Diffie-Hellman Keys

Important

This article uses the Cryptography API: Next Generation (CNG), which is the recommended API for new Windows cryptographic applications. For most new applications, consider using Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) with a standard named curve such as P-256 or P-384, which provides equivalent or stronger security with shorter keys and less parameter management overhead.

The legacy CryptoAPI (CAPI1) functions (CryptGenKey, CryptExportKey, CryptAcquireContext, and so on) are deprecated. Do not use them in new applications.

Generating Diffie-Hellman Keys
Exchanging Diffie-Hellman Keys
Exporting a Diffie-Hellman Private Key
Example Code
Related content

Generating Diffie-Hellman Keys

To generate a Diffie-Hellman key pair using CNG, perform the following steps:

Call BCryptOpenAlgorithmProvider with BCRYPT_DH_ALGORITHM to get an algorithm provider handle.
Call BCryptGenerateKeyPair to create the key pair, specifying the key size in bits. Use at least 2048 bits for adequate security; 512-bit keys (as used in legacy CAPI1 examples) are cryptographically weak and must not be used in new code.
Set DH parameters (the prime P and generator G) by calling BCryptSetProperty with the BCRYPT_DH_PARAMETERS property before calling BCryptFinalizeKeyPair. The property value must be a BCRYPT_DH_PARAMETER_HEADER structure followed immediately by the P value and then the G value, each cbKeyLength bytes in length, in big-endian byte order.

Both parties must use the same P and G values. For new code, use a well-known standardized group rather than generating custom parameters — for example, the 2048-bit MODP Group 14 from RFC 3526 (used in the example below) provides a good balance of security and compatibility. The BCRYPT_DH_PUBLIC_BLOB export format includes P and G, so a recipient can extract them from the received blob when the two parties are on separate machines or processes. In a self-contained example where both parties share the same process, the same parameter blob can be reused directly.
Call BCryptFinalizeKeyPair to complete the key generation. This function must be called before the key can be used or exported.
When the key is no longer needed, call BCryptDestroyKey to release the key handle, and BCryptCloseAlgorithmProvider to release the provider handle.

Exchanging Diffie-Hellman Keys

The purpose of the Diffie-Hellman algorithm is to make it possible for two or more parties to create and share an identical, secret value by sharing information over a network that is not secure. The information that gets shared over the network is each party's Diffie-Hellman public key. The process used by two key-exchange parties is as follows:

Both parties agree on Diffie-Hellman parameters: a prime number (P) and a generator number (G).
Party 1 sends its Diffie-Hellman public key to Party 2.
Party 2 computes the shared secret by using its own private key and Party 1's public key.
Party 2 sends its Diffie-Hellman public key to Party 1.
Party 1 computes the shared secret by using its own private key and Party 2's public key.
Both parties now have the same shared secret, which can be used to derive a symmetric encryption key.

To prepare a Diffie-Hellman public key for transmission:

After generating and finalizing the key pair, call BCryptExportKey with BCRYPT_DH_PUBLIC_BLOB as the blob type to get the public key bytes. The blob includes the P, G, and public key Y values, all in big-endian byte order.
Transmit those bytes to the other party over the network.

Note

Key material in CNG DH blobs (BCRYPT_DH_PUBLIC_BLOB, BCRYPT_DH_PRIVATE_BLOB) is in big-endian byte order. This is the opposite of the little-endian format used by the deprecated CryptoAPI (CAPI1). Take care when interoperating with CAPI1-encoded key material.

To import a Diffie-Hellman public key and derive the shared secret:

Call BCryptImportKeyPair with BCRYPT_DH_PUBLIC_BLOB to import the other party's public key. This requires an algorithm provider handle opened with BCRYPT_DH_ALGORITHM.
Call BCryptSecretAgreement with your own private key handle and the imported public key handle. This produces a secret agreement handle representing the raw shared secret value, (Y^X) mod P.
Call BCryptDeriveKey to derive usable key material from the shared secret. Use a key derivation function (KDF) appropriate for your scenario; BCRYPT_KDF_HASH with SHA-256 is a suitable general-purpose choice.
Use the derived key bytes to construct a symmetric key (for example, call BCryptGenerateSymmetricKey with BCRYPT_AES_ALGORITHM) for subsequent encryption or decryption.
When finished, call BCryptDestroySecret to release the secret agreement handle, and BCryptDestroyKey to release all key handles.

Exporting a Diffie-Hellman Private Key

Caution

Exporting private keys is a security-sensitive operation. Only export private key material when absolutely necessary, and protect it appropriately. For keys stored in a key storage provider (KSP), the provider may restrict export based on key policy.

