5 provider - OpenSSL operation implementation providers
11 #include <openssl/provider.h>
17 A I<provider>, in OpenSSL terms, is a unit of code that provides one
18 or more implementations for various operations for diverse algorithms
19 that one might want to perform.
21 An I<operation> is something one wants to do, such as encryption and
22 decryption, key derivation, MAC calculation, signing and verification,
25 An I<algorithm> is a named method to perform an operation.
26 Very often, the algorithms revolve around cryptographic operations,
27 but may also revolve around other types of operation, such as managing
28 certain types of objects.
32 I<NOTE: This section is mostly interesting for provider authors.>
34 A I<provider> offers an initialization function, as a set of base
35 functions in the form of an B<OSSL_DISPATCH> array, and by extension,
36 a set of B<OSSL_ALGORITHM>s (see L<openssl-core.h(7)>).
37 It may be a dynamically loadable module, or may be built-in, in
38 OpenSSL libraries or in the application.
39 If it's a dynamically loadable module, the initialization function
40 must be named C<OSSL_provider_init> and must be exported.
41 If it's built-in, the initialization function may have any name.
43 The initialization function must have the following signature:
45 int NAME(const OSSL_PROVIDER *provider,
46 const OSSL_DISPATCH *in, const OSSL_DISPATCH **out,
49 I<provider> is the OpenSSL library object for the provider, and works
50 as a handle for everything the OpenSSL libraries need to know about
52 For the provider itself, it may hold some interesting information,
53 and is also passed to some of the functions given in the dispatch
56 I<in> is a dispatch array of base functions offered by the OpenSSL
57 libraries, and the available functions are further described in
60 I<*out> must be assigned a dispatch array of base functions that the
61 provider offers to the OpenSSL libraries.
62 The functions that may be offered are further described in
63 L<provider-base(7)>, and they are the central means of communication
64 between the OpenSSL libraries and the provider.
66 I<*provctx> should be assigned a provider specific context to allow
67 the provider multiple simultaneous uses.
68 This pointer will be passed to various operation functions offered by
71 One of the functions the provider offers to the OpenSSL libraries is
72 the central mechanism for the OpenSSL libraries to get access to
73 operation implementations for diverse algorithms.
74 Its referred to with the number B<OSSL_FUNC_PROVIDER_QUERY_OPERATION>
75 and has the following signature:
77 const OSSL_ALGORITHM *provider_query_operation(void *provctx,
81 I<provctx> is the provider specific context that was passed back by
82 the initialization function.
84 I<operation_id> is an operation identity (see L</Operations> below).
86 I<no_store> is a flag back to the OpenSSL libraries which, when
87 nonzero, signifies that the OpenSSL libraries will not store a
88 reference to the returned data in their internal store of
91 The returned B<OSSL_ALGORITHM> is the foundation of any OpenSSL
92 library API that uses providers for their implementation, most
93 commonly in the I<fetching> type of functions
94 (see L</Fetching algorithms> below).
98 I<NOTE: This section is mostly interesting for provider authors.>
100 Operations are referred to with numbers, via macros with names
101 starting with C<OSSL_OP_>.
103 With each operation comes a set of defined function types that a
104 provider may or may not offer, depending on its needs.
106 Currently available operations are:
112 In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is
114 The number for this operation is B<OSSL_OP_DIGEST>.
115 The functions the provider can offer are described in
116 L<provider-digest(7)>
118 =item Symmetric ciphers
120 In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is
122 The number for this operation is B<OSSL_OP_CIPHER>.
123 The functions the provider can offer are described in
124 L<provider-cipher(7)>
126 =item Message Authentication Code (MAC)
128 In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is
130 The number for this operation is B<OSSL_OP_MAC>.
131 The functions the provider can offer are described in
134 =item Key Derivation Function (KDF)
136 In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is
138 The number for this operation is B<OSSL_OP_KDF>.
139 The functions the provider can offer are described in
144 In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is
146 The number for this operation is B<OSSL_OP_KEYEXCH>.
147 The functions the provider can offer are described in
148 L<provider-keyexch(7)>
152 In the OpenSSL libraries, the corresponding method object is
154 The number for this operation is B<OSSL_OP_SERIALIZER>.
155 The functions the provider can offer are described in
156 L<provider-serializer(7)>
160 =head2 Fetching algorithms
162 =head3 Explicit fetch
164 I<NOTE: This section is mostly interesting to OpenSSL users.>
166 Users of the OpenSSL libraries never query the provider directly for
167 its diverse implementations and dispatch tables.
