OpenSSL - Frequently Asked Questions
--------------------------------------
+* Which is the current version of OpenSSL?
* Where is the documentation?
* How can I contact the OpenSSL developers?
* Do I need patent licenses to use OpenSSL?
* Is OpenSSL thread-safe?
* Why do I get a "PRNG not seeded" error message?
+* Why does the linker complain about undefined symbols?
+* Where can I get a compiled version of OpenSSL?
+* I've compiled a program under Windows and it crashes: why?
+* I've called <some function> and it fails, why?
+* I just get a load of numbers for the error output, what do they mean?
+* Why do I get errors about unknown algorithms?
+* How do I create certificates or certificate requests?
+* Why can't I create certificate requests?
+* Why does <SSL program> fail with a certificate verify error?
+* Why can I only use weak ciphers when I connect to a server using OpenSSL?
+* How can I create DSA certificates?
+* Why can't I make an SSL connection using a DSA certificate?
+* How can I remove the passphrase on a private key?
+* Why can't the OpenSSH configure script detect OpenSSL?
+* 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 with "ar: command not found"?
+
+
+* Which is the current version of OpenSSL?
+
+The current version is available from <URL: http://www.openssl.org>.
+OpenSSL 0.9.5a was released on April 1st, 2000.
+
+In addition to the current stable release, you can also access daily
+snapshots of the OpenSSL development version at <URL:
+ftp://ftp.openssl.org/snapshot/>, or get it by anonymous CVS access.
* Where is the documentation?
predecessor, at <URL: http://www.columbia.edu/~ariel/ssleay/>. Much
of this still applies to OpenSSL.
+There is some documentation about certificate extensions and PKCS#12
+in doc/openssl.txt
+
The original SSLeay documentation is included in OpenSSL as
-doc/ssleay.txt. It may be useful when none of the other ressources
+doc/ssleay.txt. It may be useful when none of the other resources
help, but please note that it reflects the obsolete version SSLeay
0.6.6.
* Is OpenSSL thread-safe?
-Yes. On Windows and many Unix systems, OpenSSL automatically uses the
-multi-threaded versions of the standard libraries. If your platform
-is not one of these, consult the INSTALL file.
+Yes (with limitations: an SSL connection may not concurrently be used
+by multiple threads). On Windows and many Unix systems, OpenSSL
+automatically uses the multi-threaded versions of the standard
+libraries. If your platform is not one of these, consult the INSTALL
+file.
Multi-threaded applications must provide two callback functions to
OpenSSL. This is described in the threads(3) manpage.
number generator has not been seeded with at least 128 bits of
randomness. If this error occurs, please contact the author of the
application you are using. It is likely that it never worked
-correctly. OpenSSL 0.9.5 makes the error visible by refusing to
-perform potentially insecure encryption.
+correctly. OpenSSL 0.9.5 and later make the error visible by refusing
+to perform potentially insecure encryption.
+
+On systems without /dev/urandom, it is a good idea to use the Entropy
+Gathering Demon; see the RAND_egd() manpage for details.
+
+Most components of the openssl command line tool try to use the
+file $HOME/.rnd (or $RANDFILE, if this environment variable is set)
+for seeding the PRNG. If this file does not exist or is too short,
+the "PRNG not seeded" error message may occur.
+
+[Note to OpenSSL 0.9.5 users: The command "openssl rsa" in version
+0.9.5 does not do this and will fail on systems without /dev/urandom
+when trying to password-encrypt an RSA key! This is a bug in the
+library; try a later version instead.]
+
+For Solaris 2.6, Tim Nibbe <tnibbe@sprint.net> and others have suggested
+installing the SUNski package from Sun patch 105710-01 (Sparc) which
+adds a /dev/random device and make sure it gets used, usually through
+$RANDFILE. There are probably similar patches for the other Solaris
+versions. However, be warned that /dev/random is usually a blocking
+device, which may have som effects on OpenSSL.
+
+
+* Why does the linker complain about undefined symbols?
+
+Maybe the compilation was interrupted, and make doesn't notice that
+something is missing. Run "make clean; make".
+
+If you used ./Configure instead of ./config, make sure that you
+selected the right target. File formats may differ slightly between
+OS versions (for example sparcv8/sparcv9, or a.out/elf).
+
+In case you get errors about the following symbols, use the config
+option "no-asm", as described in INSTALL:
+
+ BF_cbc_encrypt, BF_decrypt, BF_encrypt, CAST_cbc_encrypt,
+ CAST_decrypt, CAST_encrypt, RC4, RC5_32_cbc_encrypt, RC5_32_decrypt,
+ RC5_32_encrypt, bn_add_words, bn_div_words, bn_mul_add_words,
+ bn_mul_comba4, bn_mul_comba8, bn_mul_words, bn_sqr_comba4,
+ bn_sqr_comba8, bn_sqr_words, bn_sub_words, des_decrypt3,
+ des_ede3_cbc_encrypt, des_encrypt, des_encrypt2, des_encrypt3,
+ des_ncbc_encrypt, md5_block_asm_host_order, sha1_block_asm_data_order
+
+If none of these helps, you may want to try using the current snapshot.