To export a Diffie-Hellman private key as a memory blob, call BCryptExportKey with BCRYPT_DH_PRIVATE_BLOB. The resulting blob contains a BCRYPT_DH_KEY_BLOB header followed by the P, G, public Y, and private X values, each in big-endian byte order.

To later import the private key, call BCryptImportKeyPair with BCRYPT_DH_PRIVATE_BLOB.

Example Code

The following example demonstrates a Diffie-Hellman key exchange between two parties using CNG. Both parties derive the same key material from the shared secret and compare the derived bytes.

Note

This example uses explicit Diffie-Hellman parameters and derives key material from the shared secret by using BCryptDeriveKey with BCRYPT_KDF_HASH. When adapting this sample, ensure that the parameter format, key-derivation settings, and resulting key usage meet your application's security and interoperability requirements.

#include <windows.h>
#include <bcrypt.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <cstring>
#pragma comment(lib, "bcrypt.lib")

#define NT_SUCCESS(Status) (((NTSTATUS)(Status)) >= 0)
#define CHECK(s, fn) if (!NT_SUCCESS(s)) { wprintf(L"Error in %s: 0x%08x\n", fn, s); goto cleanup; }

// 2048-bit MODP Group 14 prime (RFC 3526), big-endian.
// Uses the 2048-bit MODP Group 14 standardized prime.
static const BYTE g_Prime2048[] =
{
    0xFF,0xFF,0xFF,0xFF,0xFF,0xFF,0xFF,0xFF,0xC9,0x0F,0xDA,0xA2,0x21,0x68,0xC2,0x34,
    0xC4,0xC6,0x62,0x8B,0x80,0xDC,0x1C,0xD1,0x29,0x02,0x4E,0x08,0x8A,0x67,0xCC,0x74,
    0x02,0x0B,0xBE,0xA6,0x3B,0x13,0x9B,0x22,0x51,0x4A,0x08,0x79,0x8E,0x34,0x04,0xDD,
    0xEF,0x95,0x19,0xB3,0xCD,0x3A,0x43,0x1B,0x30,0x2B,0x0A,0x6D,0xF2,0x5F,0x14,0x37,
    0x4F,0xE1,0x35,0x6D,0x6D,0x51,0xC2,0x45,0xE4,0x85,0xB5,0x76,0x62,0x5E,0x7E,0xC6,
    0xF4,0x4C,0x42,0xE9,0xA6,0x37,0xED,0x6B,0x0B,0xFF,0x5C,0xB6,0xF4,0x06,0xB7,0xED,
    0xEE,0x38,0x6B,0xFB,0x5A,0x89,0x9F,0xA5,0xAE,0x9F,0x24,0x11,0x7C,0x4B,0x1F,0xE6,
    0x49,0x28,0x66,0x51,0xEC,0xE4,0x5B,0x3D,0xC2,0x00,0x7C,0xB8,0xA1,0x63,0xBF,0x05,
    0x98,0xDA,0x48,0x36,0x1C,0x55,0xD3,0x9A,0x69,0x16,0x3F,0xA8,0xFD,0x24,0xCF,0x5F,
    0x83,0x65,0x5D,0x23,0xDC,0xA3,0xAD,0x96,0x1C,0x62,0xF3,0x56,0x20,0x85,0x52,0xBB,
    0x9E,0xD5,0x29,0x07,0x70,0x96,0x96,0x6D,0x67,0x0C,0x35,0x4E,0x4A,0xBC,0x98,0x04,
    0xF1,0x74,0x6C,0x08,0xCA,0x18,0x21,0x7C,0x32,0x90,0x5E,0x46,0x2E,0x36,0xCE,0x3B,
    0xE3,0x9E,0x77,0x2C,0x18,0x0E,0x86,0x03,0x9B,0x27,0x83,0xA2,0xEC,0x07,0xA2,0x8F,
    0xB5,0xC5,0x5D,0xF0,0x6F,0x4C,0x52,0xC9,0xDE,0x2B,0xCB,0xF6,0x95,0x58,0x17,0x18,
    0x39,0x95,0x49,0x7C,0xEA,0x95,0x6A,0xE5,0x15,0xD2,0x26,0x18,0x98,0xFA,0x05,0x10,
    0x15,0x72,0x8E,0x5A,0x8A,0xAC,0xAA,0x68,0xFF,0xFF,0xFF,0xFF,0xFF,0xFF,0xFF,0xFF
};

// Generator for MODP Group 14 (g = 2), big-endian, zero-padded to 256 bytes.
static BYTE g_Generator2048[256] = { 0 };  // initialized to zero; set g_Generator2048[255] = 2 below

#define KEY_SIZE_BITS  2048
#define KEY_SIZE_BYTES (KEY_SIZE_BITS / 8)

int wmain()
{
    int ret = 1;

    // Set generator value (g = 2)
    g_Generator2048[KEY_SIZE_BYTES - 1] = 2;

