The data contained in this repository can be downloaded to your computer using one of several clients.
Please see the documentation of your version control software client for more information.

Please select the desired protocol below to get the URL.

This URL has Read-Only access.

Statistics
| Branch: | Revision:

main_repo / deps / openssl / openssl / doc / apps / x509.pod @ aa3b4b4d

History | View | Annotate | Download (26.3 KB)

1

    
2
=pod
3

    
4
=head1 NAME
5

    
6
x509 - Certificate display and signing utility
7

    
8
=head1 SYNOPSIS
9

    
10
B<openssl> B<x509>
11
[B<-inform DER|PEM|NET>]
12
[B<-outform DER|PEM|NET>]
13
[B<-keyform DER|PEM>]
14
[B<-CAform DER|PEM>]
15
[B<-CAkeyform DER|PEM>]
16
[B<-in filename>]
17
[B<-out filename>]
18
[B<-serial>]
19
[B<-hash>]
20
[B<-subject_hash>]
21
[B<-issuer_hash>]
22
[B<-ocspid>]
23
[B<-subject>]
24
[B<-issuer>]
25
[B<-nameopt option>]
26
[B<-email>]
27
[B<-ocsp_uri>]
28
[B<-startdate>]
29
[B<-enddate>]
30
[B<-purpose>]
31
[B<-dates>]
32
[B<-checkend num>]
33
[B<-modulus>]
34
[B<-pubkey>]
35
[B<-fingerprint>]
36
[B<-alias>]
37
[B<-noout>]
38
[B<-trustout>]
39
[B<-clrtrust>]
40
[B<-clrreject>]
41
[B<-addtrust arg>]
42
[B<-addreject arg>]
43
[B<-setalias arg>]
44
[B<-days arg>]
45
[B<-set_serial n>]
46
[B<-signkey filename>]
47
[B<-passin arg>]
48
[B<-x509toreq>]
49
[B<-req>]
50
[B<-CA filename>]
51
[B<-CAkey filename>]
52
[B<-CAcreateserial>]
53
[B<-CAserial filename>]
54
[B<-text>]
55
[B<-certopt option>]
56
[B<-C>]
57
[B<-md2|-md5|-sha1|-mdc2>]
58
[B<-clrext>]
59
[B<-extfile filename>]
60
[B<-extensions section>]
61
[B<-engine id>]
62

    
63
=head1 DESCRIPTION
64

    
65
The B<x509> command is a multi purpose certificate utility. It can be
66
used to display certificate information, convert certificates to
67
various forms, sign certificate requests like a "mini CA" or edit
68
certificate trust settings.
69

    
70
Since there are a large number of options they will split up into
71
various sections.
72

    
73
=head1 OPTIONS
74

    
75
=head2 INPUT, OUTPUT AND GENERAL PURPOSE OPTIONS
76

    
77
=over 4
78

    
79
=item B<-inform DER|PEM|NET>
80

    
81
This specifies the input format normally the command will expect an X509
82
certificate but this can change if other options such as B<-req> are
83
present. The DER format is the DER encoding of the certificate and PEM
84
is the base64 encoding of the DER encoding with header and footer lines
85
added. The NET option is an obscure Netscape server format that is now
86
obsolete.
87

    
88
=item B<-outform DER|PEM|NET>
89

    
90
This specifies the output format, the options have the same meaning as the 
91
B<-inform> option.
92

    
93
=item B<-in filename>
94

    
95
This specifies the input filename to read a certificate from or standard input
96
if this option is not specified.
97

    
98
=item B<-out filename>
99

    
100
This specifies the output filename to write to or standard output by
101
default.
102

    
103
=item B<-md2|-md5|-sha1|-mdc2>
104

    
105
the digest to use. This affects any signing or display option that uses a message
106
digest, such as the B<-fingerprint>, B<-signkey> and B<-CA> options. If not
107
specified then SHA1 is used. If the key being used to sign with is a DSA key
108
then this option has no effect: SHA1 is always used with DSA keys.
109

