-OpenSSL - Frequently Asked Questions
---------------------------------------
-
-[MISC] Miscellaneous questions
-
-* Which is the current version of OpenSSL?
-* Where is the documentation?
-* How can I contact the OpenSSL developers?
-* Where can I get a compiled version of OpenSSL?
-* Why aren't tools like 'autoconf' and 'libtool' used?
-* What is an 'engine' version?
-* How do I check the authenticity of the OpenSSL distribution?
-* How does the versioning scheme work?
-
-[LEGAL] Legal questions
-
-* Do I need patent licenses to use OpenSSL?
-* Can I use OpenSSL with GPL software?
-
-[USER] Questions on using the OpenSSL applications
-
-* Why do I get a "PRNG not seeded" error message?
-* Why do I get an "unable to write 'random state'" error message?
-* How do I create certificates or certificate requests?
-* Why can't I create certificate requests?
-* Why does <SSL program> fail with a certificate verify error?
-* Why can I only use weak ciphers when I connect to a server using OpenSSL?
-* How can I create DSA certificates?
-* Why can't I make an SSL connection using a DSA certificate?
-* How can I remove the passphrase on a private key?
-* Why can't I use OpenSSL certificates with SSL client authentication?
-* Why does my browser give a warning about a mismatched hostname?
-* How do I install a CA certificate into a browser?
-* Why is OpenSSL x509 DN output not conformant to RFC2253?
-* What is a "128 bit certificate"? Can I create one with OpenSSL?
-* Why does OpenSSL set the authority key identifier extension incorrectly?
-* How can I set up a bundle of commercial root CA certificates?
-
-[BUILD] Questions about building and testing OpenSSL
-
-* Why does the linker complain about undefined symbols?
-* Why does the OpenSSL test fail with "bc: command not found"?
-* Why does the OpenSSL test fail with "bc: 1 no implemented"?
-* Why does the OpenSSL test fail with "bc: stack empty"?
-* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail on Alpha Tru64 Unix?
-* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail with "ar: command not found"?
-* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail on Win32 with VC++?
-* What is special about OpenSSL on Redhat?
-* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail on MacOS X?
-* Why does the OpenSSL test suite fail on MacOS X?
-* Why does the OpenSSL test suite fail in BN_sqr test [on a 64-bit platform]?
-* Why does OpenBSD-i386 build fail on des-586.s with "Unimplemented segment type"?
-* Why does the OpenSSL test suite fail in sha512t on x86 CPU?
-* Why does compiler fail to compile sha512.c?
-* Test suite still fails, what to do?
-* I think I've found a bug, what should I do?
-* I'm SURE I've found a bug, how do I report it?
-* I've found a security issue, how do I report it?
-
-[PROG] Questions about programming with OpenSSL
-
-* Is OpenSSL thread-safe?
-* I've compiled a program under Windows and it crashes: why?
-* How do I read or write a DER encoded buffer using the ASN1 functions?
-* OpenSSL uses DER but I need BER format: does OpenSSL support BER?
-* I've tried using <M_some_evil_pkcs12_macro> and I get errors why?
-* I've called <some function> and it fails, why?
-* I just get a load of numbers for the error output, what do they mean?
-* Why do I get errors about unknown algorithms?
-* Why can't the OpenSSH configure script detect OpenSSL?
-* Can I use OpenSSL's SSL library with non-blocking I/O?
-* Why doesn't my server application receive a client certificate?
-* Why does compilation fail due to an undefined symbol NID_uniqueIdentifier?
-* I think I've detected a memory leak, is this a bug?
-* Why does Valgrind complain about the use of uninitialized data?
-* Why doesn't a memory BIO work when a file does?
-* Where are the declarations and implementations of d2i_X509() etc?
-
-===============================================================================
-
-[MISC] ========================================================================
-
-* Which is the current version of OpenSSL?
-
-The current version is available from <URL: http://www.openssl.org>.
-OpenSSL 1.0.1e was released on Feb 11th, 2013.
-
-In addition to the current stable release, you can also access daily
-snapshots of the OpenSSL development version at <URL:
-ftp://ftp.openssl.org/snapshot/>, or get it by anonymous Git access.
-
-
-* Where is the documentation?
-
-OpenSSL is a library that provides cryptographic functionality to
-applications such as secure web servers. Be sure to read the
-documentation of the application you want to use. The INSTALL file
-explains how to install this library.
-
-OpenSSL includes a command line utility that can be used to perform a
-variety of cryptographic functions. It is described in the openssl(1)
-manpage. Documentation for developers is currently being written. Many
-manual pages are available; overviews over libcrypto and
-libssl are given in the crypto(3) and ssl(3) manpages.
-
-The OpenSSL manpages are installed in /usr/local/ssl/man/ (or a
-different directory if you specified one as described in INSTALL).
-In addition, you can read the most current versions at
-<URL: http://www.openssl.org/docs/>. Note that the online documents refer
-to the very latest development versions of OpenSSL and may include features
-not present in released versions. If in doubt refer to the documentation
-that came with the version of OpenSSL you are using. The pod format
-documentation is included in each OpenSSL distribution under the docs
-directory.
-
-There is some documentation about certificate extensions and PKCS#12
-in doc/openssl.txt
-
-The original SSLeay documentation is included in OpenSSL as
-doc/ssleay.txt. It may be useful when none of the other resources
-help, but please note that it reflects the obsolete version SSLeay
-0.6.6.
-
-
-* How can I contact the OpenSSL developers?
