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Avatar of katerina-p
katerina-p

asked on

Calculating a keyed hmac sha256 in vba

Hi All,

Last week I posted a question on how to calculate a SHA256 HMAC (https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/27831058/Calculating-an-hmac-sha256-in-vba.html), which was helpfully answered by a link from ryanmccauley

However, I actually just realised that I have to use my 'secret key' also to generate this HMAC and I am again absolutely stumped!

Please advise!

It's for Amazon MWS - see http://docs.amazonwebservices.com/AWSMechTurk/latest/AWSMechanicalTurkRequester/MakingRequests_RequestAuthenticationArticle.html "Calculating Request Signatures"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAC#External_links has examples of the keyed results

e.g. (as far as I understand):

Simple SHA256 of "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is:
0x d7a8fbb307d7809469ca9abcb0082e4f8d5651e46d3cdb762d02d0bf37c9e592

Using a key of "key" it is:
0x f7bc83f430538424b13298e6aa6fb143ef4d59a14946175997479dbc2d1a3cd8

Using a key of "MyKey" it is:
0x 206304502da490dd9a5e01d500561e9fae18c75e08d08fde440d192771d35535

etc

This example can be seen using https://quickhash.com/, selecting Algorithm:SHA-256, and either having (Use HMAC Method? = True + HMAC Key: = [the key] ) or not.

Many thanks!

K.
Avatar of tdlewis
tdlewis
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Regarding the key: "A Secret Access Key is a 20-character alphanumeric sequence generated by AWS."

In other words, Amazon has to give you the key.
Avatar of katerina-p
katerina-p

ASKER

Hi, thanks for the response. Sorry if I wasn't clear - yes I do have the key, I just don't know how to manipulate the HMAC with it!
I just skimmed through your prior question and it's not obvious to me if you have your SHA256 and HMAC functions working or not. Are you able to reproduce the output of the examples you posted?

Can you attach your project to your next reply so that I can see what you're doing?
Avatar of aikimark
according to the documentation, you concatenate your 20 byte secret key with the message signature and the timestamp (in UTC format) and then calculate that hash and convert it into a Base64 string.
tdlewis, yes I have it working - see attached.
Database37.zip
Calculating Request Signatures

A request signature, an HMAC, is calculated by concatenating the values of the Service, Operation, and Timestamp parameters, in that order, and then calculating an RFC 2104-compliant HMAC, using the Secret Access Key as the "key."

As you can see from the previously attached db, I've got the basic HMAC SHA-256 fine - I just don't know how to get one using a key.
You have the code to calculate SHA-256, but not HMAC. Let me see if I can find an HMAC implementation that you can add to your project.
Ah! Thank you...
According to the requirements document, you will need to XOR the bytes of your secret key with an array of x36 bytes and x5C bytes (ipad and opad).  One of these is used as the key to an HMAC function that does a keyed hash with the text of your 'message'.  The result of the first HMAC function is used as the 'text' in the second HMAC iteration with the other key.  The key for each iteration is concatenated to the text value for that iteration.

The Ken Ives code I referenced in the prior thread only performs simple hashing, so you would concatenate the XORed key values with that iteration's text value.

You can also evaluate this VB library.  It does some of the XOR and concatenate operations for you.
http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?635398-VB6-HMAC-SHA-256-HMAC-SHA-1-Using-Crypto-API

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash-based_message_authentication_code#Definition_.28from_RFC_2104.29
@katerina-p

Have you used StrConv() function or byte arrays?
Here is an example of an HMAC calculation of the string "Now is the time for all", using a secret key of "0PN5J17HBGZHT7JJ3X82".  bKey1 is the ipad and bKey2 is the opad.
    Dim bKey1() As Byte
    Dim bKey2() As Byte
    Dim bSHA() As Byte
    Dim lngLoop As Long
    bKey1 = StrConv("0PN5J17HBGZHT7JJ3X82", vbFromUnicode)
    bKey2 = StrConv("0PN5J17HBGZHT7JJ3X82", vbFromUnicode)
    For lngLoop = 0 To UBound(bKey1)
        bKey1(lngLoop) = bKey1(lngLoop) Xor &H36
    Next
    For lngLoop = 0 To UBound(bKey2)
        bKey2(lngLoop) = bKey2(lngLoop) Xor &H5C
    Next
    bSHA = SHA_routine(StrConv(bKey2, vbUnicode) & StrConv(SHA_routine(StrConv(bKey1, vbUnicode) & "Now is the time for all")))
'bSHA needs to be rendered as a Base64 string