    
110
=item B<-engine id>
111

    
112
specifying an engine (by its unique B<id> string) will cause B<x509>
113
to attempt to obtain a functional reference to the specified engine,
114
thus initialising it if needed. The engine will then be set as the default
115
for all available algorithms.
116

    
117
=back
118

    
119
=head2 DISPLAY OPTIONS
120

    
121
Note: the B<-alias> and B<-purpose> options are also display options
122
but are described in the B<TRUST SETTINGS> section.
123

    
124
=over 4
125

    
126
=item B<-text>
127

    
128
prints out the certificate in text form. Full details are output including the
129
public key, signature algorithms, issuer and subject names, serial number
130
any extensions present and any trust settings.
131

    
132
=item B<-certopt option>
133

    
134
customise the output format used with B<-text>. The B<option> argument can be
135
a single option or multiple options separated by commas. The B<-certopt> switch
136
may be also be used more than once to set multiple options. See the B<TEXT OPTIONS>
137
section for more information.
138

    
139
=item B<-noout>
140

    
141
this option prevents output of the encoded version of the request.
142

    
143
=item B<-pubkey>
144

    
145
outputs the the certificate's SubjectPublicKeyInfo block in PEM format.
146

    
147
=item B<-modulus>
148

    
149
this option prints out the value of the modulus of the public key
150
contained in the certificate.
151

    
152
=item B<-serial>
153

    
154
outputs the certificate serial number.
155

    
156
=item B<-subject_hash>
157

    
158
outputs the "hash" of the certificate subject name. This is used in OpenSSL to
159
form an index to allow certificates in a directory to be looked up by subject
160
name.
161

    
162
=item B<-issuer_hash>
163

    
164
outputs the "hash" of the certificate issuer name.
165

    
166
=item B<-ocspid>
167

    
168
outputs the OCSP hash values for the subject name and public key.
169

    
170
=item B<-hash>
171

    
172
synonym for "-subject_hash" for backward compatibility reasons.
173

    
174
=item B<-subject_hash_old>
175

    
176
outputs the "hash" of the certificate subject name using the older algorithm
177
as used by OpenSSL versions before 1.0.0.
178

    
179
=item B<-issuer_hash_old>
180

    
181
outputs the "hash" of the certificate issuer name using the older algorithm
182
as used by OpenSSL versions before 1.0.0.
183

    
184
=item B<-subject>
185

    
186
outputs the subject name.
187

    
188
=item B<-issuer>
189

    
190
outputs the issuer name.
191

    
192
=item B<-nameopt option>
193

    
194
option which determines how the subject or issuer names are displayed. The
195
B<option> argument can be a single option or multiple options separated by
196
commas.  Alternatively the B<-nameopt> switch may be used more than once to
197
set multiple options. See the B<NAME OPTIONS> section for more information.
198

    
199
=item B<-email>
200

    
201
outputs the email address(es) if any.
202

    
203
=item B<-ocsp_uri>
204

    
205
outputs the OCSP responder address(es) if any.
206

    
207
=item B<-startdate>
208

    
209
prints out the start date of the certificate, that is the notBefore date.
210

    
211
=item B<-enddate>
212

    
213
prints out the expiry date of the certificate, that is the notAfter date.
214

    
215
=item B<-dates>
216

    
217
prints out the start and expiry dates of a certificate.
218

    
219
=item B<-checkend arg>
220

    
221
checks if the certificate expires within the next B<arg> seconds and exits
222
non-zero if yes it will expire or zero if not.
223

    
224
=item B<-fingerprint>
225

    
226
prints out the digest of the DER encoded version of the whole certificate
227
(see digest options).
228