-
-The README file describes how to submit bug reports and patches to
-OpenSSL. Information on the OpenSSL mailing lists is available from
-<URL: http://www.openssl.org>.
-
-
-* Where can I get a compiled version of OpenSSL?
-
-You can finder pointers to binary distributions in
-<URL: http://www.openssl.org/related/binaries.html> .
-
-Some applications that use OpenSSL are distributed in binary form.
-When using such an application, you don't need to install OpenSSL
-yourself; the application will include the required parts (e.g. DLLs).
-
-If you want to build OpenSSL on a Windows system and you don't have
-a C compiler, read the "Mingw32" section of INSTALL.W32 for information
-on how to obtain and install the free GNU C compiler.
-
-A number of Linux and *BSD distributions include OpenSSL.
-
-
-* Why aren't tools like 'autoconf' and 'libtool' used?
-
-autoconf will probably be used in future OpenSSL versions. If it was
-less Unix-centric, it might have been used much earlier.
-
-* What is an 'engine' version?
-
-With version 0.9.6 OpenSSL was extended to interface to external crypto
-hardware. This was realized in a special release '0.9.6-engine'. With
-version 0.9.7 the changes were merged into the main development line,
-so that the special release is no longer necessary.
-
-* How do I check the authenticity of the OpenSSL distribution?
-
-We provide MD5 digests and ASC signatures of each tarball.
-Use MD5 to check that a tarball from a mirror site is identical:
-
- md5sum TARBALL | awk '{print $1;}' | cmp - TARBALL.md5
-
-You can check authenticity using pgp or gpg. You need the OpenSSL team
-member public key used to sign it (download it from a key server, see a
-list of keys at <URL: http://www.openssl.org/about/>). Then
-just do:
-
- pgp TARBALL.asc
-
-* How does the versioning scheme work?
-
-After the release of OpenSSL 1.0.0 the versioning scheme changed. Letter
-releases (e.g. 1.0.1a) can only contain bug and security fixes and no
-new features. Minor releases change the last number (e.g. 1.0.2) and
-can contain new features that retain binary compatibility. Changes to
-the middle number are considered major releases and neither source nor
-binary compatibility is guaranteed.
-
-Therefore the answer to the common question "when will feature X be
-backported to OpenSSL 1.0.0/0.9.8?" is "never" but it could appear
-in the next minor release.
-
-[LEGAL] =======================================================================
-
-* Do I need patent licenses to use OpenSSL?
-
-The patents section of the README file lists patents that may apply to
-you if you want to use OpenSSL. For information on intellectual
-property rights, please consult a lawyer. The OpenSSL team does not
-offer legal advice.
-
-You can configure OpenSSL so as not to use IDEA, MDC2 and RC5 by using
- ./config no-idea no-mdc2 no-rc5
-
-
-* Can I use OpenSSL with GPL software?
-
-On many systems including the major Linux and BSD distributions, yes (the
-GPL does not place restrictions on using libraries that are part of the
-normal operating system distribution).
-
-On other systems, the situation is less clear. Some GPL software copyright
-holders claim that you infringe on their rights if you use OpenSSL with
-their software on operating systems that don't normally include OpenSSL.
-
-If you develop open source software that uses OpenSSL, you may find it
-useful to choose an other license than the GPL, or state explicitly that
-"This program is released under the GPL with the additional exemption that
-compiling, linking, and/or using OpenSSL is allowed." If you are using
-GPL software developed by others, you may want to ask the copyright holder
-for permission to use their software with OpenSSL.
-
-
-[USER] ========================================================================
-
-* Why do I get a "PRNG not seeded" error message?
-
-Cryptographic software needs a source of unpredictable data to work
-correctly. Many open source operating systems provide a "randomness
-device" (/dev/urandom or /dev/random) that serves this purpose.
-All OpenSSL versions try to use /dev/urandom by default; starting with
-version 0.9.7, OpenSSL also tries /dev/random if /dev/urandom is not
-available.
-
-On other systems, applications have to call the RAND_add() or
-RAND_seed() function with appropriate data before generating keys or
-performing public key encryption. (These functions initialize the
-pseudo-random number generator, PRNG.) Some broken applications do
-not do this. As of version 0.9.5, the OpenSSL functions that need
-randomness report an error if the random number generator has not been
-seeded with at least 128 bits of randomness. If this error occurs and
-is not discussed in the documentation of the application you are
-using, please contact the author of that application; it is likely
-that it never worked correctly. OpenSSL 0.9.5 and later make the
-error visible by refusing to perform potentially insecure encryption.
-
-If you are using Solaris 8, you can add /dev/urandom and /dev/random
-devices by installing patch 112438 (Sparc) or 112439 (x86), which are
-available via the Patchfinder at <URL: http://sunsolve.sun.com>
-(Solaris 9 includes these devices by default). For /dev/random support
-for earlier Solaris versions, see Sun's statement at
-<URL: http://sunsolve.sun.com/pub-cgi/retrieve.pl?doc=fsrdb/27606&zone_32=SUNWski>
-(the SUNWski package is available in patch 105710).
-
-On systems without /dev/urandom and /dev/random, it is a good idea to
-use the Entropy Gathering Demon (EGD); see the RAND_egd() manpage for
-details. Starting with version 0.9.7, OpenSSL will automatically look
-for an EGD socket at /var/run/egd-pool, /dev/egd-pool, /etc/egd-pool and
-/etc/entropy.
