AES CLI

A simple command-line interface for encrypting and decrypting data using AES-256-CBC encryption.

Features

• AES-256-CBC encryption/decryption
• Read data from stdin
• Provide key via command-line argument or file
• Support for hex and base64 output formats
• Automatic IV generation for encryption
• PKCS7 padding

Installation

cargo build --release

The binary will be available at target/release/icub3d-aes (or icub3d-aes.exe on Windows).

Usage

Encrypt

Encrypt data using a key provided as a string:

echo "Hello, World!" | cargo run -- encrypt --key "this_is_a_32_byte_secret_key!!"

Encrypt using a key from a file:

echo "Hello, World!" | cargo run -- encrypt --key-file key.bin

Use base64 output format:

echo "Hello, World!" | cargo run -- encrypt --key "this_is_a_32_byte_secret_key!!" --output-format base64

Decrypt

Decrypt data using a key provided as a string:

echo "5a3d2c1b4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e9f0a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e" | cargo run -- decrypt --key "this_is_a_32_byte_secret_key!!"

Decrypt using a key from a file:

echo "5a3d2c1b4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e9f0a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e" | cargo run -- decrypt --key-file key.bin

Use base64 input format:

echo "WjPSwbTl9qe4yZ0OHyo7TF1uf4qbDB0uP0pbbH2Onw==" | cargo run -- decrypt --key "this_is_a_32_byte_secret_key!!" --input-format base64

Working with Files

Encrypt a file:

cat plaintext.txt | cargo run -- encrypt --key "this_is_a_32_byte_secret_key!!" > encrypted.hex

Decrypt a file:

cat encrypted.hex | cargo run -- decrypt --key "this_is_a_32_byte_secret_key!!" > decrypted.txt

Generating a Key

To generate a random 32-byte key, you can use:

Linux/macOS:

dd if=/dev/urandom of=key.bin bs=32 count=1

Windows (PowerShell):

$key = New-Object byte[] 32
[Security.Cryptography.RNGCryptoServiceProvider]::new().GetBytes($key)
[IO.File]::WriteAllBytes("key.bin", $key)

Key Requirements

• The key must be exactly 32 bytes for AES-256
• When providing the key as a string, it should be a 32-character ASCII string
• When using a key file, the file should contain exactly 32 bytes

Security Notes

• The IV (Initialization Vector) is randomly generated for each encryption operation
• The IV is prepended to the ciphertext output
• PKCS7 padding is used for block alignment
• Never reuse keys for sensitive data
• Store keys securely and never commit them to version control

Help

For more information and command options:

cargo run -- --help
cargo run -- encrypt --help
cargo run -- decrypt --help