    
229
=item B<-C>
230

    
231
this outputs the certificate in the form of a C source file.
232

    
233
=back
234

    
235
=head2 TRUST SETTINGS
236

    
237
Please note these options are currently experimental and may well change.
238

    
239
A B<trusted certificate> is an ordinary certificate which has several
240
additional pieces of information attached to it such as the permitted
241
and prohibited uses of the certificate and an "alias".
242

    
243
Normally when a certificate is being verified at least one certificate
244
must be "trusted". By default a trusted certificate must be stored
245
locally and must be a root CA: any certificate chain ending in this CA
246
is then usable for any purpose.
247

    
248
Trust settings currently are only used with a root CA. They allow a finer
249
control over the purposes the root CA can be used for. For example a CA
250
may be trusted for SSL client but not SSL server use.
251

    
252
See the description of the B<verify> utility for more information on the
253
meaning of trust settings.
254

    
255
Future versions of OpenSSL will recognize trust settings on any
256
certificate: not just root CAs.
257

    
258

    
259
=over 4
260

    
261
=item B<-trustout>
262

    
263
this causes B<x509> to output a B<trusted> certificate. An ordinary
264
or trusted certificate can be input but by default an ordinary
265
certificate is output and any trust settings are discarded. With the
266
B<-trustout> option a trusted certificate is output. A trusted
267
certificate is automatically output if any trust settings are modified.
268

    
269
=item B<-setalias arg>
270

    
271
sets the alias of the certificate. This will allow the certificate
272
to be referred to using a nickname for example "Steve's Certificate".
273

    
274
=item B<-alias>
275

    
276
outputs the certificate alias, if any.
277

    
278
=item B<-clrtrust>
279

    
280
clears all the permitted or trusted uses of the certificate.
281

    
282
=item B<-clrreject>
283

    
284
clears all the prohibited or rejected uses of the certificate.
285

    
286
=item B<-addtrust arg>
287

    
288
adds a trusted certificate use. Any object name can be used here
289
but currently only B<clientAuth> (SSL client use), B<serverAuth>
290
(SSL server use) and B<emailProtection> (S/MIME email) are used.
291
Other OpenSSL applications may define additional uses.
292

    
293
=item B<-addreject arg>
294

    
295
adds a prohibited use. It accepts the same values as the B<-addtrust>
296
option.
297

    
298
=item B<-purpose>
299

    
300
this option performs tests on the certificate extensions and outputs
301
the results. For a more complete description see the B<CERTIFICATE
302
EXTENSIONS> section.
303

    
304
=back
305

    
306
=head2 SIGNING OPTIONS
307

    
308
The B<x509> utility can be used to sign certificates and requests: it
309
can thus behave like a "mini CA".
310

    
311
=over 4
312

    
313
=item B<-signkey filename>
314

    
315
this option causes the input file to be self signed using the supplied
316
private key. 
317

    
318
If the input file is a certificate it sets the issuer name to the
319
subject name (i.e.  makes it self signed) changes the public key to the
320
supplied value and changes the start and end dates. The start date is
321
set to the current time and the end date is set to a value determined
322
by the B<-days> option. Any certificate extensions are retained unless
323
the B<-clrext> option is supplied.
324

    
325
If the input is a certificate request then a self signed certificate
326
is created using the supplied private key using the subject name in
327
the request.
328

    
329
=item B<-passin arg>
330

    
331
the key password source. For more information about the format of B<arg>
332
see the B<PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS> section in L<openssl(1)|openssl(1)>.
333

    
334
=item B<-clrext>
335

    
336
delete any extensions from a certificate. This option is used when a
337
certificate is being created from another certificate (for example with
338
the B<-signkey> or the B<-CA> options). Normally all extensions are
339
retained.
340

    
341
=item B<-keyform PEM|DER>
342

    
343
specifies the format (DER or PEM) of the private key file used in the
344
B<-signkey> option.
345

    
346
=item B<-days arg>
347

    
348
specifies the number of days to make a certificate valid for. The default
349
is 30 days.
350

