CertChain SQL Server Reference Documentation
CertChain
Current Version: 11.6.0
Chilkat.CertChain
Examine the certificates in chain order and retrieve individual
certificates with
Determine whether the chain reaches a root certificate and whether that
root is trusted.
Verify that each certificate in the chain is signed by the next
certificate in the chain.
Detect whether one or more certificates in the chain are expired.
Load certificate chains from JWK
Export the certificate chain in
For an extended overview, see
CertChain Class Overview.
Inspect, verify, export, and work with X.509 certificate chains.
Chilkat.CertChain is a compact helper class for representing
and working with X.509 certificate chains. It lets applications inspect the
ordered certificates in a chain, retrieve individual certificates, determine
whether the chain reaches a root, check for expired certificates, verify
chain signatures, test whether the root is trusted, load certificate chains
from JWK x5c data, and export the chain as
X509PKIPathv1.
Chain inspection
CertAt.
Root and trust checks
Signature verification
Expiration checks
JWK x5c support
x5c arrays used by JWT,
JWS, and other security-token workflows.
Chain export
X509PKIPathv1 format when
that representation is required.
CertChain to reason about the chain as a whole. For
certificate-level details such as subject, issuer, SAN values, key usage,
validity dates, fingerprints, serial numbers, and extensions, retrieve each
certificate with CertAt and inspect it using
Chilkat.Cert.
Object Creation
DECLARE @hr int
DECLARE @certChain int
EXEC @hr = sp_OACreate 'Chilkat.CertChain', @certChain OUT
IF @hr <> 0
BEGIN
PRINT 'Failed to create ActiveX component'
RETURN
END
-- ... use @certChain ...
EXEC @hr = sp_OADestroy @certChainT-SQL uses the Chilkat ActiveX through the OLE Automation stored procedures. They must be enabled once on the server (EXEC sp_configure 'Ole Automation Procedures', 1; RECONFIGURE;), and the Chilkat ActiveX registered must match the bitness of the SQL Server instance (64-bit for a 64-bit SQL Server). To bind to a specific major version of Chilkat, append the major version number to the ProgID, such as sp_OACreate 'Chilkat.CertChain.11' for Chilkat v11.*.*.
sp_OACreate returns an object token (an int) that is passed as the first argument of every sp_OAMethod, sp_OAGetProperty and sp_OASetProperty call, and released with sp_OADestroy. Objects returned by methods (such as an HttpResponse or JsonObject) are also tokens received through an int OUT parameter; they must likewise be destroyed, and the OUT parameter is NULL when the method fails to return an object. Objects passed as arguments are passed by their token. When an OLE Automation procedure itself fails (non-zero @hr), sp_OAGetErrorInfo describes the error.
Data types: strings are nvarchar(4000); integers, booleans (1 or 0) and object tokens are int; dates are datetime. In the signatures on this page, @success, @iResult, @sResult and the like are the OUT variables receiving a method's return value, @iValue / @sValue receive or supply a property value, and the remaining @ variables are the method's arguments in order.
A string returned through an OUT parameter is limited to 4000 characters. For longer values, retrieve the result as a result set into a table variable instead of an OUT parameter, for example DECLARE @tmp TABLE (outputLine ntext) followed by INSERT INTO @tmp EXEC sp_OAGetProperty @certChain, 'LastErrorText'. See string length limitations for strings returned by sp_OAMethod calls.
Methods that pass or return raw byte arrays are not shown on this page, because varbinary(max) values cannot be exchanged through sp_OAMethod (see varbinary(max) limitation). Use the BinData-based alternatives (methods ending in Bd) or the base64 / hex string-encoded variants instead. Binary properties (such as LastBinaryResult) can be retrieved as a result set into a table variable, as shown in their signatures. Asynchronous (*Async) methods and event callbacks are not available from SQL Server.
Properties
DebugLogFilePath
EXEC sp_OASetProperty @certChain, 'DebugLogFilePath', @sValue
If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.
Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.
Possible causes of hangs include:
- A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
- A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
- An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.
LastBinaryResult
This property is mainly used in SQL Server stored procedures to retrieve binary data from the last method call that returned binary data. It is only accessible if Chilkat.Global.KeepBinaryResult is set to 1. This feature allows for the retrieval of large varbinary results in an SQL Server environment, which has restrictions on returning large data via method calls, though temp tables can handle binary properties.
LastErrorHtml
Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastErrorText
Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
LastErrorXml
Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastMethodSuccess
EXEC sp_OASetProperty @certChain, 'LastMethodSuccess', @iValue
Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: 1 means success, 0 means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.
