NAME

security — Command line interface to keychains and Security framework

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

A simple command line interface which lets you administer keychains, manipulate keys and certificates, and do just about anything the Security framework is capable of from the command line.

By default security will execute the command supplied and report if anything went wrong.

If the -i or -p options are provided, security will enter interactive mode and allow the user to enter multiple commands on stdin. When EOF is read from stdin security will exit.

Here is a complete list of the options available:

-h

If no arguments are specified, show a list of all commands. If arguments are provided, show usage for each the specified commands. This option is essentially the same as the help command.

-i

Run security in interactive mode. A prompt (security> by default) will be displayed and the user will be able to type commands on stdin until an EOF is encountered.

-l

Before security exits, run

/usr/bin/leaks -nocontext

on itself to see if the command(s) you executed had any leaks.

-p prompt

This option implies the -i option but changes the default prompt to the argument specified instead.

-q

Will make security less verbose.

-v

Will make security more verbose.

SECURITY COMMAND SUMMARY

security provides a rich variety of commands (command in the SYNOPSIS), each of which often has a wealth of options, to allow access to the broad functionality provided by the Security framework. However, you don't have to master every detail for security to be useful to you.

Here are brief descriptions of all the security commands:

help

Show all commands, or show usage for a command.

list-keychains

Display or manipulate the keychain search list.

default-keychain

Display or set the default keychain.

login-keychain

Display or set the login keychain.

create-keychain

Create keychains.

delete-keychain

Delete keychains and remove them from the search list.

lock-keychain

Lock the specified keychain.

unlock-keychain

Unlock the specified keychain.

set-keychain-settings

Set settings for a keychain.

set-keychain-password

Set password for a keychain.

show-keychain-info

Show the settings for keychain.

dump-keychain

Dump the contents of one or more keychains.

create-keypair

Create an asymmetric key pair.

add-generic-password

Add a generic password item.

add-internet-password

Add an internet password item.

add-certificates

Add certificates to a keychain.

find-generic-password

Find a generic password item.

delete-generic-password

Delete a generic password item.

set-generic-password-partition-list

Set the partition list of a generic password item.

find-internet-password

Find an internet password item.

delete-internet-password

Delete an internet password item.

set-internet-password-partition-list

Set the partition list of a internet password item.

find-key

Find keys in the keychain

set-key-partition-list

Set the partition list of a key.

find-certificate

Find a certificate item.

find-identity

Find an identity (certificate + private key).

delete-certificate

Delete a certificate from a keychain.

delete-identity

Delete a certificate and its private key from a keychain.

set-identity-preference

Set the preferred identity to use for a service.

get-identity-preference

Get the preferred identity to use for a service.

create-db

Create a db using the DL.

export

Export items from a keychain.

import

Import items into a keychain.

cms

Encode or decode CMS messages.

install-mds

Install (or re-install) the MDS database.

add-trusted-cert

Add trusted certificate(s).

remove-trusted-cert

Remove trusted certificate(s).

dump-trust-settings

Display contents of trust settings.

user-trust-settings-enable

Display or manipulate user-level trust settings.

trust-settings-export

Export trust settings.

trust-settings-import

Import trust settings.

verify-cert

Verify certificate(s).

authorize

Perform authorization operations.

authorizationdb

Make changes to the authorization policy database.

execute-with-privileges

Execute tool with privileges.

leaks

Run /usr/bin/leaks on this process.

smartcards

Enable, disable or list disabled smartcard tokens.

list-smartcards

Display available smartcards.

export-smartcard

Export/display items from a smartcard.

error

Display a descriptive message for the given error code(s).

COMMON COMMAND OPTIONS

This section describes the command_options that are available across all security commands.

-h

Show a usage message for the specified command. This option is essentially the same as the help command.

SECURITY COMMANDS

Here (finally) are details on all the security commands and the options each accepts.

• help [-h] Show all commands, or show usage for a command.
• list-keychains [-h] [-d user|system|common|dynamic] [-s [keychain...]] Display or manipulate the keychain search list.

  • -d user|system|common|dynamic

    Use the specified preference domain.

    -s

    Set the search list to the specified keychains.

• default-keychain [-h] [-d user|system|common|dynamic] [-s [keychain]] Display or set the default keychain.

  • -d user|system|common|dynamic

    Use the specified preference domain.

    -s

    Set the default keychain to the specified keychain. Unset it if no keychain is specified.

• login-keychain [-h] [-d user|system|common|dynamic] [-s [keychain]] Display or set the login keychain.

