5 spkac - SPKAC printing and generating utility
13 [B<-challenge string>]
22 The B<spkac> command processes Netscape signed public key and challenge
23 (SPKAC) files. It can print out their contents, verify the signature and
24 produce its own SPKACs from a supplied private key.
26 =head1 COMMAND OPTIONS
32 This specifies the input filename to read from or standard input if this
33 option is not specified. Ignored if the B<-key> option is used.
35 =item B<-out filename>
37 specifies the output filename to write to or standard output by
42 create an SPKAC file using the private key in B<keyfile>. The
43 B<-in>, B<-noout>, B<-spksect> and B<-verify> options are ignored if
46 =item B<-challenge string>
48 specifies the challenge string if an SPKAC is being created.
50 =item B<-spkac spkacname>
52 allows an alternative name form the variable containing the
53 SPKAC. The default is "SPKAC". This option affects both
54 generated and input SPKAC files.
56 =item B<-spksect section>
58 allows an alternative name form the section containing the
59 SPKAC. The default is the default section.
63 don't output the text version of the SPKAC (not used if an
64 SPKAC is being created).
68 verifies the digital signature on the supplied SPKAC.
75 Print out the contents of an SPKAC:
77 openssl spkac -in spkac.cnf
79 Verify the signature of an SPKAC:
81 openssl spkac -in spkac.cnf -noout -verify
83 Create an SPKAC using the challenge string "hello":
85 openssl spkac -key key.pem -challenge hello -out spkac.cnf
87 Example of an SPKAC, (long lines split up for clarity):
89 SPKAC=MIG5MGUwXDANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAANLADBIAkEA1cCoq2Wa3Ixs47uI7F\
90 PVwHVIPDx5yso105Y6zpozam135a8R0CpoRvkkigIyXfcCjiVi5oWk+6FfPaD03u\
91 PFoQIDAQABFgVoZWxsbzANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQQFAANBAFpQtY/FojdwkJh1bEIYuc\
92 2EeM2KHTWPEepWYeawvHD0gQ3DngSC75YCWnnDdq+NQ3F+X4deMx9AaEglZtULwV\
97 A created SPKAC with suitable DN components appended can be fed into
100 SPKACs are typically generated by Netscape when a form is submitted
101 containing the B<KEYGEN> tag as part of the certificate enrollment
104 The challenge string permits a primitive form of proof of possession
105 of private key. By checking the SPKAC signature and a random challenge
106 string some guarantee is given that the user knows the private key
107 corresponding to the public key being certified. This is important in
108 some applications. Without this it is possible for a previous SPKAC
109 to be used in a "replay attack".