GnuPG has support for PIV cards (``Personal Identity Verification'' as specified by NIST Special
Publication 800-73-4). This section describes how to initialize (personalize) a fresh Yubikey token
featuring the PIV application (requires Yubikey-5). We assume that the credentials have not yet been
changed and thus are:
Authenticationkey
This is a 24 byte key described by the hex string
010203040506070801020304050607080102030405060708.
PIVApplicationPIN
This is the string 123456.
PINUnblockingKey
This is the string 12345678.
See the example section on how to change these defaults. For production use it is important to use
secure values for them. Note that the Authentication Key is not queried via the usual Pinentry dialog
but needs to be entered manually or read from a file. The use of a dedicated machine to personalize
tokens is strongly suggested.
To see what is on the card, the command list can be given. We will use the interactive mode in the
following (the string gpg/card> is the prompt). An example output for a fresh card is:
gpg/card> list
Reader ...........: 1050:0407:X:0
Card type ........: yubikey
Card firmware ....: 5.1.2
Serial number ....: D2760001240102010006090746250000
Application type .: OpenPGP
Version ..........: 2.1
[...]
It can be seen by the ``Application type'' line that GnuPG selected the OpenPGP application of the
Yubikey. This is because GnuPG assigns the highest priority to the OpenPGP application. To use the PIV
application of the Yubikey several methods can be used:
With a Yubikey 5 or later the OpenPGP application on the Yubikey can be disabled:
gpg/card> yubikey disable all opgp
gpg/card> yubikey list
Application USB NFC
-----------------------
OTP yes yes
U2F yes yes
OPGP no no
PIV yes no
OATH yes yes
FIDO2 yes yes
gpg/card> reset
The reset is required so that the GnuPG system rereads the card. Note that disabled applications keep
all their data and can at any time be re-enabled (use ‘help yubikey’).
Another option, which works for all Yubikey versions, is to disable the support for OpenPGP cards in
scdaemon. This is done by adding the line
disable-application openpgp
to ‘~/.gnupg/scdaemon.conf’ and by restarting scdaemon, either by killing the process or by using
‘gpgconf --kill scdaemon’. Finally the default order in which card applications are tried by scdaemon
can be changed. For example to prefer PIV over OpenPGP it is sufficient to add
application-priority piv
to ‘~/.gnupg/scdaemon.conf’ and to restart scdaemon. This has an effect only on tokens which support
both, PIV and OpenPGP, but does not hamper the use of OpenPGP only tokens.
With one of these methods employed the list command of gpg-card shows this:
gpg/card> list
Reader ...........: 1050:0407:X:0
Card type ........: yubikey
Card firmware ....: 5.1.2
Serial number ....: FF020001008A77C1
Application type .: PIV
Version ..........: 1.0
Displayed s/n ....: yk-9074625
PIN usage policy .: app-pin
PIN retry counter : - 3 -
PIV authentication: [none]
keyref .....: PIV.9A
Card authenticat. : [none]
keyref .....: PIV.9E
Digital signature : [none]
keyref .....: PIV.9C
Key management ...: [none]
keyref .....: PIV.9D
In case several tokens are plugged into the computer, gpg-card will show only one. To show another token
the number of the token (0, 1, 2, ...) can be given as an argument to the list command. The command
‘list --cards’ prints a list of all inserted tokens.
Note that the ``Displayed s/n'' is printed on the token and also shown in Pinentry prompts asking for the
PIN. The four standard key slots are always shown, if other key slots are initialized they are shown as
well. The PIVauthentication key (internal reference PIV.9A) is used to authenticate the card and the
card holder. The use of the associated private key is protected by the Application PIN which needs to be
provided once and the key can the be used until the card is reset or removed from the reader or USB port.
GnuPG uses this key with its SecureShell support. The Cardauthentication key (PIV.9E) is also known as
the CAK and used to support physical access applications. The private key is not protected by a PIN and
can thus immediately be used. The Digitalsignature key (PIV.9C) is used to digitally sign documents.
The use of the associated private key is protected by the Application PIN which needs to be provided for
each signing operation. The Keymanagement key (PIV.9D) is used for encryption. The use of the
associated private key is protected by the Application PIN which needs to be provided only once so that
decryption operations can then be done until the card is reset or removed from the reader or USB port.