-
-Most components of the openssl command line utility automatically try
-to seed the random number generator from a file. The name of the
-default seeding file is determined as follows: If environment variable
-RANDFILE is set, then it names the seeding file. Otherwise if
-environment variable HOME is set, then the seeding file is $HOME/.rnd.
-If neither RANDFILE nor HOME is set, versions up to OpenSSL 0.9.6 will
-use file .rnd in the current directory while OpenSSL 0.9.6a uses no
-default seeding file at all. OpenSSL 0.9.6b and later will behave
-similarly to 0.9.6a, but will use a default of "C:\" for HOME on
-Windows systems if the environment variable has not been set.
-
-If the default seeding file does not exist or is too short, the "PRNG
-not seeded" error message may occur.
-
-The openssl command line utility will write back a new state to the
-default seeding file (and create this file if necessary) unless
-there was no sufficient seeding.
-
-Pointing $RANDFILE to an Entropy Gathering Daemon socket does not work.
-Use the "-rand" option of the OpenSSL command line tools instead.
-The $RANDFILE environment variable and $HOME/.rnd are only used by the
-OpenSSL command line tools. Applications using the OpenSSL library
-provide their own configuration options to specify the entropy source,
-please check out the documentation coming the with application.
-
-
-* Why do I get an "unable to write 'random state'" error message?
-
-
-Sometimes the openssl command line utility does not abort with
-a "PRNG not seeded" error message, but complains that it is
-"unable to write 'random state'". This message refers to the
-default seeding file (see previous answer). A possible reason
-is that no default filename is known because neither RANDFILE
-nor HOME is set. (Versions up to 0.9.6 used file ".rnd" in the
-current directory in this case, but this has changed with 0.9.6a.)
-
-
-* How do I create certificates or certificate requests?
-
-Check out the CA.pl(1) manual page. This provides a simple wrapper round
-the 'req', 'verify', 'ca' and 'pkcs12' utilities. For finer control check
-out the manual pages for the individual utilities and the certificate
-extensions documentation (in ca(1), req(1), x509v3_config(5) )
-
-
-* Why can't I create certificate requests?
-
-You typically get the error:
-
- unable to find 'distinguished_name' in config
- problems making Certificate Request
-
-This is because it can't find the configuration file. Check out the
-DIAGNOSTICS section of req(1) for more information.
-
-
-* Why does <SSL program> fail with a certificate verify error?
-
-This problem is usually indicated by log messages saying something like
-"unable to get local issuer certificate" or "self signed certificate".
-When a certificate is verified its root CA must be "trusted" by OpenSSL
-this typically means that the CA certificate must be placed in a directory
-or file and the relevant program configured to read it. The OpenSSL program
-'verify' behaves in a similar way and issues similar error messages: check
-the verify(1) program manual page for more information.
-
-
-* Why can I only use weak ciphers when I connect to a server using OpenSSL?
-
-This is almost certainly because you are using an old "export grade" browser
-which only supports weak encryption. Upgrade your browser to support 128 bit
-ciphers.
-
-
-* How can I create DSA certificates?
-
-Check the CA.pl(1) manual page for a DSA certificate example.
-
-
-* Why can't I make an SSL connection to a server using a DSA certificate?
-
-Typically you'll see a message saying there are no shared ciphers when
-the same setup works fine with an RSA certificate. There are two possible
-causes. The client may not support connections to DSA servers most web
-browsers (including Netscape and MSIE) only support connections to servers
-supporting RSA cipher suites. The other cause is that a set of DH parameters
-has not been supplied to the server. DH parameters can be created with the
-dhparam(1) command and loaded using the SSL_CTX_set_tmp_dh() for example:
-check the source to s_server in apps/s_server.c for an example.
-
-
-* How can I remove the passphrase on a private key?
-
-Firstly you should be really *really* sure you want to do this. Leaving
-a private key unencrypted is a major security risk. If you decide that
-you do have to do this check the EXAMPLES sections of the rsa(1) and
-dsa(1) manual pages.
-
-
-* Why can't I use OpenSSL certificates with SSL client authentication?
-
-What will typically happen is that when a server requests authentication
-it will either not include your certificate or tell you that you have
-no client certificates (Netscape) or present you with an empty list box
-(MSIE). The reason for this is that when a server requests a client
-certificate it includes a list of CAs names which it will accept. Browsers
-will only let you select certificates from the list on the grounds that
-there is little point presenting a certificate which the server will
-reject.
-
-The solution is to add the relevant CA certificate to your servers "trusted
-CA list". How you do this depends on the server software in uses. You can
-print out the servers list of acceptable CAs using the OpenSSL s_client tool:
-
-openssl s_client -connect www.some.host:443 -prexit
-
-If your server only requests certificates on certain URLs then you may need
-to manually issue an HTTP GET command to get the list when s_client connects:
-
-GET /some/page/needing/a/certificate.html
-
-If your CA does not appear in the list then this confirms the problem.
-
-
-* Why does my browser give a warning about a mismatched hostname?
-
-Browsers expect the server's hostname to match the value in the commonName
-(CN) field of the certificate. If it does not then you get a warning.
-
-
-* How do I install a CA certificate into a browser?
-
-The usual way is to send the DER encoded certificate to the browser as
-MIME type application/x-x509-ca-cert, for example by clicking on an appropriate
-link. On MSIE certain extensions such as .der or .cacert may also work, or you
-can import the certificate using the certificate import wizard.
