REQ 1 2008-05-09 0.9.9-dev OpenSSL
NAME
req - PKCS#10 certificate request and certificate generating utility.
LIBRARY
libcrypto, -lcrypto
SYNOPSIS
ooppeennssssll rreeqq
[--iinnffoorrmm PPEEMM||DDEERR]
[--oouuttffoorrmm PPEEMM||DDEERR]
[--iinn ffiilleennaammee]
[--ppaassssiinn aarrgg]
[--oouutt ffiilleennaammee]
[--ppaassssoouutt aarrgg]
[--tteexxtt]
[--ppuubbkkeeyy]
[--nnoooouutt]
[--vveerriiffyy]
[--mmoodduulluuss]
[--nneeww]
[--rraanndd ffiillee((ss))]
[--nneewwkkeeyy rrssaa::bbiittss]
[--nneewwkkeeyy ddssaa::ffiillee]
[--nneewwkkeeyy aallgg::ffiillee]
[--nnooddeess]
[--kkeeyy ffiilleennaammee]
[--kkeeyyffoorrmm PPEEMM||DDEERR]
[--kkeeyyoouutt ffiilleennaammee]
[--[[mmdd55||sshhaa11||mmdd22||mmddcc22]]]
[--ccoonnffiigg ffiilleennaammee]
[--ssuubbjj aarrgg]
[--mmuullttiivvaalluuee--rrddnn]
[--xx550099]
[--ddaayyss nn]
[--sseett__sseerriiaall nn]
[--aassnn11--kklluuddggee]
[--nneewwhhddrr]
[--eexxtteennssiioonnss sseeccttiioonn]
[--rreeqqeexxttss sseeccttiioonn]
[--uuttff88]
[--nnaammeeoopptt]
[--bbaattcchh]
[--vveerrbboossee]
[--eennggiinnee iidd]
DESCRIPTION
The rreeqq command primarily creates and processes certificate requests
in PKCS#10 format. It can additionally create self signed certificates
for use as root CAs for example.
COMMAND OPTIONS
-
--iinnffoorrmm DDEERR||PPEEMM
This specifies the input format. The DDEERR option uses an ASN1 DER encoded
-
form compatible with the PKCS#10. The PPEEMM form is the default format: it
consists of the DDEERR format base64 encoded with additional header and
footer lines.
-
--oouuttffoorrmm DDEERR||PPEEMM
This specifies the output format, the options have the same meaning as the
-
--iinnffoorrmm option.
-
--iinn ffiilleennaammee
This specifies the input filename to read a request from or standard input
-
if this option is not specified. A request is only read if the creation
options (--nneeww and --nneewwkkeeyy) are not specified.
-
--ppaassssiinn aarrgg
the input file password source. For more information about the format of aarrgg
-
see the PPAASSSS PPHHRRAASSEE AARRGGUUMMEENNTTSS section in _o_p_e_n_s_s_l(1).
-
--oouutt ffiilleennaammee
This specifies the output filename to write to or standard output by
-
default.
-
--ppaassssoouutt aarrgg
the output file password source. For more information about the format of aarrgg
-
see the PPAASSSS PPHHRRAASSEE AARRGGUUMMEENNTTSS section in _o_p_e_n_s_s_l(1).
-
--tteexxtt
prints out the certificate request in text form.
-
-
--ppuubbkkeeyy
outputs the public key.
-
-
--nnoooouutt
this option prevents output of the encoded version of the request.
-
-
--mmoodduulluuss
this option prints out the value of the modulus of the public key
-
contained in the request.
-
--vveerriiffyy
verifies the signature on the request.
-
-
--nneeww
this option generates a new certificate request. It will prompt
-
the user for the relevant field values. The actual fields
prompted for and their maximum and minimum sizes are specified
in the configuration file and any requested extensions.
If the --kkeeyy option is not used it will generate a new RSA private
key using information specified in the configuration file.
-
--rraanndd ffiillee((ss))
a file or files containing random data used to seed the random number
-
generator, or an EGD socket (see _R_A_N_D___e_g_d(3)).
Multiple files can be specified separated by a OS-dependent character.