We now generate three of the four keys. Note that GnuPG does currently not use the the Cardauthentication key; however, that key is mandatory by the PIV standard and thus we create it too. Key
generation requires that we authenticate to the card. This can be done either on the command line (which
would reveal the key):
gpg/card> auth 010203040506070801020304050607080102030405060708
or by reading the key from a file. That file needs to consist of one LF terminated line with the hex
encoded key (as above):
gpg/card> auth < myauth.key
As usual ‘help auth’ gives help for this command. An error message is printed if a non-matching key is
used. The authentication is valid until a reset of the card or until the card is removed from the reader
or the USB port. Note that that in non-interactive mode the ‘<’ needs to be quoted so that the shell
does not interpret it as a its own redirection symbol.
Here are the actual commands to generate the keys:
gpg/card> generate --algo=nistp384 PIV.9A
PIV card no. yk-9074625 detected
gpg/card> generate --algo=nistp256 PIV.9E
PIV card no. yk-9074625 detected
gpg/card> generate --algo=rsa2048 PIV.9C
PIV card no. yk-9074625 detected
If a key has already been created for one of the slots an error will be printed; to create a new key
anyway the option ‘--force’ can be used. Note that only the private and public keys have been created
but no certificates are stored in the key slots. In fact, GnuPG uses its own non-standard method to
store just the public key in place of the the certificate. Other application will not be able to make
use these keys until gpgsm or another tool has been used to create and store the respective certificates.
Let us see what the list command now shows:
gpg/card> list
Reader ...........: 1050:0407:X:0
Card type ........: yubikey
Card firmware ....: 5.1.2
Serial number ....: FF020001008A77C1
Application type .: PIV
Version ..........: 1.0
Displayed s/n ....: yk-9074625
PIN usage policy .: app-pin
PIN retry counter : - 3 -
PIV authentication: 213D1825FDE0F8240CB4E4229F01AF90AC658C2E
keyref .....: PIV.9A (auth)
algorithm ..: nistp384
Card authenticat. : 7A53E6CFFE7220A0E646B4632EE29E5A7104499C
keyref .....: PIV.9E (auth)
algorithm ..: nistp256
Digital signature : 32A6C6FAFCB8421878608AAB452D5470DD3223ED
keyref .....: PIV.9C (sign,cert)
algorithm ..: rsa2048
Key management ...: [none]
keyref .....: PIV.9D
The primary information for each key is the keygrip, a 40 byte hex-string identifying the key. This
keygrip is a unique identifier for the specific parameters of a key. It is used by gpg-agent and other
parts of GnuPG to associate a private key to its protocol specific certificate format (X.509, OpenPGP, or
SecureShell). Below the keygrip the key reference along with the key usage capabilities are show.
Finally the algorithm is printed in the format used by {gpg}. At that point no other information is
shown because for these new keys gpg won't be able to find matching certificates.
Although we could have created the Keymanagement key also with the generate command, we will create that
key off-card so that a backup exists. To accomplish this a key needs to be created with either gpg or
gpgsm or imported in one of these tools. In our example we create a self-signed X.509 certificate (exit
the gpg-card tool, first):
$ gpgsm --gen-key -o encr.crt
(1) RSA
(2) Existing key
(3) Existing key from card
Your selection? 1
What keysize do you want? (3072) 2048
Requested keysize is 2048 bits
Possible actions for a RSA key:
(1) sign, encrypt
(2) sign
(3) encrypt
Your selection? 3
Enter the X.509 subject name: CN=Encryption key for yk-9074625,O=example,C=DE
Enter email addresses (end with an empty line):
> otto@example.net
>
Enter DNS names (optional; end with an empty line):
>
Enter URIs (optional; end with an empty line):
>
Create self-signed certificate? (y/N) y
These parameters are used:
Key-Type: RSA
Key-Length: 2048
Key-Usage: encrypt
Serial: random
Name-DN: CN=Encryption key for yk-9074625,O=example,C=DE
Name-Email: otto@example.net
Proceed with creation? (y/N)
Now creating self-signed certificate. This may take a while ...
gpgsm: about to sign the certificate for key: &34798AAFE0A7565088101CC4AE31C5C8C74461CB
gpgsm: certificate created
Ready.
$ gpgsm --import encr.crt
gpgsm: certificate imported
gpgsm: total number processed: 1
gpgsm: imported: 1
Note the last step which imported the created certificate. If you you instead created a certificate
signing request (CSR) instead of a self-signed certificate and sent this off to a CA you would do the
same import step with the certificate received from the CA. Take note of the keygrip (prefixed with an
ampersand) as shown during the certificate creation or listed it again using ‘gpgsm --with-keygrip -k
otto@example.net’. Now to move the key and certificate to the card start gpg-card again and enter:
gpg/card> writekey PIV.9D 34798AAFE0A7565088101CC4AE31C5C8C74461CB
gpg/card> writecert PIV.9D < encr.crt
If you entered a passphrase to protect the private key, you will be asked for it via the Pinentry prompt.
