Appendix: Migrate an existing CA key from software storage to the KMES

This section shows you how to perform the following tasks to migrate a CA key to the KMES Series 3:

Back up the CA database, CA certificate, and private key on the AD CS server.
Remove the CA role service from the AD CS server.
Import the private key into the KMES Series 3 by using FXCLI, name the imported PKI key, and enable Anonymous Signing on the imported CA certificate.
Restore the AD CS server.

Back up the CA database, CA certificate, and private key

To back up the CA database, certificate, and private key on the AD CS server, you must use an account that is a CA administrator. On an enterprise CA, the default configuration for CA administrators includes the local Administrators group, the Enterprise Admins group, and the Domain Admins group. On a standalone CA, the default configuration for CA administrators includes the local Administrators group. The following steps use the CA snap-in tool to back up the CA database and private key. If you prefer to complete these steps by using Powershell or Certutil.exe, see the following Microsoft knowledge base article: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-r2-and-2012/dn486805(v=ws.11)

Choose a backup location and attach media, if necessary.

Log on to the source CA.

Open the Certification Authority snap-in.

Right-click the node with the CA name, select All Tasks, and then select Back Up CA.

In the Welcome window of the CA Backup wizard, select [ Next ].

In the Items to Back Up window, select the Private key and CA certificate and Certificate database and certificate database log check boxes, specify the backup location, and then select [ Next ].

In the Select a Password window, type a password to protect the CA private key and select [ Next ].

In the Completing the Backup Wizard, select [ Finish ].

After the backup completes, verify the following files in the location you specified:

CAName.p12, which contains the CA certificate and private key.
The database folder contains the certbkxp.dat, edb#####.log, and CAName.edb files.

Open a command prompt window and enter net stop certsvc to stop the AD CS service.

You should stop the service to prevent the issuance of additional certificates. If the source CA issues certificates after a database backup completes, repeat the CA database backup procedure to ensure the database backup contains all issued certificates.

Copy all backup files to a location that is accessible from the destination server, such as a network share or removable media.

Remove the CA role service

Perform the following steps to remove the CA role service from the AD CS server:

In Server Manager, select [ Manage ] in the top menu and select [ Remove Roles and Features ].

In the Before you begin section of the Remove Roles and Features Wizard, select [ Next ].

In the Select destination server window, leave the default option selected and select [ Next ].

In the Remove server roles window, select the Active Directory Certificate Services role.

When prompted, select [ Remove Features ].

Select [ Next ] until you reach the Confirmation page, and then select [ Remove ].

After the removal process completes, close the window and restart the server to finish removing the features.

Import the private key into the KMES Series 3

This section shows you how to create a new empty certificate container in the KMES application interface and then use the fxcli-kmes application to import the private key that you backed up from AD CS.

The following example connects to the System/Host API port of the KMES anonymously. Be sure to select the Allow Anonymous Connections checkbox for the System/Host API connection pair before trying to connect.

Create a new certificate container

Perform the following steps to create a new certificate container on the KMES:

Go to PKI > Certificate Authorities and select [ Add CA ].

Specify a name for the certificate container and select [ OK ].

Right-click the newly created certificate container and select [ Permission ].

Grant the Microsoft ADCS role the Use permission. Select [ OK ] to save.

Import the private key

Perform the following steps to import the Microsoft ADCS CA private key into the KMES by using FXCLI:

You must import the Microsoft ADCS CA private key into the KMES as a PKCS #12 file. This imports both the private key and the certificate as a bundle, but Microsoft ADCS uses only the private key for operations.

Run the fxcli-kmes program to enter the Futurex Command Line Interface, as shown in the following example:

Powershell

$ ./fxcli-kmes
FxCL Command Line Interface: Version 1.8.12

Modify the FXCLI TLS configuration file as shown in the following sample to connect anonymously:

FXCLI

  tls config --anonymous=true
  result:
      status: success
      statusCode: 0
  tlsConfig:
      anonymous: true
      enabled: true
      verifyDepth: 0
      weakDigests: false

Run the following command to connect to the KMES Series 3:

FXCLI

  connect -c <KMES_IP>:2001

Run the following command twice to log in with the two default Admin identities and provide a username and password for each identity:

FXCLI

  login user

Run the following command to import the private key of the CA into the KMES:

FXCLI

  pkcs12 import --tree "Microsoft ADCS" --file C:\Futurex\WINDOWS-SERVER--CA.p12 --password safest --label "ADCS Demo" --win-system-dacl

Specify the name of the certificate container you created on the KMES with the —tree flag.

Name the imported PKI key

The —label flag tags the key with a PKCS #11 label. It does not set the Name of the key object, and PKI keys on the KMES Series 3 are unnamed by default. FXCL CNG finds keys by name, so until you name the imported key, the AD CS Existing Key search returns no results for it. Perform the following steps to name the imported PKI key:

In the KMES application interface, go to Key Management > Keys.

Select [ Reload ] so the key list shows the key you imported.

Right-click the imported key pair in the Keys section and select Edit.

Under Key Settings, enter a name in the Name field, such as ADCS Demo, and select [ OK ] to save.

Use the same value you passed to the —label flag so the name and the label agree. Record this name. You select it in the AD CS Existing Key window when you re-add the CA role service.

Right-click the named key pair and select [ Permission ]. Grant the Microsoft ADCS role the Use permission and select [ OK ] to save.