-
-You can convert a certificate to DER form using the command:
-
-openssl x509 -in ca.pem -outform DER -out ca.der
-
-Occasionally someone suggests using a command such as:
-
-openssl pkcs12 -export -out cacert.p12 -in cacert.pem -inkey cakey.pem
-
-DO NOT DO THIS! This command will give away your CAs private key and
-reduces its security to zero: allowing anyone to forge certificates in
-whatever name they choose.
-
-* Why is OpenSSL x509 DN output not conformant to RFC2253?
-
-The ways to print out the oneline format of the DN (Distinguished Name) have
-been extended in version 0.9.7 of OpenSSL. Using the new X509_NAME_print_ex()
-interface, the "-nameopt" option could be introduded. See the manual
-page of the "openssl x509" commandline tool for details. The old behaviour
-has however been left as default for the sake of compatibility.
-
-* What is a "128 bit certificate"? Can I create one with OpenSSL?
-
-The term "128 bit certificate" is a highly misleading marketing term. It does
-*not* refer to the size of the public key in the certificate! A certificate
-containing a 128 bit RSA key would have negligible security.
-
-There were various other names such as "magic certificates", "SGC
-certificates", "step up certificates" etc.
-
-You can't generally create such a certificate using OpenSSL but there is no
-need to any more. Nowadays web browsers using unrestricted strong encryption
-are generally available.
-
-When there were tight restrictions on the export of strong encryption
-software from the US only weak encryption algorithms could be freely exported
-(initially 40 bit and then 56 bit). It was widely recognised that this was
-inadequate. A relaxation of the rules allowed the use of strong encryption but
-only to an authorised server.
-
-Two slighly different techniques were developed to support this, one used by
-Netscape was called "step up", the other used by MSIE was called "Server Gated
-Cryptography" (SGC). When a browser initially connected to a server it would
-check to see if the certificate contained certain extensions and was issued by
-an authorised authority. If these test succeeded it would reconnect using
-strong encryption.
-
-Only certain (initially one) certificate authorities could issue the
-certificates and they generally cost more than ordinary certificates.
-
-Although OpenSSL can create certificates containing the appropriate extensions
-the certificate would not come from a permitted authority and so would not
-be recognized.
-
-The export laws were later changed to allow almost unrestricted use of strong
-encryption so these certificates are now obsolete.
-
-
-* Why does OpenSSL set the authority key identifier (AKID) extension incorrectly?
-
-It doesn't: this extension is often the cause of confusion.
-
-Consider a certificate chain A->B->C so that A signs B and B signs C. Suppose
-certificate C contains AKID.
-
-The purpose of this extension is to identify the authority certificate B. This
-can be done either by including the subject key identifier of B or its issuer
-name and serial number.
-
-In this latter case because it is identifying certifcate B it must contain the
-issuer name and serial number of B.
-
-It is often wrongly assumed that it should contain the subject name of B. If it
-did this would be redundant information because it would duplicate the issuer
-name of C.
-
-
-* How can I set up a bundle of commercial root CA certificates?
-
-The OpenSSL software is shipped without any root CA certificate as the
-OpenSSL project does not have any policy on including or excluding
-any specific CA and does not intend to set up such a policy. Deciding
-about which CAs to support is up to application developers or
-administrators.
-
-Other projects do have other policies so you can for example extract the CA
-bundle used by Mozilla and/or modssl as described in this article:
-
- <URL: http://www.mail-archive.com/modssl-users@modssl.org/msg16980.html>
-
-
-[BUILD] =======================================================================
-
-* Why does the linker complain about undefined symbols?
-
-Maybe the compilation was interrupted, and make doesn't notice that
-something is missing. Run "make clean; make".
-
-If you used ./Configure instead of ./config, make sure that you
-selected the right target. File formats may differ slightly between
-OS versions (for example sparcv8/sparcv9, or a.out/elf).
-
-In case you get errors about the following symbols, use the config
-option "no-asm", as described in INSTALL:
-
- BF_cbc_encrypt, BF_decrypt, BF_encrypt, CAST_cbc_encrypt,
- CAST_decrypt, CAST_encrypt, RC4, RC5_32_cbc_encrypt, RC5_32_decrypt,
- RC5_32_encrypt, bn_add_words, bn_div_words, bn_mul_add_words,
- bn_mul_comba4, bn_mul_comba8, bn_mul_words, bn_sqr_comba4,
- bn_sqr_comba8, bn_sqr_words, bn_sub_words, des_decrypt3,
- des_ede3_cbc_encrypt, des_encrypt, des_encrypt2, des_encrypt3,
- des_ncbc_encrypt, md5_block_asm_host_order, sha1_block_asm_data_order
-
-If none of these helps, you may want to try using the current snapshot.
-If the problem persists, please submit a bug report.
-
-
-* Why does the OpenSSL test fail with "bc: command not found"?
-
-You didn't install "bc", the Unix calculator. If you want to run the
-tests, get GNU bc from ftp://ftp.gnu.org or from your OS distributor.
-
-
-* Why does the OpenSSL test fail with "bc: 1 no implemented"?
-
-On some SCO installations or versions, bc has a bug that gets triggered
-when you run the test suite (using "make test"). The message returned is
-"bc: 1 not implemented".
-
-The best way to deal with this is to find another implementation of bc
-and compile/install it. GNU bc (see <URL: http://www.gnu.org/software/software.html>
-for download instructions) can be safely used, for example.
-
-
-* Why does the OpenSSL test fail with "bc: stack empty"?
-
-On some DG/ux versions, bc seems to have a too small stack for calculations
-that the OpenSSL bntest throws at it. This gets triggered when you run the
-test suite (using "make test"). The message returned is "bc: stack empty".
