summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/crypto/openssl/doc/apps/ca.pod
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'crypto/openssl/doc/apps/ca.pod')
-rw-r--r--crypto/openssl/doc/apps/ca.pod479
1 files changed, 479 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/crypto/openssl/doc/apps/ca.pod b/crypto/openssl/doc/apps/ca.pod
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..03209aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crypto/openssl/doc/apps/ca.pod
@@ -0,0 +1,479 @@
+
+=pod
+
+=head1 NAME
+
+ca - sample minimal CA application
+
+=head1 SYNOPSIS
+
+B<openssl> B<ca>
+[B<-verbose>]
+[B<-config filename>]
+[B<-name section>]
+[B<-gencrl>]
+[B<-revoke file>]
+[B<-crldays days>]
+[B<-crlhours hours>]
+[B<-crlexts section>]
+[B<-startdate date>]
+[B<-enddate date>]
+[B<-days arg>]
+[B<-md arg>]
+[B<-policy arg>]
+[B<-keyfile arg>]
+[B<-key arg>]
+[B<-cert file>]
+[B<-in file>]
+[B<-out file>]
+[B<-notext>]
+[B<-outdir dir>]
+[B<-infiles>]
+[B<-spkac file>]
+[B<-ss_cert file>]
+[B<-preserveDN>]
+[B<-batch>]
+[B<-msie_hack>]
+[B<-extensions section>]
+
+=head1 DESCRIPTION
+
+The B<ca> command is a minimal CA application. It can be used
+to sign certificate requests in a variety of forms and generate
+CRLs it also maintains a text database of issued certificates
+and their status.
+
+The options descriptions will be divided into each purpose.
+
+=head1 CA OPTIONS
+
+=over 4
+
+=item B<-config filename>
+
+specifies the configuration file to use.
+
+=item B<-in filename>
+
+an input filename containing a single certificate request to be
+signed by the CA.
+
+=item B<-ss_cert filename>
+
+a single self signed certificate to be signed by the CA.
+
+=item B<-spkac filename>
+
+a file containing a single Netscape signed public key and challenge
+and additional field values to be signed by the CA. See the B<NOTES>
+section for information on the required format.
+
+=item B<-infiles>
+
+if present this should be the last option, all subsequent arguments
+are assumed to the the names of files containing certificate requests.
+
+=item B<-out filename>
+
+the output file to output certificates to. The default is standard
+output. The certificate details will also be printed out to this
+file.
+
+=item B<-outdir directory>
+
+the directory to output certificates to. The certificate will be
+written to a filename consisting of the serial number in hex with
+".pem" appended.
+
+=item B<-cert>
+
+the CA certificate file.
+
+=item B<-keyfile filename>
+
+the private key to sign requests with.
+
+=item B<-key password>
+
+the password used to encrypt the private key. Since on some
+systems the command line arguments are visible (e.g. Unix with
+the 'ps' utility) this option should be used with caution.
+
+=item B<-verbose>
+
+this prints extra details about the operations being performed.
+
+=item B<-notext>
+
+don't output the text form of a certificate to the output file.
+
+=item B<-startdate date>
+
+this allows the start date to be explicitly set. The format of the
+date is YYMMDDHHMMSSZ (the same as an ASN1 UTCTime structure).
+
+=item B<-enddate date>
+
+this allows the expiry date to be explicitly set. The format of the
+date is YYMMDDHHMMSSZ (the same as an ASN1 UTCTime structure).
+
+=item B<-days arg>
+
+the number of days to certify the certificate for.
+
+=item B<-md alg>
+
+the message digest to use. Possible values include md5, sha1 and mdc2.
+This option also applies to CRLs.
+
+=item B<-policy arg>
+
+this option defines the CA "policy" to use. This is a section in
+the configuration file which decides which fields should be mandatory
+or match the CA certificate. Check out the B<POLICY FORMAT> section
+for more information.
+
+=item B<-msie_hack>
+
+this is a legacy option to make B<ca> work with very old versions of
+the IE certificate enrollment control "certenr3". It used UniversalStrings
+for almost everything. Since the old control has various security bugs
+its use is strongly discouraged. The newer control "Xenroll" does not
+need this option.
+
+=item B<-preserveDN>
+
+Normally the DN order of a certificate is the same as the order of the
+fields in the relevant policy section. When this option is set the order
+is the same as the request. This is largely for compatibility with the
+older IE enrollment control which would only accept certificates if their
+DNs match the order of the request. This is not needed for Xenroll.
+
+=item B<-batch>
+
+this sets the batch mode. In this mode no questions will be asked
+and all certificates will be certified automatically.
+
+=item B<-extensions section>
+
+the section of the configuration file containing certificate extensions
+to be added when a certificate is issued. If no extension section is
+present then a V1 certificate is created. If the extension section
+is present (even if it is empty) then a V3 certificate is created.
