3.\"
4.\" Standard preamble:
5.\" ======================================================================
6.de Sh \" Subsection heading
7.br
8.if t .Sp
9.ne 5
10.PP
11\fB\\$1\fR
12.PP
13..
14.de Sp \" Vertical space (when we can't use .PP)
15.if t .sp .5v
16.if n .sp
17..
18.de Ip \" List item
19.br
20.ie \\n(.$>=3 .ne \\$3
21.el .ne 3
22.IP "\\$1" \\$2
23..
24.de Vb \" Begin verbatim text
25.ft CW
26.nf
27.ne \\$1
28..
29.de Ve \" End verbatim text
30.ft R
31
32.fi
33..
34.\" Set up some character translations and predefined strings. \*(-- will
35.\" give an unbreakable dash, \*(PI will give pi, \*(L" will give a left
36.\" double quote, and \*(R" will give a right double quote. | will give a
37.\" real vertical bar. \*(C+ will give a nicer C++. Capital omega is used
38.\" to do unbreakable dashes and therefore won't be available. \*(C` and
39.\" \*(C' expand to `' in nroff, nothing in troff, for use with C<>
40.tr \(*W-|\(bv\*(Tr
41.ds C+ C\v'-.1v'\h'-1p'\s-2+\h'-1p'+\s0\v'.1v'\h'-1p'
42.ie n \{\
43. ds -- \(*W-
44. ds PI pi
45. if (\n(.H=4u)&(1m=24u) .ds -- \(*W\h'-12u'\(*W\h'-12u'-\" diablo 10 pitch
46. if (\n(.H=4u)&(1m=20u) .ds -- \(*W\h'-12u'\(*W\h'-8u'-\" diablo 12 pitch
47. ds L" ""
48. ds R" ""
49. ds C` ""
50. ds C' ""
51'br\}
52.el\{\
53. ds -- \|\(em\|
54. ds PI \(*p
55. ds L" ``
56. ds R" ''
57'br\}
58.\"
59.\" If the F register is turned on, we'll generate index entries on stderr
60.\" for titles (.TH), headers (.SH), subsections (.Sh), items (.Ip), and
61.\" index entries marked with X<> in POD. Of course, you'll have to process
62.\" the output yourself in some meaningful fashion.
63.if \nF \{\
64. de IX
65. tm Index:\\$1\t\\n%\t"\\$2"
66..
67. nr % 0
68. rr F
69.\}
70.\"
71.\" For nroff, turn off justification. Always turn off hyphenation; it
72.\" makes way too many mistakes in technical documents.
73.hy 0
74.if n .na
75.\"
76.\" Accent mark definitions (@(#)ms.acc 1.5 88/02/08 SMI; from UCB 4.2).
77.\" Fear. Run. Save yourself. No user-serviceable parts.
78.bd B 3
79. \" fudge factors for nroff and troff
80.if n \{\
81. ds #H 0
82. ds #V .8m
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84. ds #[ \f1
85. ds #] \fP
86.\}
87.if t \{\
88. ds #H ((1u-(\\\\n(.fu%2u))*.13m)
89. ds #V .6m
90. ds #F 0
91. ds #[ \&
92. ds #] \&
93.\}
94. \" simple accents for nroff and troff
95.if n \{\
96. ds ' \&
97. ds ` \&
98. ds ^ \&
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101. ds /
102.\}
103.if t \{\
104. ds ' \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*8/10-\*(#H)'\'\h"|\\n:u"
105. ds ` \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*8/10-\*(#H)'\`\h'|\\n:u'
106. ds ^ \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*10/11-\*(#H)'^\h'|\\n:u'
107. ds , \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*8/10)',\h'|\\n:u'
108. ds ~ \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu-\*(#H-.1m)'~\h'|\\n:u'
109. ds / \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*8/10-\*(#H)'\z\(sl\h'|\\n:u'
110.\}
111. \" troff and (daisy-wheel) nroff accents
112.ds : \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*8/10-\*(#H+.1m+\*(#F)'\v'-\*(#V'\z.\h'.2m+\*(#F'.\h'|\\n:u'\v'\*(#V'
113.ds 8 \h'\*(#H'\(*b\h'-\*(#H'
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115.ds d- \h'\*(#H'\(pd\h'-\w'~'u'\v'-.25m'\f2\(hy\fP\v'.25m'\h'-\*(#H'
116.ds D- D\\k:\h'-\w'D'u'\v'-.11m'\z\(hy\v'.11m'\h'|\\n:u'
117.ds th \*(#[\v'.3m'\s+1I\s-1\v'-.3m'\h'-(\w'I'u*2/3)'\s-1o\s+1\*(#]
118.ds Th \*(#[\s+2I\s-2\h'-\w'I'u*3/5'\v'-.3m'o\v'.3m'\*(#]
119.ds ae a\h'-(\w'a'u*4/10)'e
120.ds Ae A\h'-(\w'A'u*4/10)'E
121. \" corrections for vroff
122.if v .ds ~ \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*9/10-\*(#H)'\s-2\u~\d\s+2\h'|\\n:u'
123.if v .ds ^ \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*10/11-\*(#H)'\v'-.4m'^\v'.4m'\h'|\\n:u'
124. \" for low resolution devices (crt and lpr)
125.if \n(.H>23 .if \n(.V>19 \
126\{\
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131. ds D- D\h'-1'\(hy
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133. ds Th \o'LP'
134. ds ae ae
135. ds Ae AE
136.\}
137.rm #[ #] #H #V #F C
138.\" ======================================================================
139.\"
| 3.\"
4.\" Standard preamble:
5.\" ======================================================================
6.de Sh \" Subsection heading
7.br
8.if t .Sp
9.ne 5
10.PP
11\fB\\$1\fR
12.PP
13..
14.de Sp \" Vertical space (when we can't use .PP)
15.if t .sp .5v
16.if n .sp
17..
18.de Ip \" List item
19.br
20.ie \\n(.$>=3 .ne \\$3
21.el .ne 3
22.IP "\\$1" \\$2
23..
24.de Vb \" Begin verbatim text
25.ft CW
26.nf
27.ne \\$1
28..
29.de Ve \" End verbatim text
30.ft R
31
32.fi
33..
34.\" Set up some character translations and predefined strings. \*(-- will
35.\" give an unbreakable dash, \*(PI will give pi, \*(L" will give a left
36.\" double quote, and \*(R" will give a right double quote. | will give a
37.\" real vertical bar. \*(C+ will give a nicer C++. Capital omega is used
38.\" to do unbreakable dashes and therefore won't be available. \*(C` and
39.\" \*(C' expand to `' in nroff, nothing in troff, for use with C<>
40.tr \(*W-|\(bv\*(Tr
41.ds C+ C\v'-.1v'\h'-1p'\s-2+\h'-1p'+\s0\v'.1v'\h'-1p'
42.ie n \{\
43. ds -- \(*W-
44. ds PI pi
45. if (\n(.H=4u)&(1m=24u) .ds -- \(*W\h'-12u'\(*W\h'-12u'-\" diablo 10 pitch
46. if (\n(.H=4u)&(1m=20u) .ds -- \(*W\h'-12u'\(*W\h'-8u'-\" diablo 12 pitch
47. ds L" ""
48. ds R" ""
49. ds C` ""
50. ds C' ""
51'br\}
52.el\{\
53. ds -- \|\(em\|
54. ds PI \(*p
55. ds L" ``
56. ds R" ''
57'br\}
58.\"
59.\" If the F register is turned on, we'll generate index entries on stderr
60.\" for titles (.TH), headers (.SH), subsections (.Sh), items (.Ip), and
61.\" index entries marked with X<> in POD. Of course, you'll have to process
62.\" the output yourself in some meaningful fashion.
63.if \nF \{\
64. de IX
65. tm Index:\\$1\t\\n%\t"\\$2"
66..
67. nr % 0
68. rr F
69.\}
70.\"
71.\" For nroff, turn off justification. Always turn off hyphenation; it
72.\" makes way too many mistakes in technical documents.
73.hy 0
74.if n .na
75.\"
76.\" Accent mark definitions (@(#)ms.acc 1.5 88/02/08 SMI; from UCB 4.2).
77.\" Fear. Run. Save yourself. No user-serviceable parts.
78.bd B 3
79. \" fudge factors for nroff and troff
80.if n \{\
81. ds #H 0
82. ds #V .8m
83. ds #F .3m
84. ds #[ \f1
85. ds #] \fP
86.\}
87.if t \{\
88. ds #H ((1u-(\\\\n(.fu%2u))*.13m)
89. ds #V .6m
90. ds #F 0
91. ds #[ \&
92. ds #] \&
93.\}
94. \" simple accents for nroff and troff
95.if n \{\
96. ds ' \&
97. ds ` \&
98. ds ^ \&
99. ds , \&
100. ds ~ ~
101. ds /
102.\}
103.if t \{\
104. ds ' \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*8/10-\*(#H)'\'\h"|\\n:u"
105. ds ` \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*8/10-\*(#H)'\`\h'|\\n:u'
106. ds ^ \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*10/11-\*(#H)'^\h'|\\n:u'
107. ds , \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*8/10)',\h'|\\n:u'
108. ds ~ \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu-\*(#H-.1m)'~\h'|\\n:u'
109. ds / \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*8/10-\*(#H)'\z\(sl\h'|\\n:u'
110.\}
111. \" troff and (daisy-wheel) nroff accents
112.ds : \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*8/10-\*(#H+.1m+\*(#F)'\v'-\*(#V'\z.\h'.2m+\*(#F'.\h'|\\n:u'\v'\*(#V'
113.ds 8 \h'\*(#H'\(*b\h'-\*(#H'
114.ds o \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu+\w'\(de'u-\*(#H)/2u'\v'-.3n'\*(#[\z\(de\v'.3n'\h'|\\n:u'\*(#]
115.ds d- \h'\*(#H'\(pd\h'-\w'~'u'\v'-.25m'\f2\(hy\fP\v'.25m'\h'-\*(#H'
116.ds D- D\\k:\h'-\w'D'u'\v'-.11m'\z\(hy\v'.11m'\h'|\\n:u'
117.ds th \*(#[\v'.3m'\s+1I\s-1\v'-.3m'\h'-(\w'I'u*2/3)'\s-1o\s+1\*(#]
118.ds Th \*(#[\s+2I\s-2\h'-\w'I'u*3/5'\v'-.3m'o\v'.3m'\*(#]
119.ds ae a\h'-(\w'a'u*4/10)'e
120.ds Ae A\h'-(\w'A'u*4/10)'E
121. \" corrections for vroff
122.if v .ds ~ \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*9/10-\*(#H)'\s-2\u~\d\s+2\h'|\\n:u'
123.if v .ds ^ \\k:\h'-(\\n(.wu*10/11-\*(#H)'\v'-.4m'^\v'.4m'\h'|\\n:u'
124. \" for low resolution devices (crt and lpr)
125.if \n(.H>23 .if \n(.V>19 \
126\{\
127. ds : e
128. ds 8 ss
129. ds o a
130. ds d- d\h'-1'\(ga
131. ds D- D\h'-1'\(hy
132. ds th \o'bp'
133. ds Th \o'LP'
134. ds ae ae
135. ds Ae AE
136.\}
137.rm #[ #] #H #V #F C
138.\" ======================================================================
139.\"
|
142.UC
143.SH "NAME"
144req \- PKCS#10 certificate request and certificate generating utility.
145.SH "SYNOPSIS"
146.IX Header "SYNOPSIS"
147\&\fBopenssl\fR \fBreq\fR
148[\fB\-inform PEM|DER\fR]
149[\fB\-outform PEM|DER\fR]
150[\fB\-in filename\fR]
151[\fB\-passin arg\fR]
152[\fB\-out filename\fR]
153[\fB\-passout arg\fR]
154[\fB\-text\fR]
155[\fB\-pubkey\fR]
156[\fB\-noout\fR]
157[\fB\-verify\fR]
158[\fB\-modulus\fR]
159[\fB\-new\fR]
160[\fB\-rand \f(BIfile\fB\|(s)\fR]
161[\fB\-newkey rsa:bits\fR]
162[\fB\-newkey dsa:file\fR]
163[\fB\-nodes\fR]
164[\fB\-key filename\fR]
165[\fB\-keyform PEM|DER\fR]
166[\fB\-keyout filename\fR]
167[\fB\-[md5|sha1|md2|mdc2]\fR]
168[\fB\-config filename\fR]
169[\fB\-subj arg\fR]
170[\fB\-x509\fR]
171[\fB\-days n\fR]
172[\fB\-set_serial n\fR]
173[\fB\-asn1\-kludge\fR]
174[\fB\-newhdr\fR]
175[\fB\-extensions section\fR]
176[\fB\-reqexts section\fR]
177[\fB\-utf8\fR]
178[\fB\-nameopt\fR]
179[\fB\-batch\fR]
180[\fB\-verbose\fR]
181.SH "DESCRIPTION"
182.IX Header "DESCRIPTION"
183The \fBreq\fR command primarily creates and processes certificate requests
184in PKCS#10 format. It can additionally create self signed certificates
185for use as root CAs for example.
186.SH "COMMAND OPTIONS"
187.IX Header "COMMAND OPTIONS"
188.Ip "\fB\-inform DER|PEM\fR" 4
189.IX Item "-inform DER|PEM"
190This specifies the input format. The \fB\s-1DER\s0\fR option uses an \s-1ASN1\s0 \s-1DER\s0 encoded
191form compatible with the PKCS#10. The \fB\s-1PEM\s0\fR form is the default format: it
192consists of the \fB\s-1DER\s0\fR format base64 encoded with additional header and
193footer lines.
194.Ip "\fB\-outform DER|PEM\fR" 4
195.IX Item "-outform DER|PEM"
196This specifies the output format, the options have the same meaning as the
197\&\fB\-inform\fR option.
198.Ip "\fB\-in filename\fR" 4
199.IX Item "-in filename"
200This specifies the input filename to read a request from or standard input
201if this option is not specified. A request is only read if the creation
202options (\fB\-new\fR and \fB\-newkey\fR) are not specified.
203.Ip "\fB\-passin arg\fR" 4
204.IX Item "-passin arg"
205the input file password source. For more information about the format of \fBarg\fR
206see the \fB\s-1PASS\s0 \s-1PHRASE\s0 \s-1ARGUMENTS\s0\fR section in openssl(1).
207.Ip "\fB\-out filename\fR" 4
208.IX Item "-out filename"
209This specifies the output filename to write to or standard output by
210default.
211.Ip "\fB\-passout arg\fR" 4
212.IX Item "-passout arg"
213the output file password source. For more information about the format of \fBarg\fR
214see the \fB\s-1PASS\s0 \s-1PHRASE\s0 \s-1ARGUMENTS\s0\fR section in openssl(1).
215.Ip "\fB\-text\fR" 4
216.IX Item "-text"
217prints out the certificate request in text form.
218.Ip "\fB\-pubkey\fR" 4
219.IX Item "-pubkey"
220outputs the public key.
221.Ip "\fB\-noout\fR" 4
222.IX Item "-noout"
223this option prevents output of the encoded version of the request.
224.Ip "\fB\-modulus\fR" 4
225.IX Item "-modulus"
226this option prints out the value of the modulus of the public key
227contained in the request.
228.Ip "\fB\-verify\fR" 4
229.IX Item "-verify"
230verifies the signature on the request.
231.Ip "\fB\-new\fR" 4
232.IX Item "-new"
233this option generates a new certificate request. It will prompt
234the user for the relevant field values. The actual fields
235prompted for and their maximum and minimum sizes are specified
236in the configuration file and any requested extensions.
237.Sp
238If the \fB\-key\fR option is not used it will generate a new \s-1RSA\s0 private
239key using information specified in the configuration file.
240.Ip "\fB\-rand \f(BIfile\fB\|(s)\fR" 4
241.IX Item "-rand file"
242a file or files containing random data used to seed the random number
243generator, or an \s-1EGD\s0 socket (see RAND_egd(3)).
244Multiple files can be specified separated by a OS-dependent character.
245The separator is \fB;\fR for MS-Windows, \fB,\fR for OpenVMS, and \fB:\fR for
246all others.
247.Ip "\fB\-newkey arg\fR" 4
248.IX Item "-newkey arg"
249this option creates a new certificate request and a new private
250key. The argument takes one of two forms. \fBrsa:nbits\fR, where
251\&\fBnbits\fR is the number of bits, generates an \s-1RSA\s0 key \fBnbits\fR
252in size. \fBdsa:filename\fR generates a \s-1DSA\s0 key using the parameters
253in the file \fBfilename\fR.
254.Ip "\fB\-key filename\fR" 4
255.IX Item "-key filename"
256This specifies the file to read the private key from. It also
257accepts PKCS#8 format private keys for \s-1PEM\s0 format files.
258.Ip "\fB\-keyform PEM|DER\fR" 4
259.IX Item "-keyform PEM|DER"
260the format of the private key file specified in the \fB\-key\fR
261argument. \s-1PEM\s0 is the default.
262.Ip "\fB\-keyout filename\fR" 4
263.IX Item "-keyout filename"
264this gives the filename to write the newly created private key to.
265If this option is not specified then the filename present in the
266configuration file is used.
267.Ip "\fB\-nodes\fR" 4
268.IX Item "-nodes"
269if this option is specified then if a private key is created it
270will not be encrypted.
271.Ip "\fB\-[md5|sha1|md2|mdc2]\fR" 4
272.IX Item "-[md5|sha1|md2|mdc2]"
273this specifies the message digest to sign the request with. This
274overrides the digest algorithm specified in the configuration file.
275This option is ignored for \s-1DSA\s0 requests: they always use \s-1SHA1\s0.
276.Ip "\fB\-config filename\fR" 4
277.IX Item "-config filename"
278this allows an alternative configuration file to be specified,
279this overrides the compile time filename or any specified in
280the \fB\s-1OPENSSL_CONF\s0\fR environment variable.
281.Ip "\fB\-subj arg\fR" 4
282.IX Item "-subj arg"
283sets subject name for new request or supersedes the subject name
284when processing a request.
285The arg must be formatted as \fI/type0=value0/type1=value1/type2=...\fR,
286characters may be escaped by \e (backslash), no spaces are skipped.
287.Ip "\fB\-x509\fR" 4
288.IX Item "-x509"
289this option outputs a self signed certificate instead of a certificate
290request. This is typically used to generate a test certificate or
291a self signed root \s-1CA\s0. The extensions added to the certificate
292(if any) are specified in the configuration file. Unless specified
293using the \fBset_serial\fR option \fB0\fR will be used for the serial
294number.
295.Ip "\fB\-days n\fR" 4
296.IX Item "-days n"
297when the \fB\-x509\fR option is being used this specifies the number of
298days to certify the certificate for. The default is 30 days.
299.Ip "\fB\-set_serial n\fR" 4
300.IX Item "-set_serial n"
301serial number to use when outputting a self signed certificate. This
302may be specified as a decimal value or a hex value if preceded by \fB0x\fR.
303It is possible to use negative serial numbers but this is not recommended.
304.Ip "\fB\-extensions section\fR" 4
305.IX Item "-extensions section"
306.PD 0
307.Ip "\fB\-reqexts section\fR" 4
308.IX Item "-reqexts section"
309.PD
310these options specify alternative sections to include certificate
311extensions (if the \fB\-x509\fR option is present) or certificate
312request extensions. This allows several different sections to
313be used in the same configuration file to specify requests for
314a variety of purposes.
315.Ip "\fB\-utf8\fR" 4
316.IX Item "-utf8"
317this option causes field values to be interpreted as \s-1UTF8\s0 strings, by
318default they are interpreted as \s-1ASCII\s0. This means that the field
319values, whether prompted from a terminal or obtained from a
320configuration file, must be valid \s-1UTF8\s0 strings.
321.Ip "\fB\-nameopt option\fR" 4
322.IX Item "-nameopt option"
323option which determines how the subject or issuer names are displayed. The
324\&\fBoption\fR argument can be a single option or multiple options separated by
325commas. Alternatively the \fB\-nameopt\fR switch may be used more than once to
326set multiple options. See the x509(1) manual page for details.
327.Ip "\fB\-asn1\-kludge\fR" 4
328.IX Item "-asn1-kludge"
329by default the \fBreq\fR command outputs certificate requests containing
330no attributes in the correct PKCS#10 format. However certain CAs will only
331accept requests containing no attributes in an invalid form: this
332option produces this invalid format.
333.Sp
334More precisely the \fBAttributes\fR in a PKCS#10 certificate request
335are defined as a \fB\s-1SET\s0 \s-1OF\s0 Attribute\fR. They are \fBnot \s-1OPTIONAL\s0\fR so
336if no attributes are present then they should be encoded as an
337empty \fB\s-1SET\s0 \s-1OF\s0\fR. The invalid form does not include the empty
338\&\fB\s-1SET\s0 \s-1OF\s0\fR whereas the correct form does.
339.Sp
340It should be noted that very few CAs still require the use of this option.
341.Ip "\fB\-newhdr\fR" 4
342.IX Item "-newhdr"
343Adds the word \fB\s-1NEW\s0\fR to the \s-1PEM\s0 file header and footer lines on the outputed
344request. Some software (Netscape certificate server) and some CAs need this.
345.Ip "\fB\-batch\fR" 4
346.IX Item "-batch"
347non-interactive mode.
348.Ip "\fB\-verbose\fR" 4
349.IX Item "-verbose"
350print extra details about the operations being performed.
351.SH "CONFIGURATION FILE FORMAT"
352.IX Header "CONFIGURATION FILE FORMAT"
353The configuration options are specified in the \fBreq\fR section of
354the configuration file. As with all configuration files if no
355value is specified in the specific section (i.e. \fBreq\fR) then
356the initial unnamed or \fBdefault\fR section is searched too.
357.PP
358The options available are described in detail below.
359.Ip "\fBinput_password output_password\fR" 4
360.IX Item "input_password output_password"
361The passwords for the input private key file (if present) and
362the output private key file (if one will be created). The
363command line options \fBpassin\fR and \fBpassout\fR override the
364configuration file values.
365.Ip "\fBdefault_bits\fR" 4
366.IX Item "default_bits"
367This specifies the default key size in bits. If not specified then
368512 is used. It is used if the \fB\-new\fR option is used. It can be
369overridden by using the \fB\-newkey\fR option.