On success the key and the certificate has been written to the card and a list command shows:
[...]
Key management ...: 34798AAFE0A7565088101CC4AE31C5C8C74461CB
keyref .....: PIV.9D (encr)
algorithm ..: rsa2048
used for ...: X.509
user id ..: CN=Encryption key for yk-9074625,O=example,C=DE
user id ..: <otto@example.net>
In case the same key (identified by the keygrip) has been used for several certificates you will see
several ``used for'' parts. With this the encryption key is now fully functional and can be used to
decrypt messages encrypted to this certificate. Takecare: the original key is still stored on-disk and
should be moved to a backup medium. This can simply be done by copying the file
‘34798AAFE0A7565088101CC4AE31C5C8C74461CB.key’ from the directory ‘~/.gnupg/private-keys-v1.d/’ to the
backup medium and deleting the file at its original place.
The final example is to create a self-signed certificate for digital signatures. Leave gpg-card using
quit or by pressing Control-D and use gpgsm:
$ gpgsm --learn
$ gpgsm --gen-key -o sign.crt
Please select what kind of key you want:
(1) RSA
(2) Existing key
(3) Existing key from card
Your selection? 3
Serial number of the card: FF020001008A77C1
Available keys:
(1) 213D1825FDE0F8240CB4E4229F01AF90AC658C2E PIV.9A nistp384
(2) 7A53E6CFFE7220A0E646B4632EE29E5A7104499C PIV.9E nistp256
(3) 32A6C6FAFCB8421878608AAB452D5470DD3223ED PIV.9C rsa2048
(4) 34798AAFE0A7565088101CC4AE31C5C8C74461CB PIV.9D rsa2048
Your selection? 3
Possible actions for a RSA key:
(1) sign, encrypt
(2) sign
(3) encrypt
Your selection? 2
Enter the X.509 subject name: CN=Signing key for yk-9074625,O=example,C=DE
Enter email addresses (end with an empty line):
> otto@example.net
>
Enter DNS names (optional; end with an empty line):
>
Enter URIs (optional; end with an empty line):
>
Create self-signed certificate? (y/N)
These parameters are used:
Key-Type: card:PIV.9C
Key-Length: 1024
Key-Usage: sign
Serial: random
Name-DN: CN=Signing key for yk-9074625,O=example,C=DE
Name-Email: otto@example.net
Proceed with creation? (y/N) y
Now creating self-signed certificate. This may take a while ...
gpgsm: about to sign the certificate for key: &32A6C6FAFCB8421878608AAB452D5470DD3223ED
gpgsm: certificate created
Ready.
$ gpgsm --import sign.crt
gpgsm: certificate imported
gpgsm: total number processed: 1
gpgsm: imported: 1
The use of ‘gpgsm --learn’ is currently necessary so that gpg-agent knows what keys are available on the
card. The need for this command will eventually be removed. The remaining commands are similar to the
creation of an on-disk key. However, here we select the ‘Digital signature’ key. During the creation
process you will be asked for the Application PIN of the card. The final step is to write the
certificate to the card using gpg-card:
gpg/card> writecert PIV.9C < sign.crt
By running list again we will see the fully initialized card:
Reader ...........: 1050:0407:X:0
Card type ........: yubikey
Card firmware ....: 5.1.2
Serial number ....: FF020001008A77C1
Application type .: PIV
Version ..........: 1.0
Displayed s/n ....: yk-9074625
PIN usage policy .: app-pin
PIN retry counter : - [verified] -
PIV authentication: 213D1825FDE0F8240CB4E4229F01AF90AC658C2E
keyref .....: PIV.9A (auth)
algorithm ..: nistp384
Card authenticat. : 7A53E6CFFE7220A0E646B4632EE29E5A7104499C
keyref .....: PIV.9E (auth)
algorithm ..: nistp256
Digital signature : 32A6C6FAFCB8421878608AAB452D5470DD3223ED
keyref .....: PIV.9C (sign,cert)
algorithm ..: rsa2048
used for ...: X.509
user id ..: CN=Signing key for yk-9074625,O=example,C=DE
user id ..: <otto@example.net>
Key management ...: 34798AAFE0A7565088101CC4AE31C5C8C74461CB
keyref .....: PIV.9D (encr)
algorithm ..: rsa2048
used for ...: X.509
user id ..: CN=Encryption key for yk-9074625,O=example,C=DE
user id ..: <otto@example.net>
It is now possible to sign and to encrypt with this card using gpgsm and to use the ‘PIV authentication’
key with ssh:
$ ssh-add -l
384 SHA256:0qnJ0Y0ehWxKcx2frLfEljf6GCdlO55OZed5HqGHsaU cardno:yk-9074625 (ECDSA)
As usual use ssh-add with the uppercase ‘-L’ to list the public ssh key. To use the certificates with
Thunderbird or Mozilla, please consult the Scute manual for details.
