ca.pod revision 89837
1 2=pod 3 4=head1 NAME 5 6ca - sample minimal CA application 7 8=head1 SYNOPSIS 9 10B<openssl> B<ca> 11[B<-verbose>] 12[B<-config filename>] 13[B<-name section>] 14[B<-gencrl>] 15[B<-revoke file>] 16[B<-crldays days>] 17[B<-crlhours hours>] 18[B<-crlexts section>] 19[B<-startdate date>] 20[B<-enddate date>] 21[B<-days arg>] 22[B<-md arg>] 23[B<-policy arg>] 24[B<-keyfile arg>] 25[B<-key arg>] 26[B<-passin arg>] 27[B<-cert file>] 28[B<-in file>] 29[B<-out file>] 30[B<-notext>] 31[B<-outdir dir>] 32[B<-infiles>] 33[B<-spkac file>] 34[B<-ss_cert file>] 35[B<-preserveDN>] 36[B<-batch>] 37[B<-msie_hack>] 38[B<-extensions section>] 39 40=head1 DESCRIPTION 41 42The B<ca> command is a minimal CA application. It can be used 43to sign certificate requests in a variety of forms and generate 44CRLs it also maintains a text database of issued certificates 45and their status. 46 47The options descriptions will be divided into each purpose. 48 49=head1 CA OPTIONS 50 51=over 4 52 53=item B<-config filename> 54 55specifies the configuration file to use. 56 57=item B<-name section> 58 59specifies the configuration file section to use (overrides 60B<default_ca> in the B<ca> section). 61 62=item B<-in filename> 63 64an input filename containing a single certificate request to be 65signed by the CA. 66 67=item B<-ss_cert filename> 68 69a single self signed certificate to be signed by the CA. 70 71=item B<-spkac filename> 72 73a file containing a single Netscape signed public key and challenge 74and additional field values to be signed by the CA. See the B<NOTES> 75section for information on the required format. 76 77=item B<-infiles> 78 79if present this should be the last option, all subsequent arguments 80are assumed to the the names of files containing certificate requests. 81 82=item B<-out filename> 83 84the output file to output certificates to. The default is standard 85output. The certificate details will also be printed out to this 86file. 87 88=item B<-outdir directory> 89 90the directory to output certificates to. The certificate will be 91written to a filename consisting of the serial number in hex with 92".pem" appended. 93 94=item B<-cert> 95 96the CA certificate file. 97 98=item B<-keyfile filename> 99 100the private key to sign requests with. 101 102=item B<-key password> 103 104the password used to encrypt the private key. Since on some 105systems the command line arguments are visible (e.g. Unix with 106the 'ps' utility) this option should be used with caution. 107 108=item B<-passin arg> 109 110the key password source. For more information about the format of B<arg> 111see the B<PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS> section in L<openssl(1)|openssl(1)>. 112=item B<-verbose> 113 114this prints extra details about the operations being performed. 115 116=item B<-notext> 117 118don't output the text form of a certificate to the output file. 119 120=item B<-startdate date> 121 122this allows the start date to be explicitly set. The format of the 123date is YYMMDDHHMMSSZ (the same as an ASN1 UTCTime structure). 124 125=item B<-enddate date> 126 127this allows the expiry date to be explicitly set. The format of the 128date is YYMMDDHHMMSSZ (the same as an ASN1 UTCTime structure). 129 130=item B<-days arg> 131 132the number of days to certify the certificate for. 133 134=item B<-md alg> 135 136the message digest to use. Possible values include md5, sha1 and mdc2. 137This option also applies to CRLs. 138 139=item B<-policy arg> 140 141this option defines the CA "policy" to use. This is a section in 142the configuration file which decides which fields should be mandatory 143or match the CA certificate. Check out the B<POLICY FORMAT> section 144for more information. 145 146=item B<-msie_hack> 147 148this is a legacy option to make B<ca> work with very old versions of 149the IE certificate enrollment control "certenr3". It used UniversalStrings 150for almost everything. Since the old control has various security bugs 151its use is strongly discouraged. The newer control "Xenroll" does not 152need this option. 153 154=item B<-preserveDN> 155 156Normally the DN order of a certificate is the same as the order of the 157fields in the relevant policy section. When this option is set the order 158is the same as the request. This is largely for compatibility with the 159older IE enrollment control which would only accept certificates if their 160DNs match the order of the request. This is not needed for Xenroll. 161 162=item B<-batch> 163 164this sets the batch mode. In this mode no questions will be asked 165and all certificates will be certified automatically. 166 167=item B<-extensions section> 168 169the section of the configuration file containing certificate extensions 170to be added when a certificate is issued. If no extension section is 171present then a V1 certificate is created. If the extension section 172is present (even if it is empty) then a V3 certificate is created. 173 174=back 175 176=head1 CRL OPTIONS 177 178=over 4 179 180=item B<-gencrl> 181 182this option generates a CRL based on information in the index file. 183 184=item B<-crldays num> 185 186the number of days before the next CRL is due. That is the days from 187now to place in the CRL nextUpdate field. 188 189=item B<-crlhours num> 190 191the number of hours before the next CRL is due. 192 193=item B<-revoke filename> 194 195a filename containing a certificate to revoke. 