  • -d user|system|common|dynamic

    Use the specified preference domain.

    -s

    Set the login keychain to the specified keychain. Unset it if no keychain is specified.

• create-keychain [-hP] [-p password] [keychain...] Create keychains.

  • -P

    Prompt the user for a password using the SecurityAgent.

    -p password

    Use password as the password for the keychains being created.

  • If neither -P or -p password are specified, the user is prompted for a password on the command line. Use of the -p option is insecure.
• delete-keychain [-h] [keychain...] Delete keychains and remove them from the search list.
• lock-keychain [-h] [-a|keychain] Lock keychain, or the default keychain if none is specified. If the -a option is specified, all keychains are locked.
• unlock-keychain [-hu] [-p password] [keychain] Unlock keychain, or the default keychain if none is specified.
• set-keychain-settings [-hlu] [-t timeout] [keychain] Set settings for keychain, or the default keychain if none is specified.

  • -l

    Lock keychain when the system sleeps.

    -u

    Lock keychain after timeout interval.

    -t timeout

    Specify timeout interval in seconds (omitting this option specifies "no timeout").

• set-keychain-password [-h] [-o oldPassword] [-p newPassword] [keychain] Set password for keychain, or the default keychain if none is specified.

  • -o oldPassword

    Old keychain password (if not provided, will prompt)

    -p newPassword

    New keychain password (if not provided, will prompt)

• show-keychain-info [-h] [keychain] Show the settings for keychain.
• dump-keychain [-adhir] Dump the contents of one or more keychains.

  • -a

    Dump access control list of items

    -d

    Dump (decrypted) data of items

    -i

    Interactive access control list editing mode

    -r

    Dump raw (encrypted) data of items

• create-keypair [-h] [-a alg] [-s size] [-f date] [-t date] [-d days] [-k keychain] [-A|-T appPath] [name] Create an asymmetric key pair.

  • -a alg

    Use alg as the algorithm, can be rsa, dh, dsa or fee (default rsa)

    -s size

    Specify the keysize in bits (default 512)

    -f date

    Make a key valid from the specified date (ex: "13/11/10 3:30pm")

    -t date

    Make a key valid to the specified date

    -d days

    Make a key valid for the number of days specified from today

    -k keychain

    Use the specified keychain rather than the default

    -A

    Allow any application to access this key without warning (insecure, not recommended!)

    -T appPath

    Specify an application which may access this key (multiple -T options are allowed)

• add-generic-password [-h] [-a account] [-s service] [-w password] [options...] [keychain] Add a generic password item.

  • -a account

    Specify account name (required)

    -c creator

    Specify item creator (optional four-character code)

    -C type

    Specify item type (optional four-character code)

    -D kind

    Specify kind (default is "application password")

    -G value

    Specify generic attribute value (optional)

    -j comment

    Specify comment string (optional)

    -l label

    Specify label (if omitted, service name is used as default label)

    -s service

    Specify service name (required)

    -p password

    Specify password to be added (legacy option, equivalent to -w)

    -w password

    Specify password to be added. Put at end of command to be prompted (recommended)

    -A

    Allow any application to access this item without warning (insecure, not recommended!)

    -T appPath

    Specify an application which may access this item (multiple -T options are allowed)

    -U

    Update item if it already exists (if omitted, the item cannot already exist)

    -X password

    Specify password data to be added as a hexadecimal string

  • By default, the application which creates an item is trusted to access its data without warning. You can remove this default access by explicitly specifying an empty app pathname: -T "". If no keychain is specified, the password is added to the default keychain.
• add-internet-password [-h] [-a account] [-s server] [-w password] [options...] [keychain] Add an internet password item.

  • -a account

    Specify account name (required)

    -c creator

    Specify item creator (optional four-character code)

    -C type

    Specify item type (optional four-character code)

    -d domain

    Specify security domain string (optional)

    -D kind

    Specify kind (default is "application password")

    -j comment

    Specify comment string (optional)

    -l label

    Specify label (if omitted, service name is used as default label)

    -p path

    Specify path string (optional)

    -P port

    Specify port number (optional)

    -r protocol

    Specify protocol (optional four-character SecProtocolType, e.g. "http", "ftp ")

    -s server

    Specify server name (required)

    -t authenticationType

    Specify authentication type (as a four-character SecAuthenticationType, default is "dflt")

    -w password

    Specify password to be added. Put at end of command to be prompted (recommended)

    -A

    Allow any application to access this item without warning (insecure, not recommended!)