+If the problem persists, please submit a bug report.
+
+
+* Where can I get a compiled version of OpenSSL?
+
+Some applications that use OpenSSL are distributed in binary form.
+When using such an application, you don't need to install OpenSSL
+yourself; the application will include the required parts (e.g. DLLs).
+
+If you want to install OpenSSL on a Windows system and you don't have
+a C compiler, read the "Mingw32" section of INSTALL.W32 for information
+on how to obtain and install the free GNU C compiler.
+
+A number of Linux and *BSD distributions include OpenSSL.
+
+
+* 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.
+
+
+* I've called <some function> and it fails, why?
+
+Before submitting a report or asking in one of the mailing lists, you
+should try to determine the cause. In particular, you should call
+ERR_print_errors() or ERR_print_errors_fp() after the failed call
+and see if the message helps. Note that the problem may occur earlier
+than you think -- you should check for errors after every call where
+it is possible, otherwise the actual problem may be hidden because
+some OpenSSL functions clear the error state.
+
+
+* I just get a load of numbers for the error output, what do they mean?
+
+The actual format is described in the ERR_print_errors() manual page.
+You should call the function ERR_load_crypto_strings() before hand and
+the message will be output in text form. If you can't do this (for example
+it is a pre-compiled binary) you can use the errstr utility on the error
+code itself (the hex digits after the second colon).
+
+
+* Why do I get errors about unknown algorithms?
+
+This can happen under several circumstances such as reading in an
+encrypted private key or attempting to decrypt a PKCS#12 file. The cause
+is forgetting to load OpenSSL's table of algorithms with
+OpenSSL_add_all_algorithms(). See the manual page for more information.
+
+
+* How do I create certificates or certificate requests?
+
+Check out the CA.pl(1) manual page. This provides a simple wrapper round
+the 'req', 'verify', 'ca' and 'pkcs12' utilities. For finer control check
+out the manual pages for the individual utilities and the certificate
+extensions documentation (currently in doc/openssl.txt).
+
+
+* Why can't I create certificate requests?
+
+You typically get the error:
+
+ unable to find 'distinguished_name' in config
+ problems making Certificate Request
+
+This is because it can't find the configuration file. Check out the
+DIAGNOSTICS section of req(1) for more information.
+
+
+* Why does <SSL program> fail with a certificate verify error?
+
+This problem is usually indicated by log messages saying something like
+"unable to get local issuer certificate" or "self signed certificate".
+When a certificate is verified its root CA must be "trusted" by OpenSSL
+this typically means that the CA certificate must be placed in a directory
+or file and the relevant program configured to read it. The OpenSSL program
+'verify' behaves in a similar way and issues similar error messages: check
+the verify(1) program manual page for more information.
+
+
+* Why can I only use weak ciphers when I connect to a server using OpenSSL?
+
+This is almost certainly because you are using an old "export grade" browser
+which only supports weak encryption. Upgrade your browser to support 128 bit
+ciphers.
+
+
+* How can I create DSA certificates?
+
+Check the CA.pl(1) manual page for a DSA certificate example.
+
+
+* Why can't I make an SSL connection to a server using a DSA certificate?
+
+Typically you'll see a message saying there are no shared ciphers when
+the same setup works fine with an RSA certificate. There are two possible
+causes. The client may not support connections to DSA servers most web
+browsers (including Netscape and MSIE) only support connections to servers
+supporting RSA cipher suites. The other cause is that a set of DH parameters
+has not been supplied to the server. DH parameters can be created with the
+dhparam(1) command and loaded using the SSL_CTX_set_tmp_dh() for example:
+check the source to s_server in apps/s_server.c for an example.
+
+
+* How can I remove the passphrase on a private key?
+
+Firstly you should be really *really* sure you want to do this. Leaving
+a private key unencrypted is a major security risk. If you decide that
+you do have to do this check the EXAMPLES sections of the rsa(1) and
+dsa(1) manual pages.
+
+
+* Why can't the OpenSSH configure script detect OpenSSL?
