Key types, algorithms, and operations - Azure Key Vault (2024)

Key Vault supports two resource types: vaults and managed HSMs. Both resources types support various encryption keys. To see a summary of supported key types, protection types by each resource type, see About keys.

Following table shows a summary of key types and supported algorithms.

EC algorithms

The following algorithm identifiers are supported with EC-HSM keys

Curve Types

• P-256 - The NIST curve P-256, defined at DSS FIPS PUB 186-4.
• P-256K - The SEC curve SECP256K1, defined at SEC 2: Recommended Elliptic Curve Domain Parameters.
• P-384 - The NIST curve P-384, defined at DSS FIPS PUB 186-4.
• P-521 - The NIST curve P-521, defined at DSS FIPS PUB 186-4.

SIGN/VERIFY

• ES256 - ECDSA for SHA-256 digests and keys created with curve P-256. This algorithm is described at RFC7518.
• ES256K - ECDSA for SHA-256 digests and keys created with curve P-256K. This algorithm is pending standardization.
• ES384 - ECDSA for SHA-384 digests and keys created with curve P-384. This algorithm is described at RFC7518.
• ES512 - ECDSA for SHA-512 digests and keys created with curve P-521. This algorithm is described at RFC7518.

RSA algorithms

The following algorithm identifiers are supported with RSA and RSA-HSM keys

WRAPKEY/UNWRAPKEY, ENCRYPT/DECRYPT

• RSA1_5 - RSAES-PKCS1-V1_5 [RFC3447] key encryption
• RSA-OAEP - RSAES using Optimal Asymmetric Encryption Padding (OAEP) [RFC3447], with the default parameters specified by RFC 3447 in Section A.2.1. Those default parameters are using a hash function of SHA-1 and a mask generation function of MGF1 with SHA-1.
• RSA-OAEP-256 – RSAES using Optimal Asymmetric Encryption Padding with a hash function of SHA-256 and a mask generation function of MGF1 with SHA-256

SIGN/VERIFY

• PS256 - RSASSA-PSS using SHA-256 and MGF1 with SHA-256, as described in RFC7518.
• PS384 - RSASSA-PSS using SHA-384 and MGF1 with SHA-384, as described in RFC7518.
• PS512 - RSASSA-PSS using SHA-512 and MGF1 with SHA-512, as described in RFC7518.
• RS256 - RSASSA-PKCS-v1_5 using SHA-256. The application supplied digest value must be computed using SHA-256 and must be 32 bytes in length.
• RS384 - RSASSA-PKCS-v1_5 using SHA-384. The application supplied digest value must be computed using SHA-384 and must be 48 bytes in length.
• RS512 - RSASSA-PKCS-v1_5 using SHA-512. The application supplied digest value must be computed using SHA-512 and must be 64 bytes in length.
• RSNULL - See RFC2437, a specialized use-case to enable certain TLS scenarios.

Symmetric key algorithms (Managed HSM only)

• AES-KW - AES Key Wrap (RFC3394).
• AES-GCM - AES encryption in Galois Counter Mode (NIST SP 800-38d)
• AES-CBC - AES encryption in Cipher Block Chaining Mode (NIST SP 800-38a)

Key operations

Key Vault, including Managed HSM, supports the following operations on key objects:

• Create: Allows a client to create a key in Key Vault. The value of the key is generated by Key Vault and stored, and isn't released to the client. Asymmetric keys may be created in Key Vault.
• Import: Allows a client to import an existing key to Key Vault. Asymmetric keys may be imported to Key Vault using several different packaging methods within a JWK construct.
• Update: Allows a client with sufficient permissions to modify the metadata (key attributes) associated with a key previously stored within Key Vault.
• Delete: Allows a client with sufficient permissions to delete a key from Key Vault.
• List: Allows a client to list all keys in a given Key Vault.
• List versions: Allows a client to list all versions of a given key in a given Key Vault.
• Get: Allows a client to retrieve the public parts of a given key in a Key Vault.
• Backup: Exports a key in a protected form.
• Restore: Imports a previously backed up key.
• Release: It securely releases a key to authorized code running within a confidential compute environment. It requires an attestation that the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) meets the requirements of the key’s release_policy.
• Rotate: Rotate an existing key by generating new version of the key (Key Vault only).

