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BCryptImportKey function (bcrypt.h)

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The BCryptImportKey function imports a symmetric key from a key BLOB. The BCryptImportKeyPair function is used to import a public/private key pair.

Syntax

NTSTATUS BCryptImportKey(
  [in]            BCRYPT_ALG_HANDLE hAlgorithm,
  [in, optional]  BCRYPT_KEY_HANDLE hImportKey,
  [in]            LPCWSTR           pszBlobType,
  [out]           BCRYPT_KEY_HANDLE *phKey,
  [out, optional] PUCHAR            pbKeyObject,
  [in]            ULONG             cbKeyObject,
  [in]            PUCHAR            pbInput,
  [in]            ULONG             cbInput,
  [in]            ULONG             dwFlags
);

Parameters

[in] hAlgorithm

The handle of the algorithm provider to import the key. This handle is obtained by calling the BCryptOpenAlgorithmProvider function.

[in, optional] hImportKey

The handle of the key encryption key needed to unwrap the key BLOB in the pbInput parameter.

Note  The handle must be supplied by the same provider that supplied the key that is being imported.

 

Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista:  This parameter is not used and should be set to NULL.

[in] pszBlobType

A null-terminated Unicode string that contains an identifier that specifies the type of BLOB that is contained in the pbInput buffer. This can be one of the following values.

Value Meaning
BCRYPT_AES_WRAP_KEY_BLOB
 Import a symmetric key from an AES key–wrapped key BLOB. The hImportKey parameter must reference a valid BCRYPT_KEY_HANDLE pointer to the key encryption key.

Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista:  This BLOB type is not supported.
BCRYPT_KEY_DATA_BLOB
 Import a symmetric key from a data BLOB. The pbInput parameter is a pointer to a BCRYPT_KEY_DATA_BLOB_HEADER structure immediately followed by the key BLOB.
BCRYPT_OPAQUE_KEY_BLOB
 Import a symmetric key BLOB in a format that is specific to a single CSP. Opaque BLOBs are not transferable and must be imported by using the same CSP that generated the BLOB. Opaque BLOBs are only intended to be used for interprocess transfer of keys and are not suitable to be persisted and read in across versions of a provider.

[out] phKey

A pointer to a BCRYPT_KEY_HANDLE that receives the handle of the imported key. This handle is used in subsequent functions that require a key, such as BCryptEncrypt. This handle must be released when it is no longer needed by passing it to the BCryptDestroyKey function.

[out, optional] pbKeyObject

A pointer to a buffer that receives the imported key object. The cbKeyObject parameter contains the size of this buffer. The required size of this buffer can be obtained by calling the BCryptGetProperty function to get the BCRYPT_OBJECT_LENGTH property. This will provide the size of the key object for the specified algorithm.

This memory can only be freed after the phKey key handle is destroyed.

[in] cbKeyObject

The size, in bytes, of the pbKeyObject buffer.

[in] pbInput

The address of a buffer that contains the key BLOB to import. The cbInput parameter contains the size of this buffer. The pszBlobType parameter specifies the type of key BLOB this buffer contains.

[in] cbInput

The size, in bytes, of the pbInput buffer.

[in] dwFlags

A set of flags that modify the behavior of this function. No flags are currently defined, so this parameter should be zero.

Return value

Returns a status code that indicates the success or failure of the function.

Possible return codes include, but are not limited to, the following.

Return code Description
STATUS_SUCCESS
 The function was successful.
STATUS_BUFFER_TOO_SMALL
 The size of the key object specified by the cbKeyObject parameter is not large enough to hold the key object.
STATUS_INVALID_HANDLE
 The algorithm handle in the hAlgorithm parameter is not valid.
STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER
 One or more parameters are not valid.
STATUS_NOT_SUPPORTED
 The algorithm provider specified by the hAlgorithm parameter does not support the BLOB type specified by the pszBlobType parameter.

Remarks

Depending on what processor modes a provider supports, BCryptImportKey can be called either from user mode or kernel mode. Kernel mode callers can execute either at PASSIVE_LEVEL IRQL or DISPATCH_LEVEL IRQL. If the current IRQL level is DISPATCH_LEVEL, the handle provided in the hAlgorithm parameter must have been opened by using the BCRYPT_PROV_DISPATCH flag, and any pointers passed to the BCryptImportKey function must refer to nonpaged (or locked) memory.

To call this function in kernel mode, use Cng.lib, which is part of the Driver Development Kit (DDK). Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista:  To call this function in kernel mode, use Ksecdd.lib.

Requirements

Requirement Value
Minimum supported client Windows Vista [desktop apps | UWP apps]
Minimum supported server Windows Server 2008 [desktop apps | UWP apps]
Target Platform Windows
Header bcrypt.h
Library Bcrypt.lib
DLL Bcrypt.dll

See also

BCryptDestroyKey

BCryptExportKey

BCryptImportKeyPair