Generate asymmetric keys using CloudHSM CLI

Use the commands listed in The generate-asymmetric-pair category in CloudHSM CLI to generate asymmetric key pairs for AWS CloudHSM clusters.

Generate an RSA key

Use the key generate-asymmetric-pair rsa command to generate an RSA key pair. To see all available options, use the help key generate-asymmetric-pair rsa command.

The following example generates an RSA 2048-bit key pair.

aws-cloudhsm > key generate-asymmetric-pair rsa \
    --public-exponent 65537 \
    --modulus-size-bits 2048 \
    --public-label rsa-public-example \
    --private-label rsa-private-example

Arguments

<PUBLIC_LABEL>

Specifies a user-defined label for the public-key.

Required: Yes

<PRIVATE_LABEL>

Specifies a user-defined label for the private-key.

Required: Yes

<MODULUS_SIZE_BITS>

Specifies the length of the modulus in bits. The minimum value is 2048.

Required: Yes

<PUBLIC_EXPONENT>

Specifies the public exponent. The value must be an odd number greater than or equal to 65537.

Required: Yes

<PUBLIC_KEY_ATTRIBUTES>

Specifies a space-separated list of key attributes to set for the generated RSA public key in the form of KEY_ATTRIBUTE_NAME=KEY_ATTRIBUTE_VALUE (for example, sign=true).

For a list of supported AWS CloudHSM key attributes, see Key attributes for CloudHSM CLI.

Required: No

<SESSION>

Creates a key that exists only in the current session. The key cannot be recovered after the session ends. Use this parameter when you need a key only briefly, such as a wrapping key that encrypts, and then quickly decrypts, another key. Do not use a session key to encrypt data that you might need to decrypt after the session ends.

To change a session key to a persistent (token) key, use key set-attribute.

By default, when keys are generated they are persistent/token keys. Using <SESSION> changes this, ensuring a key generated with this argument is a session/ephemeral

Required: No

Generate EC (elliptic curve cryptography) key pairs

Use the key generate-asymmetric-pair ec command to generate an EC key pair. To see all available options,including a list of the supported elliptic curves, use the help key generate-asymmetric-pair ec command.

The following example generates an EC key pair using the Secp384r1 elliptic curve.

aws-cloudhsm > key generate-asymmetric-pair ec \
    --curve secp384r1 \
    --public-label ec-public-example \
    --private-label ec-private-example

Arguments

<PUBLIC_LABEL>

Specifies a user-defined label for the public-key. The maximum size allowable for label is 127 characters for Client SDK 5.11 and after. Client SDK 5.10 and before has a limit of 126 characters.

Required: Yes

<PRIVATE_LABEL>

Specifies a user-defined label for the private-key. The maximum size allowable for label is 127 characters for Client SDK 5.11 and after. Client SDK 5.10 and before has a limit of 126 characters.

Required: Yes

<CURVE>

Specifies the identifier for the elliptic curve.

Valid values:

• prime256v1

• secp256r1

• secp224r1

• secp384r1

• secp256k1

• secp521r1

Required: Yes

<PUBLIC_KEY_ATTRIBUTES>

Specifies a space-separated list of key attributes to set for the generated EC public key in the form of KEY_ATTRIBUTE_NAME=KEY_ATTRIBUTE_VALUE (for example, verify=true).

For a list of supported AWS CloudHSM key attributes, see Key attributes for CloudHSM CLI.

Required: No

<PRIVATE_KEY_ATTRIBUTES>

Specifies a space-separated list of key attributes to set for the generated EC private key in the form of KEY_ATTRIBUTE_NAME=KEY_ATTRIBUTE_VALUE (for example, sign=true).

For a list of supported AWS CloudHSM key attributes, see Key attributes for CloudHSM CLI.

Required: No

<SESSION>

Creates a key that exists only in the current session. The key cannot be recovered after the session ends. Use this parameter when you need a key only briefly, such as a wrapping key that encrypts, and then quickly decrypts, another key. Do not use a session key to encrypt data that you might need to decrypt after the session ends.

To change a session key to a persistent (token) key, use key set-attribute.

By default, keys that are generated are persistent (token) keys. Passing in <SESSION> changes this, ensuring a key generated with this argument is a session (ephemeral) key.

Required: No