For more information, see Key operations in the Key Vault REST API reference.

Once a key has been created in Key Vault, the following cryptographic operations may be performed using the key:

• Sign and Verify: Strictly, this operation is "sign hash" or "verify hash", as Key Vault doesn't support hashing of content as part of signature creation. Applications should hash the data to be signed locally, then request that Key Vault sign the hash.Verification of signed hashes is supported as a convenience operation for applications that may not have access to [public] key material. For best application performance, VERIFY operations should be performed locally.
• Key Encryption / Wrapping: A key stored in Key Vault may be used to protect another key, typically a symmetric content encryption key (CEK). When the key in Key Vault is asymmetric, key encryption is used. For example, RSA-OAEP and the WRAPKEY/UNWRAPKEY operations are equivalent to ENCRYPT/DECRYPT. When the key in Key Vault is symmetric, key wrapping is used. For example, AES-KW. The WRAPKEY operation is supported as a convenience for applications that may not have access to [public] key material. For best application performance, WRAPKEY operations should be performed locally.
• Encrypt and Decrypt: A key stored in Key Vault may be used to encrypt or decrypt a single block of data. The size of the block is determined by the key type and selected encryption algorithm. The Encrypt operation is provided for convenience, for applications that may not have access to [public] key material. For best application performance, ENCRYPT operations should be performed locally.

While WRAPKEY/UNWRAPKEY using asymmetric keys may seem superfluous (as the operation is equivalent to ENCRYPT/DECRYPT), the use of distinct operations is important. The distinction provides semantic and authorization separation of these operations, and consistency when other key types are supported by the service.

Key Vault doesn't support EXPORT operations. Once a key is provisioned in the system, it cannot be extracted or its key material modified. However, users of Key Vault may require their key for other use cases, such as after it has been deleted. In this case, they may use the BACKUP and RESTORE operations to export/import the key in a protected form. Keys created by the BACKUP operation are not usable outside Key Vault. Alternatively, the IMPORT operation may be used against multiple Key Vault instances.

Users may restrict any of the cryptographic operations that Key Vault supports on a per-key basis using the key_ops property of the JWK object.

For more information on JWK objects, see JSON Web Key (JWK).

Key rotation policy operations

Key vault key auto-rotation can be set by configuring key auto-rotation policy. It is only available on Key Vault resource.

• Get Rotation Policy: Retrieve rotation policy configuration.
• Set Rotation Policy: Set rotation policy configuration.

Key attributes

In addition to the key material, the following attributes may be specified. In a JSON Request, the attributes keyword and braces, '{' '}', are required even if there are no attributes specified.

• enabled: boolean, optional, default is true. Specifies whether the key is enabled and useable for cryptographic operations. The enabled attribute is used with nbf and exp. When an operation occurs between nbf and exp, it will only be permitted if enabled is set to true. Operations outside the nbf / exp window are automatically disallowed, except for decrypt, release, unwrap, and verify.
• nbf: IntDate, optional, default is now. The nbf (not before) attribute identifies the time before which the key MUST NOT be used for cryptographic operations, except for decrypt, release, unwrap, and verify. The processing of the nbf attribute requires that the current date/time MUST be after or equal to the not-before date/time listed in the nbf attribute. Key Vault MAY provide for some small leeway, normally no more than a few minutes, to account for clock skew. Its value MUST be a number containing an IntDate value.
• exp: IntDate, optional, default is "forever". The exp (expiration time) attribute identifies the expiration time on or after which the key MUST NOT be used for cryptographic operation, except for decrypt, release, unwrap, and verify. The processing of the exp attribute requires that the current date/time MUST be before the expiration date/time listed in the exp attribute. Key Vault MAY provide for some small leeway, typically no more than a few minutes, to account for clock skew. Its value MUST be a number containing an IntDate value.