370.Ip "\fBdefault_keyfile\fR" 4
371.IX Item "default_keyfile"
372This is the default filename to write a private key to. If not
373specified the key is written to standard output. This can be
374overridden by the \fB\-keyout\fR option.
375.Ip "\fBoid_file\fR" 4
376.IX Item "oid_file"
377This specifies a file containing additional \fB\s-1OBJECT\s0 \s-1IDENTIFIERS\s0\fR.
378Each line of the file should consist of the numerical form of the
379object identifier followed by white space then the short name followed
380by white space and finally the long name.
381.Ip "\fBoid_section\fR" 4
382.IX Item "oid_section"
383This specifies a section in the configuration file containing extra
384object identifiers. Each line should consist of the short name of the
385object identifier followed by \fB=\fR and the numerical form. The short
386and long names are the same when this option is used.
387.Ip "\fB\s-1RANDFILE\s0\fR" 4
388.IX Item "RANDFILE"
389This specifies a filename in which random number seed information is
390placed and read from, or an \s-1EGD\s0 socket (see RAND_egd(3)).
391It is used for private key generation.
392.Ip "\fBencrypt_key\fR" 4
393.IX Item "encrypt_key"
394If this is set to \fBno\fR then if a private key is generated it is
395\&\fBnot\fR encrypted. This is equivalent to the \fB\-nodes\fR command line
396option. For compatibility \fBencrypt_rsa_key\fR is an equivalent option.
397.Ip "\fBdefault_md\fR" 4
398.IX Item "default_md"
399This option specifies the digest algorithm to use. Possible values
400include \fBmd5 sha1 mdc2\fR. If not present then \s-1MD5\s0 is used. This
401option can be overridden on the command line.
402.Ip "\fBstring_mask\fR" 4
403.IX Item "string_mask"
404This option masks out the use of certain string types in certain
405fields. Most users will not need to change this option.
406.Sp
407It can be set to several values \fBdefault\fR which is also the default
408option uses PrintableStrings, T61Strings and BMPStrings if the
409\&\fBpkix\fR value is used then only PrintableStrings and BMPStrings will
410be used. This follows the \s-1PKIX\s0 recommendation in \s-1RFC2459\s0. If the
411\&\fButf8only\fR option is used then only UTF8Strings will be used: this
412is the \s-1PKIX\s0 recommendation in \s-1RFC2459\s0 after 2003. Finally the \fBnombstr\fR
413option just uses PrintableStrings and T61Strings: certain software has
414problems with BMPStrings and UTF8Strings: in particular Netscape.
415.Ip "\fBreq_extensions\fR" 4
416.IX Item "req_extensions"
417this specifies the configuration file section containing a list of
418extensions to add to the certificate request. It can be overridden
419by the \fB\-reqexts\fR command line switch.
420.Ip "\fBx509_extensions\fR" 4
421.IX Item "x509_extensions"
422this specifies the configuration file section containing a list of
423extensions to add to certificate generated when the \fB\-x509\fR switch
424is used. It can be overridden by the \fB\-extensions\fR command line switch.
425.Ip "\fBprompt\fR" 4
426.IX Item "prompt"
427if set to the value \fBno\fR this disables prompting of certificate fields
428and just takes values from the config file directly. It also changes the
429expected format of the \fBdistinguished_name\fR and \fBattributes\fR sections.
430.Ip "\fButf8\fR" 4
431.IX Item "utf8"
432if set to the value \fByes\fR then field values to be interpreted as \s-1UTF8\s0
433strings, by default they are interpreted as \s-1ASCII\s0. This means that
434the field values, whether prompted from a terminal or obtained from a
435configuration file, must be valid \s-1UTF8\s0 strings.
436.Ip "\fBattributes\fR" 4
437.IX Item "attributes"
438this specifies the section containing any request attributes: its format
439is the same as \fBdistinguished_name\fR. Typically these may contain the
440challengePassword or unstructuredName types. They are currently ignored
441by OpenSSL's request signing utilities but some CAs might want them.
442.Ip "\fBdistinguished_name\fR" 4
443.IX Item "distinguished_name"
444This specifies the section containing the distinguished name fields to
445prompt for when generating a certificate or certificate request. The format
446is described in the next section.
447.SH "DISTINGUISHED NAME AND ATTRIBUTE SECTION FORMAT"
448.IX Header "DISTINGUISHED NAME AND ATTRIBUTE SECTION FORMAT"
449There are two separate formats for the distinguished name and attribute
450sections. If the \fBprompt\fR option is set to \fBno\fR then these sections
451just consist of field names and values: for example,
452.PP
453.Vb 3
454\& CN=My Name
455\& OU=My Organization
456\& emailAddress=someone@somewhere.org
457.Ve
458This allows external programs (e.g. \s-1GUI\s0 based) to generate a template file
459with all the field names and values and just pass it to \fBreq\fR. An example
460of this kind of configuration file is contained in the \fB\s-1EXAMPLES\s0\fR section.
461.PP
462Alternatively if the \fBprompt\fR option is absent or not set to \fBno\fR then the
463file contains field prompting information. It consists of lines of the form:
464.PP
465.Vb 4
466\& fieldName="prompt"
467\& fieldName_default="default field value"
468\& fieldName_min= 2
469\& fieldName_max= 4
470.Ve
471\&\*(L"fieldName\*(R" is the field name being used, for example commonName (or \s-1CN\s0).
472The \*(L"prompt\*(R" string is used to ask the user to enter the relevant
473details. If the user enters nothing then the default value is used if no
474default value is present then the field is omitted. A field can
475still be omitted if a default value is present if the user just
476enters the '.' character.
477.PP
478The number of characters entered must be between the fieldName_min and
479fieldName_max limits: there may be additional restrictions based
480on the field being used (for example countryName can only ever be
481two characters long and must fit in a PrintableString).
482.PP
483Some fields (such as organizationName) can be used more than once
484in a \s-1DN\s0. This presents a problem because configuration files will
485not recognize the same name occurring twice. To avoid this problem
486if the fieldName contains some characters followed by a full stop
487they will be ignored. So for example a second organizationName can
488be input by calling it \*(L"1.organizationName\*(R".
489.PP
490The actual permitted field names are any object identifier short or
491long names. These are compiled into OpenSSL and include the usual
492values such as commonName, countryName, localityName, organizationName,
493organizationUnitName, stateOrPrivinceName. Additionally emailAddress
494is include as well as name, surname, givenName initials and dnQualifier.
495.PP
496Additional object identifiers can be defined with the \fBoid_file\fR or
497\&\fBoid_section\fR options in the configuration file. Any additional fields
498will be treated as though they were a DirectoryString.
