SAMPLE EC P-256 Private Key — SEC 1
The same P-256 scalar in the SEC 1 container (BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY), which names the curve inline instead of through a PKCS#8 algorithm identifier. Some deployment tools accept only one of the two.
-----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----
MHcCAQEEIENQci39lukvUxMovgIO3pMJbKlP9sgyO8Jde2ITCIxJoAoGCCqGSM49
AwEHoUQDQgAEW+DRtkDz4KfDgUk8eD0xdb+UrRrl/ciiSWwJ07uX7In0gT7mZotP
jI39dNPC5HYASN64Q0pJPAaoYaqGZCWL4Q==
-----END EC PRIVATE KEY-----
Specifications
- Algorithm
- EC
- Curve
- P-256 (prime256v1)
- Container
- SEC 1 (traditional OpenSSL)
- Armour
- BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY
- Encrypted
- false
- Note
- same scalar as the PKCS#8 twin
- Sample Only
- true
- Seed
- 70117
Testing contract
Expected to pass- Scenario
- Load this key and its PKCS#8 twin and compare the private scalars and named curves.
- Expected result
- Both files yield the same scalar on prime256v1 despite different PEM armour and curve encoding.
What is a .key file?
A .key file holds a private key, usually PEM-encoded in PKCS#8 (BEGIN PRIVATE KEY) or a key-type-specific format. It is the secret half of a TLS or SSH identity and must normally be protected — the examples here are published, sample-only keys that must never be used in production.
How to use this file
Use an example .key to test PEM key parsers, PKCS#8 decoders, and key-format converters (for example PEM to DER or OpenSSH). These are deliberately published sample keys — for parser testing only, never for real use.
How to use this file for testing
“SAMPLE EC P-256 Private Key — SEC 1” is a deterministic Novus Examples fixture for Certificate & key testing, Conversion testing. Self-signed X.509 certificates (PEM, CRT, DER), a CSR, RSA and Ed25519 keys, an SSH public key, a PKCS#12 bundle, and an htpasswd file — all published sample-only material, for testing certificate parsers, TLS tooling, keystore importers, and PEM/DER decoders.
Documented properties for this file: seed 70117 · EC. Compare results against paired or grouped companions on this page when present (clean↔damaged, searchable↔scanned, or format twins) so scores stay reproducible across runs.
Download the file once, keep the path stable in CI or local scripts, and treat the spec table as the contract: dimensions, seeds, field lists, and roles are intentional. Corrupt or invalid samples are labelled as such — expect parsers to fail loudly rather than silently accept them.
This is published, SAMPLE-only security material — never a real secret. Point certificate, key, or token parsers at it, test PEM/DER decoding and PKCS handling, and confirm your tooling reads the documented fields; any sample password is printed on this page.
This is a published, sample-only certificate/key. Parse it, verify the chain or signature, and test PEM↔DER conversion — never deploy it anywhere real.
Related files
- derSAMPLE Certificate Revocation List (DER)Binary DER twin of the SAMPLE CRL — the exact encoding a CRL distribution point serves over HTTP. Use it to test binary CRL fetching and caching paths that never see PEM armour.
- derSAMPLE Intermediate CA Certificate (DER)Binary DER encoding of the SAMPLE intermediate CA certificate — the same bytes the PEM twin Base64-wraps. Feed it to ASN.1 decoders, Java keystores, and DER-to-PEM converters.
- derSAMPLE Leaf Certificate (DER)Binary DER encoding of the SAMPLE leaf certificate — the same bytes the PEM twin Base64-wraps. Feed it to ASN.1 decoders, Java keystores, and DER-to-PEM converters.
- derSAMPLE PKCS#7 Certificate Bundle (DER)Binary DER form of the same three-certificate PKCS#7 bundle, the encoding a .p7b download actually uses. Use it to test importers that never see the PEM armour.
- pemSAMPLE PKCS#7 Certificate Bundle (PEM)A degenerate (certificates-only) PKCS#7 structure holding all three SAMPLE certificates under BEGIN PKCS7 armour — the payload Windows and Java tools distribute as a .p7b. It carries no private key and no signature over any content.
- derSAMPLE Root CA Certificate (DER)Binary DER encoding of the SAMPLE root CA certificate — the same bytes the PEM twin Base64-wraps. Feed it to ASN.1 decoders, Java keystores, and DER-to-PEM converters.
Generated by generation/security_p7.py. Free for any use, no attribution required — license.