-
-The best way to deal with this is to find another implementation of bc
-and compile/install it. GNU bc (see <URL: http://www.gnu.org/software/software.html>
-for download instructions) can be safely used, for example.
-
-
-* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail on Alpha Tru64 Unix?
-
-On some Alpha installations running Tru64 Unix and Compaq C, the compilation
-of crypto/sha/sha_dgst.c fails with the message 'Fatal: Insufficient virtual
-memory to continue compilation.' As far as the tests have shown, this may be
-a compiler bug. What happens is that it eats up a lot of resident memory
-to build something, probably a table. The problem is clearly in the
-optimization code, because if one eliminates optimization completely (-O0),
-the compilation goes through (and the compiler consumes about 2MB of resident
-memory instead of 240MB or whatever one's limit is currently).
-
-There are three options to solve this problem:
-
-1. set your current data segment size soft limit higher. Experience shows
-that about 241000 kbytes seems to be enough on an AlphaServer DS10. You do
-this with the command 'ulimit -Sd nnnnnn', where 'nnnnnn' is the number of
-kbytes to set the limit to.
-
-2. If you have a hard limit that is lower than what you need and you can't
-get it changed, you can compile all of OpenSSL with -O0 as optimization
-level. This is however not a very nice thing to do for those who expect to
-get the best result from OpenSSL. A bit more complicated solution is the
-following:
-
------ snip:start -----
- make DIRS=crypto SDIRS=sha "`grep '^CFLAG=' Makefile.ssl | \
- sed -e 's/ -O[0-9] / -O0 /'`"
- rm `ls crypto/*.o crypto/sha/*.o | grep -v 'sha_dgst\.o'`
- make
------ snip:end -----
-
-This will only compile sha_dgst.c with -O0, the rest with the optimization
-level chosen by the configuration process. When the above is done, do the
-test and installation and you're set.
-
-3. Reconfigure the toolkit with no-sha0 option to leave out SHA0. It
-should not be used and is not used in SSL/TLS nor any other recognized
-protocol in either case.
-
-
-* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail with "ar: command not found"?
-
-Getting this message is quite usual on Solaris 2, because Sun has hidden
-away 'ar' and other development commands in directories that aren't in
-$PATH by default. One of those directories is '/usr/ccs/bin'. The
-quickest way to fix this is to do the following (it assumes you use sh
-or any sh-compatible shell):
-
------ snip:start -----
- PATH=${PATH}:/usr/ccs/bin; export PATH
------ snip:end -----
-
-and then redo the compilation. What you should really do is make sure
-'/usr/ccs/bin' is permanently in your $PATH, for example through your
-'.profile' (again, assuming you use a sh-compatible shell).
-
-
-* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail on Win32 with VC++?
-
-Sometimes, you may get reports from VC++ command line (cl) that it
-can't find standard include files like stdio.h and other weirdnesses.
-One possible cause is that the environment isn't correctly set up.
-To solve that problem for VC++ versions up to 6, one should run
-VCVARS32.BAT which is found in the 'bin' subdirectory of the VC++
-installation directory (somewhere under 'Program Files'). For VC++
-version 7 (and up?), which is also called VS.NET, the file is called
-VSVARS32.BAT instead.
-This needs to be done prior to running NMAKE, and the changes are only
-valid for the current DOS session.
-
-
-* What is special about OpenSSL on Redhat?
-
-Red Hat Linux (release 7.0 and later) include a preinstalled limited
-version of OpenSSL. For patent reasons, support for IDEA, RC5 and MDC2
-is disabled in this version. The same may apply to other Linux distributions.
-Users may therefore wish to install more or all of the features left out.
-
-To do this you MUST ensure that you do not overwrite the openssl that is in
-/usr/bin on your Red Hat machine. Several packages depend on this file,
-including sendmail and ssh. /usr/local/bin is a good alternative choice. The
-libraries that come with Red Hat 7.0 onwards have different names and so are
-not affected. (eg For Red Hat 7.2 they are /lib/libssl.so.0.9.6b and
-/lib/libcrypto.so.0.9.6b with symlinks /lib/libssl.so.2 and
-/lib/libcrypto.so.2 respectively).
-
-Please note that we have been advised by Red Hat attempting to recompile the
-openssl rpm with all the cryptography enabled will not work. All other
-packages depend on the original Red Hat supplied openssl package. It is also
-worth noting that due to the way Red Hat supplies its packages, updates to
-openssl on each distribution never change the package version, only the
-build number. For example, on Red Hat 7.1, the latest openssl package has
-version number 0.9.6 and build number 9 even though it contains all the
-relevant updates in packages up to and including 0.9.6b.
-
-A possible way around this is to persuade Red Hat to produce a non-US
-version of Red Hat Linux.
-
-FYI: Patent numbers and expiry dates of US patents:
-MDC-2: 4,908,861 13/03/2007
-IDEA: 5,214,703 25/05/2010
-RC5: 5,724,428 03/03/2015
-
-
-* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail on MacOS X?
-
-If the failure happens when trying to build the "openssl" binary, with
-a large number of undefined symbols, it's very probable that you have
-OpenSSL 0.9.6b delivered with the operating system (you can find out by
-running '/usr/bin/openssl version') and that you were trying to build
-OpenSSL 0.9.7 or newer. The problem is that the loader ('ld') in
-MacOS X has a misfeature that's quite difficult to go around.
-Look in the file PROBLEMS for a more detailed explanation and for possible
-solutions.