499.SH "EXAMPLES"
500.IX Header "EXAMPLES"
501Examine and verify certificate request:
502.PP
503.Vb 1
504\& openssl req -in req.pem -text -verify -noout
505.Ve
506Create a private key and then generate a certificate request from it:
507.PP
508.Vb 2
509\& openssl genrsa -out key.pem 1024
510\& openssl req -new -key key.pem -out req.pem
511.Ve
512The same but just using req:
513.PP
514.Vb 1
515\& openssl req -newkey rsa:1024 -keyout key.pem -out req.pem
516.Ve
517Generate a self signed root certificate:
518.PP
519.Vb 1
520\& openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:1024 -keyout key.pem -out req.pem
521.Ve
522Example of a file pointed to by the \fBoid_file\fR option:
523.PP
524.Vb 2
525\& 1.2.3.4 shortName A longer Name
526\& 1.2.3.6 otherName Other longer Name
527.Ve
528Example of a section pointed to by \fBoid_section\fR making use of variable
529expansion:
530.PP
531.Vb 2
532\& testoid1=1.2.3.5
533\& testoid2=${testoid1}.6
534.Ve
535Sample configuration file prompting for field values:
536.PP
537.Vb 6
538\& [ req ]
539\& default_bits = 1024
540\& default_keyfile = privkey.pem
541\& distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
542\& attributes = req_attributes
543\& x509_extensions = v3_ca
544.Ve
545.Vb 1
546\& dirstring_type = nobmp
547.Ve
548.Vb 5
549\& [ req_distinguished_name ]
550\& countryName = Country Name (2 letter code)
551\& countryName_default = AU
552\& countryName_min = 2
553\& countryName_max = 2
554.Ve
555.Vb 1
556\& localityName = Locality Name (eg, city)
557.Ve
558.Vb 1
559\& organizationalUnitName = Organizational Unit Name (eg, section)
560.Ve
561.Vb 2
562\& commonName = Common Name (eg, YOUR name)
563\& commonName_max = 64
564.Ve
565.Vb 2
566\& emailAddress = Email Address
567\& emailAddress_max = 40
568.Ve
569.Vb 4
570\& [ req_attributes ]
571\& challengePassword = A challenge password
572\& challengePassword_min = 4
573\& challengePassword_max = 20
574.Ve
575.Vb 1
576\& [ v3_ca ]
577.Ve
578.Vb 3
579\& subjectKeyIdentifier=hash
580\& authorityKeyIdentifier=keyid:always,issuer:always
581\& basicConstraints = CA:true
582.Ve
583Sample configuration containing all field values:
584.PP
585.Vb 1
586\& RANDFILE = $ENV::HOME/.rnd
587.Ve
588.Vb 7
589\& [ req ]
590\& default_bits = 1024
591\& default_keyfile = keyfile.pem
592\& distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
593\& attributes = req_attributes
594\& prompt = no
595\& output_password = mypass
596.Ve
597.Vb 8
598\& [ req_distinguished_name ]
599\& C = GB
600\& ST = Test State or Province
601\& L = Test Locality
602\& O = Organization Name
603\& OU = Organizational Unit Name
604\& CN = Common Name
605\& emailAddress = test@email.address
606.Ve
607.Vb 2
608\& [ req_attributes ]
609\& challengePassword = A challenge password
610.Ve
611.SH "NOTES"
612.IX Header "NOTES"
613The header and footer lines in the \fB\s-1PEM\s0\fR format are normally:
614.PP
615.Vb 2
616\& -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
617\& -----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
618.Ve
619some software (some versions of Netscape certificate server) instead needs:
620.PP
621.Vb 2
622\& -----BEGIN NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
623\& -----END NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
624.Ve
625which is produced with the \fB\-newhdr\fR option but is otherwise compatible.
626Either form is accepted transparently on input.
627.PP
628The certificate requests generated by \fBXenroll\fR with \s-1MSIE\s0 have extensions
629added. It includes the \fBkeyUsage\fR extension which determines the type of
630key (signature only or general purpose) and any additional OIDs entered
631by the script in an extendedKeyUsage extension.
632.SH "DIAGNOSTICS"
633.IX Header "DIAGNOSTICS"
634The following messages are frequently asked about:
635.PP
636.Vb 2
637\& Using configuration from /some/path/openssl.cnf
638\& Unable to load config info
639.Ve
640This is followed some time later by...
641.PP
642.Vb 2
643\& unable to find 'distinguished_name' in config
644\& problems making Certificate Request
645.Ve
646The first error message is the clue: it can't find the configuration
647file! Certain operations (like examining a certificate request) don't
648need a configuration file so its use isn't enforced. Generation of
649certificates or requests however does need a configuration file. This
650could be regarded as a bug.
651.PP
652Another puzzling message is this:
653.PP
654.Vb 2
655\& Attributes:
656\& a0:00
657.Ve
658this is displayed when no attributes are present and the request includes
659the correct empty \fB\s-1SET\s0 \s-1OF\s0\fR structure (the \s-1DER\s0 encoding of which is 0xa0
6600x00). If you just see:
661.PP
662.Vb 1
663\& Attributes:
664.Ve
665then the \fB\s-1SET\s0 \s-1OF\s0\fR is missing and the encoding is technically invalid (but
666it is tolerated). See the description of the command line option \fB\-asn1\-kludge\fR
667for more information.
668.SH "ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES"
669.IX Header "ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES"
670The variable \fB\s-1OPENSSL_CONF\s0\fR if defined allows an alternative configuration
671file location to be specified, it will be overridden by the \fB\-config\fR command
672line switch if it is present. For compatibility reasons the \fB\s-1SSLEAY_CONF\s0\fR
673environment variable serves the same purpose but its use is discouraged.
674.SH "BUGS"
675.IX Header "BUGS"
676OpenSSL's handling of T61Strings (aka TeletexStrings) is broken: it effectively
677treats them as \s-1ISO-8859\-1\s0 (Latin 1), Netscape and \s-1MSIE\s0 have similar behaviour.
678This can cause problems if you need characters that aren't available in
679PrintableStrings and you don't want to or can't use BMPStrings.
680.PP
681As a consequence of the T61String handling the only correct way to represent
682accented characters in OpenSSL is to use a BMPString: unfortunately Netscape
683currently chokes on these. If you have to use accented characters with Netscape
684and \s-1MSIE\s0 then you currently need to use the invalid T61String form.
685.PP
686The current prompting is not very friendly. It doesn't allow you to confirm what
687you've just entered. Other things like extensions in certificate requests are
688statically defined in the configuration file. Some of these: like an email
689address in subjectAltName should be input by the user.
690.SH "SEE ALSO"
691.IX Header "SEE ALSO"
692x509(1), ca(1), genrsa(1),
693gendsa(1), config(5)
| 142.UC
143.SH "NAME"
144req \- PKCS#10 certificate request and certificate generating utility.
145.SH "SYNOPSIS"
146.IX Header "SYNOPSIS"
147\&\fBopenssl\fR \fBreq\fR
148[\fB\-inform PEM|DER\fR]
149[\fB\-outform PEM|DER\fR]
150[\fB\-in filename\fR]
151[\fB\-passin arg\fR]
152[\fB\-out filename\fR]
153[\fB\-passout arg\fR]
154[\fB\-text\fR]
155[\fB\-pubkey\fR]
156[\fB\-noout\fR]
157[\fB\-verify\fR]
158[\fB\-modulus\fR]
159[\fB\-new\fR]
160[\fB\-rand \f(BIfile\fB\|(s)\fR]
161[\fB\-newkey rsa:bits\fR]
162[\fB\-newkey dsa:file\fR]
163[\fB\-nodes\fR]
164[\fB\-key filename\fR]
165[\fB\-keyform PEM|DER\fR]
166[\fB\-keyout filename\fR]
167[\fB\-[md5|sha1|md2|mdc2]\fR]
168[\fB\-config filename\fR]
169[\fB\-subj arg\fR]
170[\fB\-x509\fR]
171[\fB\-days n\fR]
172[\fB\-set_serial n\fR]
173[\fB\-asn1\-kludge\fR]
174[\fB\-newhdr\fR]
175[\fB\-extensions section\fR]
176[\fB\-reqexts section\fR]
177[\fB\-utf8\fR]
178[\fB\-nameopt\fR]
179[\fB\-batch\fR]
180[\fB\-verbose\fR]
181.SH "DESCRIPTION"
182.IX Header "DESCRIPTION"
183The \fBreq\fR command primarily creates and processes certificate requests
184in PKCS#10 format. It can additionally create self signed certificates
185for use as root CAs for example.
