Provided by: pesign_116-7_amd64 
NAME
pesign — tool for signing UEFI applications
SYNOPSIS
pesign -i file [-o file] [-f] [-n directory] [-t token] [-c nickname] [-u number] [-m file] [-e file]
[-I file] [-E file] [-R file] [-K file] [-C file] [-a] [-l] [-S] [-v] ⟨-s | -D [-N] | -r | -h
[-d digest] [-P | -p]⟩
DESCRIPTION
pesign is a command line tool for manipulating signatures and cryptographic digests of UEFI applications.
OPTIONS
-i file | --in file
Input PE file for signing
-o file | --out file
Output PE file for signing
-f | --force
Overwrite existing file specified with --out
-n directory | --certdir directory
Use the NSS Database in directory (default: /etc/pki/pesign)
-t token | --token token
Use the NSS token named token
-c nickname | --certificate nickname
Use the certificate called nickname in the NSS Database
-u number | --signature-number number
Signature number, indexed from 0, for use with --remove-signature, --export-signature, or
--show-signature (default: 0)
-m file | --import-signature file
Import Authenticode signature from file
-e file | --export-signature file
Export Authenticode signature to file
-I file | --import-signed-attributes file
Import PKCS-7 SignedAttributes (with no signature) from file
-E file | --export-signed-attributes file
Export PKCS-7 SignedAttributes (with no signature) to file
-R file | --import-raw-signature file
Import signature digest from file
-K file | --export-pubkey file
Export public key from the NSS Database specified by --token and --certificate to file
-C file | --export-cert file
Export certificate from the NSS Database specified by --token and --certificate to file
-a | --ascii-armor
When exporting certificates, encode them in ascii-armor
-l | --list-signatures
List signatures
-S | --show-signature
Show information about signatures
-v | --verbose
Be more verbose
-s | --sign
Create a new signature
-D | --daemonize
Run as a daemon
-N | --nofork
Do not fork when daemonizing (daemon runs in foreground)
-r | --remove-signature
Remove signature
-h | --hash
Display the Authenticode hash of the binary
-d digest | --digest-type digest
Use the cryptorgaphic digest with --hash (use help to list options) (default: sha256)
-P | --padding | -p | --nopadding
Do or do not pad the binary according to PE 9.3 rules before signing or hashing (default:
--padding)
Padding is recommended (and in many circumstances required) even for binaries which predate the
current PE spec, and is enabled by default as of pesign 113.
EXAMPLES
Signing with the certificate and private key in individual files
If you have a certificate file and private key file, the following steps may be used to sign a PE image:
# Create a pkcs12 file from private key and certificate file.
host:~$ openssl pkcs12 -export -out foo_key.p12 \
-inkey signing_key.pem -in xyz_cert.x509.pem
# Import pkcs12 file into pesign db
host:~$ pk12util -i foo_key.p12 -d /etc/pki/pesign
# Do the signing
host:~$ pesign -c my-signing-cert -s \
-i foo.unsigned.efi -o foo.signed.efi
Please note that this is just an example, and that recommended best practice is to always store private
keys in a FIPS 140-2 Hardware Security Module (HSM), level 2 or higher.
Signing using an HSM
If you have a key pair in your HSM and your HSM vendor provides a PKCS-11 library, you can use it with
NSS directly:
# Add the HSM PKCS-11 library to the NSS database
host:~$ modutil -dbdir /etc/pki/pesign -add vendor-engine \
-libfile /usr/lib64/pkcs11/vendor-engine.so
WARNING: Performing this operation while the browser is running
could cause corruption of your security databases. If the browser
is currently running, you should exit browser before continuing
this operation. Type
'q <enter>' to abort, or <enter> to continue: <type enter here>
Module "vendor-engine" added to database.
