6 x509 - Certificate display and signing utility
11 [B<-inform DER|PEM|NET>]
12 [B<-outform DER|PEM|NET>]
15 [B<-CAkeyform DER|PEM>]
43 [B<-signkey filename>]
49 [B<-CAserial filename>]
52 [B<-md2|-md5|-sha1|-mdc2>]
54 [B<-extfile filename>]
55 [B<-extensions section>]
60 The B<x509> command is a multi purpose certificate utility. It can be
61 used to display certificate information, convert certificates to
62 various forms, sign certificate requests like a "mini CA" or edit
63 certificate trust settings.
65 Since there are a large number of options they will split up into
70 =head2 INPUT, OUTPUT AND GENERAL PURPOSE OPTIONS
74 =item B<-inform DER|PEM|NET>
76 This specifies the input format normally the command will expect an X509
77 certificate but this can change if other options such as B<-req> are
78 present. The DER format is the DER encoding of the certificate and PEM
79 is the base64 encoding of the DER encoding with header and footer lines
80 added. The NET option is an obscure Netscape server format that is now
83 =item B<-outform DER|PEM|NET>
85 This specifies the output format, the options have the same meaning as the
90 This specifies the input filename to read a certificate from or standard input
91 if this option is not specified.
93 =item B<-out filename>
95 This specifies the output filename to write to or standard output by
98 =item B<-md2|-md5|-sha1|-mdc2>
100 the digest to use. This affects any signing or display option that uses a message
101 digest, such as the B<-fingerprint>, B<-signkey> and B<-CA> options. If not
102 specified then SHA1 is used. If the key being used to sign with is a DSA key
103 then this option has no effect: SHA1 is always used with DSA keys.
107 specifying an engine (by its unique B<id> string) will cause B<x509>
108 to attempt to obtain a functional reference to the specified engine,
109 thus initialising it if needed. The engine will then be set as the default
110 for all available algorithms.
114 =head2 DISPLAY OPTIONS
116 Note: the B<-alias> and B<-purpose> options are also display options
117 but are described in the B<TRUST SETTINGS> section.
123 prints out the certificate in text form. Full details are output including the
124 public key, signature algorithms, issuer and subject names, serial number
125 any extensions present and any trust settings.
127 =item B<-certopt option>
129 customise the output format used with B<-text>. The B<option> argument can be
130 a single option or multiple options separated by commas. The B<-certopt> switch
131 may be also be used more than once to set multiple options. See the B<TEXT OPTIONS>
132 section for more information.
136 this option prevents output of the encoded version of the request.
140 this option prints out the value of the modulus of the public key
141 contained in the certificate.
145 outputs the certificate serial number.
147 =item B<-subject_hash>
149 outputs the "hash" of the certificate subject name. This is used in OpenSSL to
150 form an index to allow certificates in a directory to be looked up by subject
153 =item B<-issuer_hash>
155 outputs the "hash" of the certificate issuer name.
159 synonym for "-subject_hash" for backward compatibility reasons.
161 =item B<-subject_hash_old>
163 outputs the "hash" of the certificate subject name using the older algorithm
164 as used by OpenSSL versions before 1.0.0.
166 =item B<-issuer_hash_old>
168 outputs the "hash" of the certificate issuer name using the older algorithm
169 as used by OpenSSL versions before 1.0.0.
173 outputs the subject name.
177 outputs the issuer name.
179 =item B<-nameopt option>
181 option which determines how the subject or issuer names are displayed. The
182 B<option> argument can be a single option or multiple options separated by
183 commas. Alternatively the B<-nameopt> switch may be used more than once to
184 set multiple options. See the B<NAME OPTIONS> section for more information.
188 outputs the email address(es) if any.
192 outputs the OCSP responder address(es) if any.
196 prints out the start date of the certificate, that is the notBefore date.
200 prints out the expiry date of the certificate, that is the notAfter date.
204 prints out the start and expiry dates of a certificate.
206 =item B<-fingerprint>
208 prints out the digest of the DER encoded version of the whole certificate
209 (see digest options).
213 this outputs the certificate in the form of a C source file.
217 =head2 TRUST SETTINGS
219 Please note these options are currently experimental and may well change.
221 A B<trusted certificate> is an ordinary certificate which has several
222 additional pieces of information attached to it such as the permitted
223 and prohibited uses of the certificate and an "alias".
225 Normally when a certificate is being verified at least one certificate
226 must be "trusted". By default a trusted certificate must be stored
227 locally and must be a root CA: any certificate chain ending in this CA
228 is then usable for any purpose.