186.SH "COMMAND OPTIONS"
187.IX Header "COMMAND OPTIONS"
188.Ip "\fB\-inform DER|PEM\fR" 4
189.IX Item "-inform DER|PEM"
190This specifies the input format. The \fB\s-1DER\s0\fR option uses an \s-1ASN1\s0 \s-1DER\s0 encoded
191form compatible with the PKCS#10. The \fB\s-1PEM\s0\fR form is the default format: it
192consists of the \fB\s-1DER\s0\fR format base64 encoded with additional header and
193footer lines.
194.Ip "\fB\-outform DER|PEM\fR" 4
195.IX Item "-outform DER|PEM"
196This specifies the output format, the options have the same meaning as the
197\&\fB\-inform\fR option.
198.Ip "\fB\-in filename\fR" 4
199.IX Item "-in filename"
200This specifies the input filename to read a request from or standard input
201if this option is not specified. A request is only read if the creation
202options (\fB\-new\fR and \fB\-newkey\fR) are not specified.
203.Ip "\fB\-passin arg\fR" 4
204.IX Item "-passin arg"
205the input file password source. For more information about the format of \fBarg\fR
206see the \fB\s-1PASS\s0 \s-1PHRASE\s0 \s-1ARGUMENTS\s0\fR section in openssl(1).
207.Ip "\fB\-out filename\fR" 4
208.IX Item "-out filename"
209This specifies the output filename to write to or standard output by
210default.
211.Ip "\fB\-passout arg\fR" 4
212.IX Item "-passout arg"
213the output file password source. For more information about the format of \fBarg\fR
214see the \fB\s-1PASS\s0 \s-1PHRASE\s0 \s-1ARGUMENTS\s0\fR section in openssl(1).
215.Ip "\fB\-text\fR" 4
216.IX Item "-text"
217prints out the certificate request in text form.
218.Ip "\fB\-pubkey\fR" 4
219.IX Item "-pubkey"
220outputs the public key.
221.Ip "\fB\-noout\fR" 4
222.IX Item "-noout"
223this option prevents output of the encoded version of the request.
224.Ip "\fB\-modulus\fR" 4
225.IX Item "-modulus"
226this option prints out the value of the modulus of the public key
227contained in the request.
228.Ip "\fB\-verify\fR" 4
229.IX Item "-verify"
230verifies the signature on the request.
231.Ip "\fB\-new\fR" 4
232.IX Item "-new"
233this option generates a new certificate request. It will prompt
234the user for the relevant field values. The actual fields
235prompted for and their maximum and minimum sizes are specified
236in the configuration file and any requested extensions.
237.Sp
238If the \fB\-key\fR option is not used it will generate a new \s-1RSA\s0 private
239key using information specified in the configuration file.
240.Ip "\fB\-rand \f(BIfile\fB\|(s)\fR" 4
241.IX Item "-rand file"
242a file or files containing random data used to seed the random number
243generator, or an \s-1EGD\s0 socket (see RAND_egd(3)).
244Multiple files can be specified separated by a OS-dependent character.
245The separator is \fB;\fR for MS-Windows, \fB,\fR for OpenVMS, and \fB:\fR for
246all others.
247.Ip "\fB\-newkey arg\fR" 4
248.IX Item "-newkey arg"
249this option creates a new certificate request and a new private
250key. The argument takes one of two forms. \fBrsa:nbits\fR, where
251\&\fBnbits\fR is the number of bits, generates an \s-1RSA\s0 key \fBnbits\fR
252in size. \fBdsa:filename\fR generates a \s-1DSA\s0 key using the parameters
253in the file \fBfilename\fR.
254.Ip "\fB\-key filename\fR" 4
255.IX Item "-key filename"
256This specifies the file to read the private key from. It also
257accepts PKCS#8 format private keys for \s-1PEM\s0 format files.
258.Ip "\fB\-keyform PEM|DER\fR" 4
259.IX Item "-keyform PEM|DER"
260the format of the private key file specified in the \fB\-key\fR
261argument. \s-1PEM\s0 is the default.
262.Ip "\fB\-keyout filename\fR" 4
263.IX Item "-keyout filename"
264this gives the filename to write the newly created private key to.
265If this option is not specified then the filename present in the
266configuration file is used.
267.Ip "\fB\-nodes\fR" 4
268.IX Item "-nodes"
269if this option is specified then if a private key is created it
270will not be encrypted.
271.Ip "\fB\-[md5|sha1|md2|mdc2]\fR" 4
272.IX Item "-[md5|sha1|md2|mdc2]"
273this specifies the message digest to sign the request with. This
274overrides the digest algorithm specified in the configuration file.
275This option is ignored for \s-1DSA\s0 requests: they always use \s-1SHA1\s0.
276.Ip "\fB\-config filename\fR" 4
277.IX Item "-config filename"
278this allows an alternative configuration file to be specified,
279this overrides the compile time filename or any specified in
280the \fB\s-1OPENSSL_CONF\s0\fR environment variable.
281.Ip "\fB\-subj arg\fR" 4
282.IX Item "-subj arg"
283sets subject name for new request or supersedes the subject name
284when processing a request.
285The arg must be formatted as \fI/type0=value0/type1=value1/type2=...\fR,
286characters may be escaped by \e (backslash), no spaces are skipped.
287.Ip "\fB\-x509\fR" 4
288.IX Item "-x509"
289this option outputs a self signed certificate instead of a certificate
290request. This is typically used to generate a test certificate or
291a self signed root \s-1CA\s0. The extensions added to the certificate
292(if any) are specified in the configuration file. Unless specified
293using the \fBset_serial\fR option \fB0\fR will be used for the serial
294number.
295.Ip "\fB\-days n\fR" 4
296.IX Item "-days n"
297when the \fB\-x509\fR option is being used this specifies the number of
298days to certify the certificate for. The default is 30 days.
299.Ip "\fB\-set_serial n\fR" 4
300.IX Item "-set_serial n"
301serial number to use when outputting a self signed certificate. This
302may be specified as a decimal value or a hex value if preceded by \fB0x\fR.
303It is possible to use negative serial numbers but this is not recommended.
304.Ip "\fB\-extensions section\fR" 4
305.IX Item "-extensions section"
306.PD 0
307.Ip "\fB\-reqexts section\fR" 4
308.IX Item "-reqexts section"
309.PD
310these options specify alternative sections to include certificate
311extensions (if the \fB\-x509\fR option is present) or certificate
312request extensions. This allows several different sections to
313be used in the same configuration file to specify requests for
314a variety of purposes.
315.Ip "\fB\-utf8\fR" 4
316.IX Item "-utf8"
317this option causes field values to be interpreted as \s-1UTF8\s0 strings, by
318default they are interpreted as \s-1ASCII\s0. This means that the field
319values, whether prompted from a terminal or obtained from a
320configuration file, must be valid \s-1UTF8\s0 strings.
321.Ip "\fB\-nameopt option\fR" 4
322.IX Item "-nameopt option"
323option which determines how the subject or issuer names are displayed. The
324\&\fBoption\fR argument can be a single option or multiple options separated by
325commas. Alternatively the \fB\-nameopt\fR switch may be used more than once to
326set multiple options. See the x509(1) manual page for details.
327.Ip "\fB\-asn1\-kludge\fR" 4
328.IX Item "-asn1-kludge"
329by default the \fBreq\fR command outputs certificate requests containing
330no attributes in the correct PKCS#10 format. However certain CAs will only
331accept requests containing no attributes in an invalid form: this
332option produces this invalid format.