Open in new window

@katerina-p, is the example from aikimark sufficient for you to get your code working?
Note: there is a missing ", vbUnicode" parameter on the right side StrConv function invocation.
Hi,

Thanks for your help guys. The code is 'working', but I'm not getting the expected results.

With a key of "0PN5J17HBGZHT7JJ3X82" on string "Now is the time for all", I'm getting B3C1795F3B7CC03C8DA04D279A86EE765328B3C26B5A902E1E2857E6AE86BFC2 - is this what you expected? Because I cannot replicate the examples from my OP.

K.
You have not rendered a Base64 string
String = Now is the time for all
Key = 0PN5J17HBGZHT7JJ3X82
HMAC = B3C1795F3B7CC03C8DA04D279A86EE765328B3C26B5A902E1E2857E6AE86BFC2
Base64 = QjNDMTc5NUYzQjdDQzAzQzhEQTA0RDI3OUE4NkVFNzY1MzI4QjNDMjZCNUE5MDJFMUUyODU3RTZBRTg2QkZDMg==

Is this as you expect?
According to the quickhash.com page, the keyed HMAC would be (lower/upper case hex):
3559f19379d18bb0839369423940c9801093570d
3559F19379D18BB0839369423940C9801093570D


And rendered as Base64 as:
NVnxk3nRi7CDk2lCOUDJgBCTVw0=
Any idea where I'm going wrong then?! (attached).

Many thanks,

K.
Database37.accdb
I modified my code snippet to instantiate a couple of objects from the .Net namespace for testing purposes (see below).

When I run this, the hex values in the opad array are:
EC7275667641E47953D876D9703E2A2797DA5ACD

This is a different hex string than that computed by quickhash.com web site engine.

    Dim bKey1() As Byte
    Dim bKey2() As Byte
    Dim bSHA() As Byte
    Dim lngLoop As Long
    Dim lngPosn As Long
    bKey1 = StrConv("0PN5J17HBGZHT7JJ3X82", vbFromUnicode)
    bKey2 = StrConv("0PN5J17HBGZHT7JJ3X82", vbFromUnicode)
    For lngLoop = 0 To UBound(bKey1)
        bKey1(lngLoop) = bKey1(lngLoop) Xor &H36
    Next
    For lngLoop = 0 To UBound(bKey2)
        bKey2(lngLoop) = bKey2(lngLoop) Xor &H5C
    Next
    
    Dim oUTF, oEnc
    Dim ipad() As Byte, opad() As Byte
    Dim strText As String
    Dim strTemp As String
 
    strText = "Now is the time for all"
     
    'Borrow some objects from .NET (supported from 1.1 onwards)
    Set oUTF = CreateObject("System.Text.UTF8Encoding")
    
    Set oEnc = CreateObject("System.Security.Cryptography.SHA1CryptoServiceProvider")
    
    'Convert the string to a byte array and hash it
    ipad = oEnc.ComputeHash_2(oUTF.GetBytes_4(StrConv(bKey1, vbUnicode) & strText))
    opad = oEnc.ComputeHash_2(oUTF.GetBytes_4(StrConv(bKey2, vbUnicode) & StrConv(ipad, vbUnicode)))
    
    'Convert the byte array to a hex string
    For lngPosn = 0 To UBound(opad)
      strTemp = strTemp & UCase(Right("0" & Hex(opad(lngPosn)), 2))
    Next

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please post your code.  I can't open your database.
Module0 (Behind Form):

 
public Sub ABC(s as string, Optional k as string)
Dim sHMAC as string
dim sBase64 as string

