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sharedKey (security) element

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The sharedKey (security) element contains shared key information. This element is only required if WEP or PSK keys are required for the authentication and encryption pair.

<xs:element name="sharedKey"
    minOccurs="0"
 >
    <xs:complexType>
        <xs:sequence>
            <xs:element name="keyType">
                <xs:simpleType>
                    <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
                        <xs:enumeration value="networkKey">
                        <xs:enumeration value="passPhrase">
                    </xs:restriction>
                </xs:simpleType>
            </xs:element>
            <xs:element name="protected"
                type="boolean"
             />
            <xs:element name="keyMaterial"
                type="string"
             />
            <xs:any
                processContents="lax"
                minOccurs="0"
                maxOccurs="unbounded"
                namespace="##other"
             />
        </xs:sequence>
    </xs:complexType>
</xs:element>

Parent elements

Child elements

Element Type Description
keyType Type of key.
protected boolean Specifies whether a shared key is encrypted.
keyMaterial string Contains the network key or passphrase.

keyType

Indicates whether the shared key will be a network key or a pass phrase.

When the encryption element has a value of WEP, keyType must be set to networkKey.

protected

Specifies whether a shared key is encrypted.

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008: protected always has a value of "TRUE" if the profile was retrieved from the profile store (for example, by calling WlanGetProfile).

Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3) or Wireless LAN API for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2): This element must have a value of "FALSE".

keyMaterial

Contains a network key or passphrase. If the protected element has a value of TRUE, then this key material is encrypted; otherwise, the key material is unencrypted. Encrypted key material is expressed in hexadecimal form.

The range of valid values for the keyMaterial element varies by the type of authentication and encryption used, as specified by the authentication and encryption elements. It also varies by keyType.

The following table shows valid keyMaterial values for some authentication and encryption pairs.

authentication value encryption value keyType value Valid keyMaterial values
open or shared WEP networkKey This element contains a WEP key of 5 or 13 ANSI characters, or of 10 or 26 hexadecimal characters.
WPAPSK or WPA2PSK TKIP or AES passPhrase This element contains a passphrase of 8 to 63 ASCII characters, that is, 8 to 63 ANSI characters in the range of 32 to 126. Key values must comply with the requirements specified by 802.11i.
WPAPSK or WPA2PSK TKIP or AES networkKey This element contains a key of 64 hexadecimal characters.

Unicode characters may be entered where ANSI or ASCII characters are specified above. However, if the supplied Unicode characters cannot be mapped to ANSI or ASCII characters, then the supplied key material is rejected.

Key material returned by WlanGetProfile is always encrypted. Also, if unencrypted key material is passed to WlanSetProfile, the key material is automatically encrypted before it is stored in the profile store.

Windows XP with SP3 and Wireless LAN API for Windows XP with SP2: The key material is never encrypted.

If your process runs in the context of the LocalSystem account, then you can unencrypt key material by calling CryptUnprotectData.

Remarks

For Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, the data associated with the sharedKey element is encrypted before it is saved in the profile store.

For Windows XP with SP3 and Wireless LAN API for Windows XP with SP2, the data isn't encrypted.

Examples

To view sample profiles that use the sharedKey element and its child elements, see Non-Broadcast profile sample, WPA-Personal profile sample, and WPA2-Personal profile sample. To view sample profiles that use the protected element, see Wireless profile samples.

Requirements

Requirement Value
Minimum supported client Windows Vista, Windows XP with SP3 [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server Windows Server 2008 [desktop apps only]
Redistributable Wireless LAN API for Windows XP with SP2