333.Sp
334More precisely the \fBAttributes\fR in a PKCS#10 certificate request
335are defined as a \fB\s-1SET\s0 \s-1OF\s0 Attribute\fR. They are \fBnot \s-1OPTIONAL\s0\fR so
336if no attributes are present then they should be encoded as an
337empty \fB\s-1SET\s0 \s-1OF\s0\fR. The invalid form does not include the empty
338\&\fB\s-1SET\s0 \s-1OF\s0\fR whereas the correct form does.
339.Sp
340It should be noted that very few CAs still require the use of this option.
341.Ip "\fB\-newhdr\fR" 4
342.IX Item "-newhdr"
343Adds the word \fB\s-1NEW\s0\fR to the \s-1PEM\s0 file header and footer lines on the outputed
344request. Some software (Netscape certificate server) and some CAs need this.
345.Ip "\fB\-batch\fR" 4
346.IX Item "-batch"
347non-interactive mode.
348.Ip "\fB\-verbose\fR" 4
349.IX Item "-verbose"
350print extra details about the operations being performed.
351.SH "CONFIGURATION FILE FORMAT"
352.IX Header "CONFIGURATION FILE FORMAT"
353The configuration options are specified in the \fBreq\fR section of
354the configuration file. As with all configuration files if no
355value is specified in the specific section (i.e. \fBreq\fR) then
356the initial unnamed or \fBdefault\fR section is searched too.
357.PP
358The options available are described in detail below.
359.Ip "\fBinput_password output_password\fR" 4
360.IX Item "input_password output_password"
361The passwords for the input private key file (if present) and
362the output private key file (if one will be created). The
363command line options \fBpassin\fR and \fBpassout\fR override the
364configuration file values.
365.Ip "\fBdefault_bits\fR" 4
366.IX Item "default_bits"
367This specifies the default key size in bits. If not specified then
368512 is used. It is used if the \fB\-new\fR option is used. It can be
369overridden by using the \fB\-newkey\fR option.
370.Ip "\fBdefault_keyfile\fR" 4
371.IX Item "default_keyfile"
372This is the default filename to write a private key to. If not
373specified the key is written to standard output. This can be
374overridden by the \fB\-keyout\fR option.
375.Ip "\fBoid_file\fR" 4
376.IX Item "oid_file"
377This specifies a file containing additional \fB\s-1OBJECT\s0 \s-1IDENTIFIERS\s0\fR.
378Each line of the file should consist of the numerical form of the
379object identifier followed by white space then the short name followed
380by white space and finally the long name.
381.Ip "\fBoid_section\fR" 4
382.IX Item "oid_section"
383This specifies a section in the configuration file containing extra
384object identifiers. Each line should consist of the short name of the
385object identifier followed by \fB=\fR and the numerical form. The short
386and long names are the same when this option is used.
387.Ip "\fB\s-1RANDFILE\s0\fR" 4
388.IX Item "RANDFILE"
389This specifies a filename in which random number seed information is
390placed and read from, or an \s-1EGD\s0 socket (see RAND_egd(3)).
391It is used for private key generation.
392.Ip "\fBencrypt_key\fR" 4
393.IX Item "encrypt_key"
394If this is set to \fBno\fR then if a private key is generated it is
395\&\fBnot\fR encrypted. This is equivalent to the \fB\-nodes\fR command line
396option. For compatibility \fBencrypt_rsa_key\fR is an equivalent option.
397.Ip "\fBdefault_md\fR" 4
398.IX Item "default_md"
399This option specifies the digest algorithm to use. Possible values
400include \fBmd5 sha1 mdc2\fR. If not present then \s-1MD5\s0 is used. This
401option can be overridden on the command line.
402.Ip "\fBstring_mask\fR" 4
403.IX Item "string_mask"
404This option masks out the use of certain string types in certain
405fields. Most users will not need to change this option.
406.Sp
407It can be set to several values \fBdefault\fR which is also the default
408option uses PrintableStrings, T61Strings and BMPStrings if the
409\&\fBpkix\fR value is used then only PrintableStrings and BMPStrings will
410be used. This follows the \s-1PKIX\s0 recommendation in \s-1RFC2459\s0. If the
411\&\fButf8only\fR option is used then only UTF8Strings will be used: this
412is the \s-1PKIX\s0 recommendation in \s-1RFC2459\s0 after 2003. Finally the \fBnombstr\fR
413option just uses PrintableStrings and T61Strings: certain software has
414problems with BMPStrings and UTF8Strings: in particular Netscape.
415.Ip "\fBreq_extensions\fR" 4
416.IX Item "req_extensions"
417this specifies the configuration file section containing a list of
418extensions to add to the certificate request. It can be overridden
419by the \fB\-reqexts\fR command line switch.
420.Ip "\fBx509_extensions\fR" 4
421.IX Item "x509_extensions"
422this specifies the configuration file section containing a list of
423extensions to add to certificate generated when the \fB\-x509\fR switch
424is used. It can be overridden by the \fB\-extensions\fR command line switch.
425.Ip "\fBprompt\fR" 4
426.IX Item "prompt"
427if set to the value \fBno\fR this disables prompting of certificate fields
428and just takes values from the config file directly. It also changes the
429expected format of the \fBdistinguished_name\fR and \fBattributes\fR sections.
430.Ip "\fButf8\fR" 4
431.IX Item "utf8"
432if set to the value \fByes\fR then field values to be interpreted as \s-1UTF8\s0
433strings, by default they are interpreted as \s-1ASCII\s0. This means that
434the field values, whether prompted from a terminal or obtained from a
435configuration file, must be valid \s-1UTF8\s0 strings.
436.Ip "\fBattributes\fR" 4
437.IX Item "attributes"
438this specifies the section containing any request attributes: its format
439is the same as \fBdistinguished_name\fR. Typically these may contain the
440challengePassword or unstructuredName types. They are currently ignored
441by OpenSSL's request signing utilities but some CAs might want them.
442.Ip "\fBdistinguished_name\fR" 4
443.IX Item "distinguished_name"
444This specifies the section containing the distinguished name fields to
445prompt for when generating a certificate or certificate request. The format
446is described in the next section.
447.SH "DISTINGUISHED NAME AND ATTRIBUTE SECTION FORMAT"
448.IX Header "DISTINGUISHED NAME AND ATTRIBUTE SECTION FORMAT"
449There are two separate formats for the distinguished name and attribute
450sections. If the \fBprompt\fR option is set to \fBno\fR then these sections
451just consist of field names and values: for example,
452.PP
453.Vb 3
454\& CN=My Name
455\& OU=My Organization
456\& emailAddress=someone@somewhere.org
457.Ve
458This allows external programs (e.g. \s-1GUI\s0 based) to generate a template file
459with all the field names and values and just pass it to \fBreq\fR. An example
460of this kind of configuration file is contained in the \fB\s-1EXAMPLES\s0\fR section.
461.PP
462Alternatively if the \fBprompt\fR option is absent or not set to \fBno\fR then the
463file contains field prompting information. It consists of lines of the form:
464.PP
465.Vb 4
466\& fieldName="prompt"
467\& fieldName_default="default field value"
468\& fieldName_min= 2
469\& fieldName_max= 4
470.Ve
471\&\*(L"fieldName\*(R" is the field name being used, for example commonName (or \s-1CN\s0).
472The \*(L"prompt\*(R" string is used to ask the user to enter the relevant
473details. If the user enters nothing then the default value is used if no
474default value is present then the field is omitted. A field can
475still be omitted if a default value is present if the user just
476enters the '.' character.
477.PP
478The number of characters entered must be between the fieldName_min and
479fieldName_max limits: there may be additional restrictions based
480on the field being used (for example countryName can only ever be
481two characters long and must fit in a PrintableString).