-
-
-* Why does the OpenSSL test suite fail on MacOS X?
-
-If the failure happens when running 'make test' and the RC4 test fails,
-it's very probable that you have OpenSSL 0.9.6b delivered with the
-operating system (you can find out by running '/usr/bin/openssl version')
-and that you were trying to build OpenSSL 0.9.6d. The problem is that
-the loader ('ld') in MacOS X has a misfeature that's quite difficult to
-go around and has linked the programs "openssl" and the test programs
-with /usr/lib/libcrypto.dylib and /usr/lib/libssl.dylib instead of the
-libraries you just built.
-Look in the file PROBLEMS for a more detailed explanation and for possible
-solutions.
-
-* Why does the OpenSSL test suite fail in BN_sqr test [on a 64-bit platform]?
-
-Failure in BN_sqr test is most likely caused by a failure to configure the
-toolkit for current platform or lack of support for the platform in question.
-Run './config -t' and './apps/openssl version -p'. Do these platform
-identifiers match? If they don't, then you most likely failed to run
-./config and you're hereby advised to do so before filing a bug report.
-If ./config itself fails to run, then it's most likely problem with your
-local environment and you should turn to your system administrator (or
-similar). If identifiers match (and/or no alternative identifier is
-suggested by ./config script), then the platform is unsupported. There might
-or might not be a workaround. Most notably on SPARC64 platforms with GNU
-C compiler you should be able to produce a working build by running
-'./config -m32'. I understand that -m32 might not be what you want/need,
-but the build should be operational. For further details turn to
-<openssl-dev@openssl.org>.
-
-* Why does OpenBSD-i386 build fail on des-586.s with "Unimplemented segment type"?
-
-As of 0.9.7 assembler routines were overhauled for position independence
-of the machine code, which is essential for shared library support. For
-some reason OpenBSD is equipped with an out-of-date GNU assembler which
-finds the new code offensive. To work around the problem, configure with
-no-asm (and sacrifice a great deal of performance) or patch your assembler
-according to <URL: http://www.openssl.org/~appro/gas-1.92.3.OpenBSD.patch>.
-For your convenience a pre-compiled replacement binary is provided at
-<URL: http://www.openssl.org/~appro/gas-1.92.3.static.aout.bin>.
-Reportedly elder *BSD a.out platforms also suffer from this problem and
-remedy should be same. Provided binary is statically linked and should be
-working across wider range of *BSD branches, not just OpenBSD.
-
-* Why does the OpenSSL test suite fail in sha512t on x86 CPU?
-
-If the test program in question fails withs SIGILL, Illegal Instruction
-exception, then you more than likely to run SSE2-capable CPU, such as
-Intel P4, under control of kernel which does not support SSE2
-instruction extentions. See accompanying INSTALL file and
-OPENSSL_ia32cap(3) documentation page for further information.
-
-* Why does compiler fail to compile sha512.c?
-
-OpenSSL SHA-512 implementation depends on compiler support for 64-bit
-integer type. Few elder compilers [ULTRIX cc, SCO compiler to mention a
-couple] lack support for this and therefore are incapable of compiling
-the module in question. The recommendation is to disable SHA-512 by
-adding no-sha512 to ./config [or ./Configure] command line. Another
-possible alternative might be to switch to GCC.
-
-* Test suite still fails, what to do?
-
-Another common reason for failure to complete some particular test is
-simply bad code generated by a buggy component in toolchain or deficiency
-in run-time environment. There are few cases documented in PROBLEMS file,
-consult it for possible workaround before you beat the drum. Even if you
-don't find solution or even mention there, do reserve for possibility of
-a compiler bug. Compiler bugs might appear in rather bizarre ways, they
-never make sense, and tend to emerge when you least expect them. In order
-to identify one, drop optimization level, e.g. by editing CFLAG line in
-top-level Makefile, recompile and re-run the test.
-
-* I think I've found a bug, what should I do?
-
-If you are a new user then it is quite likely you haven't found a bug and
-something is happening you aren't familiar with. Check this FAQ, the associated
-documentation and the mailing lists for similar queries. If you are still
-unsure whether it is a bug or not submit a query to the openssl-users mailing
-list.
-
-
-* I'm SURE I've found a bug, how do I report it?
-
-Bug reports with no security implications should be sent to the request
-tracker. This can be done by mailing the report to <rt@openssl.org> (or its
-alias <openssl-bugs@openssl.org>), please note that messages sent to the
-request tracker also appear in the public openssl-dev mailing list.
-
-The report should be in plain text. Any patches should be sent as
-plain text attachments because some mailers corrupt patches sent inline.
-If your issue affects multiple versions of OpenSSL check any patches apply
-cleanly and, if possible include patches to each affected version.
-
-The report should be given a meaningful subject line briefly summarising the
-issue. Just "bug in OpenSSL" or "bug in OpenSSL 0.9.8n" is not very helpful.
-
-By sending reports to the request tracker the bug can then be given a priority
-and assigned to the appropriate maintainer. The history of discussions can be
-accessed and if the issue has been addressed or a reason why not. If patches
-are only sent to openssl-dev they can be mislaid if a team member has to
-wade through months of old messages to review the discussion.
-
-See also <URL: http://www.openssl.org/support/rt.html>
-
-
-* I've found a security issue, how do I report it?
-
-If you think your bug has security implications then please send it to
-openssl-security@openssl.org if you don't get a prompt reply at least
-acknowledging receipt then resend or mail it directly to one of the
-more active team members (e.g. Steve).