196 197=item B<-crlexts section> 198 199the section of the configuration file containing CRL extensions to 200include. If no CRL extension section is present then a V1 CRL is 201created, if the CRL extension section is present (even if it is 202empty) then a V2 CRL is created. The CRL extensions specified are 203CRL extensions and B<not> CRL entry extensions. It should be noted 204that some software (for example Netscape) can't handle V2 CRLs. 205 206=back 207 208=head1 CONFIGURATION FILE OPTIONS 209 210The section of the configuration file containing options for B<ca> 211is found as follows: If the B<-name> command line option is used, 212then it names the section to be used. Otherwise the section to 213be used must be named in the B<default_ca> option of the B<ca> section 214of the configuration file (or in the default section of the 215configuration file). Besides B<default_ca>, the following options are 216read directly from the B<ca> section: 217 RANDFILE 218 preserve 219 msie_hack 220With the exception of B<RANDFILE>, this is probably a bug and may 221change in future releases. 222 223Many of the configuration file options are identical to command line 224options. Where the option is present in the configuration file 225and the command line the command line value is used. Where an 226option is described as mandatory then it must be present in 227the configuration file or the command line equivalent (if 228any) used. 229 230=over 4 231 232=item B<oid_file> 233 234This specifies a file containing additional B<OBJECT IDENTIFIERS>. 235Each line of the file should consist of the numerical form of the 236object identifier followed by white space then the short name followed 237by white space and finally the long name. 238 239=item B<oid_section> 240 241This specifies a section in the configuration file containing extra 242object identifiers. Each line should consist of the short name of the 243object identifier followed by B<=> and the numerical form. The short 244and long names are the same when this option is used. 245 246=item B<new_certs_dir> 247 248the same as the B<-outdir> command line option. It specifies 249the directory where new certificates will be placed. Mandatory. 250 251=item B<certificate> 252 253the same as B<-cert>. It gives the file containing the CA 254certificate. Mandatory. 255 256=item B<private_key> 257 258same as the B<-keyfile> option. The file containing the 259CA private key. Mandatory. 260 261=item B<RANDFILE> 262 263a file used to read and write random number seed information, or 264an EGD socket (see L<RAND_egd(3)|RAND_egd(3)>). 265 266=item B<default_days> 267 268the same as the B<-days> option. The number of days to certify 269a certificate for. 270 271=item B<default_startdate> 272 273the same as the B<-startdate> option. The start date to certify 274a certificate for. If not set the current time is used. 275 276=item B<default_enddate> 277 278the same as the B<-enddate> option. Either this option or 279B<default_days> (or the command line equivalents) must be 280present. 281 282=item B<default_crl_hours default_crl_days> 283 284the same as the B<-crlhours> and the B<-crldays> options. These 285will only be used if neither command line option is present. At 286least one of these must be present to generate a CRL. 287 288=item B<default_md> 289 290the same as the B<-md> option. The message digest to use. Mandatory. 291 292=item B<database> 293 294the text database file to use. Mandatory. This file must be present 295though initially it will be empty. 296 297=item B<serialfile> 298 299a text file containing the next serial number to use in hex. Mandatory. 300This file must be present and contain a valid serial number. 301 302=item B<x509_extensions> 303 304the same as B<-extensions>. 305 306=item B<crl_extensions> 307 308the same as B<-crlexts>. 309 310=item B<preserve> 311 312the same as B<-preserveDN> 313 314=item B<msie_hack> 315 316the same as B<-msie_hack> 317 318=item B<policy> 319 320the same as B<-policy>. Mandatory. See the B<POLICY FORMAT> section 321for more information. 322 323=back 324 325=head1 POLICY FORMAT 326 327The policy section consists of a set of variables corresponding to 328certificate DN fields. If the value is "match" then the field value 329must match the same field in the CA certificate. If the value is 330"supplied" then it must be present. If the value is "optional" then 331it may be present. Any fields not mentioned in the policy section 332are silently deleted, unless the B<-preserveDN> option is set but 333this can be regarded more of a quirk than intended behaviour. 334 335=head1 SPKAC FORMAT 336 337The input to the B<-spkac> command line option is a Netscape 338signed public key and challenge. This will usually come from 339the B<KEYGEN> tag in an HTML form to create a new private key. 340It is however possible to create SPKACs using the B<spkac> utility. 341 342The file should contain the variable SPKAC set to the value of 343the SPKAC and also the required DN components as name value pairs. 344If you need to include the same component twice then it can be 345preceded by a number and a '.'. 346 347=head1 EXAMPLES 348 349Note: these examples assume that the B<ca> directory structure is 350already set up and the relevant files already exist. This usually 351involves creating a CA certificate and private key with B<req>, a 352serial number file and an empty index file and placing them in 353the relevant directories. 