5.4. Preparing to load a certificate into the browser

Procedure

1. Use the pk12util command to export the certificate from the NSS database to the PKCS12 format. For example, to export the certificate with the some_user nickname from the NSS database stored in the ~/certdb directory into the ~/some_user.p12 file:

   $ pk12util -d ~/certdb -o ~/some_user.p12 -n some_user
   Enter Password or Pin for "NSS Certificate DB":
   Enter password for PKCS12 file:
   Re-enter password:
   pk12util: PKCS12 EXPORT SUCCESSFUL

2. Set appropriate permissions for the .p12 file:

   # chmod 600 ~/some_user.p12

   Because the PKCS #12 file also contains the private key, it must be protected to prevent other users from using the file. Otherwise, they would be able to impersonate the user.