The separator is ;; for MS-Windows, ,, for OpenVMS, and :: for
all others.
-
--nneewwkkeeyy aarrgg
this option creates a new certificate request and a new private
-
key. The argument takes one of several forms. rrssaa::nnbbiittss, where
nnbbiittss is the number of bits, generates an RSA key nnbbiittss
in size. ddssaa::ffiilleennaammee generates a DSA key using the parameters
in the file ffiilleennaammee. ppaarraamm::ffiillee generates a key using the
parameter file ffiillee, the algorithm is determined by the
parameters. aallggnnaammee::ffiillee use algorithm aallggnnaammee and parameter file
ffiillee the two algorithms must match or an error occurs. aallggnnaammee just
uses algorithm aallggnnaammee.
-
--ppkkeeyyoopptt oopptt::vvaalluuee
set the public key algorithm option oopptt to vvaalluuee. The precise set of
-
options supported depends on the public key algorithm used and its
implementation. See KKEEYY GGEENNEERRAATTIIOONN OOPPTTIIOONNSS in the ggeennppkkeeyy manual page
for more details.
-
--kkeeyy ffiilleennaammee
This specifies the file to read the private key from. It also
-
accepts PKCS#8 format private keys for PEM format files.
-
--kkeeyyffoorrmm PPEEMM||DDEERR
the format of the private key file specified in the --kkeeyy
-
argument. PEM is the default.
-
--kkeeyyoouutt ffiilleennaammee
this gives the filename to write the newly created private key to.
-
If this option is not specified then the filename present in the
configuration file is used.
-
--nnooddeess
if this option is specified then if a private key is created it
-
will not be encrypted.
-
--[[mmdd55||sshhaa11||mmdd22||mmddcc22]]
this specifies the message digest to sign the request with. This
-
overrides the digest algorithm specified in the configuration file.
This option is ignored for DSA requests: they always use SHA1.
-
--ccoonnffiigg ffiilleennaammee
this allows an alternative configuration file to be specified,
-
this overrides the compile time filename or any specified in
the OOPPEENNSSSSLL__CCOONNFF environment variable.
-
--ssuubbjj aarrgg
sets subject name for new request or supersedes the subject name
-
when processing a request.
The arg must be formatted as _/_t_y_p_e_0_=_v_a_l_u_e_0_/_t_y_p_e_1_=_v_a_l_u_e_1_/_t_y_p_e_2_=_._._.,
characters may be escaped by \ (backslash), no spaces are skipped.
-
--mmuullttiivvaalluuee--rrddnn
this option causes the -subj argument to be interpreted with full
-
support for multivalued RDNs. Example:
_/_D_C_=_o_r_g_/_D_C_=_O_p_e_n_S_S_L_/_D_C_=_u_s_e_r_s_/_U_I_D_=_1_2_3_4_5_6_+_C_N_=_J_o_h_n _D_o_e
If -multi-rdn is not used then the UID value is _1_2_3_4_5_6_+_C_N_=_J_o_h_n _D_o_e.
-
--xx550099
this option outputs a self signed certificate instead of a certificate
-
request. This is typically used to generate a test certificate or
a self signed root CA. The extensions added to the certificate
(if any) are specified in the configuration file. Unless specified
using the sseett__sseerriiaall option 00 will be used for the serial
number.
-
--ddaayyss nn
when the --xx550099 option is being used this specifies the number of
-
days to certify the certificate for. The default is 30 days.
-
--sseett__sseerriiaall nn
serial number to use when outputting a self signed certificate. This
-
may be specified as a decimal value or a hex value if preceded by 00xx.
It is possible to use negative serial numbers but this is not recommended.
-
--eexxtteennssiioonnss sseeccttiioonn
-
-
--rreeqqeexxttss sseeccttiioonn
these options specify alternative sections to include certificate
-
extensions (if the --xx550099 option is present) or certificate
request extensions. This allows several different sections to
be used in the same configuration file to specify requests for
a variety of purposes.
-
--uuttff88
this option causes field values to be interpreted as UTF8 strings, by
-
default they are interpreted as ASCII. This means that the field
values, whether prompted from a terminal or obtained from a
configuration file, must be valid UTF8 strings.