    -T appPath

    Specify an application which may access this item (multiple -T options are allowed)

    -U

    Update item if it already exists (if omitted, the item cannot already exist)

    -X password

    Specify password data to be added as a hexadecimal string

  • By default, the application which creates an item is trusted to access its data without warning. You can remove this default access by explicitly specifying an empty app pathname: -T "". If no keychain is specified, the password is added to the default keychain.
• add-certificates [-h] [-k keychain] file... Add certficates contained in the specified files to the default keychain. The files must contain one DER encoded X509 certificate each.

  -k keychain

  Use keychain rather than the default keychain.
• find-generic-password [-h] [-a account] [-s service] [-options...] [-g] [-keychain...] Find a generic password item.

  • -a account

    Match account string

    -c creator

    Match creator (four-character code)

    -C type

    Match type (four-character code)

    -D kind

    Match kind string

    -G value

    Match value string (generic attribute)

    -j comment

    Match comment string

    -l label

    Match label string

    -s service

    Match service string

    -g

    Display the password for the item found

    -w

    Display the password(only) for the item found

• delete-generic-password [-h] [-a account] [-s service] [-options...] [-keychain...] Delete a generic password item.

  • -a account

    Match account string

    -c creator

    Match creator (four-character code)

    -C type

    Match type (four-character code)

    -D kind

    Match kind string

    -G value

    Match value string (generic attribute)

    -j comment

    Match comment string

    -l label

    Match label string

    -s service

    Match service string

• delete-internet-password [-h] [-a account] [-s server] [options...] [keychain...] Delete an internet password item.

  • -a account

    Match account string

    -c creator

    Match creator (four-character code)

    -C type

    Match type (four-character code)

    -d securityDomain

    Match securityDomain string

    -D kind

    Match kind string

    -j comment

    Match comment string

    -l label

    Match label string

    -p path

    Match path string

    -P port

    Match port number

    -r protocol

    Match protocol (four-character code)

    -s server

    Match server string

    -t authenticationType

    Match authenticationType (four-character code)

• find-internet-password [-h] [-a account] [-s server] [options...] [-g] [keychain...] Find an internet password item.

  • -a account

    Match account string

    -c creator

    Match creator (four-character code)

    -C type

    Match type (four-character code)

    -d securityDomain

    Match securityDomain string

    -D kind

    Match kind string

    -j comment

    Match comment string

    -l label

    Match label string

    -p path

    Match path string

    -P port

    Match port number

    -r protocol

    Match protocol (four-character code)

    -s server

    Match server string

    -t authenticationType

    Match authenticationType (four-character code)

    -g

    Display the password for the item found

    -w

    Display the password(only) for the item found

• find-key [options...] [keychain...] Search the keychain for keys.

  • -a application-label

    Match "application label" string

    -c creator

    Match creator (four-character code)

    -d

    Match keys that can decrypt

    -D description

    Match "description" string

    -e

    Match keys that can encrypt

    -j comment

    Match comment string

    -l label

    Match label string

    -r

    Match keys that can derive

    -s

    Match keys that can sign

    -t type

    Type of key to find: one of "symmetric", "public", or "private"

    -u

    Match keys that can unwrap

    -v

    Match keys that can verify

    -w

    Match keys that can wrap

• set-generic-password-partition-list [-a account] [-s service] [-S <partition list (comma separated)>] [-k <keychain password>] [options...] [keychain] Sets the "partition list" for a generic password. The "partition list" is an extra parameter in the ACL which limits access to the item based on an application's code signature. You must present the keychain's password to change a partition list.

  • -S partition-list

    Comma-separated partition list. See output of "security dump-keychain" for examples.

    -k password

    Password for keychain

    -a account

    Match account string

    -c creator

    Match creator (four-character code)

    -C type

    Match type (four-character code)

    -D kind

    Match kind string

    -G value

    Match value string (generic attribute)

    -j comment

    Match comment string

    -l label

    Match label string

    -s service

    Match service string

• set-internet-password-partition-list [-a account] [-s server] [-S <partition list (comma separated)>] [-k <keychain password>] [options...] [keychain] Sets the "partition list" for an internet password. The "partition list" is an extra parameter in the ACL which limits access to the item based on an application's code signature. You must present the keychain's password to change a partition list.

  • -S partition-list

    Comma-separated partition list. See output of "security dump-keychain" for examples.

