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ECDH

History

The ECDH class is a utility for creating Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) key exchanges.

Instances of the ECDH class can be created using the crypto.createECDH() function.

import assert from 'node:assert';

const {
  createECDH,
} = await import('node:crypto');

// Generate Alice's keys...
const alice = createECDH('secp521r1');
const aliceKey = alice.generateKeys();

// Generate Bob's keys...
const bob = createECDH('secp521r1');
const bobKey = bob.generateKeys();

// Exchange and generate the secret...
const aliceSecret = alice.computeSecret(bobKey);
const bobSecret = bob.computeSecret(aliceKey);

assert.strictEqual(aliceSecret.toString('hex'), bobSecret.toString('hex'));
// OK
JavaScript
const assert = require('node:assert');

const {
  createECDH,
} = require('node:crypto');

// Generate Alice's keys...
const alice = createECDH('secp521r1');
const aliceKey = alice.generateKeys();

// Generate Bob's keys...
const bob = createECDH('secp521r1');
const bobKey = bob.generateKeys();

// Exchange and generate the secret...
const aliceSecret = alice.computeSecret(bobKey);
const bobSecret = bob.computeSecret(aliceKey);

assert.strictEqual(aliceSecret.toString('hex'), bobSecret.toString('hex'));
// OK
JavaScript
S

ECDH.convertKey

History
ECDH.convertKey(key, curve, inputEncoding?, outputEncoding?, format?): Buffer | string
Attributes
key:string | ArrayBuffer | Buffer | TypedArray | DataView
curve:string
inputEncoding:string
The encoding of the key string.
outputEncoding:string
The encoding of the return value.
format?:string
Default: 'uncompressed'
Returns:Buffer | string

Converts the EC Diffie-Hellman public key specified by key and curve to the format specified by format. The format argument specifies point encoding and can be 'compressed', 'uncompressed' or 'hybrid'. The supplied key is interpreted using the specified inputEncoding, and the returned key is encoded using the specified outputEncoding.

Use crypto.getCurves() to obtain a list of available curve names. On recent OpenSSL releases, openssl ecparam -list_curves will also display the name and description of each available elliptic curve.

If format is not specified the point will be returned in 'uncompressed' format.

If the inputEncoding is not provided, key is expected to be a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView.

Example (uncompressing a key):

const {
  createECDH,
  ECDH,
} = await import('node:crypto');

const ecdh = createECDH('secp256k1');
ecdh.generateKeys();

const compressedKey = ecdh.getPublicKey('hex', 'compressed');

const uncompressedKey = ECDH.convertKey(compressedKey,
                                        'secp256k1',
                                        'hex',
                                        'hex',
                                        'uncompressed');

// The converted key and the uncompressed public key should be the same
console.log(uncompressedKey === ecdh.getPublicKey('hex'));
JavaScript
const {
  createECDH,
  ECDH,
} = require('node:crypto');

const ecdh = createECDH('secp256k1');
ecdh.generateKeys();

const compressedKey = ecdh.getPublicKey('hex', 'compressed');

const uncompressedKey = ECDH.convertKey(compressedKey,
                                        'secp256k1',
                                        'hex',
                                        'hex',
                                        'uncompressed');

// The converted key and the uncompressed public key should be the same
console.log(uncompressedKey === ecdh.getPublicKey('hex'));
JavaScript
 
ecdh.computeSecret(otherPublicKey, inputEncoding?, outputEncoding?): Buffer | string
Attributes
otherPublicKey:string | ArrayBuffer | Buffer | TypedArray | DataView
inputEncoding:string
The encoding of the otherPublicKey string.
outputEncoding:string
The encoding of the return value.
Returns:Buffer | string

Computes the shared secret using otherPublicKey as the other party's public key and returns the computed shared secret. The supplied key is interpreted using specified inputEncoding, and the returned secret is encoded using the specified outputEncoding. If the inputEncoding is not provided, otherPublicKey is expected to be a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView.

If outputEncoding is given a string will be returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

ecdh.computeSecret will throw an ERR_CRYPTO_ECDH_INVALID_PUBLIC_KEY error when otherPublicKey lies outside of the elliptic curve. Since otherPublicKey is usually supplied from a remote user over an insecure network, be sure to handle this exception accordingly.

