How to use Client Certificate Authentication in iOS App.

Question

I don't have a lot experience about Client Certificate Authentication. Anybody can tell me how to use it in iOS app? Thanks :)

Answer 1

Your NSURLConnection delegate should respond to the 'connection:didReceiveAuthenticationChallenge:' delegate method (see link below).

http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/cocoa/reference/foundation/Classes/NSURLConnection_Class/Reference/Reference.html#//apple_ref/occ/instm/NSObject/connection:didReceiveAuthenticationChallenge:

It should respond by asking the challenge for its 'sender' and providing it with an appropriate credential.

Something like:

- (void)connection:(NSURLConnection *)connection didReceiveAuthenticationChallenge:(NSURLAuthenticationChallenge *)challenge {
  id sender = [challenge sender];

  // create a credential from a certificate
  // see doco for details of the parameters
  NSURLCredential *creds = [NSURLCredential credentialWithIdentity:ident certificates:certs persistence:persistence];

  [sender useCredential:creds forAuthenticationChallenge:challenge];
}

See the NSURLCredential class reference for details of how to create a credential based on a certificate: