| =pod |
| |
| =head1 NAME |
| |
| RAND_add, RAND_poll, RAND_seed, RAND_status, RAND_event, RAND_screen |
| - add randomness to the PRNG or get its status |
| |
| =head1 SYNOPSIS |
| |
| #include <openssl/rand.h> |
| |
| int RAND_status(void); |
| int RAND_poll(); |
| |
| void RAND_add(const void *buf, int num, double randomness); |
| void RAND_seed(const void *buf, int num); |
| |
| Deprecated: |
| |
| #if OPENSSL_API_COMPAT < 0x10100000L |
| int RAND_event(UINT iMsg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam); |
| void RAND_screen(void); |
| #endif |
| |
| =head1 DESCRIPTION |
| |
| Random numbers are a vital part of cryptography, including key generation, |
| creating salts, etc., and software-based |
| generators must be "seeded" with external randomness before they can be |
| used as a cryptographically-secure pseudo-random number generator (CSPRNG). |
| The availability of common hardware with special instructions and |
| modern operating systems, which may use items such as interrupt jitter |
| and network packet timings, can be reasonable sources of seeding material. |
| |
| RAND_status() indicates whether or not the CSPRNG has been sufficiently |
| seeded. If not, functions such as RAND_bytes(3) will fail. |
| |
| RAND_poll() uses the system's capabilities to seed the CSPRNG using |
| random input obtained from polling various trusted entropy sources. |
| The default choice of the entropy source can be modified at build time |
| using the --with-rand-seed configure option, see also the B<NOTES> section. |
| A summary of the configure options can be displayed with the OpenSSL |
| L<version(1)> command. |
| |
| RAND_add() mixes the B<num> bytes at B<buf> into the PRNG state. |
| The B<randomness> argument is an estimate of how much randomness is |
| contained in |
| B<buf>, in bytes, and should be a number between zero and B<num>. |
| Details about sources of randomness and how to estimate their randomness |
| can be found in the literature; for example NIST SP 800-90B. |
| The content of B<buf> cannot be recovered from subsequent CSPRNG output. |
| This function will not normally be needed, as RAND_poll() should have been |
| configured to do the appropriate seeding for the local platform. |
| Applications that need to keep random state in an external file should |
| use L<RAND_load_file(3)>. |
| |
| RAND_seed() is equivalent to RAND_add() with B<randomness> set to B<num>. |
| |
| RAND_event() and RAND_screen() are equivalent to RAND_poll(). |
| |
| =head1 RETURN VALUES |
| |
| RAND_status() returns 1 if the CSPRNG has been seeded |
| with enough data, 0 otherwise. |
| |
| RAND_poll() returns 1 if it generated seed data, 0 otherwise. |
| |
| RAND_event() returns RAND_status(). |
| |
| The other functions do not return values. |
| |
| =head1 NOTES |
| |
| The new OpenSSL DRBG has some peculiarities which need to be taken |
| into account when it is selected as the default OpenSSL CSPRNG, i.e., |
| when RAND_get_rand_method() == RAND_OpenSSL(). |
| This applies in particular to the way reseeding is done by the DRBG: |
| |
| =over 2 |
| |
| =item * |
| |
| The DRBG seeds itself automatically, pulling random input from trusted |
| entropy sources. |
| Automatic reseeding occurs after a predefined number of generate requests. |
| The selection of the trusted entropy sources is configured at build |
| time using the --with-rand-seed option. |
| |
| =item * |
| |
| The DRBG distinguishes two different types of random input: |
| 'entropy', which comes from a trusted source, and 'additional input', |
| which can optionally be added by the user and is considered untrusted. |
| |
| =back |
| |
| Automatic seeding can be disabled using the --with-rand-seed=none option. |
| |
| =head2 DRBG with automatic seeding enabled |
| |
| Calling RAND_poll() or RAND_add() is not necessary, because the DRBG |
| polls the entropy source automatically. |
| However, both calls are permitted, and do reseed the RNG. |
| |
| RAND_add() can be used to add both kinds of random input, depending on the |
| value of the B<randomness> argument: |
| |
| =over 4 |
| |
| =item randomness == 0: |
| |
| The random bytes are mixed as additional input into the current state of |
| the DRBG. |
| Mixing in additional input is not considered a full reseeding, hence the |
| reseed counter is not reset. |
| |
| |
| =item randomness > 0: |
| |
| The random bytes are used as entropy input for a full reseeding |
| (resp. reinstantiation) if the DRBG is instantiated |
| (resp. uninstantiated or in an error state). |
| A reseeding requires 16 bytes (128 bits) of randomness. |
| It is possible to provide less randomness than required. |
| In this case the missing randomness will be obtained by pulling random input |
| from the trusted entropy sources. |
| |
| =back |
| |
| =head2 DRBG with automatic seeding disabled (--with-rand-seed=none) |
| |
| Calling RAND_poll() will always fail. |
| |
| RAND_add() needs to be called for initial seeding and periodic reseeding. |
| At least 16 bytes (128 bits) of randomness have to be provided, otherwise |
| the (re-)seeding of the DRBG will fail. |
| |
| =head1 HISTORY |
| |
| RAND_event() and RAND_screen() were deprecated in OpenSSL 1.1.0 and should |
| not be used. |
| |
| =head1 SEE ALSO |
| |
| L<RAND_bytes(3)>, L<RAND_egd(3)>, |
| L<RAND_load_file(3)> |
| |
| =head1 COPYRIGHT |
| |
| Copyright 2000-2017 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved. |
| |
| Licensed under the OpenSSL license (the "License"). You may not use |
| this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy |
| in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at |
| L<https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>. |
| |
| =cut |