If IsNull(k) Then
  sHMAC = Hashing.SHA(s)
Else
  sHMAC = Hashing.HMAC(s, k)
End If

  sBase64 = Base64EncodeString(sHMAC )
End Sub

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HMAC Module :

Option Compare Database
Option Explicit




    Public Function SHA(ByVal sMessage) As String
        Dim i, result(32), Temp(8) As Double, fraccubeprimes, hashValues
        Dim done512, index512, words(64) As Double, index32, mask(4)
        Dim s0, s1, t1, t2, maj, ch, strLen
     
        mask(0) = 4294967296#
        mask(1) = 16777216
        mask(2) = 65536
        mask(3) = 256
     
        hashValues = Array( _
            1779033703, 3144134277#, 1013904242, 2773480762#, _
            1359893119, 2600822924#, 528734635, 1541459225)
     
        fraccubeprimes = Array( _
            1116352408, 1899447441, 3049323471#, 3921009573#, 961987163, 1508970993, 2453635748#, 2870763221#, _
            3624381080#, 310598401, 607225278, 1426881987, 1925078388, 2162078206#, 2614888103#, 3248222580#, _
            3835390401#, 4022224774#, 264347078, 604807628, 770255983, 1249150122, 1555081692, 1996064986, _
            2554220882#, 2821834349#, 2952996808#, 3210313671#, 3336571891#, 3584528711#, 113926993, 338241895, _
            666307205, 773529912, 1294757372, 1396182291, 1695183700, 1986661051, 2177026350#, 2456956037#, _
            2730485921#, 2820302411#, 3259730800#, 3345764771#, 3516065817#, 3600352804#, 4094571909#, 275423344, _
            430227734, 506948616, 659060556, 883997877, 958139571, 1322822218, 1537002063, 1747873779, _
            1955562222, 2024104815, 2227730452#, 2361852424#, 2428436474#, 2756734187#, 3204031479#, 3329325298#)
     
        sMessage = Nz(sMessage, "")
        strLen = Len(sMessage) * 8
        sMessage = sMessage & Chr(128)
        done512 = False
        index512 = 0
     
        If (Len(sMessage) Mod 60) <> 0 Then
            For i = (Len(sMessage) Mod 60) To 59
                sMessage = sMessage & Chr(0)
            Next
        End If
     
        sMessage = sMessage & Chr(Int((strLen / mask(0) - Int(strLen / mask(0))) * 256))
        sMessage = sMessage & Chr(Int((strLen / mask(1) - Int(strLen / mask(1))) * 256))
        sMessage = sMessage & Chr(Int((strLen / mask(2) - Int(strLen / mask(2))) * 256))
        sMessage = sMessage & Chr(Int((strLen / mask(3) - Int(strLen / mask(3))) * 256))
     
        Do Until done512
            For i = 0 To 15
                words(i) = Asc(Mid(sMessage, i * 4 + 1, 1)) * mask(1) + Asc(Mid(sMessage, i * 4 + 2, 1)) * mask(2) + Asc(Mid(sMessage, i * 4 + 3, 1)) * mask(3) + Asc(Mid(sMessage, i * 4 + 4, 1))
            Next
     
            For i = 16 To 63
                s0 = largeXor(largeXor(rightRotate(words(i - 15), 7, 32), rightRotate(words(i - 15), 18, 32), 32), Int(words(i - 15) / 8), 32)
                s1 = largeXor(largeXor(rightRotate(words(i - 2), 17, 32), rightRotate(words(i - 2), 19, 32), 32), Int(words(i - 2) / 1024), 32)
                words(i) = Mod32Bit(words(i - 16) + s0 + words(i - 7) + s1)
            Next
     
