Delphi DLL

SFTP Authenticate with a SecureString Password

Demonstrates the Chilkat SFtp.AuthenticateSecPw method, which authenticates using SecureString login and password objects. The first argument is the login and the second is the password.

Background: A SecureString keeps the credential encrypted in memory, reducing the chance of a plaintext password lingering in the process. The behavior otherwise matches AuthenticatePw; only the credential handling is more protective. Populate the SecureString from a value obtained at runtime, not a hard-coded literal.

Chilkat Delphi DLL Downloads

Download Chilkat for Delphi DLL

Delphi DLL

var
success: Boolean;
sftp: HCkSFtp;
port: Integer;
password: PWideChar;
secureLogin: HCkSecureString;
securePassword: HCkSecureString;

begin
success := False;

//  Demonstrates the SFtp.AuthenticateSecPw method, which authenticates using SecureString login
//  and password objects.  The 1st argument is the login and the 2nd is the password.

sftp := CkSFtp_Create();

//  Step 1: Connect the SSH transport.  Port 22 is the usual port.
port := 22;
success := CkSFtp_Connect(sftp,'sftp.example.com',port);
if (success = False) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(CkSFtp__lastErrorText(sftp));
    Exit;
  end;

//  Normally you would not hard-code the password in source.  You should instead obtain it
//  from an interactive prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
password := 'mySshPassword';

//  Place the login and password into SecureString objects.
secureLogin := CkSecureString_Create();
CkSecureString_Append(secureLogin,'mySshLogin');
securePassword := CkSecureString_Create();
CkSecureString_Append(securePassword,password);

success := CkSFtp_AuthenticateSecPw(sftp,secureLogin,securePassword);
if (success = False) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(CkSFtp__lastErrorText(sftp));
    Exit;
  end;

//  Step 3: Open the SFTP subsystem.  This must be done after authentication and before any
//  file or directory operations.
success := CkSFtp_InitializeSftp(sftp);
if (success = False) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(CkSFtp__lastErrorText(sftp));
    Exit;
  end;

Memo1.Lines.Add('Authenticated with secure strings.');

CkSFtp_Disconnect(sftp);

CkSFtp_Dispose(sftp);
CkSecureString_Dispose(secureLogin);
CkSecureString_Dispose(securePassword);