+
+There is a problem with OpenSSH 1.2.2p1, in that the configure script
+can't find the installed OpenSSL libraries. The problem is actually
+a small glitch that is easily solved with the following patch to be
+applied to the OpenSSH distribution:
+
+----- snip:start -----
+--- openssh-1.2.2p1/configure.in.orig Thu Mar 23 18:56:58 2000
++++ openssh-1.2.2p1/configure.in Thu Mar 23 18:55:05 2000
+@@ -152,10 +152,10 @@
+ AC_MSG_CHECKING([for OpenSSL/SSLeay directory])
+ for ssldir in "" $tryssldir /usr /usr/local/openssl /usr/lib/openssl /usr/local/ssl /usr/lib/ssl /usr/local /usr/pkg /opt /opt/openssl ; do
+ if test ! -z "$ssldir" ; then
+- LIBS="$saved_LIBS -L$ssldir"
++ LIBS="$saved_LIBS -L$ssldir/lib"
+ CFLAGS="$CFLAGS -I$ssldir/include"
+ if test "x$need_dash_r" = "x1" ; then
+- LIBS="$LIBS -R$ssldir"
++ LIBS="$LIBS -R$ssldir/lib"
+ fi
+ fi
+ LIBS="$LIBS -lcrypto"
+--- openssh-1.2.2p1/configure.orig Thu Mar 23 18:55:02 2000
++++ openssh-1.2.2p1/configure Thu Mar 23 18:57:08 2000
+@@ -1890,10 +1890,10 @@
+ echo "configure:1891: checking for OpenSSL/SSLeay directory" >&5
+ for ssldir in "" $tryssldir /usr /usr/local/openssl /usr/lib/openssl /usr/local/ssl /usr/lib/ssl /usr/local /usr/pkg /opt /opt/openssl ; do
+ if test ! -z "$ssldir" ; then
+- LIBS="$saved_LIBS -L$ssldir"
++ LIBS="$saved_LIBS -L$ssldir/lib"
+ CFLAGS="$CFLAGS -I$ssldir/include"
+ if test "x$need_dash_r" = "x1" ; then
+- LIBS="$LIBS -R$ssldir"
++ LIBS="$LIBS -R$ssldir/lib"
+ fi
+ fi
+ LIBS="$LIBS -lcrypto"
+----- snip:end -----
+
+
+* Why does the OpenSSL test fail with "bc: command not found"?
+
+You didn't install "bc", the Unix calculator. If you want to run the
+tests, get GNU bc from ftp://ftp.gnu.org or from your OS distributor.
+
+
+* Why does the OpenSSL test fail with "bc: 1 no implemented"?
+
+On some SCO installations or versions, bc has a bug that gets triggered when
+you run the test suite (using "make test"). The message returned is "bc:
+1 not implemented". The best way to deal with this is to find another
+implementation of bc and compile/install it. For example, GNU bc (see
+http://www.gnu.org/software/software.html for download instructions) can
+be safely used.
+
+
+* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail on Alpha True64 Unix?
+
+On some Alpha installations running True64 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
+to build something, probably a table. The problem is clearly in the
+optimization code, because if one eliminates optimization completely (-O0),
+the compilation goes through (and the compiler consumes about 2MB of resident
+memory instead of 240MB or whatever one's limit is currently).
+
+There are three options to solve this problem:
+
+1. set your current data segment size soft limit higher. Experience shows
+that about 241000 kbytes seems to be enough on an AlphaServer DS10. You do
+this with the command 'ulimit -Sd nnnnnn', where 'nnnnnn' is the number of
+kbytes to set the limit to.
+
+2. If you have a hard limit that is lower than what you need and you can't
+get it changed, you can compile all of OpenSSL with -O0 as optimization
+level. This is however not a very nice thing to do for those who expect to
+get the best result from OpenSSL. A bit more complicated solution is the
+following:
+
+----- snip:start -----
+ make DIRS=crypto SDIRS=sha "`grep '^CFLAG=' Makefile.ssl | \
+ sed -e 's/ -O[0-9] / -O0 /'`"
+ rm `ls crypto/*.o crypto/sha/*.o | grep -v 'sha_dgst\.o'`
+ make
+----- snip:end -----
+
+This will only compile sha_dgst.c with -O0, the rest with the optimization
+level chosen by the configuration process. When the above is done, do the
+test and installation and you're set.
+
+
+* Why does the OpenSSL compilation fail with "ar: command not found"?
+
+Getting this message is quite usual on Solaris 2, because Sun has hidden
+away 'ar' and other development commands in directories that aren't in
+$PATH by default. One of those directories is '/usr/ccs/bin'. The
+quickest way to fix this is to do the following (it assumes you use sh
+or any sh-compatible shell):
+
+----- snip:start -----
+ PATH=${PATH}:/usr/ccs/bin; export PATH
+----- snip:end -----
+
+and then redo the compilation. What you should really do is make sure
+'/usr/ccs/bin' is permanently in your $PATH, for example through your
+'.profile' (again, assuming you use a sh-compatible shell).
+
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