SmartCardAPI Version History

This section contains important information about SmartCardAPI core DLL and SDK version history. Minor releases and hot fixes are not listed here.

The current version of SmartCard API SDK G2 is v 24.7.1 (library version 6.3.24.615)

Lib Version 6.3.24.615 G2 (SDK rev 01JUL2024)

This is the first public release of SmartCardAPI G2. It is built against .NET Standard 2.0 and therefore can be used for .NET Framework and .NET Core.

new: all libraries based on .NET standard 2.0
change: removed all visual software components (SPE dialog removed)
tested with .NET Framework and .NET Core
new: online API documentation at https://docs.smartcard-api.com
change: namespace CardWerk replaces Subsembly namespace
change: all CardModule share a set of common methods
new: time restricted trial SDK
new: HelloCard explores card and available CardModules using new CardModule.AnyCard
fix: DESFire change PICC key from AES to TDES fails
fix: iCLASS calling GetRawData() multiple times fails
new: support Feitian 502 contactless card reader
new: DESFire DeleteApplication() DeleteFile() methods
new: generic contactless card support (ATR.Length < 20)
new: Elatec reader support for DESFire, iCLASS, SEOS and Prox cards
change: registry data stored in SmartCardApi.json in local application (environment) folder
fix: iCLASS PACS access fails with OK5022 on multi/single page cards
change: remove support for CT-API
fix: Reiner SCT secure PIN entry causes exception (port fix from G1)

Lib Version 5.0.23.707 G1 (rev 09JUL2023)

fix: Reiner SCT reader: new driver triggers invalid buffer size
fix: stack imbalance accessing SLE4428 synchronous cards
fix: internal crypto module: with invalid zero key block size triggers exception
change: Reiner SCT reader: Class2 access only uses DIRECT VERIFY PIN (no more MCT legacy calls)
change: GetPacsData returns byte[] instead of null
new: CardModule.eCard (upon request)
new: SPE sample code (upon request)
new: DESFire.DeleteFile() method
new: access PACS data on HID-issued DESFire EV1 and EV3 cards

Lib Version 5.0.21.117 G1 (rev.17JAN2021)

faster reader detection
binaries signed with SHA1 and SHA2
change: improve Windows error code processing
change: remove wait time after terminal detection
new: PIV FASC-N decoder class
new: DESFire: Value processing
new: Picopass read/write
fix: Startup(false) overwrites card terminal registry
fix: DESFire: writing over 256 bytes fails
fix: DESFire: invalid MAC when reading multiple frames
fix: DESFire: Read() plain file after AES authentication fails
fix: de/reconnecting reader may trigger unhandled exception

Lib Version 5.0.20.304 G1 (rev 04MAR2020)

new: PIVcrypto implementation
new: PIV SHA256 signature
added SDK documentation CardModule.PIV and CardModule.CAC
removed installer; all distributions ZIP-based
builds for .NET framweork version 3.5, 4.5, 4.6.1
sample code used binaries built against .NET 4.5
changed main reference binaries and sample code from 4.6.2 due to
incompatibility with some Windows 10 images
all binaries digitally signed by CardWerk Technologies
smartcard.dll file properties reflect .NET framework version

Lib Version 5.0.19.1114 G1 (rev 04DEC2019)

built against .NET 4.6.2
change: removed installer; all distributions ZIP-based
change: SDK distribution to ZIP-file only for easier installation to any local folder
new: DESFire EV1 sample code to SDK distribution
new: ReaderModule.Omnikey.dll (supports HID OMNIKEY xchip, Aviator and Apollo chipsets)
sample code now shows usage of lost/found terminal
new: DESFire EV1 in legacy mode: DES with weak crypto keys supported; TDES support
change: renamed sample code – only one “Hello” sample remaining and that’s HelloCard
new: DESFire EV1 Authenticate() FormatPICC(), CreateApplication() via CardModule.DESFire
new: DESFire EV1 AES encrypted read/write
fix: Windows 2008 Server RDP session dis/reconnect triggers PC/SC Win32 error
new: MemoryCard: access to SLE4442 protected memory
fix: CardModule.ICLASS GetRawPacsBit() does not close secure session
new: CardModule.ICLASS SEOS support on OMNIKEY 5023 and OMNIKEY 5x27CK readers
fix: pcsc-level error “access denied” during establish context
new: CardModule.MemoryCard supports OMNIKEY 5122/5422
each sample code folder contains its local copy of libraries necessary for this sample

Version 5.0.17.602 G1 (rev 02JUN2017)

replaces public release 4.9.6.0811
new: all assemblies are built against .NET framework version 4
new: HelloCard.Console sample to make it even easier to become familiar with SmartCardAPI
new: CardModule.MemoryCard to access synchronous cards on HID OMNIKEY readers (Xchip and Aviator support)
new: CardModule.NfcTag to access Mifare Ultralight, NTAG
new: HID iCLASS support via OMNIKEY 5022 and OMNIKEY 5×27 CK readers (avail. upon request)
new: move CAC specific sample code to HelloCAC sample code
new: Windows Help file now also available as PDF document “SmartCardApi.ApiDoc.pdf”
new: version info reflects year, month and day it was built; 5.0.17.602 stands for version 5.0 built 02JUN2017