If you want to use the same PIV keys also for OpenPGP (for example on a Yubikey to avoid switching
between OpenPGP and PIV), this is also possible:
$ gpgsm --learn
$ gpg --full-gen-key
Please select what kind of key you want:
(1) RSA and RSA (default)
(2) DSA and Elgamal
(3) DSA (sign only)
(4) RSA (sign only)
(14) Existing key from card
Your selection? 14
Serial number of the card: FF020001008A77C1
Available keys:
(1) 213D1825FDE0F8240CB4E4229F01AF90AC658C2E PIV.9A nistp384 (auth)
(2) 7A53E6CFFE7220A0E646B4632EE29E5A7104499C PIV.9E nistp256 (auth)
(3) 32A6C6FAFCB8421878608AAB452D5470DD3223ED PIV.9C rsa2048 (cert,sign)
(4) 34798AAFE0A7565088101CC4AE31C5C8C74461CB PIV.9D rsa2048 (encr)
Your selection? 3
Please specify how long the key should be valid.
0 = key does not expire
<n> = key expires in n days
<n>w = key expires in n weeks
<n>m = key expires in n months
<n>y = key expires in n years
Key is valid for? (0)
Key does not expire at all
Is this correct? (y/N) y
GnuPG needs to construct a user ID to identify your key.
Real name:
Email address: otto@example.net
Comment:
You selected this USER-ID:
"otto@example.net"
Change (N)ame, (C)omment, (E)mail or (O)kay/(Q)uit? o
gpg: key C3AFA9ED971BB365 marked as ultimately trusted
gpg: revocation certificate stored as '[...]D971BB365.rev'
public and secret key created and signed.
Note that this key cannot be used for encryption. You may want to use
the command "--edit-key" to generate a subkey for this purpose.
pub rsa2048 2019-04-04 [SC]
7F899AE2FB73159DD68A1B20C3AFA9ED971BB365
uid otto@example.net
Note that you will be asked two times to enter the PIN of your PIV card. If you run gpg in --expert mode
you will also ge given the option to change the usage flags of the key. The next typescript shows how to
add the encryption subkey:
$ gpg --edit-key 7F899AE2FB73159DD68A1B20C3AFA9ED971BB365
Secret key is available.
sec rsa2048/C3AFA9ED971BB365
created: 2019-04-04 expires: never usage: SC
card-no: FF020001008A77C1
trust: ultimate validity: ultimate
[ultimate] (1). otto@example.net
gpg> addkey
Secret parts of primary key are stored on-card.
Please select what kind of key you want:
(3) DSA (sign only)
(4) RSA (sign only)
(5) Elgamal (encrypt only)
(6) RSA (encrypt only)
(14) Existing key from card
Your selection? 14
Serial number of the card: FF020001008A77C1
Available keys:
(1) 213D1825FDE0F8240CB4E4229F01AF90AC658C2E PIV.9A nistp384 (auth)
(2) 7A53E6CFFE7220A0E646B4632EE29E5A7104499C PIV.9E nistp256 (auth)
(3) 32A6C6FAFCB8421878608AAB452D5470DD3223ED PIV.9C rsa2048 (cert,sign)
(4) 34798AAFE0A7565088101CC4AE31C5C8C74461CB PIV.9D rsa2048 (encr)
Your selection? 4
Please specify how long the key should be valid.
0 = key does not expire
<n> = key expires in n days
<n>w = key expires in n weeks
<n>m = key expires in n months
<n>y = key expires in n years
Key is valid for? (0)
Key does not expire at all
Is this correct? (y/N) y
Really create? (y/N) y
sec rsa2048/C3AFA9ED971BB365
created: 2019-04-04 expires: never usage: SC
card-no: FF020001008A77C1
trust: ultimate validity: ultimate
ssb rsa2048/7067860A98FCE6E1
created: 2019-04-04 expires: never usage: E
card-no: FF020001008A77C1
[ultimate] (1). otto@example.net
gpg> save
Now you can use your PIV card also with gpg.