    NTSTATUS status;
    BCRYPT_ALG_HANDLE hAlg1 = NULL, hAlg2 = NULL;
    BCRYPT_KEY_HANDLE hKey1 = NULL, hKey2 = NULL;
    BCRYPT_KEY_HANDLE hPubKey1 = NULL, hPubKey2 = NULL;
    BCRYPT_SECRET_HANDLE hSecret1 = NULL, hSecret2 = NULL;
    PBYTE pbPubBlob1 = NULL, pbPubBlob2 = NULL;
    PBYTE pbParams = NULL;
    PBYTE pbDerivedKey1 = NULL, pbDerivedKey2 = NULL;
    ULONG cbPubBlob1 = 0, cbPubBlob2 = 0;
    ULONG cbDerivedKey = 0;

    // Build the BCRYPT_DH_PARAMETERS blob: header + P + G (all big-endian).
    ULONG cbParams = sizeof(BCRYPT_DH_PARAMETER_HEADER) + 2 * KEY_SIZE_BYTES;
    pbParams = (PBYTE)HeapAlloc(GetProcessHeap(), HEAP_ZERO_MEMORY, cbParams);
    if (!pbParams) { wprintf(L"Out of memory\n"); goto cleanup; }

    BCRYPT_DH_PARAMETER_HEADER* pHeader = (BCRYPT_DH_PARAMETER_HEADER*)pbParams;
    pHeader->cbLength    = cbParams;
    pHeader->dwMagic     = BCRYPT_DH_PARAMETERS_MAGIC;
    pHeader->cbKeyLength = KEY_SIZE_BYTES;
    memcpy(pbParams + sizeof(BCRYPT_DH_PARAMETER_HEADER),                   g_Prime2048,     KEY_SIZE_BYTES); // P
    memcpy(pbParams + sizeof(BCRYPT_DH_PARAMETER_HEADER) + KEY_SIZE_BYTES,  g_Generator2048, KEY_SIZE_BYTES); // G

    //
    // --- Party 1: generate key pair ---
    //
    status = BCryptOpenAlgorithmProvider(&hAlg1, BCRYPT_DH_ALGORITHM, NULL, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptOpenAlgorithmProvider (Party 1)");

    status = BCryptGenerateKeyPair(hAlg1, &hKey1, KEY_SIZE_BITS, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptGenerateKeyPair (Party 1)");

    status = BCryptSetProperty(hKey1, BCRYPT_DH_PARAMETERS, pbParams, cbParams, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptSetProperty BCRYPT_DH_PARAMETERS (Party 1)");

    status = BCryptFinalizeKeyPair(hKey1, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptFinalizeKeyPair (Party 1)");

    // Export Party 1's public key blob (includes P, G, Y).
    status = BCryptExportKey(hKey1, NULL, BCRYPT_DH_PUBLIC_BLOB, NULL, 0, &cbPubBlob1, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptExportKey size (Party 1)");

    pbPubBlob1 = (PBYTE)HeapAlloc(GetProcessHeap(), 0, cbPubBlob1);
    if (!pbPubBlob1) { wprintf(L"Out of memory\n"); goto cleanup; }

    status = BCryptExportKey(hKey1, NULL, BCRYPT_DH_PUBLIC_BLOB, pbPubBlob1, cbPubBlob1, &cbPubBlob1, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptExportKey (Party 1)");

    //
    // --- Party 2: generate key pair using same P and G ---
    //
    status = BCryptOpenAlgorithmProvider(&hAlg2, BCRYPT_DH_ALGORITHM, NULL, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptOpenAlgorithmProvider (Party 2)");

    status = BCryptGenerateKeyPair(hAlg2, &hKey2, KEY_SIZE_BITS, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptGenerateKeyPair (Party 2)");

    // Party 2 reuses the same DH parameters as Party 1.
    status = BCryptSetProperty(hKey2, BCRYPT_DH_PARAMETERS, pbParams, cbParams, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptSetProperty BCRYPT_DH_PARAMETERS (Party 2)");

    status = BCryptFinalizeKeyPair(hKey2, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptFinalizeKeyPair (Party 2)");

    // Export Party 2's public key blob.
    status = BCryptExportKey(hKey2, NULL, BCRYPT_DH_PUBLIC_BLOB, NULL, 0, &cbPubBlob2, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptExportKey size (Party 2)");

    pbPubBlob2 = (PBYTE)HeapAlloc(GetProcessHeap(), 0, cbPubBlob2);
    if (!pbPubBlob2) { wprintf(L"Out of memory\n"); goto cleanup; }

    status = BCryptExportKey(hKey2, NULL, BCRYPT_DH_PUBLIC_BLOB, pbPubBlob2, cbPubBlob2, &cbPubBlob2, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptExportKey (Party 2)");