    
351
=item B<-x509toreq>
352

    
353
converts a certificate into a certificate request. The B<-signkey> option
354
is used to pass the required private key.
355

    
356
=item B<-req>
357

    
358
by default a certificate is expected on input. With this option a
359
certificate request is expected instead.
360

    
361
=item B<-set_serial n>
362

    
363
specifies the serial number to use. This option can be used with either
364
the B<-signkey> or B<-CA> options. If used in conjunction with the B<-CA>
365
option the serial number file (as specified by the B<-CAserial> or
366
B<-CAcreateserial> options) is not used.
367

    
368
The serial number can be decimal or hex (if preceded by B<0x>). Negative
369
serial numbers can also be specified but their use is not recommended.
370

    
371
=item B<-CA filename>
372

    
373
specifies the CA certificate to be used for signing. When this option is
374
present B<x509> behaves like a "mini CA". The input file is signed by this
375
CA using this option: that is its issuer name is set to the subject name
376
of the CA and it is digitally signed using the CAs private key.
377

    
378
This option is normally combined with the B<-req> option. Without the
379
B<-req> option the input is a certificate which must be self signed.
380

    
381
=item B<-CAkey filename>
382

    
383
sets the CA private key to sign a certificate with. If this option is
384
not specified then it is assumed that the CA private key is present in
385
the CA certificate file.
386

    
387
=item B<-CAserial filename>
388

    
389
sets the CA serial number file to use.
390

    
391
When the B<-CA> option is used to sign a certificate it uses a serial
392
number specified in a file. This file consist of one line containing
393
an even number of hex digits with the serial number to use. After each
394
use the serial number is incremented and written out to the file again.
395

    
396
The default filename consists of the CA certificate file base name with
397
".srl" appended. For example if the CA certificate file is called 
398
"mycacert.pem" it expects to find a serial number file called "mycacert.srl".
399

    
400
=item B<-CAcreateserial>
401

    
402
with this option the CA serial number file is created if it does not exist:
403
it will contain the serial number "02" and the certificate being signed will
404
have the 1 as its serial number. Normally if the B<-CA> option is specified
405
and the serial number file does not exist it is an error.
406

    
407
=item B<-extfile filename>
408

    
409
file containing certificate extensions to use. If not specified then
410
no extensions are added to the certificate.
411

    
412
=item B<-extensions section>
413

    
414
the section to add certificate extensions from. If this option is not
415
specified then the extensions should either be contained in the unnamed
416
(default) section or the default section should contain a variable called
417
"extensions" which contains the section to use. See the
418
L<x509v3_config(5)|x509v3_config(5)> manual page for details of the
419
extension section format.
420

    
421
=back
422

    
423
=head2 NAME OPTIONS
424

    
425
The B<nameopt> command line switch determines how the subject and issuer
426
names are displayed. If no B<nameopt> switch is present the default "oneline"
427
format is used which is compatible with previous versions of OpenSSL.
428
Each option is described in detail below, all options can be preceded by
429
a B<-> to turn the option off. Only the first four will normally be used.
430

    
431
=over 4
432

    
433
=item B<compat>
434

    
435
use the old format. This is equivalent to specifying no name options at all.
436

    
437
=item B<RFC2253>
438

    
439
displays names compatible with RFC2253 equivalent to B<esc_2253>, B<esc_ctrl>,
440
B<esc_msb>, B<utf8>, B<dump_nostr>, B<dump_unknown>, B<dump_der>,
441
B<sep_comma_plus>, B<dn_rev> and B<sname>.
442

    
443
=item B<oneline>
444

    
445
a oneline format which is more readable than RFC2253. It is equivalent to
446
specifying the  B<esc_2253>, B<esc_ctrl>, B<esc_msb>, B<utf8>, B<dump_nostr>,
447
B<dump_der>, B<use_quote>, B<sep_comma_plus_space>, B<space_eq> and B<sname>
448
options.
449

