Provided by: tpm2-tools_5.7-1_amd64 
NAME
tpm2_import(1) - Imports an external key into the tpm as a TPM managed key object.
SYNOPSIS
tpm2_import [OPTIONS]
DESCRIPTION
tpm2_import(1) - Imports an external generated key as TPM managed key object. It requires
that the parent key object be a RSA key. Can also import a TPM managed key object created
by the tpm2_duplicate tool.
OPTIONS
These options control the key importation process:
• -G, --key-algorithm=ALGORITHM:
The algorithm used by the key to be imported. Supports:
• aes - AES 128, 192 or 256 key.
• rsa - RSA 1024, 2048, 3072, or 4096 key.
• ecc - ECC NIST P192, P224, P256, P384 or P521 public and private key.
• hmac - HMAC key.
• -g, --hash-algorithm=ALGORITHM:
The hash algorithm for generating the objects name. This is optional and defaults to
sha256 when not specified. Algorithms should follow the “formatting standards”, see
section “Algorithm Specifiers”. Also, see section “Supported Hash Algorithms” for a
list of supported hash algorithms.
• -i, --input=FILE:
Specifies the filename of the key to be imported. For AES keys, this file is the raw
key bytes. For assymetric keys in PEM or DER format. A typical file is generated with
openssl genrsa.
• -C, --parent-context=OBJECT:
The parent key object.
• -U, --parent-public=FILE:
Optional. Specifies the parent key public data file input. This can be read with
tpm2_readpublic(1) tool. If not specified, the tool invokes a tpm2_readpublic on the
parent object.
• -k, --encryption-key=FILE:
Optional. Specifies the file containing the symmetric algorithm key that was used for
the inner wrapper. If the file is specified the tool assumes the algorithm is AES 128
in CFB mode otherwise none.
• -r, --private=FILE:
Specifies the file path required to save the encrypted private portion of the object
imported as key.
When importing a duplicated object this option specifies the file containing the private
portion of the object to be imported. # Protection Details
Objects that can move outside of TPM need to be protected (confidentiality and integrity).
For instance, transient objects require that TPM protected data (key or seal material) be
stored outside of the TPM. This is seen in tools like tpm2_create(1), where the -r option
outputs this protected data. This blob contains the sensitive portions of the object.
The sensitive portions of the object are protected by the parent object, using the
parent’s symmetric encryption details to encrypt the sensitive data and HMAC it.
In-depth details can be found in sections 23 of:
• https://trustedcomputinggroup.org/wp-content/uploads/TPM-
Rev-2.0-Part-1-Architecture-01.38.pdf
Notably Figure 20, is relevant, even though it’s specifically referring to duplication
blobs, the process is identical.
If the output is from tpm2_duplicate(1), the output will be slightly different, as
described fully in section 23.
• -u, --public=FILE:
Specifies the file path required to save the public portion of the object imported as
key
When importing a duplicated object this option specifies the file containing the public
portion of the object to be imported.
• -a, --attributes=ATTRIBUTES:
The object attributes, optional.
• -P, --parent-auth=AUTH:
The authorization value for using the parent key specified with -C.
• -p, --key-auth=AUTH:
The authorization value for the imported key, optional.
• -L, --policy=POLICY or HEX_STRING:
The policy file or policy hex string used for authorization to the object.
• -s, --seed=FILE:
Specifies the file containing the encrypted seed of the duplicated object.
In order to perform an “unencrypted import” a seed file with the content 0x0000 needs to
be provided (e.g. printf “0000” | xxd -r -p >seed.file).
• --passin=OSSL_PEM_FILE_PASSWORD
An optional password for an Open SSL (OSSL) provided input file. It mirrors the -passin
option of OSSL and is known to support the pass, file, env, fd and plain password
formats of openssl. (see man(1) openssl) for more.
• --cphash=FILE
File path to record the hash of the command parameters. This is commonly termed as
cpHash. NOTE: When this option is selected, The tool will not actually execute the
command, it simply returns a cpHash.
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_.
Authorization Formatting
Authorization for use of an object in TPM2.0 can come in 3 different forms: 1. Password
2. HMAC 3. Sessions
NOTE: “Authorizations default to the EMPTY PASSWORD when not specified”.
Passwords
Passwords are interpreted in the following forms below using prefix identifiers.
