X-Git-Url: https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=README-FIPS.md;h=0ea41daa46901eadd986dd3884ddc4ecd8e911fe;hp=3dc6c35b89550005c3563eb5c760551f1fb5933b;hb=HEAD;hpb=f2ea01d9f138dd7e99e55d4c9bd949d2aae64a2a;ds=sidebyside
diff --git a/README-FIPS.md b/README-FIPS.md
index 3dc6c35b89..66fd18030a 100644
--- a/README-FIPS.md
+++ b/README-FIPS.md
@@ -1,19 +1,46 @@
OpenSSL FIPS support
====================
-This release of OpenSSL includes a cryptographic module that is intended to be
-FIPS 140-2 validated. The module is implemented as an OpenSSL provider.
+This release of OpenSSL includes a cryptographic module that can be
+FIPS validated. The module is implemented as an OpenSSL provider.
A provider is essentially a dynamically loadable module which implements
cryptographic algorithms, see the [README-PROVIDERS](README-PROVIDERS.md) file
for further details.
-The OpenSSL FIPS provider comes as shared library called `fips.so` (on Unix)
+A cryptographic module is only FIPS validated after it has gone through the complex
+FIPS 140 validation process. As this process takes a very long time, it is not
+possible to validate every minor release of OpenSSL.
+If you need a FIPS validated module then you must ONLY generate a FIPS provider
+using OpenSSL versions that have valid FIPS certificates. A FIPS certificate
+contains a link to a Security Policy, and you MUST follow the instructions
+in the Security Policy in order to be FIPS compliant.
+See for information related to OpenSSL
+FIPS certificates and Security Policies.
+
+Newer OpenSSL Releases that include security or bug fixes can be used to build
+all other components (such as the core API's, TLS and the default, base and
+legacy providers) without any restrictions, but the FIPS provider must be built
+as specified in the Security Policy (normally with a different version of the
+source code).
+
+The OpenSSL FIPS provider is a shared library called `fips.so` (on Unix), or
resp. `fips.dll` (on Windows). The FIPS provider does not get built and
installed automatically. To enable it, you need to configure OpenSSL using
the `enable-fips` option.
-Installing the FIPS module
-==========================
+Installing the FIPS provider
+============================
+
+In order to be FIPS compliant you must only use FIPS validated source code.
+Refer to for information related to
+which versions are FIPS validated. The instructions given below build OpenSSL
+just using the FIPS validated source code.
+
+If you want to use a validated FIPS provider, but also want to use the latest
+OpenSSL release to build everything else, then refer to the next section.
+
+The following is only a guide.
+Please read the Security Policy for up to date installation instructions.
If the FIPS provider is enabled, it gets installed automatically during the
normal installation process. Simply follow the normal procedure (configure,
@@ -44,425 +71,98 @@ the installation by doing the following two things:
- Runs the FIPS module self tests
- Generates the so-called FIPS module configuration file containing information
- about the module such as the self test status, and the module checksum.
+ about the module such as the module checksum (and for OpenSSL 3.0 the
+ self test status).
The FIPS module must have the self tests run, and the FIPS module config file
-output generated on every machine that it is to be used on. You must not copy
-the FIPS module config file output data from one machine to another.
+output generated on every machine that it is to be used on. For OpenSSL 3.0,
+you must not copy the FIPS module config file output data from one machine to another.
-On Unix the `openssl fipsinstall` command will be invoked as follows by default:
+On Unix, the `openssl fipsinstall` command will be invoked as follows by default:
$ openssl fipsinstall -out /usr/local/ssl/fipsmodule.cnf -module /usr/local/lib/ossl-modules/fips.so
If you configured OpenSSL to be installed to a different location, the paths will
vary accordingly. In the rare case that you need to install the fipsmodule.cnf
-to non-standard location, you can execute the `openssl fipsinstall` command manually.
+to a non-standard location, you can execute the `openssl fipsinstall` command manually.
+Installing the FIPS provider and using it with the latest release
+=================================================================
-Using the FIPS Module in applications
-=====================================
+This normally requires you to download 2 copies of the OpenSSL source code.
-There are a number of different ways that OpenSSL can be used in conjunction
-with the FIPS module. Which is the correct approach to use will depend on your
-own specific circumstances and what you are attempting to achieve. Note that the
-old functions `FIPS_mode()` and `FIPS_mode_set()` are no longer present so you
-must remove them from your application if you use them.
