2 {- OpenSSL::safe::output_do_not_edit_headers(); -}
6 openssl-req - PKCS#10 certificate request and certificate generating command
12 [B<-inform> B<DER>|B<PEM>]
13 [B<-outform> B<DER>|B<PEM>]
25 [B<-pkeyopt> I<opt>:I<value>]
28 [B<-key> I<filename>|I<uri>]
29 [B<-keyform> B<DER>|B<PEM>|B<P12>|B<ENGINE>]
30 [B<-keyout> I<filename>]
31 [B<-keygen_engine> I<id>]
33 [B<-config> I<filename>]
36 [B<-CA> I<filename>|I<uri>]
37 [B<-CAkey> I<filename>|I<uri>]
41 [B<-copy_extensions> I<arg>]
43 [B<-extensions> I<section>]
44 [B<-reqexts> I<section>]
51 [B<-sigopt> I<nm>:I<v>]
52 [B<-vfyopt> I<nm>:I<v>]
55 {- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_name_synopsis -}
56 {- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_r_synopsis -}
57 {- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_engine_synopsis -}{- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_provider_synopsis -}
61 This command primarily creates and processes certificate requests (CSRs)
62 in PKCS#10 format. It can additionally create self-signed certificates
63 for use as root CAs for example.
71 Print out a usage message.
73 =item B<-inform> B<DER>|B<PEM>, B<-outform> B<DER>|B<PEM>
75 The input and output formats; unspecified by default.
76 See L<openssl-format-options(1)> for details.
78 The data is a PKCS#10 object.
80 =item B<-in> I<filename>
82 This specifies the input filename to read a request from or standard input
83 if this option is not specified. A request is only read if the creation
84 options (B<-new> or B<-newkey>) are not specified.
86 =item B<-sigopt> I<nm>:I<v>
88 Pass options to the signature algorithm during sign operations.
89 Names and values of these options are algorithm-specific.
91 =item B<-vfyopt> I<nm>:I<v>
93 Pass options to the signature algorithm during verify operations.
94 Names and values of these options are algorithm-specific.
98 Maybe it would be preferable to only have -opts instead of -sigopt and
99 -vfyopt? They are both present here to be compatible with L<openssl-ca(1)>,
100 which supports both options for good reasons.
104 =item B<-passin> I<arg>
106 The password source for the request input file and the certificate input.
107 For more information about the format of B<arg>
108 see L<openssl-passphrase-options(1)>.
110 =item B<-passout> I<arg>
112 The password source for the output file.
113 For more information about the format of B<arg>
114 see L<openssl-passphrase-options(1)>.
116 =item B<-out> I<filename>
118 This specifies the output filename to write to or standard output by default.
122 Prints out the certificate request in text form.
126 Prints out the certificate request subject
127 (or certificate subject if B<-x509> is specified).
131 Prints out the public key.
135 This option prevents output of the encoded version of the certificate request.
139 Prints out the value of the modulus of the public key contained in the request.
143 Verifies the self-signature on the request.
147 This option generates a new certificate request. It will prompt
148 the user for the relevant field values. The actual fields
149 prompted for and their maximum and minimum sizes are specified
150 in the configuration file and any requested extensions.
152 If the B<-key> option is not given it will generate a new RSA private key
153 using information specified in the configuration file or given with
154 the B<-newkey> and B<-pkeyopt> options, else by default with 2048 bits length.
156 =item B<-newkey> I<arg>
158 This option creates a new certificate request and a new private
159 key. The argument takes one of several forms.
161 B<rsa:>I<nbits>, where
162 I<nbits> is the number of bits, generates an RSA key I<nbits>
163 in size. If I<nbits> is omitted, i.e. B<-newkey> I<rsa> specified,
164 the default key size, specified in the configuration file is used.
166 All other algorithms support the B<-newkey> I<alg>:I<file> form, where file
167 may be an algorithm parameter file, created with C<openssl genpkey -genparam>
168 or an X.509 certificate for a key with appropriate algorithm.
170 B<param:>I<file> generates a key using the parameter file or certificate
171 I<file>, the algorithm is determined by the parameters. I<algname>:I<file>
172 use algorithm I<algname> and parameter file I<file>: the two algorithms must
173 match or an error occurs. I<algname> just uses algorithm I<algname>, and
174 parameters, if necessary should be specified via B<-pkeyopt> parameter.