            For i = 0 To 7
                Temp(i) = hashValues(i)
            Next
     
            For i = 0 To 63
                s0 = largeXor(largeXor(rightRotate(Temp(0), 2, 32), rightRotate(Temp(0), 13, 32), 32), rightRotate(Temp(0), 22, 32), 32)
                maj = largeXor(largeXor(largeAnd(Temp(0), Temp(1), 32), largeAnd(Temp(0), Temp(2), 32), 32), largeAnd(Temp(1), Temp(2), 32), 32)
                t2 = Mod32Bit(s0 + maj)
                s1 = largeXor(largeXor(rightRotate(Temp(4), 6, 32), rightRotate(Temp(4), 11, 32), 32), rightRotate(Temp(4), 25, 32), 32)
                ch = largeXor(largeAnd(Temp(4), Temp(5), 32), largeAnd(largeNot(Temp(4), 32), Temp(6), 32), 32)
                t1 = Mod32Bit(Temp(7) + s1 + ch + fraccubeprimes(i) + words(i))
     
                Temp(7) = Temp(6)
                Temp(6) = Temp(5)
                Temp(5) = Temp(4)
                Temp(4) = Mod32Bit(Temp(3) + t1)
                Temp(3) = Temp(2)
                Temp(2) = Temp(1)
                Temp(1) = Temp(0)
                Temp(0) = Mod32Bit(t1 + t2)
            Next
     
            For i = 0 To 7
                hashValues(i) = Mod32Bit(hashValues(i) + Temp(i))
            Next
     
            If (index512 + 1) * 64 >= Len(sMessage) Then done512 = True
            index512 = index512 + 1
        Loop
     
        For i = 0 To 31
            result(i) = Int((hashValues(i \ 4) / mask(i Mod 4) - Int(hashValues(i \ 4) / mask(i Mod 4))) * 256)
          '  Debug.Print result(i);
        Next
            Debug.Print vbCrLf
     For i = 0 To 31
         '   Debug.Print Hex(result(i));
            SHA = SHA & Hex(result(i))
        Next
        
        
    End Function
     
    Function Mod32Bit(value)
        Mod32Bit = Int((value / 4294967296# - Int(value / 4294967296#)) * 4294967296#)
    End Function
     
    Function rightRotate(value, amount, totalBits)
        'To leftRotate, make amount = totalBits - amount
        Dim i
        rightRotate = 0
     
        For i = 0 To (totalBits - 1)
            If i >= amount Then
                rightRotate = rightRotate + (Int((value / (2 ^ (i + 1)) - Int(value / (2 ^ (i + 1)))) * 2)) * 2 ^ (i - amount)
            Else
                rightRotate = rightRotate + (Int((value / (2 ^ (i + 1)) - Int(value / (2 ^ (i + 1)))) * 2)) * 2 ^ (totalBits - amount + i)
            End If
        Next
    End Function
     
    Function largeXor(value, xorValue, totalBits)
        Dim i, a, b
        largeXor = 0
     
        For i = 0 To (totalBits - 1)
            a = (Int((value / (2 ^ (i + 1)) - Int(value / (2 ^ (i + 1)))) * 2))
            b = (Int((xorValue / (2 ^ (i + 1)) - Int(xorValue / (2 ^ (i + 1)))) * 2))
            If a <> b Then
                largeXor = largeXor + 2 ^ i
            End If
        Next
    End Function
     
    Function largeNot(value, totalBits)
        Dim i, a
        largeNot = 0
     
        For i = 0 To (totalBits - 1)
            a = Int((value / (2 ^ (i + 1)) - Int(value / (2 ^ (i + 1)))) * 2)
            If a = 0 Then
                largeNot = largeNot + 2 ^ i
            End If
        Next
    End Function
     
    Function largeAnd(value, andValue, totalBits)
        Dim i, a, b
        largeAnd = 0
     
        For i = 0 To (totalBits - 1)
            a = Int((value / (2 ^ (i + 1)) - Int(value / (2 ^ (i + 1)))) * 2)
            b = (Int((andValue / (2 ^ (i + 1)) - Int(andValue / (2 ^ (i + 1)))) * 2))
            If a = 1 And b = 1 Then
                largeAnd = largeAnd + 2 ^ i
            End If
        Next
    End Function
     