168 Instead, the diverse OpenSSL APIs often have fetching functions that
169 do the work, and they return an appropriate method object back to the
171 These functions usually have the name C<APINAME_fetch>, where
172 C<APINAME> is the name of the API, for example L<EVP_MD_fetch(3)>.
174 These fetching functions follow a fairly common pattern, where three
175 arguments are passed:
179 =item The library context
181 See L<OPENSSL_CTX(3)> for a more detailed description.
182 This may be NULL to signify the default (global) library context, or a
183 context created by the user.
184 Only providers loaded in this library context (see
185 L<OSSL_PROVIDER_load(3)>) will be considered by the fetching
190 This is most commonly an algorithm name (this is the case for all EVP
191 methods), but may also be called something else.
193 =for comment For example, an OSSL_STORE implementation would use the
194 URI scheme as an identifier.
196 =item A property query string
198 See L<property(7)> for a more detailed description.
199 This is used to select more exactly which providers will get to offer
204 The method object that is fetched can then be used with diverse other
205 functions that use them, for example L<EVP_DigestInit_ex(3)>.
207 =head3 Implicit fetch
209 I<NOTE: This section is mostly interesting to OpenSSL users.>
211 OpenSSL has a number of functions that return a method object with no
212 associated implementation, such as L<EVP_sha256(3)>,
213 L<EVP_blake2b512(3)> or L<EVP_aes_128_cbc(3)>, which are present for
214 compatibility with OpenSSL before version 3.0.
216 When they are used with functions like L<EVP_DigestInit_ex(3)> or
217 L<EVP_CipherInit_ex(3)>, the actual implementation to be used is
218 fetched implicitly using default search criteria.
220 Implicit fetching can also occur when a NULL algorithm parameter is
222 In this case an algorithm implementation is implicitly fetched using
223 default search criteria and an algorithm name that is consistent with
224 the type of EVP_PKEY being used.
226 =head3 Algorithm naming
228 Algorithm names are case insensitive. Any particular algorithm can have multiple
229 aliases associated with it. The canonical OpenSSL naming scheme follows this
232 ALGNAME[VERSION?][-SUBNAME[VERSION?]?][-SIZE?][-MODE?]
234 VERSION is only present if there are multiple versions of an algorithm (e.g.
235 MD2, MD4, MD5). It may be omitted if there is only one version.
237 SUBNAME may be present where multiple algorithms are combined together,
240 SIZE is only present if multiple versions of an algorithm exist with different
241 sizes (e.g. AES-128-CBC, AES-256-CBC)
243 MODE is only present where applicable.
245 Other aliases may exist for example where standards bodies or common practice
246 use alternative names or names that OpenSSL has used historically.
248 =head1 OPENSSL PROVIDERS
250 OpenSSL comes with a set of providers.
252 The algorithms available in each of these providers may vary due to build time
253 configuration options. The L<openssl-list(1)> command can be used to list the
254 currently available algorithms.
256 The names of the algorithms shown from L<openssl-list(1)> can be used as an
257 algorithm identifier to the appropriate fetching function.
259 =head2 Default provider
261 The default provider is built in as part of the F<libcrypto> library.
262 Should it be needed (if other providers are loaded and offer
263 implementations of the same algorithms), the property "provider=default"
264 can be used as a search criterion for these implementations. Some
265 non-cryptographic algorithms (such as serializers for loading keys and
266 parameters from files) are not FIPS algorithm implementations in themselves but
267 support algorithms from the FIPS provider and are allowed for use in "FIPS
268 mode". The property "fips=yes" can be used to select such algorithms.