230 Trust settings currently are only used with a root CA. They allow a finer
231 control over the purposes the root CA can be used for. For example a CA
232 may be trusted for SSL client but not SSL server use.
234 See the description of the B<verify> utility for more information on the
235 meaning of trust settings.
237 Future versions of OpenSSL will recognize trust settings on any
238 certificate: not just root CAs.
245 this causes B<x509> to output a B<trusted> certificate. An ordinary
246 or trusted certificate can be input but by default an ordinary
247 certificate is output and any trust settings are discarded. With the
248 B<-trustout> option a trusted certificate is output. A trusted
249 certificate is automatically output if any trust settings are modified.
251 =item B<-setalias arg>
253 sets the alias of the certificate. This will allow the certificate
254 to be referred to using a nickname for example "Steve's Certificate".
258 outputs the certificate alias, if any.
262 clears all the permitted or trusted uses of the certificate.
266 clears all the prohibited or rejected uses of the certificate.
268 =item B<-addtrust arg>
270 adds a trusted certificate use. Any object name can be used here
271 but currently only B<clientAuth> (SSL client use), B<serverAuth>
272 (SSL server use) and B<emailProtection> (S/MIME email) are used.
273 Other OpenSSL applications may define additional uses.
275 =item B<-addreject arg>
277 adds a prohibited use. It accepts the same values as the B<-addtrust>
282 this option performs tests on the certificate extensions and outputs
283 the results. For a more complete description see the B<CERTIFICATE
288 =head2 SIGNING OPTIONS
290 The B<x509> utility can be used to sign certificates and requests: it
291 can thus behave like a "mini CA".
295 =item B<-signkey filename>
297 this option causes the input file to be self signed using the supplied
300 If the input file is a certificate it sets the issuer name to the
301 subject name (i.e. makes it self signed) changes the public key to the
302 supplied value and changes the start and end dates. The start date is
303 set to the current time and the end date is set to a value determined
304 by the B<-days> option. Any certificate extensions are retained unless
305 the B<-clrext> option is supplied.
307 If the input is a certificate request then a self signed certificate
308 is created using the supplied private key using the subject name in
313 delete any extensions from a certificate. This option is used when a
314 certificate is being created from another certificate (for example with
315 the B<-signkey> or the B<-CA> options). Normally all extensions are
318 =item B<-keyform PEM|DER>
320 specifies the format (DER or PEM) of the private key file used in the
325 specifies the number of days to make a certificate valid for. The default
330 converts a certificate into a certificate request. The B<-signkey> option
331 is used to pass the required private key.
335 by default a certificate is expected on input. With this option a
336 certificate request is expected instead.
338 =item B<-set_serial n>
340 specifies the serial number to use. This option can be used with either
341 the B<-signkey> or B<-CA> options. If used in conjunction with the B<-CA>
342 option the serial number file (as specified by the B<-CAserial> or
343 B<-CAcreateserial> options) is not used.
345 The serial number can be decimal or hex (if preceded by B<0x>). Negative
346 serial numbers can also be specified but their use is not recommended.
348 =item B<-CA filename>
350 specifies the CA certificate to be used for signing. When this option is
351 present B<x509> behaves like a "mini CA". The input file is signed by this
352 CA using this option: that is its issuer name is set to the subject name
353 of the CA and it is digitally signed using the CAs private key.
355 This option is normally combined with the B<-req> option. Without the
356 B<-req> option the input is a certificate which must be self signed.
358 =item B<-CAkey filename>
360 sets the CA private key to sign a certificate with. If this option is
361 not specified then it is assumed that the CA private key is present in
362 the CA certificate file.
364 =item B<-CAserial filename>
366 sets the CA serial number file to use.
368 When the B<-CA> option is used to sign a certificate it uses a serial
369 number specified in a file. This file consist of one line containing
370 an even number of hex digits with the serial number to use. After each
371 use the serial number is incremented and written out to the file again.
373 The default filename consists of the CA certificate file base name with
374 ".srl" appended. For example if the CA certificate file is called
375 "mycacert.pem" it expects to find a serial number file called "mycacert.srl".
377 =item B<-CAcreateserial>
379 with this option the CA serial number file is created if it does not exist:
380 it will contain the serial number "02" and the certificate being signed will
381 have the 1 as its serial number. Normally if the B<-CA> option is specified
382 and the serial number file does not exist it is an error.
