6 rsa - RSA key processing tool
12 [B<-inform PEM|NET|DER>]
13 [B<-outform PEM|NET|DER>]
37 [B<-RSAPublicKey_out>]
42 The B<rsa> command processes RSA keys. They can be converted between various
43 forms and their components printed out. B<Note> this command uses the
44 traditional SSLeay compatible format for private key encryption: newer
45 applications should use the more secure PKCS#8 format using the B<pkcs8>
54 Print out a usage message.
56 =item B<-inform DER|NET|PEM>
58 This specifies the input format. The B<DER> option uses an ASN1 DER encoded
59 form compatible with the PKCS#1 RSAPrivateKey or SubjectPublicKeyInfo format.
60 The B<PEM> form is the default format: it consists of the B<DER> format base64
61 encoded with additional header and footer lines. On input PKCS#8 format private
62 keys are also accepted. The B<NET> form is a format is described in the B<NOTES>
65 =item B<-outform DER|NET|PEM>
67 This specifies the output format, the options have the same meaning and default
68 as the B<-inform> option.
72 This specifies the input filename to read a key from or standard input if this
73 option is not specified. If the key is encrypted a pass phrase will be
78 The input file password source. For more information about the format of B<arg>
79 see the B<PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS> section in L<openssl(1)>.
81 =item B<-out filename>
83 This specifies the output filename to write a key to or standard output if this
84 option is not specified. If any encryption options are set then a pass phrase
85 will be prompted for. The output filename should B<not> be the same as the input
88 =item B<-passout password>
90 The output file password source. For more information about the format of B<arg>
91 see the B<PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS> section in L<openssl(1)>.
93 =item B<-aes128|-aes192|-aes256|-aria128|-aria192|-aria256|-camellia128|-camellia192|-camellia256|-des|-des3|-idea>
95 These options encrypt the private key with the specified
96 cipher before outputting it. A pass phrase is prompted for.
97 If none of these options is specified the key is written in plain text. This
98 means that using the B<rsa> utility to read in an encrypted key with no
99 encryption option can be used to remove the pass phrase from a key, or by
100 setting the encryption options it can be use to add or change the pass phrase.
101 These options can only be used with PEM format output files.
105 Prints out the various public or private key components in
106 plain text in addition to the encoded version.
110 This option prevents output of the encoded version of the key.
114 This option prints out the value of the modulus of the key.
118 This option checks the consistency of an RSA private key.
122 By default a private key is read from the input file: with this
123 option a public key is read instead.
127 By default a private key is output: with this option a public
128 key will be output instead. This option is automatically set if
129 the input is a public key.
131 =item B<-RSAPublicKey_in>, B<-RSAPublicKey_out>
133 Like B<-pubin> and B<-pubout> except B<RSAPublicKey> format is used instead.
137 Specifying an engine (by its unique B<id> string) will cause B<rsa>
138 to attempt to obtain a functional reference to the specified engine,
139 thus initialising it if needed. The engine will then be set as the default
140 for all available algorithms.
146 The PEM private key format uses the header and footer lines:
148 -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
149 -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
151 The PEM public key format uses the header and footer lines:
153 -----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
154 -----END PUBLIC KEY-----
156 The PEM B<RSAPublicKey> format uses the header and footer lines:
158 -----BEGIN RSA PUBLIC KEY-----
159 -----END RSA PUBLIC KEY-----
161 The B<NET> form is a format compatible with older Netscape servers
162 and Microsoft IIS .key files, this uses unsalted RC4 for its encryption.
163 It is not very secure and so should only be used when necessary.
165 Some newer version of IIS have additional data in the exported .key
166 files. To use these with the utility, view the file with a binary editor
167 and look for the string "private-key", then trace back to the byte
168 sequence 0x30, 0x82 (this is an ASN1 SEQUENCE). Copy all the data
169 from this point onwards to another file and use that as the input
170 to the B<rsa> utility with the B<-inform NET> option.
174 To remove the pass phrase on an RSA private key:
176 openssl rsa -in key.pem -out keyout.pem
178 To encrypt a private key using triple DES:
180 openssl rsa -in key.pem -des3 -out keyout.pem
182 To convert a private key from PEM to DER format:
184 openssl rsa -in key.pem -outform DER -out keyout.der
186 To print out the components of a private key to standard output:
188 openssl rsa -in key.pem -text -noout
190 To just output the public part of a private key:
192 openssl rsa -in key.pem -pubout -out pubkey.pem
194 Output the public part of a private key in B<RSAPublicKey> format:
196 openssl rsa -in key.pem -RSAPublicKey_out -out pubkey.pem
200 The command line password arguments don't currently work with
203 There should be an option that automatically handles .key files,
204 without having to manually edit them.
208 L<pkcs8(1)>, L<dsa(1)>, L<genrsa(1)>,
213 Copyright 2000-2017 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.
215 Licensed under the OpenSSL license (the "License"). You may not use
216 this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy
217 in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at
218 L<https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.