Public Function HMAC(s As String, k As String) As String


Dim i  As Integer
Dim bKey1() As Byte
    Dim bKey2() As Byte
    Dim bSHA() As Byte
    Dim lngLoop As Long
    'bKey1 = StrConv("0PN5J17HBGZHT7JJ3X82", vbFromUnicode)
    'bKey2 = StrConv("0PN5J17HBGZHT7JJ3X82", vbFromUnicode)
    bKey1 = StrConv(k, vbFromUnicode)
    bKey2 = StrConv(k, vbFromUnicode)
    For lngLoop = 0 To UBound(bKey1)
        bKey1(lngLoop) = bKey1(lngLoop) Xor &H36
    Next
    For lngLoop = 0 To UBound(bKey2)
        bKey2(lngLoop) = bKey2(lngLoop) Xor &H5C
    Next
    HMAC = SHA(StrConv(bKey2, vbUnicode) & StrConv(SHA(StrConv(bKey1, vbUnicode) & s), vbUnicode))
'bSHA needs to be rendered as a Base64 string


        
        
        
End Function

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Base64 Module:

Option Compare Database
Option Explicit

' A Base64 Encoder/Decoder.
'
' This module is used to encode and decode data in Base64 format as described in RFC 1521.
'
' Home page: www.source-code.biz.
' License: GNU/LGPL (www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html).
' Copyright 2007: Christian d'Heureuse, Inventec Informatik AG, Switzerland.
' This module is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind.

Private InitDone  As Boolean
Private Map1(0 To 63)  As Byte
Private Map2(0 To 127) As Byte

' Encodes a string into Base64 format.
' No blanks or line breaks are inserted.
' Parameters:
'   S         a String to be encoded.
' Returns:    a String with the Base64 encoded data.
Public Function Base64EncodeString(ByVal s As String) As String
   Base64EncodeString = Base64Encode(ConvertStringToBytes(s))
   End Function

' Encodes a byte array into Base64 format.
' No blanks or line breaks are inserted.
' Parameters:
'   InData    an array containing the data bytes to be encoded.
' Returns:    a string with the Base64 encoded data.
Public Function Base64Encode(InData() As Byte)
   Base64Encode = Base64Encode2(InData, UBound(InData) - LBound(InData) + 1)
   End Function

' Encodes a byte array into Base64 format.
' No blanks or line breaks are inserted.
' Parameters:
'   InData    an array containing the data bytes to be encoded.
'   InLen     number of bytes to process in InData.
' Returns:    a string with the Base64 encoded data.
Public Function Base64Encode2(InData() As Byte, ByVal InLen As Long) As String
   If Not InitDone Then Init
   If InLen = 0 Then Base64Encode2 = "": Exit Function
   Dim ODataLen As Long: ODataLen = (InLen * 4 + 2) \ 3     ' output length without padding
   Dim OLen As Long: OLen = ((InLen + 2) \ 3) * 4           ' output length including padding
   Dim Out() As Byte
   ReDim Out(0 To OLen - 1) As Byte
   Dim ip0 As Long: ip0 = LBound(InData)
   Dim ip As Long
   Dim op As Long
   Do While ip < InLen
      Dim i0 As Byte: i0 = InData(ip0 + ip): ip = ip + 1
      Dim i1 As Byte: If ip < InLen Then i1 = InData(ip0 + ip): ip = ip + 1 Else i1 = 0
      Dim i2 As Byte: If ip < InLen Then i2 = InData(ip0 + ip): ip = ip + 1 Else i2 = 0
      Dim o0 As Byte: o0 = i0 \ 4
      Dim o1 As Byte: o1 = ((i0 And 3) * &H10) Or (i1 \ &H10)
      Dim o2 As Byte: o2 = ((i1 And &HF) * 4) Or (i2 \ &H40)
      Dim o3 As Byte: o3 = i2 And &H3F
      Out(op) = Map1(o0): op = op + 1
      Out(op) = Map1(o1): op = op + 1
      Out(op) = IIf(op < ODataLen, Map1(o2), Asc("=")): op = op + 1
      Out(op) = IIf(op < ODataLen, Map1(o3), Asc("=")): op = op + 1
      Loop
   Base64Encode2 = ConvertBytesToString(Out)
   End Function

