How to import a certificate without user interaction (C++ & C#)

Hi, welcome back,

Today I'm posting a CryptoAPI sample which usesCryptUIWizImport to import a certificate without any user interaction:

<SAMPLE Language="C++">

 CRYPTUI_WIZ_IMPORT_SRC_INFO importSrc;
memset(&importSrc, 0, sizeof(CRYPTUI_WIZ_IMPORT_SRC_INFO));
importSrc.dwSize = sizeof(CRYPTUI_WIZ_IMPORT_SRC_INFO);
importSrc.dwSubjectChoice = CRYPTUI_WIZ_IMPORT_SUBJECT_FILE;
importSrc.pwszFileName = L"C:\\PathToPFX\\cert.pfx";
importSrc.pwszPassword = L"PasswordToDecryptPFX";
importSrc.dwFlags = CRYPT_EXPORTABLE | CRYPT_USER_PROTECTED;
 
if (CryptUIWizImport(
  CRYPTUI_WIZ_NO_UI,
  NULL,
  NULL,
  &importSrc,
  NULL
) == 0)
{
  printf("CryptUIWizImport error 0x%x\n", GetLastError());
}

</SAMPLE>

<SAMPLE Language="C#">

 using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
 
namespace ImportCertNet
{
    class Program
    {
        public struct CRYPTUI_WIZ_IMPORT_SRC_INFO
        {
            public Int32 dwSize;
            public Int32 dwSubjectChoice;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)]public String pwszFileName;
            public Int32 dwFlags;
            [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)]public String pwszPassword;
        }
 
        [DllImport("CryptUI.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Auto, SetLastError = true)]
        public static extern Boolean CryptUIWizImport(
            Int32 dwFlags,
            IntPtr hwndParent,
            IntPtr pwszWizardTitle,
            ref CRYPTUI_WIZ_IMPORT_SRC_INFO pImportSrc,
            IntPtr hDestCertStore
        );
 
        public const Int32 CRYPTUI_WIZ_IMPORT_SUBJECT_FILE = 1;
        public const Int32 CRYPT_EXPORTABLE = 0x00000001;
        public const Int32 CRYPT_USER_PROTECTED = 0x00000002;
        public const Int32 CRYPTUI_WIZ_NO_UI = 0x0001;
 
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
              CRYPTUI_WIZ_IMPORT_SRC_INFO importSrc = new CRYPTUI_WIZ_IMPORT_SRC_INFO();
              importSrc.dwSize = Marshal.SizeOf(importSrc);
              importSrc.dwSubjectChoice = CRYPTUI_WIZ_IMPORT_SUBJECT_FILE;
              importSrc.pwszFileName = "C:\\alex.pfx";
              importSrc.pwszPassword = "password";
              importSrc.dwFlags = CRYPT_EXPORTABLE | CRYPT_USER_PROTECTED;
 
              if (!CryptUIWizImport(
                CRYPTUI_WIZ_NO_UI,
                    IntPtr.Zero,
                    IntPtr.Zero,
                    ref importSrc,
                    IntPtr.Zero
              ))
              {
                    Console.WriteLine("CryptUIWizImport error " + Marshal.GetLastWin32Error());
              }
 
              Console.WriteLine("<< Press any key to continue >>");
              Console.ReadKey();
        }
    }
}

</SAMPLE>

Note: if you enable High protection mode for the private keys of the certificates via policy, when installing a cert in a machine you will be requested for a password which will be used every time the private key is accessed. When using CryptUIWizImport, a dialog will appear requesting us to enter the High protection password, even if we said we don’t want any UI.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,

Alex (Alejandro Campos Magencio)