384 =item B<-extfile filename>
386 file containing certificate extensions to use. If not specified then
387 no extensions are added to the certificate.
389 =item B<-extensions section>
391 the section to add certificate extensions from. If this option is not
392 specified then the extensions should either be contained in the unnamed
393 (default) section or the default section should contain a variable called
394 "extensions" which contains the section to use. See the
395 L<x509v3_config(5)|x509v3_config(5)> manual page for details of the
396 extension section format.
402 The B<nameopt> command line switch determines how the subject and issuer
403 names are displayed. If no B<nameopt> switch is present the default "oneline"
404 format is used which is compatible with previous versions of OpenSSL.
405 Each option is described in detail below, all options can be preceded by
406 a B<-> to turn the option off. Only the first four will normally be used.
412 use the old format. This is equivalent to specifying no name options at all.
416 displays names compatible with RFC2253 equivalent to B<esc_2253>, B<esc_ctrl>,
417 B<esc_msb>, B<utf8>, B<dump_nostr>, B<dump_unknown>, B<dump_der>,
418 B<sep_comma_plus>, B<dn_rev> and B<sname>.
422 a oneline format which is more readable than RFC2253. It is equivalent to
423 specifying the B<esc_2253>, B<esc_ctrl>, B<esc_msb>, B<utf8>, B<dump_nostr>,
424 B<dump_der>, B<use_quote>, B<sep_comma_plus_space>, B<space_eq> and B<sname>
429 a multiline format. It is equivalent B<esc_ctrl>, B<esc_msb>, B<sep_multiline>,
430 B<space_eq>, B<lname> and B<align>.
434 escape the "special" characters required by RFC2253 in a field That is
435 B<,+"E<lt>E<gt>;>. Additionally B<#> is escaped at the beginning of a string
436 and a space character at the beginning or end of a string.
440 escape control characters. That is those with ASCII values less than
441 0x20 (space) and the delete (0x7f) character. They are escaped using the
442 RFC2253 \XX notation (where XX are two hex digits representing the
447 escape characters with the MSB set, that is with ASCII values larger than
452 escapes some characters by surrounding the whole string with B<"> characters,
453 without the option all escaping is done with the B<\> character.
457 convert all strings to UTF8 format first. This is required by RFC2253. If
458 you are lucky enough to have a UTF8 compatible terminal then the use
459 of this option (and B<not> setting B<esc_msb>) may result in the correct
460 display of multibyte (international) characters. Is this option is not
461 present then multibyte characters larger than 0xff will be represented
462 using the format \UXXXX for 16 bits and \WXXXXXXXX for 32 bits.
463 Also if this option is off any UTF8Strings will be converted to their
464 character form first.
468 this option does not attempt to interpret multibyte characters in any
469 way. That is their content octets are merely dumped as though one octet
470 represents each character. This is useful for diagnostic purposes but
471 will result in rather odd looking output.
475 show the type of the ASN1 character string. The type precedes the
476 field contents. For example "BMPSTRING: Hello World".
480 when this option is set any fields that need to be hexdumped will
481 be dumped using the DER encoding of the field. Otherwise just the
482 content octets will be displayed. Both options use the RFC2253
487 dump non character string types (for example OCTET STRING) if this
488 option is not set then non character string types will be displayed
489 as though each content octet represents a single character.
493 dump all fields. This option when used with B<dump_der> allows the
494 DER encoding of the structure to be unambiguously determined.
496 =item B<dump_unknown>
498 dump any field whose OID is not recognised by OpenSSL.
500 =item B<sep_comma_plus>, B<sep_comma_plus_space>, B<sep_semi_plus_space>,
503 these options determine the field separators. The first character is
504 between RDNs and the second between multiple AVAs (multiple AVAs are
505 very rare and their use is discouraged). The options ending in
506 "space" additionally place a space after the separator to make it
507 more readable. The B<sep_multiline> uses a linefeed character for
508 the RDN separator and a spaced B<+> for the AVA separator. It also
509 indents the fields by four characters.
513 reverse the fields of the DN. This is required by RFC2253. As a side
514 effect this also reverses the order of multiple AVAs but this is
517 =item B<nofname>, B<sname>, B<lname>, B<oid>
519 these options alter how the field name is displayed. B<nofname> does
520 not display the field at all. B<sname> uses the "short name" form
521 (CN for commonName for example). B<lname> uses the long form.
