Cannot import the following key file error when importing pfx

code-signing pfx
hobeau picture hobeau · Mar 8, 2013 · Viewed 40.8k times · Source

I researched this question thoroughly on stackoverflow and I have seen numerous answers but none of them have worked for us yet. We recently bought a code signing certificate from comodo that we are going to use to sign our c# WPF .net4 application.
We have followed the instructions on the following URL

and have then imported the certificate in visual studio under 'project properties->singing->sign the assembly'. We then try to build the project and get the following error:

Cannot import the following key file: comodo.pfx. The key file may be password protected. To correct this, try to import the certificate again manually install the certificate to the Strong Name CSP with the following key container name: VS_KEY_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

We have found numerous solutions on the internet and have tried the following:

  • Click on Change Password and use the same password in all 3 places
  • sn -i [comodo].pfx VS_KEY_xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • tried converting it to password-less snk file and use that instead of .pfx
  • Tried running visual studio as admin and importing key
  • Tried creating very simple barebones project and signing with that
  • Tried visual studio 2010 as well as 2012
  • We tried adding the following to the assembly [assembly: AssemblyKeyFile("path to key file")]
  • Added event in postbuild "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.0A\Bin\signtool.exe" sign /f "$(ProjectDir)[keyfile].pfx" /p [thepassword] /v "$(ProjectDir)obj\Release\$(TargetFileName)"

  • Added in a section in the .csproj file:

  • Downloaded http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/a83505c6-77b3-44a6-b53b-73d77cba84c8 and clicked 'Apply Fix' on the error

We have had no success thus far. We can import the key just fine using the password so we know the password is correct. We also know that this works fine for signing the manifest in a clickonce publish. Just to make sure we weren't having any other issues, we turned off the cilckonce signing and are just trying to sign the assembly.

Answer

regufo picture regufo · Nov 26, 2014

You can simply open "Project > Property > Signing" and uncheck the "Sign the ClickOnce manifests" checkbox.

Related questions

Joining GoDaddy-issued .spc and .key files into a complete .pfx / .cer certificate

I have a GoDaddy-issued code signing certificate in a .spc file. Also, I have a private key in .key file. The code signing has been issued some 13 months ago, then it expired and was renewed with GoDaddy. During the renewal …

Read More
How to sign a JAR file using a .PFX file

We sign our .net code with a .PFX cert file. A colleague now needs to use the the same cert to sign a .jar file for a customer. Can someone point me to a link or an example of how …

Read More
Strong naming with PFX

I'm trying to strong name an assembly with a PFX file that is also used for digitally signing. The PFX certificate has the CodeSigning option and was provided by a CA. When I try to use it I get the …

Read More