AES Keys

How to obtain AES Keys

Users can provide some additional crypto keys to enable some advanced features in Citra. These keys are not officially provided by Citra due to legal considerations.

Method 1

In this method, you will dump the ARM9 BootROM, NATIVE_FIRM, and SAFE_MODE_FIRM (and the secret section for the new revision models) from your console using GodMode9.

Note: Extracting 0x25KeyX from NATIVE_FIRM is still not correctly implemented, so you will have to provide the key manually using the second method. NATIVE_FIRM extraction & installation is still included for completeness.

Step 1 - ARM9 BootROM

1. After launching GodMode9, enter the [M:] MEMORY VIRTUAL drive.
2. Navigate to boot9.bin; press A.
3. Select Copy to 0:/gm9/out. boot9.bin will be dumped to gm9/out on your SD card.
4. Power off the console by pressing HOME, and then Poweroff system.
5. Eject the SD card from your console and insert it into your computer/device. Copy/move boot9.bin from gm9/out on the SD card to the sysdata folder in the User Directory.

Step 2 - NATIVE_FIRM, SAFE_MODE_FIRM, and the secret section.

For old revision models

1. Reinsert the SD card into the console and launch GodMode9
2. Press HOME, select Title manager, and then select [1:] NAND / TWL as a source.
3. After the title scan is complete, navigate to the titles named 0004013800000002 (CTR-P-CTAP) and 0004013800000003 (CTR-P-CTAP).
4. Open 0004013800000002 (CTR-P-CTAP), select Manage Title..., and then select Build CIA (standard).
5. Repeat the process above with 0004013800000003 (CTR-P-CTAP)
6. Power off the system by pressing HOME, and then Poweroff system.
7. Eject the SD card from your console and insert it into your computer/device. Copy/move both CIA files from gm9/out on the SD card to a location of your choosing, and install both to Citra’s NAND (File > Install CIA...).

For new revision models

1. Reinsert the SD card into the console and launch GodMode9
2. Press HOME, select Title manager, and then select [1:] NAND / TWL as a source.
3. After the title scan is complete, navigate to the title named 0004013820000003 (CTR-P-CTAP).
4. Open 0004013820000003 (CTR-P-CTAP), select Manage Title..., and then select Build CIA (standard).
5. Exit the Title manager by pressing B, then enter the [S:] SYSNAND VIRTUAL drive. Open sector0x96.bin (the secret section), and select Copy to 0:/gm9/out.
6. Power off the system by pressing HOME, and then Poweroff system.
7. Eject the SD card from your console and insert it into your computer/device. Copy/move the CIA file from gm9/out on the SD card to a location of your choosing, and install it to Citra’s NAND (File > Install CIA...).
8. Copy/move sector0x96.bin from gm9/out on the SD card to the sysdata folder in the User Directory.

Method 2

As an alternative, instead of dumping the required files, you can provide all the AES keys manually. The keys are supplied by filling the file sysdata/aes_keys.txt (located in the User Directory) in the following format:

slot0x0DKeyX=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
slot0x0DKeyY=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
slot0x0DKeyN=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
slot0x18KeyX=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
slot0x1BKeyX=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
slot0x25KeyX=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
slot0x2CKeyX=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
slot0x2DKeyX=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
slot0x2DKeyY=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
slot0x2DKeyN=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
slot0x31KeyX=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
slot0x31KeyY=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
slot0x31KeyN=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
slot0x3DKeyX=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
common0=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF
common1=0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF

The strings 0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF in the example above are all placeholder and should be replaced by correct 32-digit hex values of keys. Not all lines in the example are required at the same time. Please read the explanation below about which key enables which feature

Loading encrypted games

Required keys: slot0x25KeyX and slot0x2CKeyX. If loading encrypted New 3DS games, slot0x18KeyX and slot0x1BKeyX are also required.

For those who are interested, here’s a write-up about 3DS security, that also talks about the slot0x25KeyX.

Sharing Mii via QR code between Citra and 3DS

Required keys: single slot0x2DKeyN, OR slot0x2DKeyX, slot0x2DKeyY together.

Generating accurate UDS data frame

Required keys: single slot0x31KeyN, OR slot0x31KeyX, slot0x31KeyY together.

Using client cert dumped from 3DS

Required keys: single slot0x0DKeyN, OR slot0x0DKeyX, slot0x0DKeyY together.

Installing encrypted CIA

Required keys: slot0x3DKeyX and common0. common1~5are probably also required for some unusual CIA.