176 B<dsa:>I<filename> generates a DSA key using the parameters
177 in the file I<filename>. B<ec:>I<filename> generates EC key (usable both with
178 ECDSA or ECDH algorithms), B<gost2001:>I<filename> generates GOST R
179 34.10-2001 key (requires B<gost> engine configured in the configuration
180 file). If just B<gost2001> is specified a parameter set should be
181 specified by B<-pkeyopt> I<paramset:X>
183 =item B<-pkeyopt> I<opt>:I<value>
185 Set the public key algorithm option I<opt> to I<value>. The precise set of
186 options supported depends on the public key algorithm used and its
188 See L<openssl-genpkey(1)/KEY GENERATION OPTIONS> for more details.
190 =item B<-key> I<filename>|I<uri>
192 This specifies the private key to use for request self-signature
193 and signing certificates produced using the B<-x509> option.
194 It also accepts PKCS#8 format private keys for PEM format files.
196 =item B<-keyform> B<DER>|B<PEM>|B<P12>|B<ENGINE>
198 The format of the private key; unspecified by default.
199 See L<openssl-format-options(1)> for details.
201 =item B<-keyout> I<filename>
203 This gives the filename to write the newly created private key to.
204 If this option is not specified then the filename present in the
205 configuration file is used.
209 If this option is specified then if a private key is created it
210 will not be encrypted.
214 This option is deprecated since OpenSSL 3.0; use B<-noenc> instead.
218 This specifies the message digest to sign the request.
219 Any digest supported by the OpenSSL B<dgst> command can be used.
220 This overrides the digest algorithm specified in
221 the configuration file.
223 Some public key algorithms may override this choice. For instance, DSA
224 signatures always use SHA1, GOST R 34.10 signatures always use
225 GOST R 34.11-94 (B<-md_gost94>), Ed25519 and Ed448 never use any digest.
227 =item B<-config> I<filename>
229 This allows an alternative configuration file to be specified.
230 Optional; for a description of the default value,
231 see L<openssl(1)/COMMAND SUMMARY>.
233 =item B<-section> I<name>
235 Specifies the name of the section to use; the default is B<req>.
237 =item B<-subj> I<arg>
239 Sets subject name for new request or supersedes the subject name
240 when processing a certificate request.
242 The arg must be formatted as C</type0=value0/type1=value1/type2=...>.
243 Special characters may be escaped by C<\> (backslash), whitespace is retained.
244 Empty values are permitted, but the corresponding type will not be included
246 Giving a single C</> will lead to an empty sequence of RDNs (a NULL-DN).
247 Multi-valued RDNs can be formed by placing a C<+> character instead of a C</>
248 between the AttributeValueAssertions (AVAs) that specify the members of the set.
251 C</DC=org/DC=OpenSSL/DC=users/UID=123456+CN=John Doe>
253 =item B<-multivalue-rdn>
255 This option has been deprecated and has no effect.
259 This option outputs a certificate instead of a certificate request.
260 This is typically used to generate test certificates.
262 If an existing request is specified with the B<-in> option, it is converted
263 to the a certificate; otherwise a request is created from scratch.
265 Unless specified using the B<-set_serial> option,
266 a large random number will be used for the serial number.
268 Unless the B<-copy_extensions> option is used,
269 X.509 extensions are not copied from any provided request input file.
271 X.509 extensions to be added can be specified in the configuration file
272 or using the B<-addext> option.
274 =item B<-CA> I<filename>|I<uri>
276 Specifies the "CA" certificate to be used for signing with the B<-x509> option.
277 When present, this behaves like a "micro CA" as follows:
278 The subject name of the "CA" certificate is placed as issuer name in the new
279 certificate, which is then signed using the "CA" key given as specified below.
281 =item B<-CAkey> I<filename>|I<uri>
283 Sets the "CA" private key to sign a certificate with.
284 The private key must match the public key of the certificate given with B<-CA>.
285 If this option is not provided then the key must be present in the B<-CA> input.
289 When the B<-x509> option is being used this specifies the number of
290 days to certify the certificate for, otherwise it is ignored. I<n> should
291 be a positive integer. The default is 30 days.