-
-Note that bugs only present in the openssl utility are not in general
-considered to be security issues.
-
-[PROG] ========================================================================
-
-* Is OpenSSL thread-safe?
-
-Yes (with limitations: an SSL connection may not concurrently be used
-by multiple threads). On Windows and many Unix systems, OpenSSL
-automatically uses the multi-threaded versions of the standard
-libraries. If your platform is not one of these, consult the INSTALL
-file.
-
-Multi-threaded applications must provide two callback functions to
-OpenSSL by calling CRYPTO_set_locking_callback() and
-CRYPTO_set_id_callback(), for all versions of OpenSSL up to and
-including 0.9.8[abc...]. As of version 1.0.0, CRYPTO_set_id_callback()
-and associated APIs are deprecated by CRYPTO_THREADID_set_callback()
-and friends. This is described in the threads(3) manpage.
-
-* I've compiled a program under Windows and it crashes: why?
-
-This is usually because you've missed the comment in INSTALL.W32.
-Your application must link against the same version of the Win32
-C-Runtime against which your openssl libraries were linked. The
-default version for OpenSSL is /MD - "Multithreaded DLL".
-
-If you are using Microsoft Visual C++'s IDE (Visual Studio), in
-many cases, your new project most likely defaulted to "Debug
-Singlethreaded" - /ML. This is NOT interchangeable with /MD and your
-program will crash, typically on the first BIO related read or write
-operation.
-
-For each of the six possible link stage configurations within Win32,
-your application must link against the same by which OpenSSL was
-built. If you are using MS Visual C++ (Studio) this can be changed
-by:
-
- 1. Select Settings... from the Project Menu.
- 2. Select the C/C++ Tab.
- 3. Select "Code Generation from the "Category" drop down list box
- 4. Select the Appropriate library (see table below) from the "Use
- run-time library" drop down list box. Perform this step for both
- your debug and release versions of your application (look at the
- top left of the settings panel to change between the two)
-
- Single Threaded /ML - MS VC++ often defaults to
- this for the release
- version of a new project.
- Debug Single Threaded /MLd - MS VC++ often defaults to
- this for the debug version
- of a new project.
- Multithreaded /MT
- Debug Multithreaded /MTd
- Multithreaded DLL /MD - OpenSSL defaults to this.
- Debug Multithreaded DLL /MDd
-
-Note that debug and release libraries are NOT interchangeable. If you
-built OpenSSL with /MD your application must use /MD and cannot use /MDd.
-
-As per 0.9.8 the above limitation is eliminated for .DLLs. OpenSSL
-.DLLs compiled with some specific run-time option [we insist on the
-default /MD] can be deployed with application compiled with different
-option or even different compiler. But there is a catch! Instead of
-re-compiling OpenSSL toolkit, as you would have to with prior versions,
-you have to compile small C snippet with compiler and/or options of
-your choice. The snippet gets installed as
-<install-root>/include/openssl/applink.c and should be either added to
-your application project or simply #include-d in one [and only one]
-of your application source files. Failure to link this shim module
-into your application manifests itself as fatal "no OPENSSL_Applink"
-run-time error. An explicit reminder is due that in this situation
-[mixing compiler options] it is as important to add CRYPTO_malloc_init
-prior first call to OpenSSL.
-
-* How do I read or write a DER encoded buffer using the ASN1 functions?
-
-You have two options. You can either use a memory BIO in conjunction
-with the i2d_*_bio() or d2i_*_bio() functions or you can use the
-i2d_*(), d2i_*() functions directly. Since these are often the
-cause of grief here are some code fragments using PKCS7 as an example:
-
- unsigned char *buf, *p;
- int len;
-
- len = i2d_PKCS7(p7, NULL);
- buf = OPENSSL_malloc(len); /* or Malloc, error checking omitted */
- p = buf;
- i2d_PKCS7(p7, &p);
-
-At this point buf contains the len bytes of the DER encoding of
-p7.
-
-The opposite assumes we already have len bytes in buf:
-
- unsigned char *p;
- p = buf;
- p7 = d2i_PKCS7(NULL, &p, len);
-
-At this point p7 contains a valid PKCS7 structure of NULL if an error
-occurred. If an error occurred ERR_print_errors(bio) should give more
-information.
-
-The reason for the temporary variable 'p' is that the ASN1 functions
-increment the passed pointer so it is ready to read or write the next
-structure. This is often a cause of problems: without the temporary
-variable the buffer pointer is changed to point just after the data
-that has been read or written. This may well be uninitialized data
-and attempts to free the buffer will have unpredictable results
-because it no longer points to the same address.
-
-
-* OpenSSL uses DER but I need BER format: does OpenSSL support BER?
-
-The short answer is yes, because DER is a special case of BER and OpenSSL
-ASN1 decoders can process BER.
-
-The longer answer is that ASN1 structures can be encoded in a number of
-different ways. One set of ways is the Basic Encoding Rules (BER) with various
-permissible encodings. A restriction of BER is the Distinguished Encoding
-Rules (DER): these uniquely specify how a given structure is encoded.
-
-Therefore, because DER is a special case of BER, DER is an acceptable encoding
-for BER.
-
-
-* I've tried using <M_some_evil_pkcs12_macro> and I get errors why?
-
-This usually happens when you try compiling something using the PKCS#12
-macros with a C++ compiler. There is hardly ever any need to use the
-PKCS#12 macros in a program, it is much easier to parse and create
-PKCS#12 files using the PKCS12_parse() and PKCS12_create() functions
-documented in doc/openssl.txt and with examples in demos/pkcs12. The
-'pkcs12' application has to use the macros because it prints out
-debugging information.