Lib Version 4.9.6.0811 (rev.18AUG2015)

replaces public release 4.9.3.1030
fix: broken links to CardModule and SmartCardAPI references in HelloPIV sample code
fix: introduce ReaderModules, DataModules, SecurityModules for better code separation
new: ReaderModule.Omnikey to support memory cards and iCLASS cards via OMNIKEY proprietary DLLs & APDUs
new: DataModule.Wiegand for greatly improved PACS card decoding of raw Wiegand data
new: CardModule.HID.PROX to access HID PROX cards on HID OMNIKEY readers
new: CardModule.HID.ICLASS to access HID iCLASS cards on HID OMNIKEY 5×21 readers (upon request)
new: CardModule.Mifare to access NXP Mifare classic cards on PC/SC part 3 compliant contactless card readers
fix: introduce 0x648x SW for readers that respond with I/O errors to unsupported commands
new: all modules are built with strong names
new: sample: HelloiCLASS (upon request)
new: GetInstructionName() supports PC/SC part 3 instruction name
change: HelloSyncAPI renamed to HelloMemoryCard
change: new installer
new: using Doxygen to generate API documentation
new: API documentation available in PDF format

Lib Version 4.9.3.1030 (rev.30OCT2014)

replaces public release 4.9.2.0
fix: support card terminals that return unexpected PC/SC errors with some attribute requests
new: CardModule.xxx built with strong names

Lib Version 4.9.2.0 (rev.02JAN2014)

replaces public release 4.9.0.1
fix: EndTransaction accepts if card or reader handle are already null (no more exception thrown)
new: iCLASS PACS bit access via OMNIKEY 5×21 and sync API
new: sample code with transaction protection
new: sample programs handle reader, smart card service recovery
new: HelloProx support for OMNIKEY 5427 CK multi frequency reader

Lib Version 4.9.0.1 (rev.21NOV2013)

replaces public release 4.8.1.0
new: Smartcard.dll with new terminal found event
new: Smartcard.dll terminal polling after singleton start until at least one terminal found
new: Smartcard.dll offers transaction protection
new: HelloPIV with protected card access
new: HelloProx support for OMNIKEY 5025 PROX card reader in CCID mode

Lib Version 4.8.1.0 (rev.05AUG2013)

replaces public release 4.8.0.0
fix: Smartcard.dll: CardHex.FromArray() truncates LSB bytes causing invalid raw Wiegand data
new: HelloProx with CardModule.CLICS integration for PC/SC Part 3 compliant reader access

Lib Version 4.8.0.0 (rev.15MAY2013)

replaces public release 4.7.2.3
new: Smartcard.dll: CardPcscPart3 and PCSC_PART3_XYZ constants for PC/SC 2.01 Part 3 compliant card system access
new: HelloPIV: GetData() now supports T=1 cards that don’t return data with the first response APDU
new: CardModule.CLICS with card edge for PC/SC compliant contactless storage cards. Ideal for Mifare Classic, Ultralight
new: HelloMifare: sample code for Mifare card now accesses care reader via CardModule.CLICS

Lib Version 4.7.2.3 (rev.06FEB2013)

replaces public release 4.7.2.2
HelloPIV: add X509 certificate access, card capability container
CardModule.PIV: add PivCardCertificate() class to read and display X509 certificates
CardModule.PIV: add PivCardCapability() class to read and display card capability container
CardModule.PIV: add BER-TLV tags for PIV data all containers

Lib Version 4.7.2.2

replaces public release 4.7.2.1
smartcard.dll: supports systems that don’t allow creation of registry.xml configuration file

Lib Version 4.7.2.1

replaces public release 4.7.2.0
HelloPIV: DoD CACv2 support
CardModule.PIV/CAC: change SelectCardApplication() to SelectApplet() to be in line with PIV/CAC specs
setup: add HelloProx
setup: add link to run HelloProx
setup: smartcard.dll: add method to extract bit sequence from byte array to support cards with Wiegand data

Lib Version 4.7.2.1

replaces public release 4.7.1.6
HelloPIV: DoD CAC support
SmartCard.dll: move PIV related code to CardModule.PIV
CardModule.PIV: introduce SelectCardApplication() to allow PIV module to explore TWIC/CAC cards
setup: fix link to SmartCardAPI documentation
setup: add link to run HelloCard

Lib Version 4.7.1.6

replaces public release 4.7
HelloPIV: demonstrate PIN and printed info access
SmartCard.dll: stopping scardsvr triggers terminal lost event
HelloXYZ: SmartCard.dll reference to lib fo

Lib Version 4.7

replaces public release 4.6
PIV card support: CHUID, FASCN, GUID,GUID
Sample names start with Hello
Add HelloCard Sample (C#, VB.NET)
Rename MctTrivial to HelloMct
Rename SimTrivial to HelloSim
Rename Taschenkartenleser to HelloGeldkarte

Lib Version 4.6

No major changes. Copyrights transferred to CardWerk Technologies.

replaces public release 4.5

Lib Version 4.5

replaces public release 4.3
Extended the MctTrivia sample application to also handle the new German eGK Gesundheitskarte.