293 =item B<-set_serial> I<n>
295 Serial number to use when outputting a self-signed certificate.
296 This may be specified as a decimal value or a hex value if preceded by C<0x>.
297 If not given, a large random number will be used.
299 =item B<-copy_extensions> I<arg>
301 Determines how X.509 extensions in certificate requests should be handled
302 when B<-x509> is given.
303 If I<arg> is B<none> or this option is not present then extensions are ignored.
304 If I<arg> is B<copy> or B<copyall> then
305 all extensions in the request are copied to the certificate.
307 The main use of this option is to allow a certificate request to supply
308 values for certain extensions such as subjectAltName.
310 =item B<-addext> I<ext>
312 Add a specific extension to the certificate (if the B<-x509> option is
313 present) or certificate request. The argument must have the form of
314 a key=value pair as it would appear in a config file.
316 This option can be given multiple times.
318 =item B<-extensions> I<section>
320 =item B<-reqexts> I<section>
322 These options specify alternative sections to include certificate
323 extensions (if the B<-x509> option is present) or certificate
324 request extensions. This allows several different sections to
325 be used in the same configuration file to specify requests for
326 a variety of purposes.
330 A poison extension will be added to the certificate, making it a
331 "pre-certificate" (see RFC6962). This can be submitted to Certificate
332 Transparency logs in order to obtain signed certificate timestamps (SCTs).
333 These SCTs can then be embedded into the pre-certificate as an extension, before
334 removing the poison and signing the certificate.
336 This implies the B<-new> flag.
340 This option causes field values to be interpreted as UTF8 strings, by
341 default they are interpreted as ASCII. This means that the field
342 values, whether prompted from a terminal or obtained from a
343 configuration file, must be valid UTF8 strings.
345 =item B<-reqopt> I<option>
347 Customise the printing format used with B<-text>. The I<option> argument can be
348 a single option or multiple options separated by commas.
350 See discussion of the B<-certopt> parameter in the L<openssl-x509(1)>
355 Adds the word B<NEW> to the PEM file header and footer lines on the outputted
356 request. Some software (Netscape certificate server) and some CAs need this.
360 Non-interactive mode.
364 Print extra details about the operations being performed.
366 =item B<-keygen_engine> I<id>
368 Specifies an engine (by its unique I<id> string) which would be used
369 for key generation operations.
371 {- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_name_item -}
373 {- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_r_item -}
375 {- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_engine_item -}
377 {- $OpenSSL::safe::opt_provider_item -}
381 =head1 CONFIGURATION FILE FORMAT
383 The configuration options are specified in the B<req> section of
384 the configuration file. An alternate name be specified by using the
386 As with all configuration files, if no
387 value is specified in the specific section then
388 the initial unnamed or B<default> section is searched too.
390 The options available are described in detail below.
394 =item B<input_password output_password>
396 The passwords for the input private key file (if present) and
397 the output private key file (if one will be created). The
398 command line options B<passin> and B<passout> override the
399 configuration file values.
401 =item B<default_bits>
403 Specifies the default key size in bits.
405 This option is used in conjunction with the B<-new> option to generate
406 a new key. It can be overridden by specifying an explicit key size in
407 the B<-newkey> option. The smallest accepted key size is 512 bits. If
408 no key size is specified then 2048 bits is used.
410 =item B<default_keyfile>
412 This is the default filename to write a private key to. If not
413 specified the key is written to standard output. This can be
414 overridden by the B<-keyout> option.
418 This specifies a file containing additional B<OBJECT IDENTIFIERS>.
419 Each line of the file should consist of the numerical form of the
420 object identifier followed by whitespace then the short name followed
421 by whitespace and finally the long name.
425 This specifies a section in the configuration file containing extra
426 object identifiers. Each line should consist of the short name of the
427 object identifier followed by B<=> and the numerical form. The short
428 and long names are the same when this option is used.
432 At startup the specified file is loaded into the random number generator,
433 and at exit 256 bytes will be written to it.
434 It is used for private key generation.
438 If this is set to B<no> then if a private key is generated it is
439 B<not> encrypted. This is equivalent to the B<-noenc> command line
440 option. For compatibility B<encrypt_rsa_key> is an equivalent option.
444 This option specifies the digest algorithm to use. Any digest supported by the
445 OpenSSL B<dgst> command can be used. This option can be overridden on the
446 command line. Certain signing algorithms (i.e. Ed25519 and Ed448) will ignore
447 any digest that has been set.
