X.509 Certificate Generation Steps

X.509 Certificate Generation

What is an X.509 Certificate?

An X.509 certificate is a digital certificate that uses the widely accepted international X.509 public key infrastructure (PKI) standard to verify that a public key belongs to the user, computer or service identity contained within the certificate.

Structure/Contents of an X.509 Certificate:

An X.509 certificate contains information about the identity of which a certificate is issued and the identity that issued it. Standard information in an X.509 certificate includes:

Version – which X.509 version applies to the certificate (which indicates what data the certificate must include)

Serial number – the identity creating the certificate must assign it a serial number that distinguishes it from other certificates

Algorithm information – the algorithm used by the issuer to sign the certificate

Issuer distinguished name – the name of the entity issuing the certificate (usually a certificate authority)

Validity period of the certificate – start/end date and time

Subject distinguished name – the name of the identity the certificate is issued to

Subject public key information – the public key associated with the identity

Extensions (optional).

Steps to Generate an X.509 Certificate:

1. Get DN (Distinguished Name) of Subject(User).
2. Get a public key of the Subject.
3. Send these parameters to Server.
4. At the server end, Add remaining contents of X.509 certificate.
5. Send the certificate back to Subject.

P.S.: Make sure you change the Content-Type of response to application/x-x509-ca-cert