Note: By default passwords are assumed to be in the string form when they do not have a
prefix.
String
A string password, specified by prefix “str:” or it’s absence (raw string without prefix)
is not interpreted, and is directly used for authorization.
Examples
foobar
str:foobar
Hex-string
A hex-string password, specified by prefix “hex:” is converted from a hexidecimal form
into a byte array form, thus allowing passwords with non-printable and/or terminal un-
friendly characters.
Example
hex:1122334455667788
File
A file based password, specified be prefix “file:” should be the path of a file containing
the password to be read by the tool or a “-” to use stdin. Storing passwords in files
prevents information leakage, passwords passed as options can be read from the process
list or common shell history features.
Examples
# to use stdin and be prompted
file:-
# to use a file from a path
file:path/to/password/file
# to echo a password via stdin:
echo foobar | tpm2_tool -p file:-
# to use a bash here-string via stdin:
tpm2_tool -p file:- <<< foobar
Sessions
When using a policy session to authorize the use of an object, prefix the option argument
with the session keyword. Then indicate a path to a session file that was created with
tpm2_startauthsession(1). Optionally, if the session requires an auth value to be sent
with the session handle (eg policy password), then append a + and a string as described in
the Passwords section.
Examples
To use a session context file called session.ctx.
session:session.ctx
To use a session context file called session.ctx AND send the authvalue mypassword.
session:session.ctx+mypassword
To use a session context file called session.ctx AND send the HEX authvalue 0x11223344.
session:session.ctx+hex:11223344
PCR Authorizations
You can satisfy a PCR policy using the “pcr:” prefix and the PCR minilanguage. The PCR
minilanguage is as follows: <pcr-spec>=<raw-pcr-file>
The PCR spec is documented in in the section “PCR bank specifiers”.
The raw-pcr-file is an optional argument that contains the output of the raw PCR contents
as returned by tpm2_pcrread(1).
PCR bank specifiers
Examples
To satisfy a PCR policy of sha256 on banks 0, 1, 2 and 3 use a specifier of:
pcr:sha256:0,1,2,3
specifying AUTH.
Algorithm Specifiers
Options that take algorithms support “nice-names”.
There are two major algorithm specification string classes, simple and complex. Only
certain algorithms will be accepted by the TPM, based on usage and conditions.
Simple specifiers
These are strings with no additional specification data. When creating objects, non-
specified portions of an object are assumed to defaults. You can find the list of known
“Simple Specifiers” below.
Asymmetric
• rsa
• ecc
Symmetric
• aes
• camellia
• sm4
Hashing Algorithms
• sha1
• sha256
• sha384
• sha512
• sm3_256
• sha3_256
• sha3_384
• sha3_512
Keyed Hash
• hmac
• xor
Signing Schemes
• rsassa
• rsapss
• ecdsa
• ecdaa
• ecschnorr
• sm2
Asymmetric Encryption Schemes
• oaep
• rsaes
• ecdh
Modes
• ctr
• ofb
• cbc
• cfb
• ecb
Misc
• null
Complex Specifiers
Objects, when specified for creation by the TPM, have numerous algorithms to populate in
the public data. Things like type, scheme and asymmetric details, key size, etc. Below
is the general format for specifying this data: <type>:<scheme>:<symmetric-details>
Type Specifiers
This portion of the complex algorithm specifier is required. The remaining scheme and
symmetric details will default based on the type specified and the type of the object
being created.
• aes - Default AES: aes128
• aes128<mode> - 128 bit AES with optional mode (ctr|ofb|cbc|cfb|ecb). If mode is not
specified, defaults to null.
• aes192<mode> - Same as aes128<mode>, except for a 192 bit key size.
• aes256<mode> - Same as aes128<mode>, except for a 256 bit key size.
• sm4 - Default SM4: sm4128
• sm4128 or sm4_128 <mode> - 128 bit SM4 with optional mode (ctr|ofb|cbc|cfb|ecb). If
mode is not specified, defaults to null.
• ecc - Elliptical Curve, defaults to ecc256.
