X-Git-Url: https://git.openssl.org/?p=openssl.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=FAQ;h=1932f72433dc95600902e4c6d38e64f79587b85e;hp=71c27a7b3b53e717a91ecf11c7e0c1ddb6c052af;hb=b9a3ef4c6e96f74b995474d84add495072ad8951;hpb=a116afa42edd81b248c795787143aa4578fdd187 diff --git a/FAQ b/FAQ index 71c27a7b3b..1932f72433 100644 --- a/FAQ +++ b/FAQ @@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ OpenSSL - Frequently Asked Questions * How can I contact the OpenSSL developers? * Where can I get a compiled version of OpenSSL? * Why aren't tools like 'autoconf' and 'libtool' used? +* What is an 'engine' version? [LEGAL] Legal questions @@ -17,6 +18,7 @@ OpenSSL - Frequently Asked Questions [USER] Questions on using the OpenSSL applications * Why do I get a "PRNG not seeded" error message? +* Why do I get an "unable to write 'random state'" error message? * How do I create certificates or certificate requests? * Why can't I create certificate requests? * Why does fail with a certificate verify error? @@ -26,13 +28,14 @@ OpenSSL - Frequently Asked Questions * How can I remove the passphrase on a private key? * Why can't I use OpenSSL certificates with SSL client authentication? * Why does my browser give a warning about a mismatched hostname? +* How do I install a CA certificate into a browser? [BUILD] Questions about building and testing OpenSSL * Why does the linker complain about undefined symbols? * Why does the OpenSSL test fail with "bc: command not found"? * Why does the OpenSSL test fail with "bc: 1 no implemented"? -* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail on Alpha True64 Unix? +* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail on Alpha Tru64 Unix? * Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail with "ar: command not found"? * Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail on Win32 with VC++? @@ -47,6 +50,7 @@ OpenSSL - Frequently Asked Questions * Why do I get errors about unknown algorithms? * Why can't the OpenSSH configure script detect OpenSSL? * Can I use OpenSSL's SSL library with non-blocking I/O? +* Why doesn't my server application receive a client certificate? =============================================================================== @@ -55,7 +59,7 @@ OpenSSL - Frequently Asked Questions * Which is the current version of OpenSSL? The current version is available from . -OpenSSL 0.9.6a was released on April 5th, 2001. +OpenSSL 0.9.6c was released on December 21st, 2001. In addition to the current stable release, you can also access daily snapshots of the OpenSSL development version at and others have suggested installing the SUNski package from Sun patch 105710-01 (Sparc) which @@ -190,6 +219,18 @@ versions. However, be warned that /dev/random is usually a blocking device, which may have some effects on OpenSSL. +* Why do I get an "unable to write 'random state'" error message? + + +Sometimes the openssl command line utility does not abort with +a "PRNG not seeded" error message, but complains that it is +"unable to write 'random state'". This message refers to the +default seeding file (see previous answer). A possible reason +is that no default filename is known because neither RANDFILE +nor HOME is set. (Versions up to 0.9.6 used file ".rnd" in the +current directory in this case, but this has changed with 0.9.6a.) + + * How do I create certificates or certificate requests? Check out the CA.pl(1) manual page. This provides a simple wrapper round @@ -264,7 +305,7 @@ there is little point presenting a certificate which the server will reject. The solution is to add the relevant CA certificate to your servers "trusted -CA list". How you do this depends on the server sofware in uses. You can +CA list". How you do this depends on the server software in uses. You can print out the servers list of acceptable CAs using the OpenSSL s_client tool: openssl s_client -connect www.some.host:443 -prexit @@ -283,6 +324,26 @@ Browsers expect the server's hostname to match the value in the commonName (CN) field of the certificate. If it does not then you get a warning. +* How do I install a CA certificate into a browser? + +The usual way is to send the DER encoded certificate to the browser as +MIME type application/x-x509-ca-cert, for example by clicking on an appropriate +link. On MSIE certain extensions such as .der or .cacert may also work, or you +can import the certificate using the certificate import wizard. + +You can convert a certificate to DER form using the command: + +openssl x509 -in ca.pem -outform DER -out ca.der + +Occasionally someone suggests using a command such as: + +openssl pkcs12 -export -out cacert.p12 -in cacert.pem -inkey cakey.pem + +DO NOT DO THIS! This command will give away your CAs private key and +reduces its security to zero: allowing anyone to forge certificates in +whatever name they choose. + + [BUILD] ======================================================================= * Why does the linker complain about undefined symbols? @@ -326,9 +387,9 @@ and compile/install it. GNU bc (see http://www.gnu.org/software/software.html for download instructions) can be safely used, for example. -* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail on Alpha True64 Unix? +* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail on Alpha Tru64 Unix? -On some Alpha installations running True64 Unix and Compaq C, the compilation +On some Alpha installations running Tru64 Unix and Compaq C, the compilation of crypto/sha/sha_dgst.c fails with the message 'Fatal: Insufficient virtual memory to continue compilation.' As far as the tests have shown, this may be a compiler bug. What happens is that it eats up a lot of resident memory @@ -406,10 +467,43 @@ OpenSSL. This is described in the threads(3) manpage. * I've compiled a program under Windows and it crashes: why? -This is usually because you've missed the comment in INSTALL.W32. You -must link with the multithreaded DLL version of the VC++ runtime library -otherwise the conflict will cause a program to crash: typically on the -first BIO related read or write operation. +This is usually because you've missed the comment in INSTALL.W32. +Your application must link against the same version of the Win32 +C-Runtime against which your openssl libraries were linked. The +default version for OpenSSL is /MD - "Multithreaded DLL". + +If you are using Microsoft Visual C++'s IDE (Visual Studio), in +many cases, your new project most likely defaulted to "Debug +Singlethreaded" - /ML. This is NOT interchangeable with /MD and your +program will crash, typically on the first BIO related read or write +operation. + +For each of the six possible link stage configurations within Win32, +your application must link against the same by which OpenSSL was +built. If you are using MS Visual C++ (Studio) this can be changed +by: + +1. Select Settings... from the Project Menu. +2. Select the C/C++ Tab. +3. Select "Code Generation from the "Category" drop down list box +4. Select the Appropriate library (see table below) from the "Use + run-time library" drop down list box. Perform this step for both + your debug and release versions of your application (look at the + top left of the settings panel to change between the two) + + Single Threaded /ML - MS VC++ often defaults to + this for the release + version of a new project. + Debug Single Threaded /MLd - MS VC++ often defaults to + this for the debug version + of a new project. + Multithreaded /MT + Debug Multithreaded /MTd + Multithreaded DLL /MD - OpenSSL defaults to this. + Debug Multithreaded DLL /MDd + +Note that debug and release libraries are NOT interchangeable. If you +built OpenSSL with /MD your application must use /MD and cannot use /MDd. * How do I read or write a DER encoded buffer using the ASN1 functions? @@ -515,5 +609,12 @@ requiring a bi-directional message exchange; both SSL_read() and SSL_write() will try to continue any pending handshake. +* Why doesn't my server application receive a client certificate? + +Due to the TLS protocol definition, a client will only send a certificate, +if explicitly asked by the server. Use the SSL_VERIFY_PEER flag of the +SSL_CTX_set_verify() function to enable the use of client certificates. + + ===============================================================================