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The keygen tag is used to make browsers generate private keys and POST the resulting CSR to the server, which can then issue a certificate. It's now been deprecated, for rather stupid reasons but that's besides the point.

So, what are the alternatives for a browser to obtain a client cert?

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    afaik it will not be deprecated lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-web-security/2015Sep/…
    – user6090
    Nov 24, 2015 at 19:00
  • Did you find any alternatives?
    – xeor
    Dec 3, 2015 at 8:33
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    @DanielRuf then why is does it say "deprecated" on the MDN page?
    – André Borie
    Dec 3, 2015 at 15:18
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    Web Authentication -> "An API for accessing Public Key Credentials" is now the new standard for this deprecated html element ... Also read webauthn.guide to learn more... i believe the browser support are the modern Firefox, Edge and Google chrome and thats about it..
    – Raymond Nijland
    Oct 4, 2019 at 15:26
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    @RaymondNijland The words CSR or Certificate Signing Request do not occur in the Web Authenticate draft. It is not obvious how this is an alternative to keygen: keygen was simple, the Web Authentication document is monstrous.
    – ceving
    Mar 2, 2020 at 8:31

6 Answers 6

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In this post in the chromium forum there are alternatives mentioned

Within the browser space, alternatives exist such as:

  • Use the device's native management capabilities if an enterprise use case. On Windows, this is Group Policy. On iOS/Android, this is the mobile device management suites. On OS X, this is Enterprise settings. On ChromeOS, there is chrome.enterprise.platformKeys [11] for enterprise-managed extensions.
  • Use WebCrypto to implement certificate enrollment, then deliver the certificate and (exported) private key in an appropriate format for the platform (such as PKCS#7) and allow the native OS UI to guide users through installation of certificates and keys.

WebCrypto is supported by many browsers: [link]

And you can use openpgp.js and other solutions. [openpgp.js]

Here are some examples.

You can also generate a CSR: https://www.w3.org/community/webcryptoapi/draft/#generatecertrequest-method

Some library for generating CSRs: https://pkijs.org/

Here is an example with PKIjs for generating selfsigned X509 certs + the keypairs:

https://github.com/infotechinc/create-x509-certificate

The generateKey() function creates keypairs.

https://dvcs.w3.org/hg/webcrypto-api/raw-file/tip/spec/Overview.html#SubtleCrypto-method-generateKey

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  • Do you have an example of implementing the functionality of <keygen> using WebCrypto ? As far as OpenPGP.js goes, it's definitely not what I'm looking for.
    – André Borie
    Dec 3, 2015 at 15:35
  • @MikeOunsworth thanks for the hint and formatting my answer. The API specification mentions the functions for generating a CSR and I linked also a library for generating CSR using WebCrypto.
    – user6090
    Dec 3, 2015 at 17:05
  • I know. You just can generate a CSR with WebCrypto but you have to submit it manually. And a private key is required. There are other tools for clients to submit a CSR. OpenSSL implementations (serverside) can parse the CSR and create the final certificate.
    – user6090
    Dec 3, 2015 at 17:26
  • Where do you read this? I just see this question: "So, what are the alternatives for a browser to obtain a client cert?"
    – user6090
    Dec 3, 2015 at 17:31
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    @RaymondNijland It is not a technical problem to transfer a private key. It is a security problem. The certificate signing request has been invented to keep the private key private. If you send the private key over the net, it is not private any more.
    – ceving
    Oct 6, 2019 at 13:17
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The WebCrypto API is currently not an alternative for the keygen tag, as confirmed by the WebCrypto API spec:

This API, while allowing applications to generate, retrieve, and manipulate keying material, does not specifically address the provisioning of keys in particular types of key storage, such as secure elements or smart cards. This is due to such provisioning operations often being burdened with vendor-specific details that make defining a vendor-agnostic interface an unsuitably unbounded task. Additionally, this API does not deal with or address the discovery of cryptographic modules, as such concepts are dependent upon the underlying user agent and are not concepts that are portable between common operating systems, cryptographic libraries, and implementations.

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In case you already have a <keygen>-based setup and want to keep using it, I created a project which attempts to implement a JavaScript polyfill for <keygen>:

https://github.com/CyberShadow/keygen.js

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  • Can this generate a private key/CSR, and hold it for pairing from a trusted CA (like Keygen used to)? I'm trying desperately to avoid a standalone utility to generate authenticode certificate requests but so far, I've fallen short. I took a quick glance at what you were doing there and it appears the answer to my question is 'no', but I thought I'd ask just the same.
    – Mitchell V
    Jul 29, 2021 at 0:42
  • This implementation expects that the form that the <keygen> is on will return a certificate.
    – Vladimir Panteleev
    Jul 29, 2021 at 6:35
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At this point (April 2017) I had to create a native app. Only FireFox works with the keygen tag, and, no matter what javascript library you may find you will not be able to import the certificate to Windows so it can be used from Chrome, for example.

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I just wrote a web-based client certificate utility that is entirely cross browser (does require modern browsers tho). It allows users to do single-password authentication and single-click auth. Your keys get encrypted with your single password, so you're a bit safer than <keygen> keys (since those aren't password protected). Users will eventually be able to create and use multiple identities that can be different for different websites, or even switched between for the same site. Also, its controlled entirely through javascript, so you can auth someone whenever you want, not just before page-load.

Check it out here: https://github.com/webkey-auth/webkey-auth.github.io

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  • Well your solution also uses the WebCrypto API. The question was about official alternatives for keygen and the W3C docs mention WebCrypto for this purpose. How it is implemented is another thing.
    – user6090
    Apr 10, 2016 at 15:45
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This summarizes the current situation quite good:

KEYGEN works in Firefox, and Mozilla have committed to supporting it, but Chrome contentiously removed it without a suitable replacement.

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    It is now gone in Firefox too.
    – Vladimir Panteleev
    Mar 2, 2020 at 1:50
  • @VladimirPanteleev This is really bad news. I hate to be forced to migrate to something not existing.
    – ceving
    Mar 2, 2020 at 8:32
  • I agree. We ended up writing a polyfill in JavaScript (see my answer) because it was less work than switching all our services and migrating all our users to another authentication scheme.
    – Vladimir Panteleev
    Mar 2, 2020 at 16:24

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