354 355To use the sample configuration file below the directories demoCA, 356demoCA/private and demoCA/newcerts would be created. The CA 357certificate would be copied to demoCA/cacert.pem and its private 358key to demoCA/private/cakey.pem. A file demoCA/serial would be 359created containing for example "01" and the empty index file 360demoCA/index.txt. 361 362 363Sign a certificate request: 364 365 openssl ca -in req.pem -out newcert.pem 366 367Sign a certificate request, using CA extensions: 368 369 openssl ca -in req.pem -extensions v3_ca -out newcert.pem 370 371Generate a CRL 372 373 openssl ca -gencrl -out crl.pem 374 375Sign several requests: 376 377 openssl ca -infiles req1.pem req2.pem req3.pem 378 379Certify a Netscape SPKAC: 380 381 openssl ca -spkac spkac.txt 382 383A sample SPKAC file (the SPKAC line has been truncated for clarity): 384 385 SPKAC=MIG0MGAwXDANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAANLADBIAkEAn7PDhCeV/xIxUg8V70YRxK2A5 386 CN=Steve Test 387 emailAddress=steve@openssl.org 388 0.OU=OpenSSL Group 389 1.OU=Another Group 390 391A sample configuration file with the relevant sections for B<ca>: 392 393 [ ca ] 394 default_ca = CA_default # The default ca section 395 396 [ CA_default ] 397 398 dir = ./demoCA # top dir 399 database = $dir/index.txt # index file. 400 new_certs_dir = $dir/newcerts # new certs dir 401 402 certificate = $dir/cacert.pem # The CA cert 403 serial = $dir/serial # serial no file 404 private_key = $dir/private/cakey.pem# CA private key 405 RANDFILE = $dir/private/.rand # random number file 406 407 default_days = 365 # how long to certify for 408 default_crl_days= 30 # how long before next CRL 409 default_md = md5 # md to use 410 411 policy = policy_any # default policy 412 413 [ policy_any ] 414 countryName = supplied 415 stateOrProvinceName = optional 416 organizationName = optional 417 organizationalUnitName = optional 418 commonName = supplied 419 emailAddress = optional 420 421=head1 WARNINGS 422 423The B<ca> command is quirky and at times downright unfriendly. 424 425The B<ca> utility was originally meant as an example of how to do things 426in a CA. It was not supposed be be used as a full blown CA itself: 427nevertheless some people are using it for this purpose. 428 429The B<ca> command is effectively a single user command: no locking is 430done on the various files and attempts to run more than one B<ca> command 431on the same database can have unpredictable results. 432 433=head1 FILES 434 435Note: the location of all files can change either by compile time options, 436configuration file entries, environment variables or command line options. 437The values below reflect the default values. 438 439 /usr/local/ssl/lib/openssl.cnf - master configuration file 440 ./demoCA - main CA directory 441 ./demoCA/cacert.pem - CA certificate 442 ./demoCA/private/cakey.pem - CA private key 443 ./demoCA/serial - CA serial number file 444 ./demoCA/serial.old - CA serial number backup file 445 ./demoCA/index.txt - CA text database file 446 ./demoCA/index.txt.old - CA text database backup file 447 ./demoCA/certs - certificate output file 448 ./demoCA/.rnd - CA random seed information 449 450=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES 451 452B<OPENSSL_CONF> reflects the location of master configuration file it can 453be overridden by the B<-config> command line option. 454 455=head1 RESTRICTIONS 456 457The text database index file is a critical part of the process and 458if corrupted it can be difficult to fix. It is theoretically possible 459to rebuild the index file from all the issued certificates and a current 460CRL: however there is no option to do this. 461 462CRL entry extensions cannot currently be created: only CRL extensions 463can be added. 464 465V2 CRL features like delta CRL support and CRL numbers are not currently 466supported. 467 468Although several requests can be input and handled at once it is only 469possible to include one SPKAC or self signed certificate. 470 471=head1 BUGS 472 473The use of an in memory text database can cause problems when large 474numbers of certificates are present because, as the name implies 475the database has to be kept in memory. 476 477Certificate request extensions are ignored: some kind of "policy" should 478be included to use certain static extensions and certain extensions 479from the request. 480 481It is not possible to certify two certificates with the same DN: this 482is a side effect of how the text database is indexed and it cannot easily 483be fixed without introducing other problems. Some S/MIME clients can use 484two certificates with the same DN for separate signing and encryption 485keys. 486 487The B<ca> command really needs rewriting or the required functionality 488exposed at either a command or interface level so a more friendly utility 489(perl script or GUI) can handle things properly. The scripts B<CA.sh> and 490B<CA.pl> help a little but not very much. 491 492Any fields in a request that are not present in a policy are silently 493deleted. This does not happen if the B<-preserveDN> option is used but 494the extra fields are not displayed when the user is asked to certify 495a request. The behaviour should be more friendly and configurable. 496 497Cancelling some commands by refusing to certify a certificate can 498create an empty file. 499 500=head1 SEE ALSO 501 502L<req(1)|req(1)>, L<spkac(1)|spkac(1)>, L<x509(1)|x509(1)>, L<CA.pl(1)|CA.pl(1)>, 503L<config(5)|config(5)> 504 505=cut 506