+Download and build a validated FIPS provider
+--------------------------------------------
-Applications written to use the OpenSSL 3.0 FIPS module should not use any
-legacy APIs or features that avoid the FIPS module. Specifically this includes:
+Refer to for information related to
+which versions are FIPS validated. For this example we use OpenSSL 3.0.0.
-- Low level cryptographic APIs (use the high level APIs, such as EVP, instead)
-- Engines
-- Any functions that create or modify custom "METHODS" (for example
-`EVP_MD_meth_new`, `EVP_CIPHER_meth_new`, `EVP_PKEY_meth_new`, `RSA_meth_new`,
-`EC_KEY_METHOD_new`, etc.)
+ $ wget https://www.openssl.org/source/openssl-3.0.0.tar.gz
+ $ tar -xf openssl-3.0.0.tar.gz
+ $ cd openssl-3.0.0
+ $ ./Configure enable-fips
+ $ make
+ $ cd ..
-All of the above APIs are deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0 - so a simple rule is to
-avoid using all deprecated functions.
+Download and build the latest release of OpenSSL
+------------------------------------------------
-Making all applications use the FIPS module by default
-------------------------------------------------------
+We use OpenSSL 3.1.0 here, (but you could also use the latest 3.0.X)
-One simple approach is to cause all applications that are using OpenSSL to only
-use the FIPS module for cryptographic algorithms by default.
-
-This approach can be done purely via configuration. As long as applications are
-built and linked against OpenSSL 3.0 and do not override the loading of the
-default config file or its settings then they can automatically start using the
-FIPS module without the need for any further code changes.
+ $ wget https://www.openssl.org/source/openssl-3.1.0.tar.gz
+ $ tar -xf openssl-3.1.0.tar.gz
+ $ cd openssl-3.1.0
+ $ ./Configure enable-fips
+ $ make
-To do this the default OpenSSL config file will have to be modified. The
-location of this config file will depend on the platform, and any options that
-were given during the build process. You can check the location of the config
-file by running this command:
+Use the OpenSSL FIPS provider for testing
+-----------------------------------------
- $ openssl version -d
- OPENSSLDIR: "/usr/local/ssl"
-
-Caution: Many Operating Systems install OpenSSL by default. It is a common error
-to not have the correct version of OpenSSL on your $PATH. Check that you are
-running an OpenSSL 3.0 version like this:
-
- $ openssl version -v
- OpenSSL 3.0.0-dev xx XXX xxxx (Library: OpenSSL 3.0.0-dev xx XXX xxxx)
-
-The OPENSSLDIR value above gives the directory name for where the default config
-file is stored. So in this case the default config file will be called
-`/usr/local/ssl/openssl.cnf`
-
-Edit the config file to add the following lines near the beginning:
-
- openssl_conf = openssl_init
-
- .include /usr/local/ssl/fipsmodule.cnf
-
- [openssl_init]
- providers = provider_sect
-
- [provider_sect]
- fips = fips_sect
- base = base_sect
-
- [base_sect]
- activate = 1
-
-Obviously the include file location above should match the name of the FIPS
-module config file that you installed earlier.
-
-Any applications that use OpenSSL 3.0 and are started after these changes are
-made will start using only the FIPS module unless those applications take
-explicit steps to avoid this default behaviour. Note that this configuration
-also activates the "base" provider. The base provider does not include any
-cryptographic algorithms (and therefore does not impact the validation status of
-any cryptographic operations), but does include other supporting algorithms that
-may be required. It is designed to be used in conjunction with the FIPS module.
-
-This approach has the primary advantage that it is simple, and no code changes
-are required in applications in order to benefit from the FIPS module. There are
-some disadvantages to this approach:
-
-- You may not want all applications to use the FIPS module. It may be the case
-that some applications should and some should not.
-- If applications take explicit steps to not load the default config file or set
-different settings then this method will not work for them
-- The algorithms available in the FIPS module are a subset of the algorithms
-that are available in the default OpenSSL Provider. If those applications
-attempt to use any algorithms that are not present, then they will fail.
-- Usage of certain deprecated APIs avoids the use of the FIPS module. If any
-applications use those APIs then the FIPS module will not be used.
-
-Selectively making applications use the FIPS module by default
---------------------------------------------------------------
-
-A variation on the above approach is to do the same thing on an individual
-application basis. The default OpenSSL config file depends on the compiled in
-value for OPENSSLDIR as described in the section above. However it is also
-possible to override the config file to be used via the `OPENSSL_CONF`
-environment variable. For example the following on Unix will cause the
-application to be executed with a non-standard config file location:
-
- $ OPENSSL_CONF=/my/non-default/openssl.cnf myapplication
-
-Using this mechanism you can control which config file is loaded (and hence
-whether the FIPS module is loaded) on an application by application basis.