522 B<oid> represents the OID in numerical form and is useful for
527 align field values for a more readable output. Only usable with
532 places spaces round the B<=> character which follows the field
539 As well as customising the name output format, it is also possible to
540 customise the actual fields printed using the B<certopt> options when
541 the B<text> option is present. The default behaviour is to print all fields.
547 use the old format. This is equivalent to specifying no output options at all.
551 don't print header information: that is the lines saying "Certificate" and "Data".
555 don't print out the version number.
559 don't print out the serial number.
563 don't print out the signature algorithm used.
567 don't print the validity, that is the B<notBefore> and B<notAfter> fields.
571 don't print out the subject name.
575 don't print out the issuer name.
579 don't print out the public key.
583 don't give a hexadecimal dump of the certificate signature.
587 don't print out certificate trust information.
589 =item B<no_extensions>
591 don't print out any X509V3 extensions.
595 retain default extension behaviour: attempt to print out unsupported certificate extensions.
599 print an error message for unsupported certificate extensions.
603 ASN1 parse unsupported extensions.
607 hex dump unsupported extensions.
611 the value used by the B<ca> utility, equivalent to B<no_issuer>, B<no_pubkey>, B<no_header>,
612 B<no_version>, B<no_sigdump> and B<no_signame>.
618 Note: in these examples the '\' means the example should be all on one
621 Display the contents of a certificate:
623 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -noout -text
625 Display the certificate serial number:
627 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -noout -serial
629 Display the certificate subject name:
631 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -noout -subject
633 Display the certificate subject name in RFC2253 form:
635 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -noout -subject -nameopt RFC2253
637 Display the certificate subject name in oneline form on a terminal
640 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -noout -subject -nameopt oneline,-esc_msb
642 Display the certificate MD5 fingerprint:
644 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -noout -fingerprint
646 Display the certificate SHA1 fingerprint:
648 openssl x509 -sha1 -in cert.pem -noout -fingerprint
650 Convert a certificate from PEM to DER format:
652 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -inform PEM -out cert.der -outform DER
654 Convert a certificate to a certificate request:
656 openssl x509 -x509toreq -in cert.pem -out req.pem -signkey key.pem
658 Convert a certificate request into a self signed certificate using
661 openssl x509 -req -in careq.pem -extfile openssl.cnf -extensions v3_ca \
662 -signkey key.pem -out cacert.pem
664 Sign a certificate request using the CA certificate above and add user
665 certificate extensions:
667 openssl x509 -req -in req.pem -extfile openssl.cnf -extensions v3_usr \
668 -CA cacert.pem -CAkey key.pem -CAcreateserial
671 Set a certificate to be trusted for SSL client use and change set its alias to
674 openssl x509 -in cert.pem -addtrust clientAuth \
675 -setalias "Steve's Class 1 CA" -out trust.pem
679 The PEM format uses the header and footer lines:
681 -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
682 -----END CERTIFICATE-----
684 it will also handle files containing:
686 -----BEGIN X509 CERTIFICATE-----
687 -----END X509 CERTIFICATE-----
689 Trusted certificates have the lines
691 -----BEGIN TRUSTED CERTIFICATE-----
692 -----END TRUSTED CERTIFICATE-----
694 The conversion to UTF8 format used with the name options assumes that
695 T61Strings use the ISO8859-1 character set. This is wrong but Netscape
696 and MSIE do this as do many certificates. So although this is incorrect
697 it is more likely to display the majority of certificates correctly.
699 The B<-fingerprint> option takes the digest of the DER encoded certificate.
700 This is commonly called a "fingerprint". Because of the nature of message
701 digests the fingerprint of a certificate is unique to that certificate and
702 two certificates with the same fingerprint can be considered to be the same.
704 The Netscape fingerprint uses MD5 whereas MSIE uses SHA1.
706 The B<-email> option searches the subject name and the subject alternative
707 name extension. Only unique email addresses will be printed out: it will
708 not print the same address more than once.
710 =head1 CERTIFICATE EXTENSIONS
712 The B<-purpose> option checks the certificate extensions and determines
713 what the certificate can be used for. The actual checks done are rather
714 complex and include various hacks and workarounds to handle broken
715 certificates and software.
717 The same code is used when verifying untrusted certificates in chains
718 so this section is useful if a chain is rejected by the verify code.
720 The basicConstraints extension CA flag is used to determine whether the
721 certificate can be used as a CA. If the CA flag is true then it is a CA,
722 if the CA flag is false then it is not a CA. B<All> CAs should have the
725 If the basicConstraints extension is absent then the certificate is
726 considered to be a "possible CA" other extensions are checked according
727 to the intended use of the certificate. A warning is given in this case
728 because the certificate should really not be regarded as a CA: however
729 it is allowed to be a CA to work around some broken software.