272 The FIPS provider is a dynamically loadable module, and must therefore
273 be loaded explicitly, either in code or through OpenSSL configuration
275 Should it be needed (if other providers are loaded and offer
276 implementations of the same algorithms), the property "provider=fips" can
277 be used as a search criterion for these implementations. All approved algorithm
278 implementations in the FIPS provider can also be selected with the property
279 "fips=yes". The FIPS provider also contains a number of non-approved algorithm
280 implementations and these can be selected with the property "fips=no".
282 =head2 Legacy provider
284 The legacy provider is a dynamically loadable module, and must therefore
285 be loaded explicitly, either in code or through OpenSSL configuration
287 Should it be needed (if other providers are loaded and offer
288 implementations of the same algorithms), the property "provider=legacy" can be
289 used as a search criterion for these implementations.
295 Fetch any available implementation of SHA2-256 in the default context:
297 EVP_MD *md = EVP_MD_fetch(NULL, "SHA2-256", NULL);
299 EVP_MD_meth_free(md);
301 Fetch any available implementation of AES-128-CBC in the default context:
303 EVP_CIPHER *cipher = EVP_CIPHER_fetch(NULL, "AES-128-CBC", NULL);
305 EVP_CIPHER_meth_free(cipher);
307 Fetch an implementation of SHA2-256 from the default provider in the default
310 EVP_MD *md = EVP_MD_fetch(NULL, "SHA2-256", "provider=default");
312 EVP_MD_meth_free(md);
314 Fetch an implementation of SHA2-256 that is not from the default provider in the
317 EVP_MD *md = EVP_MD_fetch(NULL, "SHA2-256", "provider!=default");
319 EVP_MD_meth_free(md);
321 Fetch an implementation of SHA2-256 from the default provider in the specified
324 EVP_MD *md = EVP_MD_fetch(ctx, "SHA2-256", "provider=default");
326 EVP_MD_meth_free(md);
328 Load the legacy provider into the default context and then fetch an
329 implementation of WHIRLPOOL from it:
331 /* This only needs to be done once - usually at application start up */
332 OSSL_PROVIDER *legacy = OSSL_PROVIDER_load(NULL, "legacy");
334 EVP_MD *md = EVP_MD_fetch(NULL, "WHIRLPOOL", "provider=legacy");
336 EVP_MD_meth_free(md);
338 Note that in the above example the property string "provider=legacy" is optional
339 since, assuming no other providers have been loaded, the only implementation of
340 the "whirlpool" algorithm is in the "legacy" provider. Also note that the
341 default provider should be explicitly loaded if it is required in addition to
344 /* This only needs to be done once - usually at application start up */
345 OSSL_PROVIDER *legacy = OSSL_PROVIDER_load(NULL, "legacy");
346 OSSL_PROVIDER *default = OSSL_PROVIDER_load(NULL, "default");
348 EVP_MD *md_whirlpool = EVP_MD_fetch(NULL, "whirlpool", NULL);
349 EVP_MD *md_sha256 = EVP_MD_fetch(NULL, "SHA2-256", NULL);
351 EVP_MD_meth_free(md_whirlpool);
352 EVP_MD_meth_free(md_sha256);
357 L<EVP_DigestInit_ex(3)>, L<EVP_EncryptInit_ex(3)>,
359 L<EVP_set_default_properties(3)>,
361 L<EVP_CIPHER_fetch(3)>,
362 L<EVP_KEYMGMT_fetch(3)>,
363 L<openssl-core.h(7)>,
365 L<provider-digest(7)>,
366 L<provider-cipher(7)>,
367 L<provider-keyexch(7)>
371 The concept of providers and everything surrounding them was
372 introduced in OpenSSL 3.0.
376 Copyright 2019-2020 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.
378 Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use
379 this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy
380 in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at
381 L<https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.