482.PP
483Some fields (such as organizationName) can be used more than once
484in a \s-1DN\s0. This presents a problem because configuration files will
485not recognize the same name occurring twice. To avoid this problem
486if the fieldName contains some characters followed by a full stop
487they will be ignored. So for example a second organizationName can
488be input by calling it \*(L"1.organizationName\*(R".
489.PP
490The actual permitted field names are any object identifier short or
491long names. These are compiled into OpenSSL and include the usual
492values such as commonName, countryName, localityName, organizationName,
493organizationUnitName, stateOrPrivinceName. Additionally emailAddress
494is include as well as name, surname, givenName initials and dnQualifier.
495.PP
496Additional object identifiers can be defined with the \fBoid_file\fR or
497\&\fBoid_section\fR options in the configuration file. Any additional fields
498will be treated as though they were a DirectoryString.
499.SH "EXAMPLES"
500.IX Header "EXAMPLES"
501Examine and verify certificate request:
502.PP
503.Vb 1
504\& openssl req -in req.pem -text -verify -noout
505.Ve
506Create a private key and then generate a certificate request from it:
507.PP
508.Vb 2
509\& openssl genrsa -out key.pem 1024
510\& openssl req -new -key key.pem -out req.pem
511.Ve
512The same but just using req:
513.PP
514.Vb 1
515\& openssl req -newkey rsa:1024 -keyout key.pem -out req.pem
516.Ve
517Generate a self signed root certificate:
518.PP
519.Vb 1
520\& openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:1024 -keyout key.pem -out req.pem
521.Ve
522Example of a file pointed to by the \fBoid_file\fR option:
523.PP
524.Vb 2
525\& 1.2.3.4 shortName A longer Name
526\& 1.2.3.6 otherName Other longer Name
527.Ve
528Example of a section pointed to by \fBoid_section\fR making use of variable
529expansion:
530.PP
531.Vb 2
532\& testoid1=1.2.3.5
533\& testoid2=${testoid1}.6
534.Ve
535Sample configuration file prompting for field values:
536.PP
537.Vb 6
538\& [ req ]
539\& default_bits = 1024
540\& default_keyfile = privkey.pem
541\& distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
542\& attributes = req_attributes
543\& x509_extensions = v3_ca
544.Ve
545.Vb 1
546\& dirstring_type = nobmp
547.Ve
548.Vb 5
549\& [ req_distinguished_name ]
550\& countryName = Country Name (2 letter code)
551\& countryName_default = AU
552\& countryName_min = 2
553\& countryName_max = 2
554.Ve
555.Vb 1
556\& localityName = Locality Name (eg, city)
557.Ve
558.Vb 1
559\& organizationalUnitName = Organizational Unit Name (eg, section)
560.Ve
561.Vb 2
562\& commonName = Common Name (eg, YOUR name)
563\& commonName_max = 64
564.Ve
565.Vb 2
566\& emailAddress = Email Address
567\& emailAddress_max = 40
568.Ve
569.Vb 4
570\& [ req_attributes ]
571\& challengePassword = A challenge password
572\& challengePassword_min = 4
573\& challengePassword_max = 20
574.Ve
575.Vb 1
576\& [ v3_ca ]
577.Ve
578.Vb 3
579\& subjectKeyIdentifier=hash
580\& authorityKeyIdentifier=keyid:always,issuer:always
581\& basicConstraints = CA:true
582.Ve
583Sample configuration containing all field values:
584.PP
585.Vb 1
586\& RANDFILE = $ENV::HOME/.rnd
587.Ve
588.Vb 7
589\& [ req ]
590\& default_bits = 1024
591\& default_keyfile = keyfile.pem
592\& distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
593\& attributes = req_attributes
594\& prompt = no
595\& output_password = mypass
596.Ve
597.Vb 8
598\& [ req_distinguished_name ]
599\& C = GB
600\& ST = Test State or Province
601\& L = Test Locality
602\& O = Organization Name
603\& OU = Organizational Unit Name
604\& CN = Common Name
605\& emailAddress = test@email.address
606.Ve
607.Vb 2
608\& [ req_attributes ]
609\& challengePassword = A challenge password
610.Ve
611.SH "NOTES"
612.IX Header "NOTES"
613The header and footer lines in the \fB\s-1PEM\s0\fR format are normally:
614.PP
615.Vb 2
616\& -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
617\& -----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
618.Ve
619some software (some versions of Netscape certificate server) instead needs:
620.PP
621.Vb 2
622\& -----BEGIN NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
623\& -----END NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
624.Ve
625which is produced with the \fB\-newhdr\fR option but is otherwise compatible.
626Either form is accepted transparently on input.
627.PP
628The certificate requests generated by \fBXenroll\fR with \s-1MSIE\s0 have extensions
629added. It includes the \fBkeyUsage\fR extension which determines the type of
630key (signature only or general purpose) and any additional OIDs entered
631by the script in an extendedKeyUsage extension.
632.SH "DIAGNOSTICS"
633.IX Header "DIAGNOSTICS"
634The following messages are frequently asked about:
635.PP
636.Vb 2
637\& Using configuration from /some/path/openssl.cnf
638\& Unable to load config info
639.Ve
640This is followed some time later by...
641.PP
642.Vb 2
643\& unable to find 'distinguished_name' in config
644\& problems making Certificate Request
645.Ve
646The first error message is the clue: it can't find the configuration
647file! Certain operations (like examining a certificate request) don't
648need a configuration file so its use isn't enforced. Generation of
649certificates or requests however does need a configuration file. This
650could be regarded as a bug.
651.PP
652Another puzzling message is this:
653.PP
654.Vb 2
655\& Attributes:
656\& a0:00
657.Ve
658this is displayed when no attributes are present and the request includes
659the correct empty \fB\s-1SET\s0 \s-1OF\s0\fR structure (the \s-1DER\s0 encoding of which is 0xa0
6600x00). If you just see:
661.PP
662.Vb 1
663\& Attributes:
664.Ve
665then the \fB\s-1SET\s0 \s-1OF\s0\fR is missing and the encoding is technically invalid (but
666it is tolerated). See the description of the command line option \fB\-asn1\-kludge\fR
667for more information.
668.SH "ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES"
669.IX Header "ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES"
670The variable \fB\s-1OPENSSL_CONF\s0\fR if defined allows an alternative configuration
671file location to be specified, it will be overridden by the \fB\-config\fR command
672line switch if it is present. For compatibility reasons the \fB\s-1SSLEAY_CONF\s0\fR
673environment variable serves the same purpose but its use is discouraged.
674.SH "BUGS"
675.IX Header "BUGS"
676OpenSSL's handling of T61Strings (aka TeletexStrings) is broken: it effectively
677treats them as \s-1ISO-8859\-1\s0 (Latin 1), Netscape and \s-1MSIE\s0 have similar behaviour.
678This can cause problems if you need characters that aren't available in
679PrintableStrings and you don't want to or can't use BMPStrings.
680.PP
681As a consequence of the T61String handling the only correct way to represent
682accented characters in OpenSSL is to use a BMPString: unfortunately Netscape
683currently chokes on these. If you have to use accented characters with Netscape
684and \s-1MSIE\s0 then you currently need to use the invalid T61String form.
685.PP
686The current prompting is not very friendly. It doesn't allow you to confirm what
687you've just entered. Other things like extensions in certificate requests are
688statically defined in the configuration file. Some of these: like an email
689address in subjectAltName should be input by the user.
690.SH "SEE ALSO"
691.IX Header "SEE ALSO"
692x509(1), ca(1), genrsa(1),
693gendsa(1), config(5)
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