    -k password

    Password for keychain

    -a account

    Match account string

    -c creator

    Match creator (four-character code)

    -C type

    Match type (four-character code)

    -d securityDomain

    Match securityDomain string

    -D kind

    Match kind string

    -j comment

    Match comment string

    -l label

    Match label string

    -p path

    Match path string

    -P port

    Match port number

    -r protocol

    Match protocol (four-character code)

    -s server

    Match server string

    -t authenticationType

    Match authenticationType (four-character code)

• set-key-partition-list [-S <partition list (comma separated)>] [-k <keychain password>] [options...] [keychain] Sets the "partition list" for a key. The "partition list" is an extra parameter in the ACL which limits access to the key based on an application's code signature. You must present the keychain's password to change a partition list. If you'd like to run /usr/bin/codesign with the key, "apple:" must be an element of the partition list.

  • -S partition-list

    Comma-separated partition list. See output of "security dump-keychain" for examples.

    -k password

    Password for keychain

    -a application-label

    Match "application label" string

    -c creator

    Match creator (four-character code)

    -d

    Match keys that can decrypt

    -D description

    Match "description" string

    -e

    Match keys that can encrypt

    -j comment

    Match comment string

    -l label

    Match label string

    -r

    Match keys that can derive

    -s

    Match keys that can sign

    -t type

    Type of key to find: one of "symmetric", "public", or "private"

    -u

    Match keys that can unwrap

    -v

    Match keys that can verify

    -w

    Match keys that can wrap

• find-certificate [-h] [-a] [-c name] [-e emailAddress] [-m] [-p] [-Z] [keychain...] Find a certificate item. If no keychain arguments are provided, the default search list is used.
  • Options:

    -a

    Find all matching certificates, not just the first one

    -c name

    Match on name when searching (optional)

    -e emailAddress

    Match on emailAddress when searching (optional)

    -m

    Show the email addresses in the certificate

    -p

    Output certificate in pem format. Default is to dump the attributes and keychain the cert is in.

    -Z

    Print SHA-256 (and SHA-1) hash of the certificate

  • Examples

    security> find-certificate -a -p > allcerts.pem

    Exports all certificates from all keychains into a pem file called allcerts.pem.

    security> find-certificate -a -e me@foo.com -p > certs.pem

    Exports all certificates from all keychains with the email address me@foo.com into a pem file called certs.pem.

    security> find-certificate -a -c MyName -Z login.keychain | grep ^SHA-256

    Print the SHA-256 hash of every certificate in 'login.keychain' whose common name includes 'MyName'

• find-identity [-h] [-p policy] [-s string] [-v] [keychain...] Find an identity (certificate + private key) satisfying a given policy. If no policy arguments are provided, the X.509 basic policy is assumed. If no keychain arguments are provided, the default search list is used.
  • Options:

    -p policy

    Specify policy to evaluate (multiple -p options are allowed). Supported policies: basic, ssl-client, ssl-server, smime, eap, ipsec, ichat, codesigning, sys-default, sys-kerberos-kdc

    -s string

    Specify optional policy-specific string (e.g. a DNS hostname for SSL, or RFC822 email address for S/MIME)

    -v

    Show valid identities only (default is to show all identities)

  • Examples

    security> find-identity -v -p ssl-client

    Display valid identities that can be used for SSL client authentication

    security> find-identity -p ssl-server -s www.domain.com

    Display identities for a SSL server running on the host 'www.domain.com'

    security> find-identity -p smime -s user@domain.com

    Display identities that can be used to sign a message from 'user@domain.com'

• delete-certificate [-h] [-c name] [-Z hash] [-t] [keychain...] Delete a certificate from a keychain. If no keychain arguments are provided, the default search list is used.

  • -c name

    Specify certificate to delete by its common name

    -Z hash

    Specify certificate to delete by its SHA-256 (or SHA-1) hash

    -t

    Also delete user trust settings for this certificate

  • The certificate to be deleted must be uniquely specified either by a string found in its common name, or by its SHA-256 (or SHA-1) hash.
• delete-identity [-h] [-c name] [-Z hash] [-t] [keychain...] Delete a certificate and its private key from a keychain. If no keychain arguments are provided, the default search list is used.

  • -c name

    Specify certificate to delete by its common name

    -Z hash

    Specify certificate to delete by its SHA-256 (or SHA-1) hash

    -t

    Also delete user trust settings for this identity certificate

  • The identity to be deleted must be uniquely specified either by a string found in its common name, or by its SHA-256 (or SHA-1) hash.
• set-identity-preference [-h] [-n] [-c identity] [-s service] [-u keyUsage] [-Z hash] [keychain...] Set the preferred identity to use for a service.