' Decodes a string from Base64 format.
' Parameters:
'    s        a Base64 String to be decoded.
' Returns     a String containing the decoded data.
Public Function Base64DecodeString(ByVal s As String) As String
   If s = "" Then Base64DecodeString = "": Exit Function
   Base64DecodeString = ConvertBytesToString(Base64Decode(s))
   End Function

' Decodes a byte array from Base64 format.
' Parameters
'   s         a Base64 String to be decoded.
' Returns:    an array containing the decoded data bytes.
Public Function Base64Decode(ByVal s As String) As Byte()
   If Not InitDone Then Init
   Dim iBuf() As Byte: iBuf = ConvertStringToBytes(s)
   Dim iLen As Long: iLen = UBound(iBuf) + 1
   If iLen Mod 4 <> 0 Then err.Raise vbObjectError, , "Length of Base64 encoded input string is not a multiple of 4."
   Do While iLen > 0
      If iBuf(iLen - 1) <> Asc("=") Then Exit Do
      iLen = iLen - 1
      Loop
   Dim OLen As Long: OLen = (iLen * 3) \ 4
   Dim Out() As Byte
   ReDim Out(0 To OLen - 1) As Byte
   Dim ip As Long
   Dim op As Long
   Do While ip < iLen
      Dim i0 As Byte: i0 = iBuf(ip): ip = ip + 1
      Dim i1 As Byte: i1 = iBuf(ip): ip = ip + 1
      Dim i2 As Byte: If ip < iLen Then i2 = iBuf(ip): ip = ip + 1 Else i2 = Asc("A")
      Dim i3 As Byte: If ip < iLen Then i3 = iBuf(ip): ip = ip + 1 Else i3 = Asc("A")
      If i0 > 127 Or i1 > 127 Or i2 > 127 Or i3 > 127 Then _
         err.Raise vbObjectError, , "Illegal character in Base64 encoded data."
      Dim b0 As Byte: b0 = Map2(i0)
      Dim b1 As Byte: b1 = Map2(i1)
      Dim b2 As Byte: b2 = Map2(i2)
      Dim b3 As Byte: b3 = Map2(i3)
      If b0 > 63 Or b1 > 63 Or b2 > 63 Or b3 > 63 Then _
         err.Raise vbObjectError, , "Illegal character in Base64 encoded data."
      Dim o0 As Byte: o0 = (b0 * 4) Or (b1 \ &H10)
      Dim o1 As Byte: o1 = ((b1 And &HF) * &H10) Or (b2 \ 4)
      Dim o2 As Byte: o2 = ((b2 And 3) * &H40) Or b3
      Out(op) = o0: op = op + 1
      If op < OLen Then Out(op) = o1: op = op + 1
      If op < OLen Then Out(op) = o2: op = op + 1
      Loop
   Base64Decode = Out
   End Function

Private Sub Init()
   Dim c As Integer, i As Integer
   ' set Map1
   i = 0
   For c = Asc("A") To Asc("Z"): Map1(i) = c: i = i + 1: Next
   For c = Asc("a") To Asc("z"): Map1(i) = c: i = i + 1: Next
   For c = Asc("0") To Asc("9"): Map1(i) = c: i = i + 1: Next
   Map1(i) = Asc("+"): i = i + 1
   Map1(i) = Asc("/"): i = i + 1
   ' set Map2
   For i = 0 To 127: Map2(i) = 255: Next
   For i = 0 To 63: Map2(Map1(i)) = i: Next
   InitDone = True
   End Sub

Private Function ConvertStringToBytes(ByVal s As String) As Byte()
   Dim b1() As Byte: b1 = s
   Dim l As Long: l = (UBound(b1) + 1) \ 2
   If l = 0 Then ConvertStringToBytes = b1: Exit Function
   Dim b2() As Byte
   ReDim b2(0 To l - 1) As Byte
   Dim p As Long
   For p = 0 To l - 1
      Dim c As Long: c = b1(2 * p) + 256 * CLng(b1(2 * p + 1))
      If c >= 256 Then c = Asc("?")
      b2(p) = c
      Next
   ConvertStringToBytes = b2
   End Function