    //
    // --- Party 1: import Party 2's public key, compute shared secret ---
    //
    status = BCryptImportKeyPair(hAlg1, NULL, BCRYPT_DH_PUBLIC_BLOB, &hPubKey2, pbPubBlob2, cbPubBlob2, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptImportKeyPair Party 2 public key (into Party 1)");

    status = BCryptSecretAgreement(hKey1, hPubKey2, &hSecret1, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptSecretAgreement (Party 1)");

    // Derive 32 bytes of key material using SHA-256.
    BCryptBufferDesc kdfParams = { 0 };
    BCryptBuffer kdfBuffer = { 0 };
    WCHAR szHashAlg[] = BCRYPT_SHA256_ALGORITHM;
    kdfBuffer.BufferType = KDF_HASH_ALGORITHM;
    kdfBuffer.cbBuffer   = sizeof(szHashAlg);
    kdfBuffer.pvBuffer   = szHashAlg;
    kdfParams.ulVersion  = BCRYPTBUFFER_VERSION;
    kdfParams.cBuffers   = 1;
    kdfParams.pBuffers   = &kdfBuffer;

    status = BCryptDeriveKey(hSecret1, BCRYPT_KDF_HASH, &kdfParams, NULL, 0, &cbDerivedKey, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptDeriveKey size (Party 1)");

    pbDerivedKey1 = (PBYTE)HeapAlloc(GetProcessHeap(), HEAP_ZERO_MEMORY, cbDerivedKey);
    if (!pbDerivedKey1) { wprintf(L"Out of memory\n"); goto cleanup; }

    status = BCryptDeriveKey(hSecret1, BCRYPT_KDF_HASH, &kdfParams, pbDerivedKey1, cbDerivedKey, &cbDerivedKey, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptDeriveKey (Party 1)");

    //
    // --- Party 2: import Party 1's public key, compute shared secret ---
    //
    status = BCryptImportKeyPair(hAlg2, NULL, BCRYPT_DH_PUBLIC_BLOB, &hPubKey1, pbPubBlob1, cbPubBlob1, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptImportKeyPair Party 1 public key (into Party 2)");

    status = BCryptSecretAgreement(hKey2, hPubKey1, &hSecret2, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptSecretAgreement (Party 2)");

    pbDerivedKey2 = (PBYTE)HeapAlloc(GetProcessHeap(), HEAP_ZERO_MEMORY, cbDerivedKey);
    if (!pbDerivedKey2) { wprintf(L"Out of memory\n"); goto cleanup; }

    ULONG cbDerivedKey2 = cbDerivedKey;
    status = BCryptDeriveKey(hSecret2, BCRYPT_KDF_HASH, &kdfParams, pbDerivedKey2, cbDerivedKey2, &cbDerivedKey2, 0);
    CHECK(status, L"BCryptDeriveKey (Party 2)");

    //
    // Verify both parties derived the same key material.
    //
    if (cbDerivedKey == cbDerivedKey2 && memcmp(pbDerivedKey1, pbDerivedKey2, cbDerivedKey) == 0)
    {
        wprintf(L"Success: both parties derived the same %u-byte key material.\n", cbDerivedKey);
        ret = 0;
    }
    else
    {
        wprintf(L"Error: derived keys do not match.\n");
    }

cleanup:
    if (pbDerivedKey2)  { SecureZeroMemory(pbDerivedKey2, cbDerivedKey); HeapFree(GetProcessHeap(), 0, pbDerivedKey2); }
    if (pbDerivedKey1)  { SecureZeroMemory(pbDerivedKey1, cbDerivedKey); HeapFree(GetProcessHeap(), 0, pbDerivedKey1); }
    if (hSecret2)       BCryptDestroySecret(hSecret2);
    if (hSecret1)       BCryptDestroySecret(hSecret1);
    if (hPubKey1)       BCryptDestroyKey(hPubKey1);
    if (hPubKey2)       BCryptDestroyKey(hPubKey2);
    if (pbPubBlob2)     HeapFree(GetProcessHeap(), 0, pbPubBlob2);
    if (pbPubBlob1)     HeapFree(GetProcessHeap(), 0, pbPubBlob1);
    if (hKey2)          BCryptDestroyKey(hKey2);
    if (hKey1)          BCryptDestroyKey(hKey1);
    if (hAlg2)          BCryptCloseAlgorithmProvider(hAlg2, 0);
    if (hAlg1)          BCryptCloseAlgorithmProvider(hAlg1, 0);
    if (pbParams)       HeapFree(GetProcessHeap(), 0, pbParams);

    return ret;
}

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Last updated on 2026-04-15