LastStringResult
In SQL Server stored procedures, this property holds the string return value of the most recent method call that returns a string. It is accessible only when Chilkat.Global.KeepStringResult is set to TRUE. SQL Server has limitations on string lengths returned from methods and properties, but temp tables can be used to access large strings.
LastStringResultLen
The length, in characters, of the string contained in the LastStringResult property.
topNumCerts
The number of certificates currently contained in the chain.
| Index | Meaning |
|---|---|
0 |
The target or end-entity certificate—the certificate farthest from the root end of the chain |
1 ... NumCerts - 2 |
Intermediate CA certificates, when present |
NumCerts - 1 |
The highest certificate available in the chain |
ReachesRoot is 0NumExpiredCerts
The number of certificates in the chain whose validity period has expired.
0 does not mean the chain is valid or trusted. It does not by itself establish that certificates are already valid, correctly signed, unrevoked, issued by an accepted trust anchor, or suitable for the intended identity and key usage.
Retrieve individual certificates with CertAt when the application needs to inspect exact validity dates or identify which certificates are expired.
ReachesRoot
11NumCerts - 1 is the root-end certificate of the chain.
IsRootTrusted with the application's approved TrustedRoots collection to test trust-anchor membership.
A value of 0
UncommonOptions
EXEC sp_OASetProperty @certChain, 'UncommonOptions', @sValue
Specifies uncommon behavior as a comma-separated list of keywords. The default is the empty string, which enables the standard behavior.
| Keyword | Effect |
|---|---|
PkiPathV1.ExcludeRoot |
Omits the root certificate from the value returned by X509PKIPathv1. This option affects that method only. |
VerboseLogging
EXEC sp_OASetProperty @certChain, 'VerboseLogging', @iValue
If set to 1, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is 0. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.
Version
Methods
CertAt
Populates certindex. Valid indices range from 0 through NumCerts - 1.
| Index | Position in the chain |
|---|---|
0 |
Target or end-entity certificate |
1 ... NumCerts - 2 |
Intermediate CA certificates, when present |
NumCerts - 1 |
Highest certificate available in the chain; a root certificate only when ReachesRoot is |
Returns 10cert
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
topIsRootTrusted
Tests whether the certificate at the root end of this chain is present in the TrustedRoots collection passed in trustedRoots10
A complete certificate-validation decision may also require checking signature linkage, certificate validity periods, revocation status, basic constraints, key usage, policies, name constraints, and application-specific identity requirements.
topLoadX5C
Loads the certificate chain from the x5c member of the JWK contained in jwk10
As defined by RFC 7517, x5c is a JSON array of DER-encoded X.509 certificates represented using standard Base64—not Base64URL. The first certificate contains the key associated with the JWK. Each following certificate should certify the certificate immediately before it, so the array order is target certificate first and rootward certificates afterward.
x5c array does not make its certificates trusted. Treat the chain as untrusted input until the required signature, validity, trust-anchor, revocation, and application-policy checks have been completed.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
topVerifyCertSignatures
Verifies the cryptographic signature linkage of the certificates in this chain. Starting with the target certificate at index 0, each certificate's signature is checked using the public key of the next issuer certificate in the chain. Returns 10
1X509PKIPathv1
Returns the Base64 representation of a DER-encoded ASN.1 PkiPath containing the certificates in this chain. This representation is commonly identified as the X509PKIPathv1 token type in WS-Security and may also be encountered in XML-signature workflows.
A PkiPath is a SEQUENCE OF Certificate ordered from the root or most-trusted end toward the target certificate. This is the reverse of the indexing used by CertAt, where index 0 is the target certificate.
| Representation | Certificate order |
|---|---|
CertChain indexing |
Target/leaf → intermediates → root |
X509PKIPathv1 |
Root → intermediates → target/leaf |
By default, the root certificate is included when it is present in the chain. Set UncommonOptions to PkiPathV1.ExcludeRoot when the receiving protocol expects the trust anchor to be supplied separately.
LastMethodSuccess before using the returned text, and inspect LastErrorText if the operation fails.
Returns NULL on failure
Deprecated
GetCert
Returns the certificate at the specified zero-based index. Index 0 is the target or end-entity certificate, and increasing indices move toward the issuer and root end of the chain.
CertAt instead. CertAt populates a caller-supplied Cert object and returns an explicit success status.
If index is outside the range 0 through NumCerts - 1, the method fails and object-returning language bindings return a null or equivalent value. Where applicable, check LastMethodSuccess and LastErrorText.
Returns NULL on failure