M

ecdh.generateKeys

History
ecdh.generateKeys(encoding?, format?): Buffer | string
Attributes
encoding:string
The encoding of the return value.
format?:string
Default: 'uncompressed'
Returns:Buffer | string

Generates private and public EC Diffie-Hellman key values, and returns the public key in the specified format and encoding. This key should be transferred to the other party.

The format argument specifies point encoding and can be 'compressed' or 'uncompressed'. If format is not specified, the point will be returned in 'uncompressed' format.

If encoding is provided a string is returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

M

ecdh.getPrivateKey

History
ecdh.getPrivateKey(encoding?): Buffer | string
Attributes
encoding:string
The encoding of the return value.
Returns:Buffer | string
The EC Diffie-Hellman in the specified encoding.

If encoding is specified, a string is returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

M

ecdh.getPublicKey

History
ecdh.getPublicKey(encoding?, format?): Buffer | string
Attributes
encoding:string
The encoding of the return value.
format?:string
Default: 'uncompressed'
Returns:Buffer | string
The EC Diffie-Hellman public key in the specified encoding and format.

The format argument specifies point encoding and can be 'compressed' or 'uncompressed'. If format is not specified the point will be returned in 'uncompressed' format.

If encoding is specified, a string is returned; otherwise a Buffer is returned.

M

ecdh.setPrivateKey

History
ecdh.setPrivateKey(privateKey, encoding?): void
Attributes
privateKey:string | ArrayBuffer | Buffer | TypedArray | DataView
encoding:string
The encoding of the privateKey string.

Sets the EC Diffie-Hellman private key. If encoding is provided, privateKey is expected to be a string; otherwise privateKey is expected to be a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView.

If privateKey is not valid for the curve specified when the ECDH object was created, an error is thrown. Upon setting the private key, the associated public point (key) is also generated and set in the ECDH object.

M

ecdh.setPublicKey

History
ecdh.setPublicKey(publicKey, encoding?): void
Stability: 0Deprecated
Attributes
publicKey:string | ArrayBuffer | Buffer | TypedArray | DataView
encoding:string
The encoding of the publicKey string.

Sets the EC Diffie-Hellman public key. If encoding is provided publicKey is expected to be a string; otherwise a Buffer, TypedArray, or DataView is expected.

There is not normally a reason to call this method because ECDH only requires a private key and the other party's public key to compute the shared secret. Typically either ecdh.generateKeys() or ecdh.setPrivateKey() will be called. The ecdh.setPrivateKey() method attempts to generate the public point/key associated with the private key being set.

Example (obtaining a shared secret):

const {
  createECDH,
  createHash,
} = await import('node:crypto');

const alice = createECDH('secp256k1');
const bob = createECDH('secp256k1');

// This is a shortcut way of specifying one of Alice's previous private
// keys. It would be unwise to use such a predictable private key in a real
// application.
alice.setPrivateKey(
  createHash('sha256').update('alice', 'utf8').digest(),
);

// Bob uses a newly generated cryptographically strong
// pseudorandom key pair
bob.generateKeys();

const aliceSecret = alice.computeSecret(bob.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');
const bobSecret = bob.computeSecret(alice.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');

// aliceSecret and bobSecret should be the same shared secret value
console.log(aliceSecret === bobSecret);
JavaScript
const {
  createECDH,
  createHash,
} = require('node:crypto');

const alice = createECDH('secp256k1');
const bob = createECDH('secp256k1');

// This is a shortcut way of specifying one of Alice's previous private
// keys. It would be unwise to use such a predictable private key in a real
// application.
alice.setPrivateKey(
  createHash('sha256').update('alice', 'utf8').digest(),
);

// Bob uses a newly generated cryptographically strong
// pseudorandom key pair
bob.generateKeys();

const aliceSecret = alice.computeSecret(bob.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');
const bobSecret = bob.computeSecret(alice.getPublicKey(), null, 'hex');

// aliceSecret and bobSecret should be the same shared secret value
console.log(aliceSecret === bobSecret);
JavaScript
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