    
450
=item B<multiline>
451

    
452
a multiline format. It is equivalent B<esc_ctrl>, B<esc_msb>, B<sep_multiline>,
453
B<space_eq>, B<lname> and B<align>.
454

    
455
=item B<esc_2253>
456

    
457
escape the "special" characters required by RFC2253 in a field That is
458
B<,+"E<lt>E<gt>;>. Additionally B<#> is escaped at the beginning of a string
459
and a space character at the beginning or end of a string.
460

    
461
=item B<esc_ctrl>
462

    
463
escape control characters. That is those with ASCII values less than
464
0x20 (space) and the delete (0x7f) character. They are escaped using the
465
RFC2253 \XX notation (where XX are two hex digits representing the
466
character value).
467

    
468
=item B<esc_msb>
469

    
470
escape characters with the MSB set, that is with ASCII values larger than
471
127.
472

    
473
=item B<use_quote>
474

    
475
escapes some characters by surrounding the whole string with B<"> characters,
476
without the option all escaping is done with the B<\> character.
477

    
478
=item B<utf8>
479

    
480
convert all strings to UTF8 format first. This is required by RFC2253. If
481
you are lucky enough to have a UTF8 compatible terminal then the use
482
of this option (and B<not> setting B<esc_msb>) may result in the correct
483
display of multibyte (international) characters. Is this option is not
484
present then multibyte characters larger than 0xff will be represented
485
using the format \UXXXX for 16 bits and \WXXXXXXXX for 32 bits.
486
Also if this option is off any UTF8Strings will be converted to their
487
character form first.
488

    
489
=item B<ignore_type>
490

    
491
this option does not attempt to interpret multibyte characters in any
492
way. That is their content octets are merely dumped as though one octet
493
represents each character. This is useful for diagnostic purposes but
494
will result in rather odd looking output.
495

    
496
=item B<show_type>
497

    
498
show the type of the ASN1 character string. The type precedes the
499
field contents. For example "BMPSTRING: Hello World".
500

    
501
=item B<dump_der>
502

    
503
when this option is set any fields that need to be hexdumped will
504
be dumped using the DER encoding of the field. Otherwise just the
505
content octets will be displayed. Both options use the RFC2253
506
B<#XXXX...> format.
507

    
508
=item B<dump_nostr>
509

    
510
dump non character string types (for example OCTET STRING) if this
511
option is not set then non character string types will be displayed
512
as though each content octet represents a single character.
513

    
514
=item B<dump_all>
515

    
516
dump all fields. This option when used with B<dump_der> allows the
517
DER encoding of the structure to be unambiguously determined.
518

    
519
=item B<dump_unknown>
520

    
521
dump any field whose OID is not recognised by OpenSSL.
522

    
523
=item B<sep_comma_plus>, B<sep_comma_plus_space>, B<sep_semi_plus_space>,
524
B<sep_multiline>
525

    
526
these options determine the field separators. The first character is
527
between RDNs and the second between multiple AVAs (multiple AVAs are
528
very rare and their use is discouraged). The options ending in
529
"space" additionally place a space after the separator to make it
530
more readable. The B<sep_multiline> uses a linefeed character for
531
the RDN separator and a spaced B<+> for the AVA separator. It also
532
indents the fields by four characters.
533

    
534
=item B<dn_rev>
535

    
536
reverse the fields of the DN. This is required by RFC2253. As a side
537
effect this also reverses the order of multiple AVAs but this is
538
permissible.
539

    
540
=item B<nofname>, B<sname>, B<lname>, B<oid>
541

    
542
these options alter how the field name is displayed. B<nofname> does
543
not display the field at all. B<sname> uses the "short name" form
544
(CN for commonName for example). B<lname> uses the long form.
545
B<oid> represents the OID in numerical form and is useful for
546
diagnostic purpose.
547

