TrustedRoots Pascal Reference Documentation

TrustedRoots

Current Version: 11.5.0

Chilkat.TrustedRoots

Configure the trusted root certificates used by Chilkat certificate validation.

Chilkat.TrustedRoots manages a collection of trusted CA and self-signed root certificates used Chilkat-wide for PKCS7/CMS signature validation and SSL/TLS server certificate validation. It can add individual certificates, import trusted certificates from a Java keystore, load PEM CA bundles, activate or deactivate the trusted-root set, and control whether system CA roots and self-signed server certificates are trusted.

Custom trusted roots

Add root or CA certificates that should be trusted by Chilkat validation operations.

PEM CA bundles

Load one or more trusted CA certificates from PEM bundle files used by many TLS and certificate-validation workflows.

Java keystore import

Import trusted certificates from a JavaKeyStore when trust anchors are maintained in JKS-style storage.

System CA root control

Choose whether Chilkat should also trust the operating system's CA root certificates.

Self-signed certificate policy

Control whether self-signed server certificates are rejected or accepted during certificate validation.

Activate Chilkat-wide trust

Activate the configured trusted-root set so it is used by Chilkat classes that perform TLS or signature certificate validation.

Common pattern: Create a TrustedRoots object, add trusted certificates or load a PEM CA bundle, configure whether system roots and self-signed certificates should be trusted, then call Activate. Treat trusted roots as Chilkat-wide validation configuration, not as private state for a single object.

For an extended overview, see TrustedRoots Class Overview.

Create / Free

uses
  Chilkat.TrustedRoots;

var
  obj: TTrustedRoots;
begin
  obj := TTrustedRoots.Create;
  try
    if not obj.IsValid then
      raise Exception.Create('Failed to create a TTrustedRoots instance.');

    // ... use obj ...

  finally
    obj.Free;
  end;
end;
constructor Create;

Allocates the underlying CkTrustedRoots object and returns a new TTrustedRoots instance. Simply adding Chilkat.TrustedRoots to the unit's uses clause is enough to locate and bind to the Chilkat shared library (DLL / .so / .dylib) at runtime — no separate load step is required. Check obj.IsValid after calling Create; it is False if the underlying library could not be found/loaded or the object could not be allocated (for example, when unlicensed).

destructor Destroy; override;

Every TTrustedRoots created by calling Create should eventually be released by calling .Free (inherited from TObject). The destructor automatically disposes the underlying CkTrustedRoots handle. A native (unmanaged) memory leak occurs if the object is never freed.

Properties

DebugLogFilePath
property DebugLogFilePath: string read GetDebugLogFilePath write SetDebugLogFilePath;

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.

More Information and Examples
Example showing how to use DebugLogFilePath.
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LastErrorHtml
property LastErrorHtml: string read GetLastErrorHtml;

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.

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LastErrorText
property LastErrorText: string read GetLastErrorText;

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.

More Information and Examples
Concept of LastErrorTextLastErrorText Standard Information
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LastErrorXml
property LastErrorXml: string read GetLastErrorXml;

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.

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LastMethodSuccess
property LastMethodSuccess: Boolean read GetLastMethodSuccess write SetLastMethodSuccess;

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: True means success, False 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.

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NumCerts
property NumCerts: Integer read GetNumCerts;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.38

The number of certificates explicitly contained in this object. The count includes certificates added by AddCert, AddJavaKeyStore, and LoadCaCertsPem.

Use indexes from 0 through NumCerts - 1 with CertAt.

Scope of the count: This property does not include operating-system CA roots made available by TrustSystemCaRoots. It reports only the certificates stored in this object.

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RejectSelfSignedCerts
property RejectSelfSignedCerts: Boolean read GetRejectSelfSignedCerts write SetRejectSelfSignedCerts;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.80

Controls the special case in which an SSL/TLS server presents a certificate chain containing exactly one certificate and that certificate is self-signed. The default value is False.

ValueBehavior
FalseDo not reject a one-certificate TLS chain solely because the certificate is self-signed.
TrueReject TLS server chains consisting of one self-signed certificate.

This property applies to the TLS server-certificate case described above. It does not reject a self-signed CA certificate merely because that certificate appears as the trust anchor above a longer chain.

Security guidance: A self-signed certificate has no external issuer establishing trust. Accept it only when the certificate or its public-key fingerprint has been authenticated through a separate trusted channel.

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TrustSystemCaRoots
property TrustSystemCaRoots: Boolean read GetTrustSystemCaRoots write SetTrustSystemCaRoots;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.41

Controls whether operating-system CA roots are included when this object's trust configuration is activated. The default value is True.

ValueBehavior
TrueTrust explicitly added certificates and the system-provided CA roots available to Chilkat.
FalseDo not automatically trust system-provided CA roots; use the explicitly configured collection and the selected self-signed-certificate policy.

On Windows, system roots come from registry-based certificate stores. On Linux, Chilkat may use a system CA bundle such as /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt when available.

System roots are not added to this object's explicit collection and therefore are not included in NumCerts or returned by CertAt.