-
-This removes the disadvantage listed above that you may not want all
-applications to use the FIPS module. All the other advantages and disadvantages
-still apply.
-
-Programmatically loading the FIPS module (default library context)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-Applications may choose to load the FIPS provider explicitly rather than relying
-on config to do this. The config file is still necessary in order to hold the
-FIPS module config data (such as its self test status and integrity data). But
-in this case we do not automatically activate the FIPS provider via that config
-file.
-
-To do things this way configure as per the section "Making all applications use
-the FIPS module by default" above, but edit the `fipsmodule.cnf` file to remove
-or comment out the line which says `activate = 1` (note that setting this value
-to 0 is **not** sufficient). This means all the required config information will
-be available to load the FIPS module, but it is not actually automatically
-loaded when the application starts. The FIPS provider can then be loaded
-programmatically like this:
-
- #include
-
- int main(void)
- {
- OSSL_PROVIDER *fips;
- OSSL_PROVIDER *base;
-
- fips = OSSL_PROVIDER_load(NULL, "fips");
- if (fips == NULL) {
- printf("Failed to load FIPS provider\n");
- exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
- }
- base = OSSL_PROVIDER_load(NULL, "base");
- if (base == NULL) {
- OSSL_PROVIDER_unload(fips);
- printf("Failed to load base provider\n");
- exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
- }
-
- /* Rest of application */
-
- OSSL_PROVIDER_unload(base);
- OSSL_PROVIDER_unload(fips);
- exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
- }
-
-Note that this should be one of the first things that you do in your
-application. If any OpenSSL functions get called that require the use of
-cryptographic functions before this occurs then, if no provider has yet been
-loaded, then the default provider will be automatically loaded. If you then
-later explicitly load the FIPS provider then you will have both the FIPS and the
-default provider loaded at the same time. It is undefined which implementation
-of an algorithm will be used if multiple implementations are available and you
-have not explicitly specified via a property query (see below) which one should
-be used.
-
-Also note that in this example we have additionally loaded the "base" provider.
-This loads a sub-set of algorithms that are also available in the default
-provider - specifically non cryptographic ones which may be used in conjunction
-with the FIPS provider. For example this contains algorithms for encoding and
-decoding keys. If you decide not to load the default provider then you
-will usually want to load the base provider instead.
-
-In this example we are using the "default" library context. OpenSSL functions
-operate within the scope of a library context. If no library context is
-explicitly specified then the default library context is used. For further
-details about library contexts see the `OSSL_LIB_CTX(3)` man page.
-
-Loading the FIPS module at the same time as other providers
------------------------------------------------------------
-
-It is possible to have the FIPS provider and other providers (such as the
-default provider) all loaded at the same time into the same library context. You
-can use a property query string during algorithm fetches to specify which
-implementation you would like to use.
-
-For example to fetch an implementation of SHA256 which conforms to FIPS
-standards you can specify the property query `fips=yes` like this:
-
- EVP_MD *sha256;
-
- sha256 = EVP_MD_fetch(NULL, "SHA2-256", "fips=yes");
-
-If no property query is specified, or more than one implementation matches the
-property query then it is undefined which implementation of a particular
-algorithm will be returned.
-
-This example shows an explicit request for an implementation of SHA256 from the
-default provider:
-
- EVP_MD *sha256;
-
- sha256 = EVP_MD_fetch(NULL, "SHA2-256", "provider=default");
-
-It is also possible to set a default property query string. The following
-example sets the default property query of "fips=yes" for all fetches within the
-default library context:
-
- EVP_set_default_properties(NULL, "fips=yes");
-
-If a fetch function has both an explicit property query specified, and a
-default property query is defined then the two queries are merged together and
-both apply. The local property query overrides the default properties if the
-same property name is specified in both.
-
-There are two important built-in properties that you should be aware of:
-
-The "provider" property enables you to specify which provider you want an
-implementation to be fetched from, e.g. `provider=default` or `provider=fips`.
-All algorithms implemented in a provider have this property set on them.
-
-There is also the `fips` property. All FIPS algorithms match against the
-property query `fips=yes`. There are also some non-cryptographic algorithms
-available in the default and base providers that also have the `fips=yes`
-property defined for them. These are the encoder and decoder algorithms that
-can (for example) be used to write out a key generated in the FIPS provider to a
-file. The encoder and decoder algorithms are not in the FIPS module itself but
-are allowed to be used in conjunction with the FIPS algorithms.
