Provided by: tpm2-tools_5.4-1_amd64 
NAME
tpm2_readpublic(1) - Read the public area of a loaded object.
SYNOPSIS
tpm2_readpublic [OPTIONS]
DESCRIPTION
tpm2_readpublic(1) - Reads the public area of a loaded object.
OPTIONS
• -c, --object-context=OBJECT:
Context object for the object to read.
• -n, --name=FILE:
An optional file to save the name structure of the object.
• -f, --format:
Format selection for the public key output file. `tss' (the default) will output a
binary blob according to the TPM 2.0 Specification. `pem' will output an OpenSSL
compatible PEM encoded public key. `der' will output an OpenSSL compatible DER encoded
public key. `tpmt' will output a binary blob of the TPMT_PUBLIC struct referenced by
TPM 2.0 specs.
Public key format.
• -o, --output=FILE:
The output file path, recording the public portion of the object.
• -t, --serialized-handle=HANDLE:
If the object to be read is a persistent object specified by a raw handle, optionally
save the serialized handle for use later. This routine does NOT verify the name of the
object being read. Callers should ensure that the contents of name match the expected
objects name.
• -q, --qualified-name=FILE:
Saves the qualified name of the object to FILE. The qualified name of the object is the
name algorithm hash of the parents qualified and the objects name. Thus the qualified
name of the object serves as proof of the objects parents.
References
Context Object Format
The type of a context object, whether it is a handle or file name, is determined according
to the following logic in-order:
• If the argument is a file path, then the file is loaded as a restored TPM transient
object.
• If the argument is a prefix match on one of:
• owner: the owner hierarchy
• platform: the platform hierarchy
• endorsement: the endorsement hierarchy
• lockout: the lockout control persistent object
• If the argument argument can be loaded as a number it will be treat as a handle,
e.g. 0x81010013 and used directly._OBJECT_.
COMMON OPTIONS
This collection of options are common to many programs and provide information that many
users may expect.
• -h, --help=[man|no-man]: Display the tools manpage. By default, it attempts to invoke
the manpager for the tool, however, on failure will output a short tool summary. This
is the same behavior if the “man” option argument is specified, however if explicit
“man” is requested, the tool will provide errors from man on stderr. If the “no-man”
option if specified, or the manpager fails, the short options will be output to stdout.
To successfully use the manpages feature requires the manpages to be installed or on
MANPATH, See man(1) for more details.
• -v, --version: Display version information for this tool, supported tctis and exit.
• -V, --verbose: Increase the information that the tool prints to the console during its
execution. When using this option the file and line number are printed.
• -Q, --quiet: Silence normal tool output to stdout.
• -Z, --enable-errata: Enable the application of errata fixups. Useful if an errata fixup
needs to be applied to commands sent to the TPM. Defining the environment
TPM2TOOLS_ENABLE_ERRATA is equivalent. information many users may expect.
TCTI Configuration
The TCTI or “Transmission Interface” is the communication mechanism with the TPM. TCTIs
can be changed for communication with TPMs across different mediums.
To control the TCTI, the tools respect:
1. The command line option -T or --tcti
2. The environment variable: TPM2TOOLS_TCTI.
Note: The command line option always overrides the environment variable.
The current known TCTIs are:
• tabrmd - The resource manager, called tabrmd
(https://github.com/tpm2-software/tpm2-abrmd). Note that tabrmd and abrmd as a tcti
name are synonymous.
• mssim - Typically used for communicating to the TPM software simulator.
• device - Used when talking directly to a TPM device file.
• none - Do not initalize a connection with the TPM. Some tools allow for off-tpm options
and thus support not using a TCTI. Tools that do not support it will error when
attempted to be used without a TCTI connection. Does not support ANY options and MUST
BE presented as the exact text of “none”.
The arguments to either the command line option or the environment variable are in the
form:
<tcti-name>:<tcti-option-config>
Specifying an empty string for either the <tcti-name> or <tcti-option-config> results in
the default being used for that portion respectively.
TCTI Defaults
When a TCTI is not specified, the default TCTI is searched for using dlopen(3) semantics.
The tools will search for tabrmd, device and mssim TCTIs IN THAT ORDER and USE THE FIRST
ONE FOUND. You can query what TCTI will be chosen as the default by using the -v option
to print the version information. The “default-tcti” key-value pair will indicate which
of the aforementioned TCTIs is the default.
Custom TCTIs
Any TCTI that implements the dynamic TCTI interface can be loaded. The tools internally
use dlopen(3), and the raw tcti-name value is used for the lookup. Thus, this could be a
path to the shared library, or a library name as understood by dlopen(3) semantics.
TCTI OPTIONS
This collection of options are used to configure the various known TCTI modules available:
• device: For the device TCTI, the TPM character device file for use by the device TCTI
can be specified. The default is /dev/tpm0.
Example: -T device:/dev/tpm0 or export TPM2TOOLS_TCTI=“device:/dev/tpm0”
• mssim: For the mssim TCTI, the domain name or IP address and port number used by the
simulator can be specified. The default are 127.0.0.1 and 2321.
Example: -T mssim:host=localhost,port=2321 or export
TPM2TOOLS_TCTI=“mssim:host=localhost,port=2321”
• abrmd: For the abrmd TCTI, the configuration string format is a series of simple key
value pairs separated by a `,' character. Each key and value string are separated by a
`=' character.
• TCTI abrmd supports two keys:
1. `bus_name' : The name of the tabrmd service on the bus (a string).
2. `bus_type' : The type of the dbus instance (a string) limited to `session' and
`system'.
Specify the tabrmd tcti name and a config string of bus_name=com.example.FooBar:
\--tcti=tabrmd:bus_name=com.example.FooBar
Specify the default (abrmd) tcti and a config string of bus_type=session:
\--tcti:bus_type=session
NOTE: abrmd and tabrmd are synonymous. the various known TCTI modules. # EXAMPLES
Create a primary object and read the public structure in an openssl compliant format
tpm2_createprimary -c primary.ctx
tpm2_readpublic -c primary.ctx -o output.dat -f pem
Serialize an existing persistent object handle to disk for later use
This work-flow is primarily intended for existing persistent TPM objects. This work-flow
does not verify that the name of the serialized object matches the expected, and thus the
serialized handle could be pointing to an attacker controlled object if no verification is
done. If you are creating an object from scratch, save the serialized handle when making
the object persistent.
We assume that an object has already been persisted, for example via:
# We assume that an object has already been persisted, for example
tpm2_createprimary -c primary.ctx
# context files have all the information for the TPM to verify the object
tpm2_evictcontrol -c primary.ctx
persistent-handle: 0x81000001
action: persisted
Next use the persistent handle to get a serialized handle:
# The persistent handle output could be at an attacker controlled object,
# best practice is to use the option "-o: for tpm2_evictcontrol to get a
# serialized handle instead.
tpm2_readpublic -c 0x81000001 -o output.dat -f pem -t primary.handle
# use this verified handle in an encrypted session with the tpm
tpm2_startauthsession --policy-session -S session.ctx -c primary.handle
For new objects, its best to use all serialized handles.
Returns
Tools can return any of the following codes:
• 0 - Success.
• 1 - General non-specific error.
• 2 - Options handling error.
• 3 - Authentication error.
• 4 - TCTI related error.
• 5 - Non supported scheme. Applicable to tpm2_testparams.
BUGS
Github Issues (https://github.com/tpm2-software/tpm2-tools/issues)
HELP
See the Mailing List (https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/tpm2)