Lib Version 4.3

replaces public release 4.2
Added CardPcScTerminalBase.ATR property for easier access to the connected card’s ATR.
Removed methods that launch the CardTerminalConfigurator.exe.
Fixed problems wit MCARD API 4.0 and later.

Lib Version 4.2

Ireplaces public release 4.1
new: property CardPcScTerminal.SharedAccess controls whether the native PC/SC card connection will be Shared or Exclusive.
new: REG_SZ registry value [HKLM] SharedAccess controls the default access mode. If, and only if, this registry value is “1”, then the default access mode is Shared access.

Lib Version 4.1

replaces public release 4.0
improved: Greatly simplified the CardTerminalSlot state tracking. Now the CardTerminalSlotState enumeration only has the states Empty, Inserted and Accepted. This improves the realiability of the Card Inserted and Card Removed events. Now these events are also reliably fired when a card reader is physically disconnected or connected.
removed: fRetryCards parameter from CardTerminalManager.RequestCard method as this is no longer needed by the simplified card reader state tracking.
improved: ATR handling and added CardHandle.GetHistoricalBytes method.
new: CardHandle.SelectDirectory method.
new: overloaded CardCommandAPDU.AddData(byte) method.
Improved automatic GET RESPONSE handling in CardHandle class in order to deal with GSM SIM cards.
fix: GSM SIM status codes are correctly interpreted in CardResponseAPDU class.
improved CardTerminalRegistry.AutoRegisterPcSc method such that it now also automatically eliminates any entries of smart card readers that no longer exist in the system.

Lib Version 4.0

This is a major update which new features a complete rework of the code base. The most prominent new feature is the support for PC/SC Workgroup specification 2.0.1 part 10, which includes Secure PIN Entry (SPE).

replaces public release 3.3
Support for secure PIN entry according to the PC/SC Workgroup specification 2.0.1 part 10. Secure PIN entry is supported through all means defined in this specification.
The previously internal class CardTerminalSlot is now public and is now the primary means for acquiring a CardHandle. Events have been changed to supply a CardTerminalSlot reference instead of a ICardTerminal reference and a slot number. Generally this makes handling card insertions and removals much more convenient and straightforward.
The CardCriteria class has been removed completely. Instead the CardTypes value is passed to AcquireCard and RequestCard.
Proprietary ACR-80 support has been removed completely. Instead it is recommended to use the standard PC/SC interface for it.
The CardHandle methods ReadBinary and ReadRecord now handle the SW codes 0x61xx and 0x6Cxx automatically by issuing a GET RESPONSE or re-issuing the command with the correct length byte.
All DLLs that make up the SmartCard API (Professional) have now been merged into a single SmartCard.dll. This eases deployment and development.
Many small improvements that increase the robustness.

Lib Version 3.3

For release 3.3 the SmartCard API was made security aware. This means that it is no longer required to always have a fully trusted caller in order to access the SmartCard API. To achive this goal the following individual changes have been made:

replaces public release 3.2
new: Added AllowPartiallyTrustedCallers attribute to all assemblies and also added security permission assertions for the following permissions wherever these permissions are needed: UnmanagedCode; Reflection; FileIO access to the card terminal configuration XML file. As a result it is now possible to use the SmartCard API from .NET applications that have been deployed through the Intranet or Internet, and even from applications that are hosted inside the Internet Explorer. To make this work all assemblies of the SmartCard API must be either added to the Global Assembly Cache, or must be granted full trust based on their string name using the Microsoft .NET Configuration tool.
new: The card terminal registry file has been moved from the LocalApplicationData to the CommonApplicationData folder. This means that all settings are now applicable to all users. This also means that a system administrator can now set up the card readers for his users.
new: SmartCard API itself now only demands and asserts read access to the card terminal registry file. Only the CardTerminalConfigurator demands and asserts write access. This means that the configuration can now be protected by appropriate security policies.
new: CardTerminalConfigurator logging is now directed to the CommonApplicationData folder instead of “C:\”. Also, if the logging file yould not be created, then the CardTerminalConfigurator simply continues without logging.
fix: MCardHandle.Connect method leaves MCardHandle in an unusable state when the connection failed.
fix: CardTerminalRegistry.LoadRegistry does not work with empty files – XML errors in the registry file are ignored for more robust code
fix: The SCardException now maps the Windows error code ERROR_UNRECOGNIZED_MEDIA to SCardResponseCode.UnresponsiveCard. The error code ERROR_UNRECOGNIZED_MEDIA is returned by some readers when a card is inserted the wrong way.
new: CT-API card terminal number (CTN) can now be configured in the CardTerminalConfigurator.

Lib Version 3.2

replaces last public release 3.0.0.3
Improved compatibility with .NET Framework 2.0.
new: support for additional memory cards.
Improved CardDataObject
new: add CardDataObjectList for better and easier parsing of BER-TLV encoded card data.
Improved MctTrivia sample application.

Smart Card Libraryfor .NET