PKCS12_DECRYPT_SKEY(3ossl)

💖 PKCS12_DECRYPT_SKEY — the OpenSSL manual, but make it make sense 💖

okay bestie, gather round, because this is pkcs12_decrypt_skey(3ossl) and it's genuinely one of the more chill pages in the OpenSSL docs. no cap. two functions, one job: get the key out of the bag. let's GO ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

PKCS12_decrypt_skey, PKCS12_decrypt_skey_ex — the PKCS12 shrouded keyBag decrypt functions, aka the "unlock the little locked bag and hand me my key" functions 💅

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

like, here's the vibe in code form:

#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);

copy that exactly, bestie, don't freestyle the signature 🙈

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so. PKCS12_decrypt_skey() does the thing: it decrypts the PKCS#8 shrouded keybag that's sitting inside bag, and it uses the password you hand it — that's pass — which has length passlen. that's it. that's the whole job. iconic.

PKCS12_decrypt_skey_ex() is literally the same energy, except it also lets you pass a library context ctx and a property query propq, which get used to pick which algorithm implementations get selected. so if you're being fancy about your crypto providers, this is your girl. 💜

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✨ RETURN VALUES ✨

both functions hand you back the decrypted key… or NULL if something went wrong. that's the whole deal. no in-between. if you get NULL, bestie, something happened. 😭

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🌈 CONFORMING TO 🌈

IETF RFC 7292 (<https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7292>) — yes it's a real standard, yes it's the PKCS#12 one, go read it if you're that kind of girl 🧚

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

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

(the whole friend group, fr fr 🫶)

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⭐ HISTORY ⭐

PKCS12_decrypt_skey_ex() was added in OpenSSL 3.0. so if you're on something older, the _ex version simply does not exist for you. vibe check failed, sorry babe 💀

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💜 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>.

yes you actually have to read the license. it's the rules. it's giving responsible. 🎀

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and that's the page!! this was OpenSSL 3.5.9, dated 2026-09-29, and it lives at PKCS12_DECRYPT_SKEY(3ossl). slay, go decrypt something, mwah 💖✨🦋