5 spkac - SPKAC printing and generating utility
14 [B<-challenge string>]
24 The B<spkac> command processes Netscape signed public key and challenge
25 (SPKAC) files. It can print out their contents, verify the signature and
26 produce its own SPKACs from a supplied private key.
28 =head1 COMMAND OPTIONS
34 This specifies the input filename to read from or standard input if this
35 option is not specified. Ignored if the B<-key> option is used.
37 =item B<-out filename>
39 specifies the output filename to write to or standard output by
44 create an SPKAC file using the private key in B<keyfile>. The
45 B<-in>, B<-noout>, B<-spksect> and B<-verify> options are ignored if
48 =item B<-passin password>
50 the input file password source. For more information about the format of B<arg>
51 see the B<PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS> section in L<openssl(1)|openssl(1)>.
53 =item B<-challenge string>
55 specifies the challenge string if an SPKAC is being created.
57 =item B<-spkac spkacname>
59 allows an alternative name form the variable containing the
60 SPKAC. The default is "SPKAC". This option affects both
61 generated and input SPKAC files.
63 =item B<-spksect section>
65 allows an alternative name form the section containing the
66 SPKAC. The default is the default section.
70 don't output the text version of the SPKAC (not used if an
71 SPKAC is being created).
75 output the public key of an SPKAC (not used if an SPKAC is
80 verifies the digital signature on the supplied SPKAC.
84 specifying an engine (by its unique B<id> string) will cause B<spkac>
85 to attempt to obtain a functional reference to the specified engine,
86 thus initialising it if needed. The engine will then be set as the default
87 for all available algorithms.
93 Print out the contents of an SPKAC:
95 openssl spkac -in spkac.cnf
97 Verify the signature of an SPKAC:
99 openssl spkac -in spkac.cnf -noout -verify
101 Create an SPKAC using the challenge string "hello":
103 openssl spkac -key key.pem -challenge hello -out spkac.cnf
105 Example of an SPKAC, (long lines split up for clarity):
107 SPKAC=MIG5MGUwXDANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAANLADBIAkEA1cCoq2Wa3Ixs47uI7F\
108 PVwHVIPDx5yso105Y6zpozam135a8R0CpoRvkkigIyXfcCjiVi5oWk+6FfPaD03u\
109 PFoQIDAQABFgVoZWxsbzANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQQFAANBAFpQtY/FojdwkJh1bEIYuc\
110 2EeM2KHTWPEepWYeawvHD0gQ3DngSC75YCWnnDdq+NQ3F+X4deMx9AaEglZtULwV\
115 A created SPKAC with suitable DN components appended can be fed into
118 SPKACs are typically generated by Netscape when a form is submitted
119 containing the B<KEYGEN> tag as part of the certificate enrollment
122 The challenge string permits a primitive form of proof of possession
123 of private key. By checking the SPKAC signature and a random challenge
124 string some guarantee is given that the user knows the private key
125 corresponding to the public key being certified. This is important in
126 some applications. Without this it is possible for a previous SPKAC
127 to be used in a "replay attack".