451 This option masks out the use of certain string types in certain
452 fields. Most users will not need to change this option.
454 It can be set to several values B<default> which is also the default
455 option uses PrintableStrings, T61Strings and BMPStrings if the
456 B<pkix> value is used then only PrintableStrings and BMPStrings will
457 be used. This follows the PKIX recommendation in RFC2459. If the
458 B<utf8only> option is used then only UTF8Strings will be used: this
459 is the PKIX recommendation in RFC2459 after 2003. Finally the B<nombstr>
460 option just uses PrintableStrings and T61Strings: certain software has
461 problems with BMPStrings and UTF8Strings: in particular Netscape.
463 =item B<req_extensions>
465 This specifies the configuration file section containing a list of
466 extensions to add to the certificate request. It can be overridden
467 by the B<-reqexts> command line switch. See the
468 L<x509v3_config(5)> manual page for details of the
469 extension section format.
471 =item B<x509_extensions>
473 This specifies the configuration file section containing a list of
474 extensions to add to certificate generated when the B<-x509> switch
475 is used. It can be overridden by the B<-extensions> command line switch.
479 If set to the value B<no> this disables prompting of certificate fields
480 and just takes values from the config file directly. It also changes the
481 expected format of the B<distinguished_name> and B<attributes> sections.
485 If set to the value B<yes> then field values to be interpreted as UTF8
486 strings, by default they are interpreted as ASCII. This means that
487 the field values, whether prompted from a terminal or obtained from a
488 configuration file, must be valid UTF8 strings.
492 This specifies the section containing any request attributes: its format
493 is the same as B<distinguished_name>. Typically these may contain the
494 challengePassword or unstructuredName types. They are currently ignored
495 by OpenSSL's request signing utilities but some CAs might want them.
497 =item B<distinguished_name>
499 This specifies the section containing the distinguished name fields to
500 prompt for when generating a certificate or certificate request. The format
501 is described in the next section.
505 =head1 DISTINGUISHED NAME AND ATTRIBUTE SECTION FORMAT
507 There are two separate formats for the distinguished name and attribute
508 sections. If the B<prompt> option is set to B<no> then these sections
509 just consist of field names and values: for example,
513 emailAddress=someone@somewhere.org
515 This allows external programs (e.g. GUI based) to generate a template file with
516 all the field names and values and just pass it to this command. An example
517 of this kind of configuration file is contained in the B<EXAMPLES> section.
519 Alternatively if the B<prompt> option is absent or not set to B<no> then the
520 file contains field prompting information. It consists of lines of the form:
523 fieldName_default="default field value"
527 "fieldName" is the field name being used, for example commonName (or CN).
528 The "prompt" string is used to ask the user to enter the relevant
529 details. If the user enters nothing then the default value is used if no
530 default value is present then the field is omitted. A field can
531 still be omitted if a default value is present if the user just
532 enters the '.' character.
534 The number of characters entered must be between the fieldName_min and
535 fieldName_max limits: there may be additional restrictions based
536 on the field being used (for example countryName can only ever be
537 two characters long and must fit in a PrintableString).
539 Some fields (such as organizationName) can be used more than once
540 in a DN. This presents a problem because configuration files will
541 not recognize the same name occurring twice. To avoid this problem
542 if the fieldName contains some characters followed by a full stop
543 they will be ignored. So for example a second organizationName can
544 be input by calling it "1.organizationName".
546 The actual permitted field names are any object identifier short or
547 long names. These are compiled into OpenSSL and include the usual
548 values such as commonName, countryName, localityName, organizationName,
549 organizationalUnitName, stateOrProvinceName. Additionally emailAddress
550 is included as well as name, surname, givenName, initials, and dnQualifier.
552 Additional object identifiers can be defined with the B<oid_file> or
553 B<oid_section> options in the configuration file. Any additional fields
554 will be treated as though they were a DirectoryString.