# List the added module
host:~$ modutil -dbdir /etc/pki/pesign -list
-----------------------------------------------------------
1. NSS Internal PKCS #11 Module
uri: pkcs11:library-manufacturer=Mozilla%20Foundation;library-description=NSS%20Internal%20Crypto%20Services;library-version=3.52
slots: 2 slots attached
status: loaded
slot: NSS Internal Cryptographic Services
token: NSS Generic Crypto Services
uri: pkcs11:token=NSS%20Generic%20Crypto%20Services;manufacturer=Mozilla%20Foundation;serial=0000000000000000;model=NSS%203
slot: NSS User Private Key and Certificate Services
token: NSS Certificate DB
uri: pkcs11:token=NSS%20Certificate%20DB;manufacturer=Mozilla%20Foundation;serial=0000000000000000;model=NSS%203
2. opensc-pkcs11.so
library name: /usr/lib64/pkcs11/opensc-pkcs11.so
uri: pkcs11:library-manufacturer=OpenSC%20Project;library-description=OpenSC%20smartcard%20framework;library-version=0.20
slots: 1 slot attached
status: loaded
slot: Generic Smart Card Reader Interface [Smart Card Reader Interf...
token: OpenSC Card (myorg-sb-signer)
uri: pkcs11:token=OpenSC%20Card%20(myorg-sb-signer);manufacturer=OpenSC%20Project;serial=56516a130f35;model=PKCS%2315
-----------------------------------------------------------
# List certs in tokens
host:~$ certutil -d /etc/pki/pesign \
-h "OpenSC Card (myorg-sb-signer)" -L
Certificate Nickname Trust Attributes
SSL,S/MIME,JAR/XPI
Enter Password or Pin for "OpenSC Card (myorg-sb-signer)": <type the PIN here>
OpenSC Card (myorg-sb-signer):/CN=My Org's SB Signer u,u,u
# Sign with private key in HSM
host:~$ pesign -t "OpenSC Card (myorg-sb-signer)" \
-c "OpenSC Card (myorg-sb-signer):/CN=My Org's SB Signer" \
-s -i foo.unsigned.efi -o foo.efi
Signing using an HSM with an OpenSSL Engine
If you have a key pair in your HSM but can't access it directly, but do have access to the openssl
command line tool configured with your vendor's libraries, you can still use pesign to sign your PE
binaries:
# Import the public certificate into the NSS Database
host:~$ certutil -d /etc/pki/pesign -A -n myorg-sb-signer \
-t ,,u -i myorg-sb-signer.cer
# Export the PKCS-7 SignedAttributes section pesign generates
host:~$ pesign -i foo.unsigned.efi -E foo.sattrs.bin
# Generate a signature using OpenSSL
host:~$ openssl dgst -sha256 -sign $KEY \
--keyform ENGINE --engine $ENGINEID \
-out foo.sattrs.sig foo.sattrs.bin
# Import the signature with the original SignedAttributes into
# the PE binary
host:~$ pesign -c myorg-sb-signer \
-R foo.sattrs.sig -I foo.sattrs.bin \
-i foo.unsigned.efi -o foo.efi
STANDARDS
B. Kaliski, PKCS #7: Cryptographic Message Syntax v1.5, Internet Engineering Task Force, RFC 2315,
https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2315 , March 1998.
K. Moriarty, M. Nyström, S. Parkinson, A. Rusch, and M. Scott, PKCS #12: Personal Information Exchange
Syntax v1.1, Internet Engineering Task Force, RFC 7292, https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7292 , July 2014.
PKCS11 Technical Committee, PKCS#11: Cryptographic Token Interface Standard, OASIS,
https://www.cryptsoft.com/pkcs11doc/.
M. Nyström, PKCS #15—A Cryptographic-Token Information Format Standard, RSA Laboratories,
https://www.usenix.org/legacy/events/smartcard99/full_papers/nystrom/nystrom.pdf , 1999.
Portable Executable, Microsoft, https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/debug/pe-format , August
26, 2019.
Windows Authenticode Portable Executable Signature Format, Microsoft,
https://web.archive.org/web/20130518222430/http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/c/5/9c5b2167-8017-4bae-9fde-
d599bac8184a/Authenticode_PE.docx , March 21, 2008.
Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2, United States Department of Commerce, FIPS 140-2,
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsFIPS.html , National Institute of Standards and Technology.
SEE ALSO
certutil(1), efikeygen(1), modutil(1), opensc-tool(1), openssl(1ssl), openssl-dgst(1ssl),
pesign-client(1), pk12util(1), pkcs15-init(1),
AUTHORS
Peter Jones
Vikas Charak (examples)
Linux Jun 4, 2020$ PESIGN(1)