-
-It is possible to specify default properties within a config file. For example
-the following config file automatically loads the default and fips providers and
-sets the default property value to be `fips=yes`. Note that this config file
-does not load the "base" provider. All supporting algorithms that are in "base"
-are also in "default", so it is unnecessary in this case:
-
- openssl_conf = openssl_init
-
- .include /usr/local/ssl/fipsmodule.cnf
-
- [openssl_init]
- providers = provider_sect
- alg_section = algorithm_sect
-
- [provider_sect]
- fips = fips_sect
- default = default_sect
-
- [default_sect]
- activate = 1
-
- [algorithm_sect]
- default_properties = fips=yes
-
-Programmatically loading the FIPS module (non-default library context)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-In addition to using properties to separate usage of the FIPS module from other
-usages this can also be achieved using library contexts. In this example we
-create two library contexts. In one we assume the existence of a config file
-called "openssl-fips.cnf" that automatically loads and configures the FIPS and
-base providers. The other library context will just use the default provider.
-
- OSSL_LIB_CTX *fipslibctx, *nonfipslibctx;
- OSSL_PROVIDER *defctxnull = NULL;
- EVP_MD *fipssha256 = NULL, *nonfipssha256 = NULL;
- int ret = 1;
-
- /*
- * Create two non-default library contexts. One for fips usage and one for
- * non-fips usage
- */
- fipslibctx = OSSL_LIB_CTX_new();
- nonfipslibctx = OSSL_LIB_CTX_new();
- if (fipslibctx == NULL || nonfipslibctx == NULL)
- goto err;
-
- /* Prevent anything from using the default library context */
- defctxnull = OSSL_PROVIDER_load(NULL, "null");
-
- /*
- * Load config file for the FIPS library context. We assume that this
- * config file will automatically activate the FIPS and base providers so we
- * don't need to explicitly load them here.
- */
- if (!OSSL_LIB_CTX_load_config(fipslibctx, "openssl-fips.cnf"))
- goto err;
-
- /*
- * We don't need to do anything special to load the default provider into
- * nonfipslibctx. This happens automatically if no other providers are
- * loaded. Because we don't call OSSL_LIB_CTX_load_config() explicitly for
- * nonfipslibctx it will just use the default config file.
- */
-
- /* As an example get some digests */
-
- /* Get a FIPS validated digest */
- fipssha256 = EVP_MD_fetch(fipslibctx, "SHA2-256", NULL);
- if (fipssha256 == NULL)
- goto err;
-
- /* Get a non-FIPS validated digest */
- nonfipssha256 = EVP_MD_fetch(nonfipslibctx, "SHA2-256", NULL);
- if (nonfipssha256 == NULL)
- goto err;
-
- /* Use the digests */
-
- printf("Success\n");
- ret = 0;
-
- err:
- EVP_MD_free(fipssha256);
- EVP_MD_free(nonfipssha256);
- OSSL_LIB_CTX_free(fipslibctx);
- OSSL_LIB_CTX_free(nonfipslibctx);
- OSSL_PROVIDER_unload(defctxnull);
-
- return ret;
-
-Note that we have made use of the special "null" provider here which we load
-into the default library context. We could have chosen to use the default
-library context for FIPS usage, and just create one additional library context
-for other usages - or vice versa. However if code has not been converted to use
-library contexts then the default library context will be automatically used.
-This could be the case for your own existing applications as well as certain
-parts of OpenSSL itself. Not all parts of OpenSSL are library context aware. If
-this happens then you could "accidentally" use the wrong library context for a
-particular operation. To be sure this doesn't happen you can load the "null"
-provider into the default library context. Because a provider has been
-explicitly loaded, the default provider will not automatically load. This means
-code using the default context by accident will fail because no algorithms will
-be available.
-
-Using Encoders and Decoders with the FIPS module
-------------------------------------------------
+We do this by replacing the artifact for the OpenSSL 3.1.0 FIPS provider.
+Note that the OpenSSL 3.1.0 FIPS provider has not been validated
+so it must not be used for FIPS purposes.
+
+ $ cp ../openssl-3.0.0/providers/fips.so providers/.
+ $ cp ../openssl-3.0.0/providers/fipsmodule.cnf providers/.
+ // Note that for OpenSSL 3.0 that the `fipsmodule.cnf` file should not
+ // be copied across multiple machines if it contains an entry for
+ // `install-status`. (Otherwise the self tests would be skipped).