  • -n

    Specify no identity (clears existing preference for the given service)

    -c identity

    Specify identity by common name of the certificate

    -s service

    Specify service (may be a URL, RFC822 email address, DNS host, or other name) for which this identity is to be preferred

    -u keyUsage

    Specify key usage (optional)

    -Z hash

    Specify identity by SHA-256 (or SHA-1) hash of certificate (optional)

  • The identity is located by searching the specified keychain(s) for a certificate whose common name contains the given identity string. If no keychains are specified to search, the default search list is used. Different identity preferences can be set for individual key usages. You can differentiate between two identities which contain the same string by providing a SHA-256 (or SHA-1) hash of the certificate in addition to, or instead of, the name.
  • PARTIAL PATHS AND WILDCARDS
  • Prior to 10.5.4, identity preferences for SSL/TLS client authentication could only be set on a per-URL basis. The URL being visited had to match the service name exactly for the preference to be in effect.
  • In 10.5.4, it became possible to specify identity preferences on a per-server basis, by using a service name with a partial path URL to match more specific paths on the same server. For example, if an identity preference for "https://www.apache-ssl.org/" exists, it will be in effect for "https://www.apache-ssl.org/cgi/cert-export", and so on. Note that partial path URLs must end with a trailing slash character.
  • Starting with 10.6, it is possible to specify identity preferences on a per-domain basis, by using the wildcard character '*' as the leftmost component of the service name. Unlike SSL wildcards, an identity preference wildcard can match more than one subdomain. For example, an identity preference for the name "*.army.mil" will match "server1.subdomain1.army.mil" or "server2.subdomain2.army.mil". Likewise, a preference for "*.mil" will match both "server.army.mil" and "server.navy.mil".
  • KEY USAGE CODES
  • 
    0 - preference is in effect for all possible key usages (default)
    1 - encryption only
    2 - decryption only
    4 - signing only
    8 - signature verification only
    16 - signing with message recovery only
    32 - signature verification with message recovery only
    64 - key wrapping only
    128 - key unwrapping only
    256 - key derivation only

    To specify more than one usage, add values together.

     

• get-identity-preference [-h] [-s service] [-u keyUsage] [-p] [-c] [-Z] Get the preferred identity to use for a service.

  • -s service

    Specify service (may be a URL, RFC822 email address, DNS host, or other name)

    -u keyUsage

    Specify key usage (optional)

    -p

    Output identity certificate in pem format

    -c

    Print common name of the preferred identity certificate

    -Z

    Print SHA-256 (and SHA-1) hash of the preferred identity certificate

• create-db [-aho0] [-g dl|cspdl] [-m mode] [name] Create a db using the DL. If name isn't provided security will prompt the user to type a name.
  • Options:

    -a

    Turn off autocommit

    -g dl|cspdl

    Use the AppleDL (default) or AppleCspDL

    -m mode

    Set the file permissions to mode.

    -o

    Force using openparams argument

    -0

    Force using version 0 openparams

  • Examples

    security> create-db -m 0644 test.db

     

    security> create-db -g cspdl -a test2.db

     

• export [-k keychain] [-t type] [-f format] [-w] [-p format] [-P passphrase] [-o outfile] Export one or more items from a keychain to one of a number of external representations. If keychain isn't provided, items will be exported from the user's default keychain.
  • Options:

    -k keychain

    Specify keychain from which item(s) will be exported.

    -t type

    Specify the type of items to export. Possible types are certs, allKeys, pubKeys, privKeys, identities, and all. The default is all. An identity consists of both a certificate and the corresponding private key.

    -f format

    Specify the format of the exported data. Possible formats are openssl, bsafe, pkcs7, pkcs8, pkcs12, x509, openssh1, openssh2, and pemseq. The default is pemseq if more than one item is being exported. The default is openssl if one key is being exported. The default is x509 if one certificate is being exported.

    -w

    Specifies that private keys are to be wrapped on export.

    -p

    Specifies that PEM armour is to be applied to the output data.

    -P passphrase

    Specify the wrapping passphrase immediately. The default is to obtain a secure passphrase via GUI.

    -o outfile

    Write the output data to outfile. Default is to write data to stdout.

  • Examples

    security> export -k login.keychain -t certs -o /tmp/certs.pem

     

    security> export -k newcert.keychain -t identities -f pkcs12 -o /tmp/mycerts.p12

     

• import inputfile [-k keychain] [-t type] [-f format] [-w] [-P passphrase] [options...] Import one or more items from inputfile into a keychain. If keychain isn't provided, items will be imported into the user's default keychain.
  • Options:

    -k keychain

    Specify keychain into which item(s) will be imported.