-
--nnaammeeoopptt ooppttiioonn
option which determines how the subject or issuer names are displayed. The
-
ooppttiioonn argument can be a single option or multiple options separated by
commas. Alternatively the --nnaammeeoopptt switch may be used more than once to
set multiple options. See the _o_p_e_n_s_s_l___x_5_0_9(1) manual page for details.
-
--aassnn11--kklluuddggee
by default the rreeqq command outputs certificate requests containing
-
no attributes in the correct PKCS#10 format. However certain CAs will only
accept requests containing no attributes in an invalid form: this
option produces this invalid format.
More precisely the AAttttrriibbuutteess in a PKCS#10 certificate request
are defined as a SSEETT OOFF AAttttrriibbuuttee. They are nnoott OOPPTTIIOONNAALL so
if no attributes are present then they should be encoded as an
empty SSEETT OOFF. The invalid form does not include the empty
SSEETT OOFF whereas the correct form does.
It should be noted that very few CAs still require the use of this option.
-
--nneewwhhddrr
Adds the word NNEEWW to the PEM file header and footer lines on the outputed
-
request. Some software (Netscape certificate server) and some CAs need this.
-
--bbaattcchh
non-interactive mode.
-
-
--vveerrbboossee
print extra details about the operations being performed.
-
-
--eennggiinnee iidd
specifying an engine (by it's unique iidd string) will cause rreeqq
-
to attempt to obtain a functional reference to the specified engine,
thus initialising it if needed. The engine will then be set as the default
for all available algorithms.
The configuration options are specified in the rreeqq section of
the configuration file. As with all configuration files if no
value is specified in the specific section (i.e. rreeqq) then
the initial unnamed or ddeeffaauulltt section is searched too.
The options available are described in detail below.
-
iinnppuutt__ppaasssswwoorrdd oouuttppuutt__ppaasssswwoorrdd
The passwords for the input private key file (if present) and
-
the output private key file (if one will be created). The
command line options ppaassssiinn and ppaassssoouutt override the
configuration file values.
-
ddeeffaauulltt__bbiittss
This specifies the default key size in bits. If not specified then
-
512 is used. It is used if the --nneeww option is used. It can be
overridden by using the --nneewwkkeeyy option.
-
ddeeffaauulltt__kkeeyyffiillee
This is the default filename to write a private key to. If not
-
specified the key is written to standard output. This can be
overridden by the --kkeeyyoouutt option.
-
ooiidd__ffiillee
This specifies a file containing additional OOBBJJEECCTT IIDDEENNTTIIFFIIEERRSS.
-
Each line of the file should consist of the numerical form of the
object identifier followed by white space then the short name followed
by white space and finally the long name.
-
ooiidd__sseeccttiioonn
This specifies a section in the configuration file containing extra
-
object identifiers. Each line should consist of the short name of the
object identifier followed by == and the numerical form. The short
and long names are the same when this option is used.
-
RRAANNDDFFIILLEE
This specifies a filename in which random number seed information is
-
placed and read from, or an EGD socket (see _R_A_N_D___e_g_d(3)).
It is used for private key generation.
-
eennccrryypptt__kkeeyy
If this is set to nnoo then if a private key is generated it is
-
nnoott encrypted. This is equivalent to the --nnooddeess command line
option. For compatibility eennccrryypptt__rrssaa__kkeeyy is an equivalent option.
-
ddeeffaauulltt__mmdd
This option specifies the digest algorithm to use. Possible values
-
include mmdd55 sshhaa11 mmddcc22. If not present then MD5 is used. This
option can be overridden on the command line.
-
ssttrriinngg__mmaasskk
This option masks out the use of certain string types in certain
-
fields. Most users will not need to change this option.
It can be set to several values ddeeffaauulltt which is also the default
option uses PrintableStrings, T61Strings and BMPStrings if the
ppkkiixx value is used then only PrintableStrings and BMPStrings will
be used. This follows the PKIX recommendation in RFC2459. If the
uuttff88oonnllyy option is used then only UTF8Strings will be used: this
is the PKIX recommendation in RFC2459 after 2003. Finally the nnoommbbssttrr
option just uses PrintableStrings and T61Strings: certain software has
problems with BMPStrings and UTF8Strings: in particular Netscape.