    
548
=item B<align>
549

    
550
align field values for a more readable output. Only usable with
551
B<sep_multiline>.
552

    
553
=item B<space_eq>
554

    
555
places spaces round the B<=> character which follows the field
556
name.
557

    
558
=back
559

    
560
=head2 TEXT OPTIONS
561

    
562
As well as customising the name output format, it is also possible to
563
customise the actual fields printed using the B<certopt> options when
564
the B<text> option is present. The default behaviour is to print all fields.
565

    
566
=over 4
567

    
568
=item B<compatible>
569

    
570
use the old format. This is equivalent to specifying no output options at all.
571

    
572
=item B<no_header>
573

    
574
don't print header information: that is the lines saying "Certificate" and "Data".
575

    
576
=item B<no_version>
577

    
578
don't print out the version number.
579

    
580
=item B<no_serial>
581

    
582
don't print out the serial number.
583

    
584
=item B<no_signame>
585

    
586
don't print out the signature algorithm used.
587

    
588
=item B<no_validity>
589

    
590
don't print the validity, that is the B<notBefore> and B<notAfter> fields.
591

    
592
=item B<no_subject>
593

    
594
don't print out the subject name.
595

    
596
=item B<no_issuer>
597

    
598
don't print out the issuer name.
599

    
600
=item B<no_pubkey>
601

    
602
don't print out the public key.
603

    
604
=item B<no_sigdump>
605

    
606
don't give a hexadecimal dump of the certificate signature.
607

    
608
=item B<no_aux>
609

    
610
don't print out certificate trust information.
611

    
612
=item B<no_extensions>
613

    
614
don't print out any X509V3 extensions.
615

    
616
=item B<ext_default>
617

    
618
retain default extension behaviour: attempt to print out unsupported certificate extensions.
619

    
620
=item B<ext_error>
621

    
622
print an error message for unsupported certificate extensions.
623

    
624
=item B<ext_parse>
625

    
626
ASN1 parse unsupported extensions.
627

    
628
=item B<ext_dump>
629

    
630
hex dump unsupported extensions.
631

    
632
=item B<ca_default>
633

    
634
the value used by the B<ca> utility, equivalent to B<no_issuer>, B<no_pubkey>, B<no_header>,
635
B<no_version>, B<no_sigdump> and B<no_signame>.
636

    
637
=back
638

    
639
=head1 EXAMPLES
640

    
641
Note: in these examples the '\' means the example should be all on one
642
line.
643

    
644
Display the contents of a certificate:
645

    
646
 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -noout -text
647

    
648
Display the certificate serial number:
649

    
650
 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -noout -serial
651

    
652
Display the certificate subject name:
653

    
654
 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -noout -subject
655

    
656
Display the certificate subject name in RFC2253 form:
657

    
658
 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -noout -subject -nameopt RFC2253
659

    
660
Display the certificate subject name in oneline form on a terminal
661
supporting UTF8:
662

    
663
 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -noout -subject -nameopt oneline,-esc_msb
664

    
665
Display the certificate MD5 fingerprint:
666

    
667
 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -noout -fingerprint
668

    
669
Display the certificate SHA1 fingerprint:
670

    
671
 openssl x509 -sha1 -in cert.pem -noout -fingerprint
672

    
673
Convert a certificate from PEM to DER format:
674

    
675
 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -inform PEM -out cert.der -outform DER
676

    
677
Convert a certificate to a certificate request:
678

    
679
 openssl x509 -x509toreq -in cert.pem -out req.pem -signkey key.pem
680

    
681
Convert a certificate request into a self signed certificate using
682
extensions for a CA:
683

    
684
 openssl x509 -req -in careq.pem -extfile openssl.cnf -extensions v3_ca \
685
	-signkey key.pem -out cacert.pem
686

