doc/apps/CA.pl.pod - third_party/openssl - Git at Google


 =pod

 =head1 NAME

 CA.pl - friendlier interface for OpenSSL certificate programs

 =head1 SYNOPSIS

 B<CA.pl>
 [B<-?>]
 [B<-h>]
 [B<-help>]
 [B<-newcert>]
 [B<-newreq>]
 [B<-newca>]
 [B<-xsign>]
 [B<-sign>]
 [B<-signreq>]
 [B<-signcert>]
 [B<-verify>]
 [B<files>]

 =head1 DESCRIPTION

 The B<CA.pl> script is a perl script that supplies the relevant command line
 arguments to the B<openssl> command for some common certificate operations.
 It is intended to simplify the process of certificate creation and management
 by the use of some simple options.

 =head1 COMMAND OPTIONS

 =over 4

 =item B<?>, B<-h>, B<-help>

 prints a usage message.

 =item B<-newcert>

 creates a new self signed certificate. The private key and certificate are
 written to the file "newreq.pem".

 =item B<-newreq>

 creates a new certificate request. The private key and request are
 written to the file "newreq.pem".

 =item B<-newca>

 creates a new CA hierarchy for use with the B<ca> program (or the B<-signcert>
 and B<-xsign> options). The user is prompted to enter the filename of the CA
 certificates (which should also contain the private key) or by hitting ENTER
 details of the CA will be prompted for. The relevant files and directories
 are created in a directory called "demoCA" in the current directory.

 =item B<-pkcs12>

 create a PKCS#12 file containing the user certificate, private key and CA
 certificate. It expects the user certificate and private key to be in the
 file "newcert.pem" and the CA certificate to be in the file demoCA/cacert.pem,
 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 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<-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
 to be present in the file "newreq.pem".

 =item B<-verify>

 verifies certificates against the CA certificate for "demoCA". If no certificates
 are specified on the command line it tries to verify the file "newcert.pem".

 =item B<files>

 one or more optional certificate file names for use with the B<-verify> command.

 =back

 =head1 EXAMPLES

 Create a CA hierarchy:

  CA.pl -newca

 Complete certificate creation example: create a CA, create a request, sign
 the request and finally create a PKCS#12 file containing it.

  CA.pl -newca
  CA.pl -newreq
  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.

 If the demoCA directory already exists then the B<-newca> command will not
 overwrite it and will do nothing. This can happen if a previous call using
 the B<-newca> option terminated abnormally. To get the correct behaviour
 delete the demoCA directory if it already exists.

 Under some environments it may not be possible to run the B<CA.pl> script
 directly (for example Win32) and the default configuration file location may
 be wrong. In this case the command:

  perl -S CA.pl

 can be used and the B<OPENSSL_CONF> environment variable changed to point to
 the correct path of the configuration file "openssl.cnf".

 The script is intended as a simple front end for the B<openssl> program for use
 by a beginner. Its behaviour isn't always what is wanted. For more control over the
 behaviour of the certificate commands call the B<openssl> command directly.

 =head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

 The variable B<OPENSSL_CONF> if defined allows an alternative configuration
 file location to be specified, it should contain the full path to the
 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(5)|config(5)>

 =cut

	=pod

	=head1 NAME

	CA.pl - friendlier interface for OpenSSL certificate programs

	=head1 SYNOPSIS

	B<CA.pl>
	[B<-?>]
	[B<-h>]
	[B<-help>]
	[B<-newcert>]
	[B<-newreq>]
	[B<-newca>]
	[B<-xsign>]
	[B<-sign>]
	[B<-signreq>]
	[B<-signcert>]
	[B<-verify>]
	[B<files>]

	=head1 DESCRIPTION

	The B<CA.pl> script is a perl script that supplies the relevant command line
	arguments to the B<openssl> command for some common certificate operations.
	It is intended to simplify the process of certificate creation and management
	by the use of some simple options.

	=head1 COMMAND OPTIONS

	=over 4

	=item B<?>, B<-h>, B<-help>

	prints a usage message.

	=item B<-newcert>

	creates a new self signed certificate. The private key and certificate are
	written to the file "newreq.pem".

	=item B<-newreq>

	creates a new certificate request. The private key and request are
	written to the file "newreq.pem".

	=item B<-newca>

	creates a new CA hierarchy for use with the B<ca> program (or the B<-signcert>
	and B<-xsign> options). The user is prompted to enter the filename of the CA
	certificates (which should also contain the private key) or by hitting ENTER
	details of the CA will be prompted for. The relevant files and directories
	are created in a directory called "demoCA" in the current directory.

	=item B<-pkcs12>

	create a PKCS#12 file containing the user certificate, private key and CA
	certificate. It expects the user certificate and private key to be in the
	file "newcert.pem" and the CA certificate to be in the file demoCA/cacert.pem,
	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 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<-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
	to be present in the file "newreq.pem".

	=item B<-verify>

	verifies certificates against the CA certificate for "demoCA". If no certificates
	are specified on the command line it tries to verify the file "newcert.pem".

	=item B<files>

	one or more optional certificate file names for use with the B<-verify> command.

	=back

	=head1 EXAMPLES

	Create a CA hierarchy:

	CA.pl -newca

	Complete certificate creation example: create a CA, create a request, sign
	the request and finally create a PKCS#12 file containing it.

	CA.pl -newca
	CA.pl -newreq
	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.

	If the demoCA directory already exists then the B<-newca> command will not
	overwrite it and will do nothing. This can happen if a previous call using
	the B<-newca> option terminated abnormally. To get the correct behaviour
	delete the demoCA directory if it already exists.

	Under some environments it may not be possible to run the B<CA.pl> script
	directly (for example Win32) and the default configuration file location may
	be wrong. In this case the command:

	perl -S CA.pl

	can be used and the B<OPENSSL_CONF> environment variable changed to point to
	the correct path of the configuration file "openssl.cnf".

	The script is intended as a simple front end for the B<openssl> program for use
	by a beginner. Its behaviour isn't always what is wanted. For more control over the
	behaviour of the certificate commands call the B<openssl> command directly.

	=head1 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

	The variable B<OPENSSL_CONF> if defined allows an alternative configuration
	file location to be specified, it should contain the full path to the
	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(5)\|config(5)>

	=cut