-
rreeqq__eexxtteennssiioonnss
this specifies the configuration file section containing a list of
-
extensions to add to the certificate request. It can be overridden
by the --rreeqqeexxttss command line switch. See the
_x_5_0_9_v_3___c_o_n_f_i_g(5) manual page for details of the
extension section format.
-
xx550099__eexxtteennssiioonnss
this specifies the configuration file section containing a list of
-
extensions to add to certificate generated when the --xx550099 switch
is used. It can be overridden by the --eexxtteennssiioonnss command line switch.
-
pprroommpptt
if set to the value nnoo this disables prompting of certificate fields
-
and just takes values from the config file directly. It also changes the
expected format of the ddiissttiinngguuiisshheedd__nnaammee and aattttrriibbuutteess sections.
-
uuttff88
if set to the value yyeess then field values to be interpreted as UTF8
-
strings, by default they are interpreted as ASCII. This means that
the field values, whether prompted from a terminal or obtained from a
configuration file, must be valid UTF8 strings.
-
aattttrriibbuutteess
this specifies the section containing any request attributes: its format
-
is the same as ddiissttiinngguuiisshheedd__nnaammee. Typically these may contain the
challengePassword or unstructuredName types. They are currently ignored
by OpenSSL's request signing utilities but some CAs might want them.
-
ddiissttiinngguuiisshheedd__nnaammee
This specifies the section containing the distinguished name fields to
-
prompt for when generating a certificate or certificate request. The format
is described in the next section.
There are two separate formats for the distinguished name and attribute
sections. If the pprroommpptt option is set to nnoo then these sections
just consist of field names and values: for example,
CN=My Name
OU=My Organization
emailAddress=someone@somewhere.org
This allows external programs (e.g. GUI based) to generate a template file
with all the field names and values and just pass it to rreeqq. An example
of this kind of configuration file is contained in the EEXXAAMMPPLLEESS section.
Alternatively if the pprroommpptt option is absent or not set to nnoo then the
file contains field prompting information. It consists of lines of the form:
fieldName="prompt"
fieldName_default="default field value"
fieldName_min= 2
fieldName_max= 4
"fieldName" is the field name being used, for example commonName (or CN).
The "prompt" string is used to ask the user to enter the relevant
details. If the user enters nothing then the default value is used if no
default value is present then the field is omitted. A field can
still be omitted if a default value is present if the user just
enters the '.' character.
The number of characters entered must be between the fieldName_min and
fieldName_max limits: there may be additional restrictions based
on the field being used (for example countryName can only ever be
two characters long and must fit in a PrintableString).
Some fields (such as organizationName) can be used more than once
in a DN. This presents a problem because configuration files will
not recognize the same name occurring twice. To avoid this problem
if the fieldName contains some characters followed by a full stop
they will be ignored. So for example a second organizationName can
be input by calling it "1.organizationName".
The actual permitted field names are any object identifier short or
long names. These are compiled into OpenSSL and include the usual
values such as commonName, countryName, localityName, organizationName,
organizationUnitName, stateOrProvinceName. Additionally emailAddress
is include as well as name, surname, givenName initials and dnQualifier.
Additional object identifiers can be defined with the ooiidd__ffiillee or
ooiidd__sseeccttiioonn options in the configuration file. Any additional fields
will be treated as though they were a DirectoryString.
