Delphi ActiveX

Load an Encrypted Private Key from PEM Text

Demonstrates the Chilkat PrivateKey.LoadEncryptedPem method, which loads a private key from PEM text, using a password when the PEM is encrypted. The first argument is the PEM string and the second is the password. Unencrypted PEM is also accepted.

Background: An encrypted PEM protects the key material at rest — a stolen file is useless without the passphrase — which is why encrypted keys are preferred for anything shipped or stored. This loader supplies that passphrase to decrypt a BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY block (and gracefully handles unencrypted PEM too), so it is a safe default when a PEM might be either. The password should come from a secure source, never a hard-coded literal.

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var
success: Integer;
privKey: TPrivateKey;
pemText: WideString;
password: WideString;

begin
success := 0;

//  Demonstrates the PrivateKey.LoadEncryptedPem method, which loads a private key from PEM text.
//  The 1st argument is the PEM string and the 2nd is the password (used when the PEM is
//  encrypted).  Unencrypted PEM is also accepted.

privKey := TPrivateKey.Create(Self);

//  The PEM text of an encrypted private key.
pemText := '-----BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY-----' + #10 + 'MIIFHzBJ...' + #10 + '-----END ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY-----';

//  The key password is not hard-coded in a real application; obtain it from an interactive
//  prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
password := 'myKeyPassword';

success := privKey.LoadEncryptedPem(pemText,password);
if (success = 0) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(privKey.LastErrorText);
    Exit;
  end;

Memo1.Lines.Add('Loaded a ' + privKey.KeyType + ' private key.');