apps: allow empty attribute values with -subj

[openssl.git] / doc / man1 / ca.pod

diff --git a/doc/man1/ca.pod b/doc/man1/ca.pod
index 21e692e511e8b347a6c0313d6bdbb64edfa5296c..e998eabf83585c2e1dae1ec64625ff29a446d057 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/man1/ca.pod
+++ b/doc/man1/ca.pod
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 =head1 NAME
 
+openssl-ca,
 ca - sample minimal CA application
 
 =head1 SYNOPSIS
@@ -183,8 +184,9 @@ The number of days to certify the certificate for.
 =item B<-md alg>
 
 The message digest to use.
-Any digest supported by the OpenSSL B<dgst> command can be used.
-This option also applies to CRLs.
+Any digest supported by the OpenSSL B<dgst> command can be used. For signing
+algorithms that do not support a digest (i.e. Ed25519 and Ed448) any message
+digest that is set is ignored. This option also applies to CRLs.
 
 =item B<-policy arg>
 
@@ -248,8 +250,10 @@ for all available algorithms.
 =item B<-subj arg>
 
 Supersedes subject name given in the request.
-The arg must be formatted as I</type0=value0/type1=value1/type2=...>,
-characters may be escaped by \ (backslash), no spaces are skipped.
+The arg must be formatted as I</type0=value0/type1=value1/type2=...>.
+Keyword characters may be escaped by \ (backslash), and whitespace is retained.
+Empty values are permitted, but the corresponding type will not be included
+in the resulting certificate.
 
 =item B<-utf8>
 
@@ -451,7 +455,8 @@ least one of these must be present to generate a CRL.
 
 =item B<default_md>
 
-The same as the B<-md> option. Mandatory.
+The same as the B<-md> option. Mandatory except where the signing algorithm does
+not require a digest (i.e. Ed25519 and Ed448).
 
 =item B<database>
 
@@ -468,6 +473,10 @@ versions of OpenSSL.  However, to make CA certificate roll-over easier,
 it's recommended to use the value B<no>, especially if combined with
 the B<-selfsign> command line option.
 
+Note that it is valid in some circumstances for certificates to be created
+without any subject. In the case where there are multiple certificates without
+subjects this does not count as a duplicate. 
+
 =item B<serial>
 
 A text file containing the next serial number to use in hex. Mandatory.
@@ -744,7 +753,7 @@ L<config(5)>, L<x509v3_config(5)>
 
 =head1 COPYRIGHT
 
-Copyright 2000-2017 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.
+Copyright 2000-2018 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.
 
 Licensed under the OpenSSL license (the "License").  You may not use
 this file except in compliance with the License.  You can obtain a copy