There are more read-only attributes that are included in any response that includes key attributes:

• created: IntDate, optional. The created attribute indicates when this version of the key was created. The value is null for keys created prior to the addition of this attribute. Its value MUST be a number containing an IntDate value.
• updated: IntDate, optional. The updated attribute indicates when this version of the key was updated. The value is null for keys that were last updated prior to the addition of this attribute. Its value MUST be a number containing an IntDate value.
• hsmPlatform: string, optional. The underlying HSM Platform that is protecting a key.
  • A hsmPlatform value of 2 means the key is protected by our latest FIPS 140 Level 3 validated HSM platform.
  • A hsmPlatform value of 1 means the key is protected by our previous FIPS 140 Level 2 validated HSM platform.
  • A hsmPlatform value of 0 means the key is protected by a FIPS 140 Level 1 HSM software cryptographic module.
  • if this is not set by a Managed HSM pool, it is protected by our latest FIPS 140 Level 3 validated HSM platform.

It’s important to note that keys are bound to the HSM in which they were created. New keys are seamlessly created and stored in the new HSMs. While there is no way to migrate or transfer keys, new key versions are automatically in the new HSMs. For more information on how to migrate to a new key, see How to migrate key workloads.

For more information on IntDate and other data types, see [About keys, secrets, and certificates: Data types.

Date-time controlled operations

Not-yet-valid and expired keys, outside the nbf / exp window, will work for decrypt, release, unwrap, and verify operations (won't return 403, Forbidden). The rationale for using the not-yet-valid state is to allow a key to be tested before production use. The rationale for using the expired state is to allow recovery operations on data that was created when the key was valid. Also, you can disable access to a key using Key Vault policies, or by updating the enabled key attribute to false.

For more information on data types, see Data types.

For more information on other possible attributes, see the JSON Web Key (JWK).

You can specify more application-specific metadata in the form of tags. Key Vault supports up to 15 tags, each of which can have a 256 character name and a 256 character value.

Key access control

Access control for keys managed by Key Vault is provided at the level of a Key Vault that acts as the container of keys. You can control access to keys using Key Vault role-based access control (recommended) or old vault access policy permission model. Role-based permission model has three predefined roles to manage keys: 'Key Vault Crypto Officer', 'Key Vault Crypto User', 'Key Vault Service Encryption User' and can be scoped to subscription, resource group or vault level.

Vault access policy permission model permissions:

• Permissions for key management operations

  • get: Read the public part of a key, plus its attributes
  • list: List the keys or versions of a key stored in a key vault
  • update: Update the attributes for a key
  • create: Create new keys
  • import: Import a key to a key vault
  • delete: Delete the key object
  • recover: Recover a deleted key
  • backup: Back up a key in a key vault
  • restore: Restore a backed up key to a key vault

• Permissions for cryptographic operations

  • decrypt: Use the key to unprotect a sequence of bytes
  • encrypt: Use the key to protect an arbitrary sequence of bytes
  • unwrapKey: Use the key to unprotect wrapped symmetric keys
  • wrapKey: Use the key to protect a symmetric key
  • verify: Use the key to verify digests
  • sign: Use the key to sign digests

• Permissions for privileged operations

  • purge: Purge (permanently delete) a deleted key
  • release: Release a key to a confidential compute environment, which matches the release_policy of the key

• Permissions for rotation policy operations

  • rotate: Rotate an existing key by generating new version of the key (Key Vault only)
  • get rotation policy: Retrieve rotation policy configuration
  • set rotation policy: Set rotation policy configuration

For more information on working with keys, see Key operations in the Key Vault REST API reference.

Next steps

• About Key Vault
• About Managed HSM
• About secrets
• About certificates
• Key Vault REST API overview
• Authentication, requests, and responses
• Key Vault Developer's Guide