+
+ // Validate the output of the following to make sure we are using the
+ // OpenSSL 3.0.0 FIPS provider
+ $ ./util/wrap.pl -fips apps/openssl list -provider-path providers \
+ -provider fips -providers
+
+ // Now run the current tests using the OpenSSL 3.0 FIPS provider.
+ $ make tests
+
+Copy the FIPS provider artifacts (`fips.so` & `fipsmodule.cnf`) to known locations
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ $ cd ../openssl-3.0.0
+ $ sudo make install_fips
+
+Check that the correct FIPS provider is being used
+--------------------------------------------------
+
+ $./util/wrap.pl -fips apps/openssl list -provider-path providers \
+ -provider fips -providers
+
+ // This should produce the following output
+ Providers:
+ base
+ name: OpenSSL Base Provider
+ version: 3.1.0
+ status: active
+ fips
+ name: OpenSSL FIPS Provider
+ version: 3.0.0
+ status: active
+
+Using the FIPS Module in applications
+=====================================
+
+Documentation about using the FIPS module is available on the [fips_module(7)]
+manual page.
-Encoders and decoders are used to read and write keys or parameters from or to
-some external format (for example a PEM file). If your application generates
-keys or parameters that then need to be written into PEM or DER format
-then it is likely that you will need to use an encoder to do this. Similarly
-you need a decoder to read previously saved keys and parameters. In most cases
-this will be invisible to you if you are using APIs that existed in
-OpenSSL 1.1.1 or earlier such as i2d_PrivateKey. However the appropriate
-encoder/decoder will need to be available in the library context associated with
-the key or parameter object. The built-in OpenSSL encoders and decoders are
-implemented in both the default and base providers and are not in the FIPS
-module boundary. However since they are not cryptographic algorithms themselves
-it is still possible to use them in conjunction with the FIPS module, and
-therefore these encoders/decoders have the "fips=yes" property against them.
-You should ensure that either the default or base provider is loaded into the
-library context in this case.
-
-Using the FIPS module in SSL/TLS
---------------------------------
-
-Writing an application that uses libssl in conjunction with the FIPS module is
-much the same as writing a normal libssl application. If you are using global
-properties and the default library context to specify usage of FIPS validated
-algorithms then this will happen automatically for all cryptographic algorithms
-in libssl. If you are using a non-default library context to load the FIPS
-provider then you can supply this to libssl using the function
-`SSL_CTX_new_ex()`. This works as a drop in replacement for the function
-`SSL_CTX_new()` except it provides you with the capability to specify the
-library context to be used. You can also use the same function to specify
-libssl specific properties to use.
-
-In this first example we create two SSL_CTX objects using two different library
-contexts.
-
- /*
- * We assume that a non-default library context with the FIPS provider
- * loaded has been created called fips_libctx.
- /
- SSL_CTX *fips_ssl_ctx = SSL_CTX_new_ex(fips_libctx, NULL, TLS_method());
- /*
- * We assume that a non-default library context with the default provider
- * loaded has been created called non_fips_libctx.
- */
- SSL_CTX *non_fips_ssl_ctx = SSL_CTX_new_ex(non_fips_libctx, NULL,
- TLS_method());
-
-In this second example we create two SSL_CTX objects using different properties
-to specify FIPS usage:
-
- /*
- * The "fips=yes" property includes all FIPS approved algorithms as well as
- * encoders from the default provider that are allowed to be used. The NULL
- * below indicates that we are using the default library context.
- */
- SSL_CTX *fips_ssl_ctx = SSL_CTX_new_ex(NULL, "fips=yes", TLS_method());
- /*
- * The "provider!=fips" property allows algorithms from any provider except
- * the FIPS provider
- */
- SSL_CTX *non_fips_ssl_ctx = SSL_CTX_new_ex(NULL, "provider!=fips",
- TLS_method());
-
-Confirming that an algorithm is being provided by the FIPS module
------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-A chain of links needs to be followed to go from an algorithm instance to the
-provider that implements it. The process is similar for all algorithms. Here the
-example of a digest is used.
-
-To go from an `EVP_MD_CTX` to an `EVP_MD`, use the `EVP_MD_CTX_md()` call. To go
-from the `EVP_MD` to its `OSSL_PROVIDER`, use the `EVP_MD_provider()` call. To
-extract the name from the `OSSL_PROVIDER`, use the `OSSL_PROVIDER_name()` call.
-Finally, use `strcmp(3)` or `printf(3)` on the name.
+ [fips_module(7)]: https://www.openssl.org/docs/manmaster/man7/fips_module.html