ifd-jcecard

A PC/SC IFD (Interface Device) handler that provides a virtual OpenPGP and PIV smart card for testing and development.

Overview

This crate provides a PC/SC driver with an embedded virtual smart card implementation. It allows pcscd (PC/SC Smart Card Daemon) to expose a virtual smart card that implements both OpenPGP card 3.4 and PIV (NIST SP 800-73-4) specifications. Applications like GnuPG, OpenSC, and yubico-piv-tool can interact with this virtual card just like a physical hardware token.

How it Works

┌─────────────────┐     ┌─────────┐     ┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ Application     │     │ pcscd   │     │ ifd-jcecard (this crate)         │
│ (gpg, piv-tool) │────▶│         │────▶│ ┌────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  │
└─────────────────┘     └─────────┘     │ │  OpenPGP   │  │     PIV     │  │
                                        │ │  Applet    │  │   Applet    │  │
                                        │ └────────────┘  └─────────────┘  │
                                        └──────────────────────────────────┘

1. Application sends PC/SC commands (e.g., gpg --card-status)
2. pcscd routes commands to the IFD handler
3. ifd-jcecard processes APDUs using the embedded virtual card
4. Responses flow back through the same path

The virtual card implementation is fully embedded in the shared library - no external server is needed.

Features

• OpenPGP Card 3.4: Sign, decrypt, authenticate with RSA 2048/4096, Ed25519, X25519, NIST P-256/P-384
• PIV (NIST SP 800-73-4): PIV Authentication, Digital Signature, Key Management, Card Authentication slots
• Key Generation: Generate keys on-card or import existing keys
• Persistent Storage: Card state persisted to ~/.jcecard/card_state.json
• No External Dependencies: Everything runs inside the shared library

Supported Algorithms

Installation

From Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/kushaldas/jcecard.git
cd jcecard/ifd-jcecard

# Build
cargo build --release

# Install (requires sudo)
just install-ifd

Manual Installation

The IFD handler needs to be installed to system directories:

1. Copy libifd_jcecard.so to /usr/lib/pcsc/drivers/ifd-jcecard.bundle/Contents/Linux/
2. Copy Info.plist to /usr/lib/pcsc/drivers/ifd-jcecard.bundle/Contents/
3. Copy reader configuration to /etc/reader.conf.d/jcecard
4. Restart pcscd: sudo systemctl restart pcscd

Usage

1. Install the IFD handler (see above)

2. Restart pcscd to load the driver:

   sudo systemctl restart pcscd
   

3. Verify the virtual reader is available:

   pcsc_scan
   

4. Use with your favorite smart card application:

   gpg --card-status
   yubico-piv-tool -a status
   

Default Credentials

• OpenPGP User PIN (PW1): 123456
• OpenPGP Admin PIN (PW3): 12345678
• PIV PIN: 123456
• PIV PUK: 12345678
• PIV Management Key: 010203040506070801020304050607080102030405060708

Requirements

• Linux with pcscd installed (sudo apt install pcscd libpcsclite-dev)
• Rust toolchain for building from source

Development

# Run Rust unit tests
cargo test

# Build in debug mode
cargo build

# Run clippy lints
cargo clippy

Related Projects

• johnnycanencrypt - OpenPGP library for Rust/Python
• talktosc - Smart card communication library (patterns used here)

License

BSD-2-Clause License - see LICENSE for details.