731 If the certificate is a V1 certificate (and thus has no extensions) and
732 it is self signed it is also assumed to be a CA but a warning is again
733 given: this is to work around the problem of Verisign roots which are V1
734 self signed certificates.
736 If the keyUsage extension is present then additional restraints are
737 made on the uses of the certificate. A CA certificate B<must> have the
738 keyCertSign bit set if the keyUsage extension is present.
740 The extended key usage extension places additional restrictions on the
741 certificate uses. If this extension is present (whether critical or not)
742 the key can only be used for the purposes specified.
744 A complete description of each test is given below. The comments about
745 basicConstraints and keyUsage and V1 certificates above apply to B<all>
753 The extended key usage extension must be absent or include the "web client
754 authentication" OID. keyUsage must be absent or it must have the
755 digitalSignature bit set. Netscape certificate type must be absent or it must
756 have the SSL client bit set.
758 =item B<SSL Client CA>
760 The extended key usage extension must be absent or include the "web client
761 authentication" OID. Netscape certificate type must be absent or it must have
762 the SSL CA bit set: this is used as a work around if the basicConstraints
767 The extended key usage extension must be absent or include the "web server
768 authentication" and/or one of the SGC OIDs. keyUsage must be absent or it
769 must have the digitalSignature, the keyEncipherment set or both bits set.
770 Netscape certificate type must be absent or have the SSL server bit set.
772 =item B<SSL Server CA>
774 The extended key usage extension must be absent or include the "web server
775 authentication" and/or one of the SGC OIDs. Netscape certificate type must
776 be absent or the SSL CA bit must be set: this is used as a work around if the
777 basicConstraints extension is absent.
779 =item B<Netscape SSL Server>
781 For Netscape SSL clients to connect to an SSL server it must have the
782 keyEncipherment bit set if the keyUsage extension is present. This isn't
783 always valid because some cipher suites use the key for digital signing.
784 Otherwise it is the same as a normal SSL server.
786 =item B<Common S/MIME Client Tests>
788 The extended key usage extension must be absent or include the "email
789 protection" OID. Netscape certificate type must be absent or should have the
790 S/MIME bit set. If the S/MIME bit is not set in netscape certificate type
791 then the SSL client bit is tolerated as an alternative but a warning is shown:
792 this is because some Verisign certificates don't set the S/MIME bit.
794 =item B<S/MIME Signing>
796 In addition to the common S/MIME client tests the digitalSignature bit must
797 be set if the keyUsage extension is present.
799 =item B<S/MIME Encryption>
801 In addition to the common S/MIME tests the keyEncipherment bit must be set
802 if the keyUsage extension is present.
806 The extended key usage extension must be absent or include the "email
807 protection" OID. Netscape certificate type must be absent or must have the
808 S/MIME CA bit set: this is used as a work around if the basicConstraints
813 The keyUsage extension must be absent or it must have the CRL signing bit
816 =item B<CRL Signing CA>
818 The normal CA tests apply. Except in this case the basicConstraints extension
825 Extensions in certificates are not transferred to certificate requests and
828 It is possible to produce invalid certificates or requests by specifying the
829 wrong private key or using inconsistent options in some cases: these should
832 There should be options to explicitly set such things as start and end
833 dates rather than an offset from the current time.
835 The code to implement the verify behaviour described in the B<TRUST SETTINGS>
836 is currently being developed. It thus describes the intended behaviour rather
837 than the current behaviour. It is hoped that it will represent reality in
838 OpenSSL 0.9.5 and later.
842 L<req(1)|req(1)>, L<ca(1)|ca(1)>, L<genrsa(1)|genrsa(1)>,
843 L<gendsa(1)|gendsa(1)>, L<verify(1)|verify(1)>,
844 L<x509v3_config(5)|x509v3_config(5)>
848 Before OpenSSL 0.9.8, the default digest for RSA keys was MD5.
850 The hash algorithm used in the B<-subject_hash> and B<-issuer_hash> options
851 before OpenSSL 1.0.0 was based on the deprecated MD5 algorithm and the encoding
852 of the distinguished name. In OpenSSL 1.0.0 and later it is based on a
853 canonical version of the DN using SHA1. This means that any directories using
854 the old form must have their links rebuilt using B<c_rehash> or similar.