+
+=back
+
+=head1 CRL OPTIONS
+
+=over 4
+
+=item B<-gencrl>
+
+this option generates a CRL based on information in the index file.
+
+=item B<-crldays num>
+
+the number of days before the next CRL is due. That is the days from
+now to place in the CRL nextUpdate field.
+
+=item B<-crlhours num>
+
+the number of hours before the next CRL is due.
+
+=item B<-revoke filename>
+
+a filename containing a certificate to revoke.
+
+=item B<-crlexts section>
+
+the section of the configuration file containing CRL extensions to
+include. If no CRL extension section is present then a V1 CRL is
+created, if the CRL extension section is present (even if it is
+empty) then a V2 CRL is created. The CRL extensions specified are
+CRL extensions and B<not> CRL entry extensions. It should be noted
+that some software (for example Netscape) can't handle V2 CRLs.
+
+=back
+
+=head1 CONFIGURATION FILE OPTIONS
+
+The options for B<ca> are contained in the B<ca> section of the
+configuration file. Many of these are identical to command line
+options. Where the option is present in the configuration file
+and the command line the command line value is used. Where an
+option is described as mandatory then it must be present in
+the configuration file or the command line equivalent (if
+any) used.
+
+=over 4
+
+=item B<oid_file>
+
+This specifies a file containing additional B<OBJECT IDENTIFIERS>.
+Each line of the file should consist of the numerical form of the
+object identifier followed by white space then the short name followed
+by white space and finally the long name.
+
+=item B<oid_section>
+
+This specifies a section in the configuration file containing extra
+object identifiers. Each line should consist of the short name of the
+object identifier followed by B<=> and the numerical form. The short
+and long names are the same when this option is used.
+
+=item B<new_certs_dir>
+
+the same as the B<-outdir> command line option. It specifies
+the directory where new certificates will be placed. Mandatory.
+
+=item B<certificate>
+
+the same as B<-cert>. It gives the file containing the CA
+certificate. Mandatory.
+
+=item B<private_key>
+
+same as the B<-keyfile> option. The file containing the
+CA private key. Mandatory.
+
+=item B<RANDFILE>
+
+a file used to read and write random number seed information, or
+an EGD socket (see L<RAND_egd(3)|RAND_egd(3)>).
+
+=item B<default_days>
+
+the same as the B<-days> option. The number of days to certify
+a certificate for.
+
+=item B<default_startdate>
+
+the same as the B<-startdate> option. The start date to certify
+a certificate for. If not set the current time is used.
+
+=item B<default_enddate>
+
+the same as the B<-enddate> option. Either this option or
+B<default_days> (or the command line equivalents) must be
+present.
+
+=item B<default_crl_hours default_crl_days>
+
+the same as the B<-crlhours> and the B<-crldays> options. These
+will only be used if neither command line option is present. At
+least one of these must be present to generate a CRL.
+
+=item B<default_md>
+
+the same as the B<-md> option. The message digest to use. Mandatory.
+
+=item B<database>
+
+the text database file to use. Mandatory. This file must be present
+though initially it will be empty.
+
+=item B<serialfile>
+
+a text file containing the next serial number to use in hex. Mandatory.
+This file must be present and contain a valid serial number.
+
+=item B<x509_extensions>
+
+the same as B<-extensions>.
+
+=item B<crl_extensions>
+
+the same as B<-crlexts>.
+
+=item B<preserve>
+
+the same as B<-preserveDN>
+
+=item B<msie_hack>
+
+the same as B<-msie_hack>
+
+=item B<policy>
+
+the same as B<-policy>. Mandatory. See the B<POLICY FORMAT> section
+for more information.
+
+=back
+
+=head1 POLICY FORMAT
+
+The policy section consists of a set of variables corresponding to
+certificate DN fields. If the value is "match" then the field value
+must match the same field in the CA certificate. If the value is
+"supplied" then it must be present. If the value is "optional" then
+it may be present. Any fields not mentioned in the policy section
+are silently deleted, unless the B<-preserveDN> option is set but
+this can be regarded more of a quirk than intended behaviour.
+
+=head1 SPKAC FORMAT
+
+The input to the B<-spkac> command line option is a Netscape
+signed public key and challenge. This will usually come from
+the B<KEYGEN> tag in an HTML form to create a new private key.
+It is however possible to create SPKACs using the B<spkac> utility.
+
+The file should contain the variable SPKAC set to the value of
+the SPKAC and also the required DN components as name value pairs.
+If you need to include the same component twice then it can be
+preceded by a number and a '.'.
+
+=head1 EXAMPLES
+
+Note: these examples assume that the B<ca> directory structure is
+already set up and the relevant files already exist. This usually
+involves creating a CA certificate and private key with B<req>, a
+serial number file and an empty index file and placing them in
+the relevant directories.
+
+To use the sample configuration file below the directories demoCA,
+demoCA/private and demoCA/newcerts would be created. The CA
+certificate would be copied to demoCA/cacert.pem and its private
+key to demoCA/private/cakey.pem. A file demoCA/serial would be
+created containing for example "01" and the empty index file
+demoCA/index.txt.
