Ubuntu Manpage: tpm2_create(1) - Create a child object.

Provided by: tpm2-tools_5.6-1build4_amd64

NAME

       tpm2_create(1) - Create a child object.

SYNOPSIS

       tpm2_create [OPTIONS]

DESCRIPTION

       tpm2_create(1)  -  Create a child object.  The object can either be a key or a sealing object.  A sealing
       object allows to seal user data to the TPM, with a maximum size of 128 bytes.  Additionally it will  load
       the created object if the -c is specified.

OPTIONS

These options for creating the TPM entity:

• -C, --parent-context=OBJECT:

The parent of the object to be created.

• -P, --parent-auth=AUTH:

The authorization value of the parent object specified with -C.

• -p, --key-auth=AUTH:

The authorization value for the created object.

• -g, --hash-algorithm=ALGORITHM:

The hash algorithm for generating the objects name. This is optional and defaults to sha256 when not
specified.

• -G, --key-algorithm=ALGORITHM:

The key algorithm associated with this object. It defaults to “rsa” if not specified.

• -a, --attributes=ATTRIBUTES:

The object attributes, optional. The default for created objects is:

When -i is specified for sealing, TPMA_OBJECT_SIGN_ENCRYPT and TPMA_OBJECT_DECRYPT are removed from the
default attribute set. The algorithm is set in a way where the the object is only good for sealing and
unsealing. I.e. one cannot use an object for sealing and cryptography operations.

When -L is specified for adding policy based authorization information AND no string password is speci‐
fied, the attribute TPMA_OBJECT_USERWITHAUTH is cleared unless an explicit choice is made by setting of
the attribute with -a option. This prevents creation of objects with inadvertent auth model where in
user intended to enforce a policy but inadvertently created an object with empty auth which can be used
instead of policy authorization.

• -i, --sealing-input=FILE or STDIN:

The data file to be sealed, optional. If file is -, read from stdin. When sealing data only the
TPM_ALG_KEYEDHASH algorithm with a NULL scheme is allowed. Thus, -G cannot be specified.

• -L, --policy=FILE or HEX_STRING:

The input policy file or a hex string, optional.

• -u, --public=FILE:

The output file which contains the public portion of the created object, optional.

• -r, --private=FILE:

The output file which contains the sensitive portion of the object, optional. # 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.

• -c, --key-context=FILE:

The output file which contains the key context, optional. The key context is analogous to the context
file produced by tpm2_load(1), however is generated via a tpm2_createloaded(1) command. This option
can be used to avoid the normal tpm2_create(1) and tpm2_load(1) command sequences and do it all in one
command, atomically.

• --creation-data=FILE:

An optional file output that saves the creation data for certification.

• --template-data=FILE:

An optional file output that saves the key template data (TPM2B_PUBLIC) to be used in tpm2_policytem‐
plate.

• -t, --creation-ticket=FILE:

An optional file output that saves the creation ticket for certification.

• -d, --creation-hash=FILE:

An optional file output that saves the creation hash for certification.

• -q, --outside-info=HEX_STR_OR_FILE:

An optional hex string or path to add unique data to the creation data. Note that it does not con‐
tribute in creating statistically unique object.

• -l, --pcr-list=PCR:

The list of PCR banks and selected PCRs’ ids for each bank to be included in the creation data for cer‐
tification.

• --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.

• --rphash=FILE

File path to record the hash of the response parameters. This is commonly termed as rpHash.

• -S, --session=FILE:

The session created using tpm2_startauthsession. Multiple of these can be specified. For example,
you can have one session for auditing and another for encryption/decryption of the parameters.

• -f, --format:

Format selection for the public key output file. `tss' (the default) will output a binary blob ac‐
cording 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.

References

Context Object Format

       The type of a context object, whether it is a handle or file name, is determined according to the follow‐
       ing 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 inter‐
preted, 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 ses‐
sion 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 pass‐
word), 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 specify‐
ing 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, de‐
faults 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 speci‐
fied, 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. Gen‐
erally, 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 ALGO‐
RITHM.

Object Attributes

       Object  Attributes  are  used to control various properties of created objects.  When specified as an op‐
       tion, 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 ex‐
       pect.

       • -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 sup‐
port not using a TCTI. Tools that do not support it will error when attempted to be used without a TC‐
TI 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 be‐
ing 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 “de‐
fault-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  sepa‐
         rated 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

   Setup
       In order to create an object, we must first create a primary key as it’s parent.

              tpm2_createprimary -c primary.ctx

   Create an Object
       This  will create an object using all the default values and store the TPM sealed private and public por‐
       tions to the paths specified via -u and -r respectively.  The tool defaults to an RSA key.

              tpm2_create -C primary.ctx -u obj.pub -r obj.priv

   Seal Data to the TPM
       Outside of key objects, the TPM allows for small amounts of user specified data to be sealed to the TPM.

              echo "my sealed data" > seal.dat
              tpm2_create -C primary.ctx -i seal.dat -u obj.pub -r obj.priv

   Create an EC Key Object and Load it to the TPM
       Normally, when creating an object, only the public and private portions of the object  are  returned  and
       the  caller  needs  to use tpm2_load(1) to load those public and private portions to the TPM before being
       able to use the object.  However, this can be accomplished within this command as well, when supported by
       the TPM.  You can verify your TPM supports this feature by checking that tpm2_getcap(1) commands  returns
       TPM2_CC_CreateLoaded in the command set.  If your TPM does not support TPM2_CC_CreateLoaded an unsuported
       command  code error will be returned.  If it’s not supported one must use tpm2_load(1).  See that manpage
       for details on its usage.

              tpm2_create -C primary.ctx -G ecc -u obj.pub -r obj.priv -c ecc.ctx

   Create an Object and get the public key as a PEM file
       This will create an object using all the default values but also output the public key as a PEM file com‐
       patible with tools like OpenSSL and whatever supports PEM files.

              tpm2_create -C primary.ctx -u obj.pub -r obj.priv -f pem -o obj.pem

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)

tpm2-tools                                                                                        tpm2_create(1)