New option to CA.pl to sign request using CA extensions.

[openssl.git] / doc / apps / CA.pl.pod

diff --git a/doc/apps/CA.pl.pod b/doc/apps/CA.pl.pod
index dd41fd8115322230ff3685e9b52c3a3b80b2365b..63cd1320cc764265b0846770f6572ae460533d7d 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/apps/CA.pl.pod
+++ b/doc/apps/CA.pl.pod
@@ -63,15 +63,22 @@ it creates a file "newcert.p12". This command can thus be called after the
 B<-sign> option. The PKCS#12 file can be imported directly into a browser.
 If there is an additional argument on the command line it will be used as the
 "friendly name" for the certificate (which is typically displayed in the browser
-list box), otherwise the name "My Certifictate" is used.
+list box), otherwise the name "My Certificate" is used.
 
 =item B<-sign>, B<-signreq>, B<-xsign>
 
 calls the B<ca> program to sign a certificate request. It expects the request
 to be in the file "newreq.pem". The new certificate is written to the file
-"newcert.pem" except in the case of the B<-xcert> option when it is written
+"newcert.pem" except in the case of the B<-xsign> option when it is written
 to standard output.
 
+
+=item B<-signCA>
+
+this option is the same as the B<-signreq> option except it uses the configuration
+file section B<v3_ca> and so makes the signed request a valid CA certificate. This
+is useful when creating intermediate CA from a root CA.
+
 =item B<-signcert>
 
 this option is the same as B<-sign> except it expects a self signed certificate
@@ -102,6 +109,35 @@ the request and finally create a PKCS#12 file containing it.
  CA.pl -signreq
  CA.pl -pkcs12 "My Test Certificate"
 
+=head1 DSA CERTIFICATES
+
+Although the B<CA.pl> creates RSA CAs and requests it is still possible to
+use it with DSA certificates and requests using the L<req(1)|req(1)> command
+directly. The following example shows the steps that would typically be taken.
+
+Create some DSA parameters:
+
+ openssl dsaparam -out dsap.pem 1024
+
+Create a DSA CA certificate and private key:
+
+ openssl req -x509 -newkey dsa:dsap.pem -keyout cacert.pem -out cacert.pem
+
+Create the CA directories and files:
+
+ CA.pl -newca
+
+enter cacert.pem when prompted for the CA file name.
+
+Create a DSA certificate request and private key (a different set of parameters
+can optionally be created first):
+
+ openssl req -out newreq.pem -newkey dsa:dsap.pem 
+
+Sign the request:
+
+ CA.pl -signreq
+
 =head1 NOTES
 
 Most of the filenames mentioned can be modified by editing the B<CA.pl> script.
@@ -132,6 +168,7 @@ configuration file, not just its directory.
 
 =head1 SEE ALSO
 
-L<x509(1)|x509(1)>, L<ca(1)|ca(1)>, L<req(1)|req(1)>, L<pkcs12(1)|pkcs12(1)>, L<config(1)|config(1)>
+L<x509(1)|x509(1)>, L<ca(1)|ca(1)>, L<req(1)|req(1)>, L<pkcs12(1)|pkcs12(1)>,
+L<config(5)|config(5)>
 
 =cut