    
687
Sign a certificate request using the CA certificate above and add user
688
certificate extensions:
689

    
690
 openssl x509 -req -in req.pem -extfile openssl.cnf -extensions v3_usr \
691
	-CA cacert.pem -CAkey key.pem -CAcreateserial
692

    
693

    
694
Set a certificate to be trusted for SSL client use and change set its alias to
695
"Steve's Class 1 CA"
696

    
697
 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -addtrust clientAuth \
698
	-setalias "Steve's Class 1 CA" -out trust.pem
699

    
700
=head1 NOTES
701

    
702
The PEM format uses the header and footer lines:
703

    
704
 -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
705
 -----END CERTIFICATE-----
706

    
707
it will also handle files containing:
708

    
709
 -----BEGIN X509 CERTIFICATE-----
710
 -----END X509 CERTIFICATE-----
711

    
712
Trusted certificates have the lines
713

    
714
 -----BEGIN TRUSTED CERTIFICATE-----
715
 -----END TRUSTED CERTIFICATE-----
716

    
717
The conversion to UTF8 format used with the name options assumes that
718
T61Strings use the ISO8859-1 character set. This is wrong but Netscape
719
and MSIE do this as do many certificates. So although this is incorrect
720
it is more likely to display the majority of certificates correctly.
721

    
722
The B<-fingerprint> option takes the digest of the DER encoded certificate.
723
This is commonly called a "fingerprint". Because of the nature of message
724
digests the fingerprint of a certificate is unique to that certificate and
725
two certificates with the same fingerprint can be considered to be the same.
726

    
727
The Netscape fingerprint uses MD5 whereas MSIE uses SHA1.
728

    
729
The B<-email> option searches the subject name and the subject alternative
730
name extension. Only unique email addresses will be printed out: it will
731
not print the same address more than once.
732

    
733
=head1 CERTIFICATE EXTENSIONS
734

    
735
The B<-purpose> option checks the certificate extensions and determines
736
what the certificate can be used for. The actual checks done are rather
737
complex and include various hacks and workarounds to handle broken
738
certificates and software.
739

    
740
The same code is used when verifying untrusted certificates in chains
741
so this section is useful if a chain is rejected by the verify code.
742

    
743
The basicConstraints extension CA flag is used to determine whether the
744
certificate can be used as a CA. If the CA flag is true then it is a CA,
745
if the CA flag is false then it is not a CA. B<All> CAs should have the
746
CA flag set to true.
747

    
748
If the basicConstraints extension is absent then the certificate is
749
considered to be a "possible CA" other extensions are checked according
750
to the intended use of the certificate. A warning is given in this case
751
because the certificate should really not be regarded as a CA: however
752
it is allowed to be a CA to work around some broken software.
753

    
754
If the certificate is a V1 certificate (and thus has no extensions) and
755
it is self signed it is also assumed to be a CA but a warning is again
756
given: this is to work around the problem of Verisign roots which are V1
757
self signed certificates.
758

    
759
If the keyUsage extension is present then additional restraints are
760
made on the uses of the certificate. A CA certificate B<must> have the
761
keyCertSign bit set if the keyUsage extension is present.
762

    
763
The extended key usage extension places additional restrictions on the
764
certificate uses. If this extension is present (whether critical or not)
765
the key can only be used for the purposes specified.
766

    
767
A complete description of each test is given below. The comments about
768
basicConstraints and keyUsage and V1 certificates above apply to B<all>
769
CA certificates.
770

    
771

    
772
=over 4
773

    
774
=item B<SSL Client>
775

    
776
The extended key usage extension must be absent or include the "web client
777
authentication" OID.  keyUsage must be absent or it must have the
778
digitalSignature bit set. Netscape certificate type must be absent or it must
779
have the SSL client bit set.
780

    
781
=item B<SSL Client CA>
782

    
783
The extended key usage extension must be absent or include the "web client
784
authentication" OID. Netscape certificate type must be absent or it must have
785
the SSL CA bit set: this is used as a work around if the basicConstraints
786
extension is absent.
787