    -t type

    Specify the type of items to import. Possible types are cert, pub, priv, session, cert, and agg. Pub, priv, and session refer to keys; agg is one of the aggregate types (pkcs12 and PEM sequence). The command can often figure out what item_type an item contains based in the filename and/or item_format.

    -f format

    Specify the format of the exported data. Possible formats are openssl, bsafe, raw, pkcs7, pkcs8, pkcs12, x509, openssh1, openssh2, and pemseq. The command can often figure out what format an item is in based in the filename and/or item_type.

    -w

    Specify that private keys are wrapped and must be unwrapped on import.

    -x

    Specify that private keys are non-extractable after being imported.

    -P passphrase

    Specify the unwrapping passphrase immediately. The default is to obtain a secure passphrase via GUI.

    -a attrName attrValue

    Specify optional extended attribute name and value. Can be used multiple times. This is only valid when importing keys.

    -A

    Allow any application to access the imported key without warning (insecure, not recommended!)

    -T appPath

    Specify an application which may access the imported key (multiple -T options are allowed)

  • Examples

    security> import /tmp/certs.pem -k

     

    security> import /tmp/mycerts.p12 -t agg -k newcert.keychain

     

    security> import /tmp/mycerts.p12 -f pkcs12 -k newcert.keychain

     

• cms [-C|-D|-E|-S] [options...] Encode or decode CMS messages.

  -C

  create a CMS encrypted message

  -D

  decode a CMS message

  -E

  create a CMS enveloped message

  -S

  create a CMS signed message

  • Decoding options:

    -c content

    use this detached content file

    -h level

    generate email headers with info about CMS message (output level >= 0)

    -n

    suppress output of content

  • Encoding options:

    -r id,...

    create envelope for comma-delimited list of recipients, where id can be a certificate nickname or email address

    -G

    include a signing time attribute

    -H hash

    hash = MD2|MD4|MD5|SHA1|SHA256|SHA384|SHA512 (default: SHA1)

    -N nick

    use certificate named "nick" for signing

    -P

    include a SMIMECapabilities attribute

    -T

    do not include content in CMS message

    -Y nick

    include an EncryptionKeyPreference attribute with certificate (use "NONE" to omit)

    -Z hash

    find a certificate by subject key ID

  • Common options:

    -e envelope

    specify envelope file (valid with -D or -E)

    -k keychain

    specify keychain to use

    -i infile

    use infile as source of data (default: stdin)

    -o outfile

    use outfile as destination of data (default: stdout)

    -p password

    use password as key db password (default: prompt)

    -s

    pass data a single byte at a time to CMS

    -u certusage

    set type of certificate usage (default: certUsageEmailSigner)

    -v

    print debugging information

  • Cert usage codes:
    0 - certUsageSSLClient
    1 - certUsageSSLServer
    2 - certUsageSSLServerWithStepUp
    3 - certUsageSSLCA
    4 - certUsageEmailSigner
    5 - certUsageEmailRecipient
    6 - certUsageObjectSigner
    7 - certUsageUserCertImport
    8 - certUsageVerifyCA
    9 - certUsageProtectedObjectSigner
    10 - certUsageStatusResponder
    11 - certUsageAnyCA
• install-mds Install (or re-install) the Module Directory Services (MDS) database. This is a system tool which is not normally used by users. There are no options.
• add-trusted-cert [-d] [-r resultType] [-p policy] [-a appPath] [-s policyString] [-e allowedError] [-u keyUsage] [-k keychain] [-i settingsFileIn] [-o settingsFileOut] certFile Add certificate (in DER or PEM format) from certFile to per-user or local Admin Trust Settings. When modifying per-user Trust Settings, user authentication is required via an authentication dialog. When modifying admin Trust Settings, the process must be running as root, or admin authentication is required.
  • Options:

    -d

    Add to admin cert store; default is user.

    -r resultType

    resultType = trustRoot|trustAsRoot|deny|unspecified; default is trustRoot.

    -p policy

    Specify policy constraint (ssl, smime, codeSign, IPSec, basic, swUpdate, pkgSign, eap, macappstore, appleID, timestamping).

    -a appPath

    Specify application constraint.

    -s policyString

    Specify policy-specific string.

    -e allowedError

    Specify allowed error (an integer value, or one of: certExpired, hostnameMismatch)

    -u keyUsage

    Specify key usage, an integer.

