1ASN1PARSE(1) OpenSSL ASN1PARSE(1)
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6 asn1parse - ASN.1 parsing tool
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9 openssl asn1parse [-inform PEM|DER] [-in filename] [-out filename]
10 [-noout] [-offset number] [-length number] [-i] [-oid filename]
11 [-strparse offset] [-genstr string] [-genconf file]
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14 The asn1parse command is a diagnostic utility that can parse ASN.1
15 structures. It can also be used to extract data from ASN.1 formatted
16 data.
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19 -inform DER|PEM
20 the input format. DER is binary format and PEM (the default) is
21 base64 encoded.
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23 -in filename
24 the input file, default is standard input
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26 -out filename
27 output file to place the DER encoded data into. If this option is
28 not present then no data will be output. This is most useful when
29 combined with the -strparse option.
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31 -noout
32 don't output the parsed version of the input file.
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34 -offset number
35 starting offset to begin parsing, default is start of file.
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37 -length number
38 number of bytes to parse, default is until end of file.
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40 -i indents the output according to the "depth" of the structures.
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42 -oid filename
43 a file containing additional OBJECT IDENTIFIERs (OIDs). The format
44 of this file is described in the NOTES section below.
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46 -strparse offset
47 parse the contents octets of the ASN.1 object starting at offset.
48 This option can be used multiple times to "drill down" into a
49 nested structure.
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51 -genstr string, -genconf file
52 generate encoded data based on string, file or both using
53 ASN1_generate_nconf(3) format. If file only is present then the
54 string is obtained from the default section using the name asn1.
55 The encoded data is passed through the ASN1 parser and printed out
56 as though it came from a file, the contents can thus be examined
57 and written to a file using the out option.
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59 OUTPUT
60 The output will typically contain lines like this:
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62 0:d=0 hl=4 l= 681 cons: SEQUENCE
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64 .....
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66 229:d=3 hl=3 l= 141 prim: BIT STRING
67 373:d=2 hl=3 l= 162 cons: cont [ 3 ]
68 376:d=3 hl=3 l= 159 cons: SEQUENCE
69 379:d=4 hl=2 l= 29 cons: SEQUENCE
70 381:d=5 hl=2 l= 3 prim: OBJECT :X509v3 Subject Key Identifier
71 386:d=5 hl=2 l= 22 prim: OCTET STRING
72 410:d=4 hl=2 l= 112 cons: SEQUENCE
73 412:d=5 hl=2 l= 3 prim: OBJECT :X509v3 Authority Key Identifier
74 417:d=5 hl=2 l= 105 prim: OCTET STRING
75 524:d=4 hl=2 l= 12 cons: SEQUENCE
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77 .....
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79 This example is part of a self signed certificate. Each line starts
80 with the offset in decimal. d=XX specifies the current depth. The depth
81 is increased within the scope of any SET or SEQUENCE. hl=XX gives the
82 header length (tag and length octets) of the current type. l=XX gives
83 the length of the contents octets.
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85 The -i option can be used to make the output more readable.
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87 Some knowledge of the ASN.1 structure is needed to interpret the
88 output.
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90 In this example the BIT STRING at offset 229 is the certificate public
91 key. The contents octets of this will contain the public key
92 information. This can be examined using the option -strparse 229 to
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95 0:d=0 hl=3 l= 137 cons: SEQUENCE
96 3:d=1 hl=3 l= 129 prim: INTEGER :E5D21E1F5C8D208EA7A2166C7FAF9F6BDF2059669C60876DDB70840F1A5AAFA59699FE471F379F1DD6A487E7D5409AB6A88D4A9746E24B91D8CF55DB3521015460C8EDE44EE8A4189F7A7BE77D6CD3A9AF2696F486855CF58BF0EDF2B4068058C7A947F52548DDF7E15E96B385F86422BEA9064A3EE9E1158A56E4A6F47E5897
97 135:d=1 hl=2 l= 3 prim: INTEGER :010001
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100 If an OID is not part of OpenSSL's internal table it will be
101 represented in numerical form (for example 1.2.3.4). The file passed to
102 the -oid option allows additional OIDs to be included. Each line
103 consists of three columns, the first column is the OID in numerical
104 format and should be followed by white space. The second column is the
105 "short name" which is a single word followed by white space. The final
106 column is the rest of the line and is the "long name". asn1parse
107 displays the long name. Example:
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109 "1.2.3.4 shortName A long name"
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112 Parse a file:
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114 openssl asn1parse -in file.pem
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116 Parse a DER file:
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118 openssl asn1parse -inform DER -in file.der
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120 Generate a simple UTF8String:
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122 openssl asn1parse -genstr 'UTF8:Hello World'
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124 Generate and write out a UTF8String, don't print parsed output:
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126 openssl asn1parse -genstr 'UTF8:Hello World' -noout -out utf8.der
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128 Generate using a config file:
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130 openssl asn1parse -genconf asn1.cnf -noout -out asn1.der
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132 Example config file:
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134 asn1=SEQUENCE:seq_sect
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136 [seq_sect]
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138 field1=BOOL:TRUE
139 field2=EXP:0, UTF8:some random string
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142 There should be options to change the format of output lines. The
143 output of some ASN.1 types is not well handled (if at all).
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146 ASN1_generate_nconf(3)
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1501.0.1e 2013-02-11 ASN1PARSE(1)