More Information and Examples
HTTP - Verify Server is a Trusted Root CA
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VerboseLogging
property VerboseLogging: Boolean read GetVerboseLogging write SetVerboseLogging;

If set to True, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is False. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
property Version: string read GetVersion;

Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0"

More Information and Examples
How to get the Chilkat version at runtime.
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Methods

Activate
function Activate: Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.38

Activates this object's trust configuration for Chilkat-wide certificate validation. The active configuration includes:

  • Certificates explicitly added to this object by AddCert, AddJavaKeyStore, or LoadCaCertsPem.
  • Operating-system CA roots when TrustSystemCaRoots is True.
  • The self-signed TLS certificate policy selected by RejectSelfSignedCerts.

After activation, Chilkat classes that validate PKCS7/CMS signatures or SSL/TLS server certificate chains use this trust configuration. Returns True if the configuration was activated successfully; otherwise returns False.

Trust-anchor note: Activating a certificate as trusted supplies a starting point for certificate-path validation. It does not, by itself, prove that every certificate issued beneath that anchor is valid for every purpose; the applicable validation operation may also evaluate signatures, validity periods, identity, key usage, constraints, and other policy requirements.

More Information and Examples
HTTP - Verify Server is a Trusted Root CA
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AddCert
// cert is a TCert object.
function AddCert(cert: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.41

Adds the certificate in cert to this object's explicit trusted-certificate collection. The certificate is subsequently treated as a trust anchor when this configuration is activated.

Returns True if the certificate was added successfully; otherwise returns False.

Security-sensitive operation: Calling this method is an explicit trust decision. It does not first determine whether the certificate is self-signed, belongs to a public CA, is currently valid, or is appropriate for the intended application. Add only certificates obtained and verified through a trustworthy process.

More Information and Examples
Use a Custom Set of Trusted Root CertificatesTrust Specific Root CA Certificates
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AddJavaKeyStore
// keystore is a TJavaKeyStore object.
function AddJavaKeyStore(keystore: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.44

Adds the certificates designated as trusted entries in the keystore JavaKeyStore to this object's explicit trusted-certificate collection.

Private keys and secret keys are not imported. Returns True if the trusted certificates were added successfully; otherwise returns False.

Java keystore terminology: A trusted-certificate entry represents a certificate that the keystore owner has chosen to trust. Importing it preserves that trust decision; it does not independently validate the certificate or build a certification path for it.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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AddJavaKeyStoreAsync (1)
// keystore is a TJavaKeyStore object.
// Return value is a TTask object.
function AddJavaKeyStoreAsync(keystore: TChilkatBase): TChilkatBase;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.44

Creates an asynchronous task to call the AddJavaKeyStore method with the arguments provided.

Note: Async method event callbacks happen in the background thread. Accessing and updating UI elements existing in the main thread may require special considerations.

Returns nil on failure

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CertAt
// cert is a TCert object.
function CertAt(index: Integer;
    cert: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Copies the certificate at zero-based index into the caller-supplied Cert object in cert.

Valid indexes are from 0 through NumCerts - 1. Returns True if the certificate was retrieved successfully; otherwise returns False, such as when the index is outside the valid range.

This method enumerates only certificates explicitly contained in this TrustedRoots object. Operating-system roots enabled through TrustSystemCaRoots are not included.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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Deactivate
function Deactivate: Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

Deactivates the previously activated Chilkat-wide trusted-root configuration. After deactivation, roots and single-certificate self-signed certificates are implicitly trusted.

Returns True if the active configuration was deactivated successfully; otherwise returns False.

Security warning: This is a permissive mode. It does not merely restore a conventional “trust the operating-system CA store” policy. Use Deactivate only when implicitly trusting arbitrary roots and self-signed certificates is intentional and acceptable for the application.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadCaCertsPem
function LoadCaCertsPem(const path: string): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.38

Loads one or more PEM-encoded certificates from the file at path and adds them to this object's explicit trusted-certificate collection. A CA bundle normally contains consecutive -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- / -----END CERTIFICATE----- blocks.

This method can load a curated application bundle, a Mozilla-derived CA bundle, or a platform bundle such as /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt when that file exists. Returns True if the bundle was loaded successfully; otherwise returns False.

Trust implication: Certificates loaded by this method are treated as trusted anchors after activation. The file is not merely a source of intermediate certificates. Review and protect the bundle as security-sensitive configuration.

More Information and Examples
Load CA Cert Bundle into Trusted Roots
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LoadCaCertsPemAsync (1)
// Return value is a TTask object.
function LoadCaCertsPemAsync(const path: string): TChilkatBase;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.38

Creates an asynchronous task to call the LoadCaCertsPem method with the arguments provided.

Note: Async method event callbacks happen in the background thread. Accessing and updating UI elements existing in the main thread may require special considerations.

Returns nil on failure

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LoadTaskCaller
// task is a TTask object.
function LoadTaskCaller(task: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.80

Associates task with the object that initiated the task's asynchronous method call. This supports Chilkat's asynchronous task infrastructure and is not normally called directly by application code.

Returns True if the task caller was loaded successfully; otherwise returns False.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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Events