559 Examine and verify certificate request:
561 openssl req -in req.pem -text -verify -noout
563 Create a private key and then generate a certificate request from it:
565 openssl genrsa -out key.pem 2048
566 openssl req -new -key key.pem -out req.pem
568 The same but just using req:
570 openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout key.pem -out req.pem
572 Generate a self-signed root certificate:
574 openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout key.pem -out req.pem
576 Create an SM2 private key and then generate a certificate request from it:
578 openssl ecparam -genkey -name SM2 -out sm2.key
579 openssl req -new -key sm2.key -out sm2.csr -sm3 -sigopt "distid:1234567812345678"
581 Examine and verify an SM2 certificate request:
583 openssl req -verify -in sm2.csr -sm3 -vfyopt "distid:1234567812345678"
585 Example of a file pointed to by the B<oid_file> option:
587 1.2.3.4 shortName A longer Name
588 1.2.3.6 otherName Other longer Name
590 Example of a section pointed to by B<oid_section> making use of variable
594 testoid2=${testoid1}.6
596 Sample configuration file prompting for field values:
600 default_keyfile = privkey.pem
601 distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
602 attributes = req_attributes
603 req_extensions = v3_ca
605 dirstring_type = nobmp
607 [ req_distinguished_name ]
608 countryName = Country Name (2 letter code)
609 countryName_default = AU
613 localityName = Locality Name (eg, city)
615 organizationalUnitName = Organizational Unit Name (eg, section)
617 commonName = Common Name (eg, YOUR name)
620 emailAddress = Email Address
621 emailAddress_max = 40
624 challengePassword = A challenge password
625 challengePassword_min = 4
626 challengePassword_max = 20
630 subjectKeyIdentifier=hash
631 authorityKeyIdentifier=keyid:always,issuer:always
632 basicConstraints = critical, CA:true
634 Sample configuration containing all field values:
639 default_keyfile = keyfile.pem
640 distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
641 attributes = req_attributes
643 output_password = mypass
645 [ req_distinguished_name ]
647 ST = Test State or Province
649 O = Organization Name
650 OU = Organizational Unit Name
652 emailAddress = test@email.address
655 challengePassword = A challenge password
657 Example of giving the most common attributes (subject and extensions)
660 openssl req -new -subj "/C=GB/CN=foo" \
661 -addext "subjectAltName = DNS:foo.co.uk" \
662 -addext "certificatePolicies = 1.2.3.4" \
663 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout key.pem -out req.pem
668 The certificate requests generated by B<Xenroll> with MSIE have extensions
669 added. It includes the B<keyUsage> extension which determines the type of
670 key (signature only or general purpose) and any additional OIDs entered
671 by the script in an B<extendedKeyUsage> extension.
675 The following messages are frequently asked about:
677 Using configuration from /some/path/openssl.cnf
678 Unable to load config info
680 This is followed some time later by:
682 unable to find 'distinguished_name' in config
683 problems making Certificate Request
685 The first error message is the clue: it can't find the configuration
686 file! Certain operations (like examining a certificate request) don't
687 need a configuration file so its use isn't enforced. Generation of
688 certificates or requests however does need a configuration file. This
689 could be regarded as a bug.
691 Another puzzling message is this:
696 this is displayed when no attributes are present and the request includes
697 the correct empty B<SET OF> structure (the DER encoding of which is 0xa0
698 0x00). If you just see:
702 then the B<SET OF> is missing and the encoding is technically invalid (but
703 it is tolerated). See the description of the command line option B<-asn1-kludge>
704 for more information.
708 OpenSSL's handling of T61Strings (aka TeletexStrings) is broken: it effectively
709 treats them as ISO-8859-1 (Latin 1), Netscape and MSIE have similar behaviour.
710 This can cause problems if you need characters that aren't available in
711 PrintableStrings and you don't want to or can't use BMPStrings.
713 As a consequence of the T61String handling the only correct way to represent
714 accented characters in OpenSSL is to use a BMPString: unfortunately Netscape
715 currently chokes on these. If you have to use accented characters with Netscape
716 and MSIE then you currently need to use the invalid T61String form.
718 The current prompting is not very friendly. It doesn't allow you to confirm what
719 you've just entered. Other things like extensions in certificate requests are
720 statically defined in the configuration file. Some of these: like an email
721 address in subjectAltName should be input by the user.
728 L<openssl-genrsa(1)>,
729 L<openssl-gendsa(1)>,
735 The B<-section> option was added in OpenSSL 3.0.0.
737 The B<-multivalue-rdn> option has become obsolete in OpenSSL 3.0.0 and
740 The B<-engine> option was deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0.
741 The <-nodes> option was deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0, too; use B<-noenc> instead.
745 Copyright 2000-2021 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.
747 Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use
748 this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy
749 in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at
750 L<https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.