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CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY
The important part of CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY is its scope: ASN.1 allocation failure. The ASN.1 operation could not allocate enough host memory for decoded structures, encoded output, or intermediate representation. Keep the hexadecimal value 0x80093106 with the returning API, because higher-level software may translate it into a message that loses this distinction.
What the code establishes
Windows has already entered an ASN.1 encode or decode path in an ASN.1 allocation failure investigation. For CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY, preserve the exact structure type or encoding identifier, binary input, byte length, flags, allocator behavior, and nested status. PEM text, base64 decoding, transport framing, and ASN.1 parsing are separate stages when CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY is returned.
Facts to preserve before changing state
- 1. Encoding type and structure identifier passed to the Windows codec
Record input size, nesting depth, claimed lengths, allocation flags, and process memory pressure. - 2. Unaltered input bytes, total length, and first failing offset when available
Reject implausible length fields before unbounded allocation when the data is untrusted. - 3. Producer schema or profile, DER/BER expectations, and a second independent decoder result
Retry only after distinguishing real resource exhaustion from a malformed object that requests excessive memory.
For ASN.1 allocation failure, these observations are deliberately nonsecret: identifiers, lengths, provider names, policy selections, and state transitions usually support comparison without recording private keys, passwords, PINs, or plaintext.
Preserve the evidence chain
For CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY, preserve the path from source artifact to the byte sequence or object passed into the Windows cryptographic API. Record file acquisition, transport decoding, object selection, structure identifier, provider selection, and the exact call that first rejects the data in an ASN.1 allocation failure investigation. For CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY, this prevents later trust or certificate errors from being mistaken for the original representation or lookup failure.
- In the CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY path, the untouched artifact or a reproducible nonsecret sample with a cryptographic hash for identity.
- For CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY, the API structure type, encoding flags, object or certificate selector, and caller identity.
- In the CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY path, independent decode, lookup, or signature observations that do not modify the original evidence.
Isolation procedure
Decode a small known-good object of the same structure type, then decode the production bytes with an independent standards-aware tool in an ASN.1 allocation failure investigation. For CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY, for encoding, start from a minimal valid structure and add optional fields until the Windows path fails.
| Test | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| Same input, known-good path | For ASN.1 allocation failure, success moves attention toward the selected provider, policy, device, context, or transaction state. |
| Known-good input, failing path | For ASN.1 allocation failure, failure suggests that the environment or selected object is independently unable to perform the operation. |
| Original path after one isolated change | For ASN.1 allocation failure, this comparison demonstrates whether the proposed correction addresses the original condition. |
Common wrong turns
This is process-memory exhaustion, unlike token storage capacity errors such as NTE_TOKEN_KEYSET_STORAGE_FULL. Do not “repair” binary ASN.1 by editing a hex string without preserving the original bytes and schema when CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY is returned. In the CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY path, a changed length octet can move every later diagnostic.
For ASN.1 allocation failure, keep representation, cryptographic execution, and trust evaluation separate. In this path, a byte sequence can decode correctly and still fail signature policy, while no chain repair can make malformed ASN.1 decode.
Proving the intended path works
In the CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY path, the same object must round-trip under the encoding rules required by its protocol, and an independent implementation should agree on its structure and constraints. For CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY, keep a regression case that uses nonsecret identifiers and expected outcomes, including one negative control that must continue to fail.
Technical references
For CRYPT_E_ASN1_MEMORY, these sources define the HRESULT and the relevant ASN.1 allocation failure interface, protocol, or data format.
- Microsoft Open Specifications: HRESULT values.
- Microsoft: CryptDecodeObjectEx.
- ITU-T X.690: BER, CER and DER.
- RFC 5280: Internet X.509 PKI profile.
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