EXAMPLES
Examine and verify certificate request:
openssl req -in req.pem -text -verify -noout
Create a private key and then generate a certificate request from it:
openssl genrsa -out key.pem 1024
openssl req -new -key key.pem -out req.pem
The same but just using req:
openssl req -newkey rsa:1024 -keyout key.pem -out req.pem
Generate a self signed root certificate:
openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:1024 -keyout key.pem -out req.pem
Example of a file pointed to by the ooiidd__ffiillee option:
1.2.3.4 shortName A longer Name
1.2.3.6 otherName Other longer Name
Example of a section pointed to by ooiidd__sseeccttiioonn making use of variable
expansion:
testoid1=1.2.3.5
testoid2=${testoid1}.6
Sample configuration file prompting for field values:
[ req ]
default_bits = 1024
default_keyfile = privkey.pem
distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
attributes = req_attributes
x509_extensions = v3_ca
dirstring_type = nobmp
[ req_distinguished_name ]
countryName = Country Name (2 letter code)
countryName_default = AU
countryName_min = 2
countryName_max = 2
localityName = Locality Name (eg, city)
organizationalUnitName = Organizational Unit Name (eg, section)
commonName = Common Name (eg, YOUR name)
commonName_max = 64
emailAddress = Email Address
emailAddress_max = 40
[ req_attributes ]
challengePassword = A challenge password
challengePassword_min = 4
challengePassword_max = 20
[ v3_ca ]
subjectKeyIdentifier=hash
authorityKeyIdentifier=keyid:always,issuer:always
basicConstraints = CA:true
Sample configuration containing all field values:
RANDFILE = $ENV::HOME/.rnd
[ req ]
default_bits = 1024
default_keyfile = keyfile.pem
distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
attributes = req_attributes
prompt = no
output_password = mypass
[ req_distinguished_name ]
C = GB
ST = Test State or Province
L = Test Locality
O = Organization Name
OU = Organizational Unit Name
CN = Common Name
emailAddress = test@email.address
[ req_attributes ]
challengePassword = A challenge password
NOTES
The header and footer lines in the PPEEMM format are normally:
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
some software (some versions of Netscape certificate server) instead needs:
-----BEGIN NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
-----END NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
which is produced with the --nneewwhhddrr option but is otherwise compatible.
Either form is accepted transparently on input.
The certificate requests generated by XXeennrroollll with MSIE have extensions
added. It includes the kkeeyyUUssaaggee extension which determines the type of
key (signature only or general purpose) and any additional OIDs entered
by the script in an extendedKeyUsage extension.
DIAGNOSTICS
The following messages are frequently asked about:
Using configuration from /some/path/openssl.cnf
Unable to load config info
This is followed some time later by...
unable to find 'distinguished_name' in config
problems making Certificate Request
The first error message is the clue: it can't find the configuration
file! Certain operations (like examining a certificate request) don't
need a configuration file so its use isn't enforced. Generation of
certificates or requests however does need a configuration file. This
could be regarded as a bug.
Another puzzling message is this:
Attributes:
a0:00
this is displayed when no attributes are present and the request includes
the correct empty SSEETT OOFF structure (the DER encoding of which is 0xa0
0x00). If you just see:
Attributes:
then the SSEETT OOFF is missing and the encoding is technically invalid (but
it is tolerated). See the description of the command line option --aassnn11--kklluuddggee
for more information.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
The variable OOPPEENNSSSSLL__CCOONNFF if defined allows an alternative configuration
file location to be specified, it will be overridden by the --ccoonnffiigg command
line switch if it is present. For compatibility reasons the SSSSLLEEAAYY__CCOONNFF
environment variable serves the same purpose but its use is discouraged.
BUGS
OpenSSL's handling of T61Strings (aka TeletexStrings) is broken: it effectively
treats them as ISO-8859-1 (Latin 1), Netscape and MSIE have similar behaviour.
This can cause problems if you need characters that aren't available in
PrintableStrings and you don't want to or can't use BMPStrings.
As a consequence of the T61String handling the only correct way to represent
accented characters in OpenSSL is to use a BMPString: unfortunately Netscape
currently chokes on these. If you have to use accented characters with Netscape
and MSIE then you currently need to use the invalid T61String form.
The current prompting is not very friendly. It doesn't allow you to confirm what
you've just entered. Other things like extensions in certificate requests are
statically defined in the configuration file. Some of these: like an email
address in subjectAltName should be input by the user.
SEE ALSO
_o_p_e_n_s_s_l___x_5_0_9(1), _o_p_e_n_s_s_l___c_a(1), _o_p_e_n_s_s_l___g_e_n_r_s_a(1),
_o_p_e_n_s_s_l___g_e_n_d_s_a(1), _o_p_e_n_s_s_l_._c_n_f(5),
_x_5_0_9_v_3___c_o_n_f_i_g(5)