+
+
+Sign a certificate request:
+
+ openssl ca -in req.pem -out newcert.pem
+
+Generate a CRL
+
+ openssl ca -gencrl -out crl.pem
+
+Sign several requests:
+
+ openssl ca -infiles req1.pem req2.pem req3.pem
+
+Certify a Netscape SPKAC:
+
+ openssl ca -spkac spkac.txt
+
+A sample SPKAC file (the SPKAC line has been truncated for clarity):
+
+ SPKAC=MIG0MGAwXDANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAANLADBIAkEAn7PDhCeV/xIxUg8V70YRxK2A5
+ CN=Steve Test
+ emailAddress=steve@openssl.org
+ 0.OU=OpenSSL Group
+ 1.OU=Another Group
+
+A sample configuration file with the relevant sections for B<ca>:
+
+ [ ca ]
+ default_ca = CA_default # The default ca section
+
+ [ CA_default ]
+
+ dir = ./demoCA # top dir
+ database = $dir/index.txt # index file.
+ new_certs_dir = $dir/newcerts # new certs dir
+
+ certificate = $dir/cacert.pem # The CA cert
+ serial = $dir/serial # serial no file
+ private_key = $dir/private/cakey.pem# CA private key
+ RANDFILE = $dir/private/.rand # random number file
+
+ default_days = 365 # how long to certify for
+ default_crl_days= 30 # how long before next CRL
+ default_md = md5 # md to use
+
+ policy = policy_any # default policy
+
+ [ policy_any ]
+ countryName = supplied
+ stateOrProvinceName = optional
+ organizationName = optional
+ organizationalUnitName = optional
+ commonName = supplied
+ emailAddress = optional
+
+=head1 WARNINGS
+
+The B<ca> command is quirky and at times downright unfriendly.
+
+The B<ca> utility was originally meant as an example of how to do things
+in a CA. It was not supposed be be used as a full blown CA itself:
+nevertheless some people are using it for this purpose.
+
+The B<ca> command is effectively a single user command: no locking is
+done on the various files and attempts to run more than one B<ca> command
+on the same database can have unpredictable results.
+
+=head1 FILES
+
+Note: the location of all files can change either by compile time options,
+configuration file entries, environment variables or command line options.
+The values below reflect the default values.
+
+ /usr/local/ssl/lib/openssl.cnf - master configuration file
+ ./demoCA - main CA directory
+ ./demoCA/cacert.pem - CA certificate
+ ./demoCA/private/cakey.pem - CA private key
+ ./demoCA/serial - CA serial number file
+ ./demoCA/serial.old - CA serial number backup file
+ ./demoCA/index.txt - CA text database file
+ ./demoCA/index.txt.old - CA text database backup file
+ ./demoCA/certs - certificate output file
+ ./demoCA/.rnd - CA random seed information
+
+=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
+
+B<OPENSSL_CONF> reflects the location of master configuration file it can
+be overridden by the B<-config> command line option.
+
+=head1 RESTRICTIONS
+
+The text database index file is a critical part of the process and
+if corrupted it can be difficult to fix. It is theoretically possible
+to rebuild the index file from all the issued certificates and a current
+CRL: however there is no option to do this.
+
+CRL entry extensions cannot currently be created: only CRL extensions
+can be added.
+
+V2 CRL features like delta CRL support and CRL numbers are not currently
+supported.
+
+Although several requests can be input and handled at once it is only
+possible to include one SPKAC or self signed certificate.
+
+=head1 BUGS
+
+The use of an in memory text database can cause problems when large
+numbers of certificates are present because, as the name implies
+the database has to be kept in memory.
+
+Certificate request extensions are ignored: some kind of "policy" should
+be included to use certain static extensions and certain extensions
+from the request.
+
+It is not possible to certify two certificates with the same DN: this
+is a side effect of how the text database is indexed and it cannot easily
+be fixed without introducing other problems. Some S/MIME clients can use
+two certificates with the same DN for separate signing and encryption
+keys.
+
+The B<ca> command really needs rewriting or the required functionality
+exposed at either a command or interface level so a more friendly utility
+(perl script or GUI) can handle things properly. The scripts B<CA.sh> and
+B<CA.pl> help a little but not very much.
+
+Any fields in a request that are not present in a policy are silently
+deleted. This does not happen if the B<-preserveDN> option is used but
+the extra fields are not displayed when the user is asked to certify
+a request. The behaviour should be more friendly and configurable.
+
+Cancelling some commands by refusing to certify a certificate can
+create an empty file.
+
+=head1 SEE ALSO
+
+L<req(1)|req(1)>, L<spkac(1)|spkac(1)>, L<x509(1)|x509(1)>, L<CA.pl(1)|CA.pl(1)>,
+L<config(5)|config(5)>
+
+=cut
OpenPOWER on IntegriCloud