Basic usage

The pskc module implements a simple and efficient API for parsing PSKC files.

Opening a PSKC file

Importing data from a PSKC file can be done by instantiating a PSKC class:

from pskc import PSKC
pskc = PSKC('somefile.pskcxml')
class pskc.PSKC(filename)

The PSKC class is used as a wrapper to access information from a PSKC file. The whole file is parsed in one go. Instances of this class provide the following attributes:

version

The PSKC format version used. Only version 1.0 is currently specified in RFC6030.

id

A unique identifier for the container.

keys

A list of pskc.key.Key instances that represent the keys within the PSKC file.

encryption

Instance of the pskc.encryption.Encryption class that handles PSKC file encryption.

mac

Instance of the pskc.mac.MAC class that handles integrity checking.

Examining keys

The pskc.PSKC.keys attribute provides access to the keys contained in the PSKC file. Instances of the Key class provide access to a number of attributes that provide information on the transmitted keys:

pskc = PSKC('somefile.pskcxml')
first_key = pskc.keys[0]

Attribute values will be None if it the value is not present in the PSKC file.

class pskc.key.Key
id

A unique identifier for the key. If there are multiple interactions with the same key in multiple instances of PSKC files the id is supposed to remain the same.

algorithm

A URI that identifies the PSKC algorithm profile. The algorithm profile associates specific semantics to the key. Some known profiles are:

secret

The binary value of the transported secret key. If the key information is encrypted in the PSKC file it is transparently decrypted if possible.

counter

The event counter for event-based OTP algorithms.

time_offset

The time offset offset for time-based OTP algorithms. If time intervals are used it carries the number of time intervals passed from an algorithm-dependent start point.

time_interval

The time interval in seconds for time-based OTP algorithms (usually 30 or 60).

time_drift

For time-based OTP algorithms this contains the device clock drift in number of intervals.

issuer

The name of the party that issued the key. This may be different from the manufacturer of the device.

key_profile

A reference to a pre-shared key profile agreed upon between the sending and receiving parties. The profile information itself is not transmitted within the container. See RFC6030.

key_reference

A reference to an external key that is not contained within the PSKC file (e.g., a PKCS #11 key label). If this attribute is present, the secret attribute will generally be missing.

friendly_name

A human-readable name for the secret key.

key_userid

The distinguished name of the user associated with the key. Also see device_userid.

manufacturer

The name of the manufacturer of the device to which the key is provisioned. RFC6030 prescribes that the value is of the form oath.prefix for OATH Manufacturer Prefixes or iana.organisation for IANA Private Enterprise Numbers however, it is generally just a string. The value may be different from the issuer of the key on the device.

serial

The serial number of the device to which the key is provisioned. Together with manufacturer (and perhaps issue_no) this should uniquely identify the device.

model

A manufacturer specific description of the model of the device.

issue_no

The issue number in case there are devices with the same serial number so that they can be distinguished by different issue numbers.

device_binding

Reference to a device identifier (e.g. IMEI) that allows a provisioning server to ensure that the key is going to be loaded into a specific device.

start_date

datetime.datetime value that indicates that the device should only be used after this date.

expiry_date

datetime.datetime value that indicates that the device should only be used before this date. Systems should not rely upon the device to enforce key usage date restrictions, as some devices do not have an internal clock.

device_userid

The distinguished name of the user associated with the device. Also see key_userid.

crypto_module

Implementation specific unique identifier of the cryptographic module on the device to which the keys have been (or will be) provisioned.

algorithm_suite

Additional algorithm specific characteristics. For example, in an HMAC-based algorithm it could designate the hash algorithm used (SHA1 or SHA256).

challenge_encoding

Encoding of the challenge accepted by the device for challenge-response authentication. One of:

  • DECIMAL: only numerical digits
  • HEXADECIMAL: hexadecimal
  • ALPHANUMERIC: all letters and numbers (case sensitive)
  • BASE64: base-64 encoded
  • BINARY: binary data
challenge_min_length

The minimum size of the challenge accepted by the device.

challenge_max_length

The maximum size of the challenge accepted by the device.

challenge_check

Boolean that indicates whether the device will check an embedded Luhn check digit contained in the challenge.

response_encoding

Format of the response that is generated by the device. If must be one of the values as described under challenge_encoding.

response_length

The length of the response generated by the device.

response_check

Boolean that indicates whether the device will append a Luhn check digit to the response.

policy

Instance of pskc.policy.Policy that provides key and PIN policy information. See Key usage policy.

check()

Check if any MACs in the key data embedded in the PSKC file are valid. Will return a boolean or None if no MACs are defined for the key. See Integrity checking.

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