Use libp11 on Windows environment - windows

Question

I want to install all I need to use libp11 and use libp11.
What is my environment and needs:
I work on Windows 10, 64 bits.
I add package with pacman linux command on my mingw32 terminal (msys64 version of 2022/09/04).
I work on a Qt Creator editor and I have a .pro file to configure my Qt project.
I want to develop a C++ module for my application which use libp11 to get the Yubikey bin number and decrypt file.
Why I use a mingw32 terminal and not the mingw64, because, for the moment, the project is always in develop in QT 4.8.
What I do:
I read the README file and follow the installation step of the INSTALL file (first I follow the MinGW / MSYS chapter, then I follow the MSYS2 chapter.)
I do much more, but I don't remember every thing and I go in many wrong ways.
My problems and questions
I try to follow the examples find in GitHub.
I help me with the site cpp.hotexemples.com to find the second parameter for the PKCS11_CTX_load function. I find the st_engine_ctx structure on this project.
The project file:
TEMPLATE = app
CONFIG += console c++17
CONFIG -= app_bundle
CONFIG += qt
LIBS += \
-lp11 \
-lssl \
-lcrypto
SOURCES += \
TestYubikey.cpp \
main.cpp
HEADERS += \
TestYubikey.h
The header file:
#ifndef TESTYUBIKEY_H
#define TESTYUBIKEY_H
#include <libp11.h>
#include <cstdio>
#include <cstring>
#include <openssl/err.h>
#include <openssl/crypto.h>
#include <openssl/objects.h>
#include <openssl/engine.h>
#include <openssl/ui.h>
/* Engine configuration */
/* The PIN used for login. Cache for the ctx_get_pin function.
* The memory for this PIN is always owned internally,
* and may be freed as necessary. Before freeing, the PIN
* must be whitened, to prevent security holes.
*/
struct st_engine_ctx
{
char *pin = nullptr;
size_t pin_length = 0;
int verbose = 0;
char *module = nullptr;
char *init_args = nullptr;
UI_METHOD *ui_method = nullptr;
void *callback_data = nullptr;
int force_login = 0;
/* Engine initialization mutex */
#if OPENSSL_VERSION_NUMBER >= 0x10100004L && !defined(LIBRESSL_VERSION_NUMBER)
CRYPTO_RWLOCK *rwlock = nullptr;
#else
int rwlock;
#endif
/* Current operations */
PKCS11_CTX *pkcs11_ctx = nullptr;
PKCS11_SLOT *slot_list = nullptr;
unsigned int slot_count = 0;
};
class TestYubikey
{
public:
TestYubikey();
};
#endif // TESTYUBIKEY_H
The source file:
//libp11 is a wrapper library for PKCS#11 modules with OpenSSL interface
#include "TestYubikey.h"
#include <iostream>
TestYubikey::TestYubikey()
{
// Create a new libp11 context
PKCS11_CTX *ctx = PKCS11_CTX_new();
std::cout << "ctx = " << ctx << std::endl;
/* load pkcs #11 module */
int rc = PKCS11_CTX_load(ctx, "C:\\msys64\\mingw32\\lib\\engines-1_1\\pkcs11.dll"); //I test with "libpkcs11.dll" and "pkcs11.dll" too.
std::cout << "rc = " << rc << std::endl;
if (rc == -1)
{
std::cout << "Loading pkcs11 engine failed";
unsigned long error_code = ERR_get_error();
const char* error_detail = ERR_reason_error_string(error_code);
std::cout << " (" << error_code << ") : " << std::string(error_detail) << std::endl;
}
else
{
std::cout << "Loading pkcs11 engine worked !" << std::endl;
}
}
My output console show:
11:59:27: Starting C:/Users/jgomez/Documents/build-SandBox-Desktop_Qt_4_8_7_MinGW_32_bit-Release/release/SandBox.exe...
ctx = 0x2ca8f50
rc = -1
Loading pkcs11 engine failed (0) : terminate called after throwing an instance of 'std::logic_error'
what(): basic_string: construction from null is not valid
11:59:29: C:/Users/jgomez/Documents/build-SandBox-Desktop_Qt_4_8_7_MinGW_32_bit-Release/release/SandBox.exe exited with code 3
My problem:
rc = -1

Answer 1

Solution :
use the Dll called opensc-pkcs11.dll provided with OpenSC project and it should work.
( https://github.com/OpenSC/OpenSC , after installing , it should be found here by default C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenSC Project\OpenSC\pkcs11)
Explantation :
I have encountered the same problem, and after messing around with the files I figured out that this error due the PKCS11_CTX_Load function.
PKCS11_CTX_Load , tries to load the pkcs11.dll , and then tries getting the address of "c_get_function_list" from this dll, which fails since it doesn't have that function.