• ecc192 or ecc_nist_p192 - 192 bit ECC NIST curve
• ecc224 or ecc_nist_p224 - 224 bit ECC NIST curve
• ecc256 or ecc_nist_p256 - 256 bit ECC NIST curve
• ecc384 or ecc_nist_p384 - 384 bit ECC NIST curve
• ecc521 or ecc_nist_p521 - 521 bit ECC NIST curve
• ecc_sm2 or ecc_sm2_p256 - 256 bit SM2 curve
• rsa - Default RSA: rsa2048
• rsa1024 - RSA with 1024 bit keysize.
• rsa2048 - RSA with 2048 bit keysize.
• rsa3072 - RSA with 3072 bit keysize.
• rsa4096 - RSA with 4096 bit keysize.
Scheme Specifiers
Next, is an optional field, it can be skipped.
Schemes are usually Signing Schemes or Asymmetric Encryption Schemes. Most signing
schemes take a hash algorithm directly following the signing scheme. If the hash
algorithm is missing, it defaults to sha256. Some take no arguments, and some take
multiple arguments.
Hash Optional Scheme Specifiers
These scheme specifiers are followed by a dash and a valid hash algorithm, For example:
oaep-sha256.
• oaep
• ecdh
• rsassa
• rsapss
• ecdsa
• ecschnorr
• sm2
Multiple Option Scheme Specifiers
This scheme specifier is followed by a count (max size UINT16) then followed by a dash(-)
and a valid hash algorithm. * ecdaa For example, ecdaa4-sha256. If no count is
specified, it defaults to 4.
No Option Scheme Specifiers
This scheme specifier takes NO arguments. * rsaes
Symmetric Details Specifiers
This field is optional, and defaults based on the type of object being created and it’s
attributes. Generally, any valid Symmetric specifier from the Type Specifiers list should
work. If not specified, an asymmetric objects symmetric details defaults to aes128cfb.
Examples
Create an rsa2048 key with an rsaes asymmetric encryption scheme
tpm2_create -C parent.ctx -G rsa2048:rsaes -u key.pub -r key.priv
Create an ecc256 key with an ecdaa signing scheme with a count of 4 and sha384 hash
/tpm2_create -C parent.ctx -G ecc256:ecdaa4-sha384 -u key.pub -r key.priv cryptographic
algorithms ALGORITHM.
Object Attributes
Object Attributes are used to control various properties of created objects. When
specified as an option, either the raw bitfield mask or “nice-names” may be used. The
values can be found in Table 31 Part 2 of the TPM2.0 specification, which can be found
here:
<https://trustedcomputinggroup.org/wp-content/uploads/TPM-
Rev-2.0-Part-2-Structures-01.38.pdf>
Nice names are calculated by taking the name field of table 31 and removing the prefix
TPMA_OBJECT_ and lowercasing the result. Thus, TPMA_OBJECT_FIXEDTPM becomes fixedtpm.
Nice names can be joined using the bitwise or “|” symbol.
For instance, to set The fields TPMA_OBJECT_FIXEDTPM, TPMA_OBJECT_NODA, and
TPMA_OBJECT_SIGN_ENCRYPT, the argument would be:
fixedtpm|noda|sign specifying the object attributes ATTRIBUTES.
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.
• -R, --autoflush: Enable autoflush for transient objects created by the command. If a
parent object is loaded from a context file also the transient parent object will be
flushed. Autoflush can also be activated if the environment variable
TPM2TOOLS_AUTOFLUSH is is set to yes or true. 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
To import a key, one needs to have a parent key
tpm2_createprimary -Grsa2048:aes128cfb -C o -c parent.ctx
Create your key and and import it. If you already have a key, just use that and skip
creating it.
Import an AES 128 key
dd if=/dev/urandom of=sym.key bs=1 count=16
tpm2_import -C parent.ctx -G aes -i sym.key -u key.pub -r key.priv
Import an RSA key
openssl genrsa -out private.pem 2048
tpm2_import -C parent.ctx -G rsa -i private.pem -u key.pub -r key.priv
Import an ECC key
openssl ecparam -name prime256v1 -genkey -noout -out private.ecc.pem
tpm2_import -C parent.ctx -G ecc -i private.ecc.pem -u key.pub -r key.priv
Import a duplicated key
tpm2_import -C parent.ctx -i key.dup -u key.pub -r key.priv -L policy.dat
LIMITATIONS
• The TPM requires that the name algorithm of the child be smaller than the parent.
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)