    -k keychain

    Specify keychain to which cert is added.

    -i settingsFileIn

    Input trust settings file; default is user domain.

    -o settingsFileOut

    Output trust settings file; default is user domain.

  • Key usage codes:
    -1 - Any
    1 - Sign
    2 - Encrypt/Decrypt Data
    4 - Encrypt/Decrypt Key
    8 - Sign certificate
    16 - Sign revocation
    32 - Key exchange
    To specify more than one usage, add values together (except -1 - Any).
  • Examples
    security> add-trusted-cert /tmp/cert.der
    security> add-trusted-cert -d .tmp/cert.der

  • remove-trusted-cert [-d] certFile Remove certificate (in DER or PEM format) in certFile from per-user or local Admin Trust Settings. When modifying per-user Trust Settings, user authentication is required via an authentication dialog. When modifying admin Trust Settings, the process must be running as root, or admin authentication is required.
    • Options:

      -d

      Remove from admin cert store; default is user.

  • dump-trust-settings [-s] [-d] Display Trust Settings.
    • Options:

      -s

      Display trusted system certs; default is user.

      -d

      Display trusted admin certs; default is user.

  • user-trust-settings-enable [-d] [-e] Display or manipulate user-level Trust Settings. With no arguments, shows the current state of the user-level Trust Settings enable. Otherwise enables or disables user-level Trust Settings.
    • Options:

      -d

      Disable user-level Trust Settings.

      -e

      Enable user-level Trust Settings.

  • trust-settings-export [-s] [-d] settings_file Export Trust Settings to the specified file.
    • Options:

      -s

      Export system Trust Settings; default is user.

      -d

      Export admin Trust Settings; default is user.

  • trust-settings-import [-d] settings_file Import Trust Settings from the specified file. When modifying per-user Trust Settings, user authentication is required via an authentication dialog. When modifying admin Trust Settings, the process must be running as root, or admin authentication is required.
    • Options:

      -d

      Import admin Trust Settings; default is user.

  • verify-cert [-c certFile] [-r rootCertFile] [-p policy] [-C] [-d date] [-k keychain] [-n name] [-N] [-L] [-l] [-e emailAddress] [-s sslHost] [-q] [-R revCheckOption] [-P] [-t] [-v] [url] Verify one or more certificates. If a direct URL argument is provided, a TLS connection is attempted and the certificate presented by that server is evaluated according to standard SSL server policy; other certificates or policy options will be ignored in this case.
    • Options:

      -c certFile

      Certificate to verify, in DER or PEM format. Can be specified more than once; leaf certificate has to be specified first.

      -r rootCertFile

      Root certificate, in DER or PEM format. Can be specified more than once. If not specified, the system anchor certificates are used. If one root certificate is specified, and zero (non-root) certificates are specified, the root certificate is verified against itself.

      -p policy

      Specify verification policy (ssl, smime, codeSign, IPSec, basic, swUpdate, pkgSign, eap, appleID, macappstore, timestamping). Default is basic.

      -C

      Specify this evaluation is for client usage, if the verification policy (e.g. ssl) distinguishes between client and server usage. Default is server usage.

      -d date

      Date to set for verification. Specified in the format of YYYY-MM-DD-hh:mm:ss (time optional). e.g: 2016-04-25-15:59:59 for April 25, 2016 at 3:59:59 pm in GMT

      -k keychain

      Keychain to search for intermediate CA certificates. Can be specified multiple times. Default is the current user's keychain search list.

      -n name

      Specify a name to be verified, e.g. the SSL host name for the ssl policy, or RFC822 email address for the smime policy. For backward compatibility, if the -n option is provided without an argument, it will be interpreted as equivalent to -N.

      -N

      Avoid searching any keychains.

      -L

      Use local certificates only. If an issuing CA certificate is missing, this option will avoid accessing the network to fetch it.

      -l

      Specifies that the leaf certificate is a CA cert. By default, a leaf certificate with a Basic Constraints extension with the CA bit set fails verification.

      -e emailAddress

      Specify email address for the smime policy. (This option is deprecated; use -n instead.)

      -s sslHost

      Specify SSL host name for the ssl policy. (This option is deprecated; use -n instead.)

      -q

      Quiet, no stdout or stderr.

      -R revCheckOption

      Specify a revocation checking option for this evaluation (ocsp, require, offline). Can be specified multiple times; e.g. to enable revocation checking via the OCSP method and require a positive response, use "-R ocsp -R require". The offline option will consult previously cached responses, but will not make a request to a revocation server.

