Get string from X509 Cert pfx file

Question

I want to get the x509 certificate as a string (certString) so that I can use it like

var cert = new X509Certificate2(Convert.FromBase64String(certString));

to generate a CertObject in Code.

I have tried around with certUtil but I dont know exactly which string I need.

Which string do I need to extract from the pfx data to be able to generate the X509 Certificate object in Code?

Something like this I think: `var certString = Convert.ToBase64String(File.ReadAllBytes(@"c:\whateverpath.pfx"));` — Alexander Derck, Apr 12 '16 at 08:11
I think that your question is not very clear. Please add more explanation. What exactly is the input? a PFX file on the file system? — Yacoub Massad, Apr 12 '16 at 08:27

score 12 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 12 '16 at 08:04

12

Here is the full code sample:

var cert = new X509Certificate2(@"c:\myCert.pfx", "password");
var certBytes = cert.RawData;
var certString = Convert.ToBase64String(certBytes);

answered Apr 12 '16 at 08:04

Samuel S.

Orkun Bekar · Answer 2 · 2016-04-12T08:18:50.037

5

All you need to do is converting it to byte[] then base64 string:

ConvertCertToBase64(cert.RawData);

private string ConvertCertToBase64(byte[] certRawData)
{
    return Convert.ToBase64String(certRawData);
}

edited Apr 12 '16 at 08:18

answered Apr 12 '16 at 07:48

Orkun Bekar

What I mean is, how do I get certString from pfx file? – EngelbertCoder Apr 12 '16 at 07:53
I assume you read the pfx from path. Then check my edited answer. Is that what you are looking for? – Orkun Bekar Apr 12 '16 at 08:00

2 Answers2