When restoring a Native Key Provider (NKP), selecting a .p12 file you get the error 'The selected file cannot be parsed'

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

In the vSphere Client restore dialog for Native Key Provider, selecting the .p12 backup file results in a parsing error : The selected file cannot be parsed

Environment

vCenter server 8.x

Cause

The .p12 file was created without a password (empty) or with a forgotten/incorrect one, causing vCenter's parser to reject it as invalid during import validation

Resolution

Recreate the .p12 backup from the original NKP using the vSphere Client (Actions > Backup), explicitly setting a memorable password or none if previously empty, then retry restore with matching password.

 

Additional Information

Unable to Backup Native Key Provider when VMware vCenter unset Hostname