      -P

      Output the constructed certificate chain in PEM format.

      -t

      Output certificate contents as text.

      -v

      Specify verbose output, including per-certificate trust results.

    • Examples

      security> verify-cert -c applestore0.cer -c applestore1.cer -p ssl -n store.apple.com

       

      security> verify-cert -r serverbasic.crt

       

      security> verify-cert -v https://www.apple.com

       

  • authorize [-updPiew] [right...] Authorize requested right(s). The extend-rights flag will be passed by default.
    • Options:

      -u

      Allow user interaction.

      -p

      Allow returning partial rights.

      -d

      Destroy acquired rights.

      -P

      Pre-authorize rights only.

      -l

      Operate authorization in least privileged mode.

      -i

      Internalize authref passed on stdin.

      -e

      Externalize authref to stdout

      -w

      Wait while holding AuthorizationRef until stdout is closed. This will allow client to read externalized AuthorizationRef from pipe.

    • Examples

      security> security authorize -ud my-right

      Basic authorization of my-right.

      security> security -q authorize -uew my-right | security -q authorize -i my-right

      Authorizing a right and passing it to another command as a way to add authorization to shell scripts.

  • authorizationdb read <right-name>
  • authorizationdb write <right-name> [allow|deny|<rulename>]
  • authorizationdb remove <right-name> Read/Modify authorization policy database. Without a rulename write will read a dictionary as a plist from stdin.
    • Examples

      security> security authorizationdb read system.privilege.admin > /tmp/aewp-def

      Read definition of system.privilege.admin right.

      security> security authorizationdb write system.preferences < /tmp/aewp-def

      Set system.preferences to definition of system.privilege.admin right.

      security> security authorizationdb write system.preferences authenticate-admin

      Every change to preferences requires an Admin user to authenticate.

  • execute-with-privileges <program> [args...] Execute tool with privileges. On success stdin will be read and forwarded to the tool.
  • leaks [-h] [-cycles] [-nocontext] [-nostacks] [-exclude symbol] Run /usr/bin/leaks on this process. This can help find memory leaks after running certain commands.
    • Options:

      -cycles

      Use a stricter algorithm (See leaks(1) for details).

      -nocontext

      Withhold the hex dumps of the leaked memory.

      -nostacks

      Don't show stack traces of leaked memory.

      -exclude symbol

      Ignore leaks called from symbol.

  • smartcards token [-l] [-e token] [-d token] Enable, disable or list disabled smartcard tokens.
    • Options:

      -l

      List disabled smartcard tokens.

      -e token

      Enable smartcard token.

      -d token

      Disable smartcard token.

    • To list tokens available in the system

    • pluginkit -m -p com.apple.ctk-tokens

       

    • Examples

    • security smartcards token -l

       

      security smartcards token -d com.apple.CryptoTokenKit.pivtoken

       

      security smartcards token -e com.apple.CryptoTokenKit.pivtoken

       

  • list-smartcards Display ids of available smartcards.
  • export-smartcard token [-i id] [-t certs|privKeys|identities|all] [-e exportPath] Export/display items from a smartcard. If id isn't provided, items from all smartcards will be displayed.
    • Options:

      -i id

      Export/display items from token specified by token id, available ids can be listed by list-smartcards command.

      -t certs|privKeys|identities|all

      Display items of the specified type (Default: all)

      -e exportPath

      Specify path to export certificates and public keys. If exportPath
      is specified screen output is suppressed. This option cannot be combined with -t option.

  • error [-h] [<error code(s)...>] Display an error string for the given security-related error code. The error can be in decimal or hex, e.g. 1234 or 0x1234. Multiple errors can be separated by spaces.

ENVIRONMENT

MallocStackLogging

When using the leaks command or the -l option it's probably a good idea to set this environment variable before security is started. Doing so will allow leaks to display symbolic backtraces.

FILES

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.security.plist

Property list file containing the current user's default keychain and keychain search list.

/Library/Preferences/com.apple.security.plist

Property list file containing the system default keychain and keychain search list. This is used by processes started at boot time, or those requesting to use the system search domain, such as system daemons.

/Library/Preferences/com.apple.security-common.plist

Property list file containing the common keychain search list, which is appended to every user's search list and to the system search list.

SEE ALSO

certtool(1), leaks(1), pluginkit(8)

HISTORY

security was first introduced in Mac OS X version 10.3.

BUGS

security still needs more commands before it can be considered complete. In particular, it should someday supersede both the certtool and systemkeychain commands.