DES secret key objects

DES secret key objects (object class CKO_SECRET_KEY, key type CKK_DES) hold single-length DES keys. The following table defines the DES secret key object attributes, in addition to the common attributes defined for this object class:

Table 320, DES Secret Key Object
Attribute Data type Meaning

CKA_VALUE^1,4,6,7 Byte array Key value (always 8 bytes long)

^-Refer to Table 15 for footnotes

DES keys must always have their parity bits properly set as described in FIPS PUB 46-3. Attempting to create or unwrap a DES key with incorrect parity will return an error.

The following is a sample template for creating a DES secret key object:

CK_OBJECT_CLASS class = CKO_SECRET_KEY;
CK_KEY_TYPE keyType = CKK_DES;
CK_UTF8CHAR label[] = "A DES secret key object";
CK_BYTE value[8] = {...};
CK_BBOOL true = CK_TRUE;
CK_ATTRIBUTE template[] = {
{CKA_CLASS, &class, sizeof(class)},
{CKA_KEY_TYPE, &keyType, sizeof(keyType)},
{CKA_TOKEN, &true, sizeof(true)},
{CKA_LABEL, label, sizeof(label)-1},
{CKA_ENCRYPT, &true, sizeof(true)},
{CKA_VALUE, value, sizeof(value)}
};

CKA_CHECK_VALUE: The value of this attribute is derived from the key object by taking the first three bytes of the ECB encryption of a single block of null (0x00) bytes, using the default cipher associated with the key type of the secret key object.

RSA Security Inc. Public-Key Cryptography Standards - PKCS#11 - v230

Attribute	Data type	Meaning
CKA_VALUE^1,4,6,7	Byte array	Key value (always 8 bytes long)