openssl

Command-line tool for using the OpenSSL crypto library

Syntax:

openssl command [command_opts] [command_args]

openssl [list-standard-commands |
        list-message-digest-commands |
        list-cipher-commands |
        list-cipher-algorithms |
        list-message-digest-algorithms |
        list-public-key-algorithms]

openssl no-cmd [arbitrary_options]

Runs on:

QNX Neutrino

Options:

None.

Description:

OpenSSL is a cryptography toolkit implementing the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL v2/v3) and Transport Layer Security (TLS v1) network protocols and related cryptography standards that they require.

The openssl program is a command-line tool for using the various cryptography functions of OpenSSL's crypto library from the shell. You can use it for the following:

• creation and management of private keys, public keys and parameters
• public key cryptographic operations
• creation of X.509 certificates, CSRs and CRLs
• calculation of Message Digests
• encryption and Decryption with Ciphers
• SSL/TLS Client and Server Tests
• handling of S/MIME signed or encrypted mail
• timestamp requests, generation and verification

Command summary

The openssl program provides a rich variety of commands (command in the synopsis above), each of which often has a wealth of options and arguments (command_opts and command_args).

The pseudo-commands list-standard-commands, list-message-digest-commands, and list-cipher-commands output a list (one entry per line) of the names of all standard commands, message digest commands, or cipher commands, respectively, that are available in the present openssl utility.

The pseudo-commands list-cipher-algorithms and list-message-digest-algorithms list all cipher and message digest names, one entry per line. Aliases are listed as:

from => to

The pseudo-command list-public-key-algorithms lists all supported public key algorithms.

The pseudo-command no-cmd tests whether a command of the specified name is available. If no command named cmd exists, openssl returns 0 (success) and prints no-cmd; otherwise it returns 1 and prints cmd. In both cases, the output goes to stdout, and nothing is printed to stderr. Additional command-line arguments are always ignored. Since for each cipher there's a command of the same name, this provides an easy way for shell scripts to test for the availability of ciphers in the openssl program. (The no-cmd can't detect pseudo-commands such as quit, list-...-commands, or no-cmd itself.)

Standard commands

asn1parse

Parse an ASN.1 sequence.

ca

Certificate Authority (CA) Management.

ciphers

Cipher Suite Description Determination.

crl

Certificate Revocation List (CRL) Management.

crl2pkcs7

CRL to PKCS#7 Conversion.

dgst

Message Digest Calculation.

dh

Diffie-Hellman Parameter Management; rendered obsolete by dhparam.

dsa

DSA Data Management.

dsaparam

DSA Parameter Generation and Management. Superseded by genpkey and pkeyparam.

enc

Encoding with Ciphers.

errstr

Error Number to Error String Conversion.

dhparam

Generation and Management of Diffie-Hellman Parameters. Superseded by genpkey and pkeyparam.

gendh

Generation of Diffie-Hellman Parameters; rendered obsolete by dhparam.

gendsa

Generation of DSA Private Key from Parameters. Superseded by genpkey and pkey.

genpkey

Generation of Private Key or Parameters.

genrsa

Generation of RSA Private Key. Superseded by genpkey.

ocsp

Online Certificate Status Protocol utility.

passwd

Generation of hashed passwords.

pkcs12

PKCS#12 Data Management.

pkcs7

PKCS#7 Data Management.

pkey

Public and private key management.

pkeyutl

Public key algorithm cryptographic operation utility.

pkeyparam

Public key algorithm parameter management.

rand

Generate pseudo-random bytes.

req

PKCS#10 X.509 Certificate Signing Request (CSR) Management.

rsa

RSA key management.

rsautl

RSA utility for signing, verification, encryption, and decryption. Superseded by pkeyutl.

s_client

This implements a generic SSL/TLS client that can establish a transparent connection to a remote server speaking SSL/TLS. It's intended for testing purposes only and provides only rudimentary interface functionality but internally uses mostly all functionality of the OpenSSL ssl library.

s_server

This implements a generic SSL/TLS server that accepts connections from remote clients speaking SSL/TLS. It's intended for testing purposes only and provides only rudimentary interface functionality but internally uses mostly all functionality of the OpenSSL ssl library. It provides both its own command-line-oriented protocol for testing SSL functions and a simple HTTP response facility to emulate an SSL/TLS-aware webserver.

s_time

SSL Connection Timer.

sess_id

SSL Session Data Management.

smime

S/MIME mail processing.

speed

Algorithm Speed Measurement.

ts

Time Stamping Authority tool (client/server).

verify

X.509 Certificate Verification.

version

OpenSSL Version Information.

x509

X.509 Certificate Data Management.

Message digest commands

md2

MD2 Digest.

md5

MD5 Digest.

mdc2

MDC2 Digest.

rmd160

RMD-160 Digest.

sha

SHA Digest.

sha1

SHA-1 Digest.

sha224

SHA-224 Digest.

sha256

SHA-256 Digest.

sha384

SHA-384 Digest.

sha512

SHA-512 Digest.

Encoding and cipher commands

base64

Base64 Encoding.

bf, bf-cbc, bf-cfb, bf-ecb, bf-ofb

Blowfish Cipher.

cast, cast-cbc

CAST Cipher.

cast5-cbc, cast5-cfb, cast5-ecb, cast5-ofb

CAST5 Cipher.

des, des-cbc, des-cfb, des-ecb, des-ede, des-ede-cbc, des-ede-cfb, des-ede-ofb, des-ofb

DES Cipher.

des3, desx, des-ede3, des-ede3-cbc, des-ede3-cfb, des-ede3-ofb

Triple-DES Cipher.

idea, idea-cbc, idea-cfb, idea-ecb, idea-ofb

IDEA Cipher.

rc2, rc2-cbc, rc2-cfb, rc2-ecb, rc2-ofb

RC2 Cipher.

rc4

RC4 Cipher.

rc5, rc5-cbc, rc5-cfb, rc5-ecb, rc5-ofb

RC5 Cipher.

Pass phrase arguments

Several commands accept password arguments, typically using -passin and -passout for input and output passwords respectively. These allow the password to be obtained from a variety of sources. Both of these options take a single argument whose format is described below. If no password argument is given and a password is required, you're prompted to enter one: this will typically be read from the current terminal with echoing turned off.

pass:password

The actual password is password. Since the password is visible to utilities, you should use this form only where security isn't important.

env:var

Obtain the password from the environment variable var. Since the environment of other processes is visible on certain platforms, you should use this option with caution.

file:pathname

The first line of pathname is the password. If you supply the same pathname argument to -passin and -passout arguments, the first line is used for the input password, and the next line for the output password. The pathname need not refer to a regular file; it could, for example, refer to a device or named pipe.

fd:number

Read the password from the given file descriptor number. You can use this, for example, to send the data via a pipe.

stdin

Read the password from standard input.

Exit status:

0

Success.

1

An error occurred.