microsoft PFX file format |
A PKCS #12 file may be encrypted and signed. The internal storage containers, called "SafeBags", may also be encrypted and signed. A few SafeBags are predefined to store certificates, private keys and CRLs. Another SafeBag is provided to store any other data at individual implementer's choice.
PKCS #12 is one of the family of standards called Public-Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS) published by RSA Laboratories.
The filename extension for PKCS #12 files is .p12 or .pfx.
These files can be created, parsed and read out with the OpenSSL pkcs12 command.