1DSA(1) OpenSSL DSA(1)
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6 dsa - DSA key processing
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9 openssl dsa [-inform PEM⎪DER] [-outform PEM⎪DER] [-in filename]
10 [-passin arg] [-out filename] [-passout arg] [-des] [-des3] [-idea]
11 [-text] [-noout] [-modulus] [-pubin] [-pubout] [-engine id]
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14 The dsa command processes DSA keys. They can be converted between vari‐
15 ous forms and their components printed out. Note This command uses the
16 traditional SSLeay compatible format for private key encryption: newer
17 applications should use the more secure PKCS#8 format using the pkcs8
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20 -inform DER⎪PEM
21 This specifies the input format. The DER option with a private key
22 uses an ASN1 DER encoded form of an ASN.1 SEQUENCE consisting of
23 the values of version (currently zero), p, q, g, the public and
24 private key components respectively as ASN.1 INTEGERs. When used
25 with a public key it uses a SubjectPublicKeyInfo structure: it is
26 an error if the key is not DSA.
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28 The PEM form is the default format: it consists of the DER format
29 base64 encoded with additional header and footer lines. In the case
30 of a private key PKCS#8 format is also accepted.
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32 -outform DER⎪PEM
33 This specifies the output format, the options have the same meaning
34 as the -inform option.
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36 -in filename
37 This specifies the input filename to read a key from or standard
38 input if this option is not specified. If the key is encrypted a
39 pass phrase will be prompted for.
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41 -passin arg
42 the input file password source. For more information about the for‐
43 mat of arg see the PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS section in openssl(1).
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45 -out filename
46 This specifies the output filename to write a key to or standard
47 output by is not specified. If any encryption options are set then
48 a pass phrase will be prompted for. The output filename should not
49 be the same as the input filename.
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51 -passout arg
52 the output file password source. For more information about the
53 format of arg see the PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS section in openssl(1).
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55 -des⎪-des3⎪-idea
56 These options encrypt the private key with the DES, triple DES, or
57 the IDEA ciphers respectively before outputting it. A pass phrase
58 is prompted for. If none of these options is specified the key is
59 written in plain text. This means that using the dsa utility to
60 read in an encrypted key with no encryption option can be used to
61 remove the pass phrase from a key, or by setting the encryption
62 options it can be use to add or change the pass phrase. These
63 options can only be used with PEM format output files.
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65 -text
66 prints out the public, private key components and parameters.
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68 -noout
69 this option prevents output of the encoded version of the key.
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71 -modulus
72 this option prints out the value of the public key component of the
73 key.
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75 -pubin
76 by default a private key is read from the input file: with this
77 option a public key is read instead.
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79 -pubout
80 by default a private key is output. With this option a public key
81 will be output instead. This option is automatically set if the
82 input is a public key.
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84 -engine id
85 specifying an engine (by it's unique id string) will cause req to
86 attempt to obtain a functional reference to the specified engine,
87 thus initialising it if needed. The engine will then be set as the
88 default for all available algorithms.
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91 The PEM private key format uses the header and footer lines:
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93 -----BEGIN DSA PRIVATE KEY-----
94 -----END DSA PRIVATE KEY-----
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96 The PEM public key format uses the header and footer lines:
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98 -----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
99 -----END PUBLIC KEY-----
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102 To remove the pass phrase on a DSA private key:
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104 openssl dsa -in key.pem -out keyout.pem
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106 To encrypt a private key using triple DES:
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108 openssl dsa -in key.pem -des3 -out keyout.pem
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110 To convert a private key from PEM to DER format:
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112 openssl dsa -in key.pem -outform DER -out keyout.der
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114 To print out the components of a private key to standard output:
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116 openssl dsa -in key.pem -text -noout
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118 To just output the public part of a private key:
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120 openssl dsa -in key.pem -pubout -out pubkey.pem
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123 dsaparam(1), gendsa(1), rsa(1), genrsa(1)
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1270.9.8b 2003-01-30 DSA(1)