-
-
-* I've called <some function> and it fails, why?
-
-Before submitting a report or asking in one of the mailing lists, you
-should try to determine the cause. In particular, you should call
-ERR_print_errors() or ERR_print_errors_fp() after the failed call
-and see if the message helps. Note that the problem may occur earlier
-than you think -- you should check for errors after every call where
-it is possible, otherwise the actual problem may be hidden because
-some OpenSSL functions clear the error state.
-
-
-* I just get a load of numbers for the error output, what do they mean?
-
-The actual format is described in the ERR_print_errors() manual page.
-You should call the function ERR_load_crypto_strings() before hand and
-the message will be output in text form. If you can't do this (for example
-it is a pre-compiled binary) you can use the errstr utility on the error
-code itself (the hex digits after the second colon).
-
-
-* Why do I get errors about unknown algorithms?
-
-The cause is forgetting to load OpenSSL's table of algorithms with
-OpenSSL_add_all_algorithms(). See the manual page for more information. This
-can cause several problems such as being unable to read in an encrypted
-PEM file, unable to decrypt a PKCS#12 file or signature failure when
-verifying certificates.
-
-* Why can't the OpenSSH configure script detect OpenSSL?
-
-Several reasons for problems with the automatic detection exist.
-OpenSSH requires at least version 0.9.5a of the OpenSSL libraries.
-Sometimes the distribution has installed an older version in the system
-locations that is detected instead of a new one installed. The OpenSSL
-library might have been compiled for another CPU or another mode (32/64 bits).
-Permissions might be wrong.
-
-The general answer is to check the config.log file generated when running
-the OpenSSH configure script. It should contain the detailed information
-on why the OpenSSL library was not detected or considered incompatible.
-
-
-* Can I use OpenSSL's SSL library with non-blocking I/O?
-
-Yes; make sure to read the SSL_get_error(3) manual page!
-
-A pitfall to avoid: Don't assume that SSL_read() will just read from
-the underlying transport or that SSL_write() will just write to it --
-it is also possible that SSL_write() cannot do any useful work until
-there is data to read, or that SSL_read() cannot do anything until it
-is possible to send data. One reason for this is that the peer may
-request a new TLS/SSL handshake at any time during the protocol,
-requiring a bi-directional message exchange; both SSL_read() and
-SSL_write() will try to continue any pending handshake.
-
-
-* Why doesn't my server application receive a client certificate?
-
-Due to the TLS protocol definition, a client will only send a certificate,
-if explicitly asked by the server. Use the SSL_VERIFY_PEER flag of the
-SSL_CTX_set_verify() function to enable the use of client certificates.
-
-
-* Why does compilation fail due to an undefined symbol NID_uniqueIdentifier?
-
-For OpenSSL 0.9.7 the OID table was extended and corrected. In earlier
-versions, uniqueIdentifier was incorrectly used for X.509 certificates.
-The correct name according to RFC2256 (LDAP) is x500UniqueIdentifier.
-Change your code to use the new name when compiling against OpenSSL 0.9.7.
-
-
-* I think I've detected a memory leak, is this a bug?
-
-In most cases the cause of an apparent memory leak is an OpenSSL internal table
-that is allocated when an application starts up. Since such tables do not grow
-in size over time they are harmless.
-
-These internal tables can be freed up when an application closes using various
-functions. Currently these include following:
-
-Thread-local cleanup functions:
-
- ERR_remove_state()
-
-Application-global cleanup functions that are aware of usage (and therefore
-thread-safe):
-
- ENGINE_cleanup() and CONF_modules_unload()
-
-"Brutal" (thread-unsafe) Application-global cleanup functions:
-
- ERR_free_strings(), EVP_cleanup() and CRYPTO_cleanup_all_ex_data().
-
-
-* Why does Valgrind complain about the use of uninitialized data?
-
-When OpenSSL's PRNG routines are called to generate random numbers the supplied
-buffer contents are mixed into the entropy pool: so it technically does not
-matter whether the buffer is initialized at this point or not. Valgrind (and
-other test tools) will complain about this. When using Valgrind, make sure the
-OpenSSL library has been compiled with the PURIFY macro defined (-DPURIFY)
-to get rid of these warnings.
-
-
-* Why doesn't a memory BIO work when a file does?
-
-This can occur in several cases for example reading an S/MIME email message.
-The reason is that a memory BIO can do one of two things when all the data
-has been read from it.
-
-The default behaviour is to indicate that no more data is available and that
-the call should be retried, this is to allow the application to fill up the BIO
-again if necessary.
-
-Alternatively it can indicate that no more data is available and that EOF has
-been reached.
-
-If a memory BIO is to behave in the same way as a file this second behaviour
-is needed. This must be done by calling:
-
- BIO_set_mem_eof_return(bio, 0);
-
-See the manual pages for more details.
-
-
-* Where are the declarations and implementations of d2i_X509() etc?
-
-These are defined and implemented by macros of the form:
-
-
- DECLARE_ASN1_FUNCTIONS(X509) and IMPLEMENT_ASN1_FUNCTIONS(X509)
-
-The implementation passes an ASN1 "template" defining the structure into an
-ASN1 interpreter using generalised functions such as ASN1_item_d2i().
-
-
-===============================================================================
+The FAQ is now maintained on the web:
+ https://www.openssl.org/docs/faq.html
projects / oweals / openssl.git / commitdiff