Private Function ConvertBytesToString(b() As Byte) As String
   Dim l As Long: l = UBound(b) - LBound(b) + 1
   Dim b2() As Byte
   ReDim b2(0 To (2 * l) - 1) As Byte
   Dim p0 As Long: p0 = LBound(b)
   Dim p As Long
   For p = 0 To l - 1: b2(2 * p) = b(p0 + p): Next
   Dim s As String: s = b2
   ConvertBytesToString = s
   End Function

Function UTF8_Decode(ByVal sStr As String)
    Dim l As Long, sUTF8 As String, iChar As Integer, iChar2 As Integer
    For l = 1 To Len(sStr)
        iChar = Asc(Mid(sStr, l, 1))
        If iChar > 127 Then
            If Not iChar And 32 Then ' 2 chars
            iChar2 = Asc(Mid(sStr, l + 1, 1))
            sUTF8 = sUTF8 & ChrW$(((31 And iChar) * 64 + (63 And iChar2)))
            l = l + 1
        Else
            Dim iChar3 As Integer
            iChar2 = Asc(Mid(sStr, l + 1, 1))
            iChar3 = Asc(Mid(sStr, l + 2, 1))
            sUTF8 = sUTF8 & ChrW$(((iChar And 15) * 16 * 256) + ((iChar2 And 63) * 64) + (iChar3 And 63))
            l = l + 2
        End If
            Else
            sUTF8 = sUTF8 & Chr$(iChar)
        End If
    Next l
    UTF8_Decode = sUTF8
End Function

Open in new window

You are returning your SHA output as a hex string.
I do apologise if I'm being dense, but for "Now is the time for all" and a Key of "0PN5J17HBGZHT7JJ3X82" I'm getting:

SHA256: 129252231252443410657130114292553332147101615819868881341756208812495719324564171
Which in Hex is: 81FCE7FC2C226A3982721DFF212093AA13AC6445886AF6D051F939C1F540AB

An Hmac of: 62108235246182152771931861922619415120051197238931052122842140149111244214195168137249109
Which in Hex is: B3C1795F3B7CC03C8DA04D279A86EE765328B3C26B5A902E1E2857E6AE86BFC2
Which in Base64 is: QjNDMTc5NUYzQjdDQzAzQzhEQTA0RDI3OUE4NkVFNzY1MzI4QjNDMjZCNUE5MDJFMUUyODU3RTZBRTg2QkZDMg==

From https://quickhash.com/ it looks like the Hex HMAC should be 289433633C7673A3E153BF19AD4EF2E9E4C1A415ED2D274F918629EBAF93369A

Your code in post 38355049 returns EC7275667641E47953D876D9703E2A2797DA5ACD

I'm well and truly lost!

Your .NET code refers to SHA1, is this correct? Can we use http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.security.cryptography.hmacsha256.aspx somehow?

Thank you very much.

K.
according to the HMAC specification you posted, SHA1 should be used, not SHA256
Although that doc references SHA1, they prefer SHA256. Everywhere else is SHA256.

Can we use http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.security.cryptography.hmacsha256.aspx somehow?
please point me to the part of the Amazon document that indicates anything other than SHA1.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/02/mwsportal/doc/en_US/bde/MWSDeveloperGuide._V148508187_.pdf

p.15 Calculate an RFC 2104-compliant HMAC with the string you just created, using your Secret Key as the key.
Both HmacSHA256 and HmacSHA1 are supported hash algorithms, but Amazon recommends using
HmacSHA256
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Sorry for the late reply - thank you - I was hoping we could use that.
Once that HMAC gets your message through to Amazon, then I guess it passes muster and you can close the question.
The code generates correctly, so I will close. However, I still can't replicate what Amazon want! However, that's (perhaps, unless I can fix) a topic for a different question, as the HMAC 256 keyed hash method in the .Net framework is obviously fine!