PKCS12_DECRYPT_SKEY(3ossl)

💅 PKCS12_DECRYPT_SKEY(3ossl) 💅

okay so bestie, welcome to the OpenSSL manual, section 3ossl — yes it's a real section, yes it's where all the library-function lore lives. This page is about two little functions that unlock shrouded keybags, and ngl the whole thing is kinda iconic. ✨

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🎀 NAME 🎀

PKCS12_decrypt_skey, PKCS12_decrypt_skey_ex — the PKCS12 shrouded keyBag decrypt functions. that's it, that's the vibe. 🔓

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

like, here's the actual shape of them, character for character, no cap:

#include <openssl/pkcs12.h>

PKCS8_PRIV_KEY_INFO *PKCS12_decrypt_skey(const PKCS12_SAFEBAG *bag,
                                         const char *pass, int passlen);
PKCS8_PRIV_KEY_INFO *PKCS12_decrypt_skey_ex(const PKCS12_SAFEBAG *bag,
                                            const char *pass, int passlen,
                                            OSSL_LIB_CTX *ctx,
                                            const char *propq);

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so PKCS12_decrypt_skey() decrypts the PKCS#8 shrouded keybag that's chillin' inside bag, using the password you hand it — pass — and the length of that password, passlen. that's the whole job. main character energy, honestly. 🗝️

PKCS12_decrypt_skey_ex() is basically the same thing but with ✨options✨: you also get to pass a library context ctx and a property query propq, which are used to select algorithm implementations. fancy. iykyk. 🧚

🔥 RETURN VALUES 🔥

both functions return the decrypted key. and if something goes wrong? they return NULL. that's the entire story, no plot twist. 😭

🌸 CONFORMING TO 🌸

IETF RFC 7292 (<https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7292>) — yes, a whole RFC, she's documented fr fr. 📜

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

go read these besties too, they're all in the same friend group:

• PKCS8_decrypt_ex(3)
• PKCS8_encrypt_ex(3)
• PKCS12_add_key_ex(3)
• PKCS12_SAFEBAG_create_pkcs8_encrypt_ex(3)

⭐ HISTORY ⭐

PKCS12_decrypt_skey_ex() was added in OpenSSL 3.0. the _ex era began, and honestly? we were all better for it. 💜

🌈 COPYRIGHT 🌈

Copyright 2021-2022 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at <https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.

this is the legal bit so pls don't skip it, the lawyers are watching 🙈

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and that's a wrap! 🫶 brought to you by OpenSSL 3.5.6, dated 2026-04-07, and this little page right here is PKCS12_DECRYPT_SKEY(3ossl) signing off. slay, decrypt responsibly, bye bestie 💅💖