Enable Anonymous Signing on the imported CA certificate

FXCL CNG signs on behalf of AD CS without an operator approving each operation, so the imported CA certificate must carry the Anonymous Signing security usage. Set it before you associate the certificate with its private key in Windows. Perform the following steps to enable Anonymous Signing:

Go to PKI > Certificate Authorities and expand the certificate container you created.

Right-click the imported CA certificate and select Change Security Usage.

In the drop-down menu, select Anonymous Signing.

Select [ OK ] to apply the change.

Complete this step before you run the certutil -repairstore command later in this appendix. If you enable Anonymous Signing after a failed repairstore, you must run the repairstore command again.

Restore the AD CS server

This section shows you how to restore the AD CS server by performing the following tasks:

Import the CA certificate.
Re-add the CA role service.
Restore the CA database and configuration.

Import the CA certificate

Perform the following steps to import the CA certificate:

Start the Certificates snap-in for the local computer account.

In the console tree, double-click Certificates (Local Computer) and select Personal.

On the Action menu, select All Tasks and select Import to open the Certificate Import Wizard. Select [ Next ].

Locate the <CAName>.p12 file created by the CA certificate and private key backup and select [ Open ].

Type the password and select [ OK ].

Select Place all certificates in the following store.

Verify Personal displays in the Certificate store. If you don’t see it, select Browse, select Personal, and then select [ OK ].

The imported CA certificate file was in PKCS #12 format, containing both the certificate and the private key. However, the private key should not exist in AD CS because it is stored on the HSM. The following steps delete both the private key and its association with the CA certificate.

In the console tree, double-click Personal Certificates and select the imported CA certificate.

On the Action menu, select [ Open ]. Go to the Details tab, copy the serial number to the Clipboard, and select [ OK ].

Open a command prompt, type certutil -store My "{Serialnumber}", and then press ENTER.

From the output of the preceding command, copy the value that is in the Unique container name field to the clipboard.

Run the following command to delete the private key association with the CA certificate:

Powershell

certutil -delkey -csp ksp "{Key Container}"

Run the following command to delete the private key:

Powershell

certutil -delkey -csp ksp "{Key Name}"

The Key Name value is the same as the certificate name, as shown in the Certificates snap-in menu.

Finally, associate the private key now stored on the HSM with the CA certificate stored in AD CS. Run the following command to repair the association between the imported CA certificate and the private key stored in the HSM:

Powershell

certutil -repairstore -csp "Futurex FXCL KMES CNG" My "<SerialNumber>"

Specify the same certificate serial number that you copied earlier in this section.

If the command reports that it completed successfully but also reports that it could not match the certificate’s public key with the private key, the certificate and key are correctly paired and the KMES is refusing the verification signature. Confirm that the imported CA certificate has the Anonymous Signing security usage and that the imported PKI key has a name, then run the repairstore command again.

Run the following command to verify that the CA certificate is bound to the private key stored on the KMES Series 3:

Powershell

certutil -store My "<SerialNumber>"

Locate the CA certificate in the output and confirm the following fields:

Provider = Futurex FXCL KMES CNG
Private key is NOT exportable
Signature test passed

Re-add the CA role service

Perform the following steps to re-add the CA role service by using the server manager:

In the console tree, select Roles.

On the Action menu, select Add Roles.

In the Before you Begin window, select [ Next ].

In the Select Server Roles window, select the Active Directory Certificate Services checkbox and select [ Next ].

In the Introduction to AD CS window, select [ Next ].

In the Role Services window, select the Certificate Authority checkbox and select [ Next ].

In the Specify Setup Type window, specify either Enterprise or Standalone, to match the source CA. Then select [ Next ].

In the Specify CA Type window, specify either Root CA or Subordinate CA to match the source CA. Then, select [ Next ].

In the Set Up Private Key window, select Use existing private key and Select a certificate and use its associated private key.

In the Certificates list, select the imported CA certificate and select [ Next ].

In the CA Database window, specify the locations for the CA database and log files. Select [ Next ].

In the Confirmation window, review the messages and select [ Configure ].

Restore the CA database and configuration

After you reinstall the CA role service, perform the following steps, which use the CA snap-in tool to restore the CA database and configuration:

Start the Certification Authority snap-in.

Right-click the node with the CA name, select All Tasks, and then select Restore CA.

In the Welcome window, select [ Next ].

In the Items to Restore window, select Certificate database and certificate database log.

Select [ Browse ]. Navigate to the parent folder that holds the Database folder (the folder that contains the CA database files created during the CA database backup).

Do not select the Database folder. Select its parent folder.

Select [ Next ] and then [ Finish ].

Select [ Yes ] to start the CA service (certsvc).

​Back up the CA database, CA certificate, and private key

​Remove the CA role service

​Import the private key into the KMES Series 3

​Create a new certificate container

​Import the private key

​Name the imported PKI key

​Enable Anonymous Signing on the imported CA certificate

​Restore the AD CS server

​Import the CA certificate

​Re-add the CA role service

​Restore the CA database and configuration

Back up the CA database, CA certificate, and private key

Remove the CA role service

Import the private key into the KMES Series 3

Create a new certificate container

Import the private key

Name the imported PKI key

Enable Anonymous Signing on the imported CA certificate

Restore the AD CS server

Import the CA certificate

Re-add the CA role service

Restore the CA database and configuration