PHP 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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<?php

$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 = new COM("Chilkat.PrivateKey");

//  The PEM text of an encrypted private key.
$pemText = '-----BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY-----\nMIIFHzBJ...\n-----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) {
    print $privKey->LastErrorText . "\n";
    exit;
}

print 'Loaded a ' . $privKey->KeyType . ' private key.' . "\n";

?>