More information to the important issue of seeding the PRNG

[openssl.git] / INSTALL

diff --git a/INSTALL b/INSTALL
index 09c778fca32981b5ba3cb2e6a265e92bc3767193..63c88523c3a945f0bcade4eef3f3a618dca83aef 100644 (file)
--- a/INSTALL
+++ b/INSTALL
@@ -139,8 +139,11 @@
      the failure that aren't problems in OpenSSL itself (like missing
      standard headers).  If it is a problem with OpenSSL itself, please
      report the problem to <openssl-bugs@openssl.org> (note that your
-     message will be forwarded to a public mailing list).  Include the
-     output of "make report" in your message.
+     message will be recorded in the request tracker publicly readable
+     via http://www.openssl.org/rt2.html and will be forwarded to a public
+     mailing list). Include the output of "make report" in your message.
+     Please check out the request tracker. Maybe the bug was already
+     reported or has already been fixed.
 
      [If you encounter assembler error messages, try the "no-asm"
      configuration option as an immediate fix.]
@@ -158,7 +161,8 @@
      try removing any compiler optimization flags from the CFLAGS line
      in Makefile.ssl and run "make clean; make". Please send a bug
      report to <openssl-bugs@openssl.org>, including the output of
-     "make report".
+     "make report" in order to be added to the request tracker at
+     http://www.openssl.org/rt2.html.
 
   4. If everything tests ok, install OpenSSL with
 
@@ -292,3 +296,15 @@
  targets for shared library creation, like linux-shared.  Those targets
  can currently be used on their own just as well, but this is expected
  to change in future versions of OpenSSL.
+
+ Note on random number generation
+ --------------------------------
+
+ Availability of cryptographically secure random numbers is required for
+ secret key generation. OpenSSL provides several options to seed the
+ internal PRNG. If not properly seeded, the internal PRNG will refuse
+ to deliver random bytes and a "PRNG not seeded error" will occur.
+ On systems without /dev/urandom (or similar) device, it may be necessary
+ to install additional support software to obtain random seed.
+ Please check out the manual pages for RAND_add(), RAND_bytes(), RAND_egd(),
+ and the FAQ for more information.