    
788
=item B<SSL Server>
789

    
790
The extended key usage extension must be absent or include the "web server
791
authentication" and/or one of the SGC OIDs.  keyUsage must be absent or it
792
must have the digitalSignature, the keyEncipherment set or both bits set.
793
Netscape certificate type must be absent or have the SSL server bit set.
794

    
795
=item B<SSL Server CA>
796

    
797
The extended key usage extension must be absent or include the "web server
798
authentication" and/or one of the SGC OIDs.  Netscape certificate type must
799
be absent or the SSL CA bit must be set: this is used as a work around if the
800
basicConstraints extension is absent.
801

    
802
=item B<Netscape SSL Server>
803

    
804
For Netscape SSL clients to connect to an SSL server it must have the
805
keyEncipherment bit set if the keyUsage extension is present. This isn't
806
always valid because some cipher suites use the key for digital signing.
807
Otherwise it is the same as a normal SSL server.
808

    
809
=item B<Common S/MIME Client Tests>
810

    
811
The extended key usage extension must be absent or include the "email
812
protection" OID. Netscape certificate type must be absent or should have the
813
S/MIME bit set. If the S/MIME bit is not set in netscape certificate type
814
then the SSL client bit is tolerated as an alternative but a warning is shown:
815
this is because some Verisign certificates don't set the S/MIME bit.
816

    
817
=item B<S/MIME Signing>
818

    
819
In addition to the common S/MIME client tests the digitalSignature bit must
820
be set if the keyUsage extension is present.
821

    
822
=item B<S/MIME Encryption>
823

    
824
In addition to the common S/MIME tests the keyEncipherment bit must be set
825
if the keyUsage extension is present.
826

    
827
=item B<S/MIME CA>
828

    
829
The extended key usage extension must be absent or include the "email
830
protection" OID. Netscape certificate type must be absent or must have the
831
S/MIME CA bit set: this is used as a work around if the basicConstraints
832
extension is absent. 
833

    
834
=item B<CRL Signing>
835

    
836
The keyUsage extension must be absent or it must have the CRL signing bit
837
set.
838

    
839
=item B<CRL Signing CA>
840

    
841
The normal CA tests apply. Except in this case the basicConstraints extension
842
must be present.
843

    
844
=back
845

    
846
=head1 BUGS
847

    
848
Extensions in certificates are not transferred to certificate requests and
849
vice versa.
850

    
851
It is possible to produce invalid certificates or requests by specifying the
852
wrong private key or using inconsistent options in some cases: these should
853
be checked.
854

    
855
There should be options to explicitly set such things as start and end
856
dates rather than an offset from the current time.
857

    
858
The code to implement the verify behaviour described in the B<TRUST SETTINGS>
859
is currently being developed. It thus describes the intended behaviour rather
860
than the current behaviour. It is hoped that it will represent reality in
861
OpenSSL 0.9.5 and later.
862

    
863
=head1 SEE ALSO
864

    
865
L<req(1)|req(1)>, L<ca(1)|ca(1)>, L<genrsa(1)|genrsa(1)>,
866
L<gendsa(1)|gendsa(1)>, L<verify(1)|verify(1)>,
867
L<x509v3_config(5)|x509v3_config(5)> 
868

    
869
=head1 HISTORY
870

    
871
Before OpenSSL 0.9.8, the default digest for RSA keys was MD5.
872

    
873
The hash algorithm used in the B<-subject_hash> and B<-issuer_hash> options
874
before OpenSSL 1.0.0 was based on the deprecated MD5 algorithm and the encoding
875
of the distinguished name. In OpenSSL 1.0.0 and later it is based on a
876
canonical version of the DN using SHA1. This means that any directories using
877
the old form must have their links rebuilt using B<c_rehash> or similar. 
878

    
879
=cut