1CMS(1) OpenSSL CMS(1)
2
6 cms - CMS utility
7
9 openssl cms [-encrypt] [-decrypt] [-sign] [-verify] [-cmsout] [-resign]
10 [-data_create] [-data_out] [-digest_create] [-digest_verify]
11 [-compress] [-uncompress] [-EncryptedData_encrypt] [-sign_receipt]
12 [-verify_receipt receipt] [-in filename] [-inform SMIME|PEM|DER]
13 [-rctform SMIME|PEM|DER] [-out filename] [-outform SMIME|PEM|DER]
14 [-stream -indef -noindef] [-noindef] [-content filename] [-text]
15 [-noout] [-print] [-CAfile file] [-CApath dir] [-md digest] [-[cipher]]
16 [-nointern] [-no_signer_cert_verify] [-nocerts] [-noattr] [-nosmimecap]
17 [-binary] [-nodetach] [-certfile file] [-certsout file] [-signer file]
18 [-recip file] [-keyid] [-receipt_request_all -receipt_request_first]
19 [-receipt_request_from emailaddress] [-receipt_request_to emailaddress]
20 [-receipt_request_print] [-secretkey key] [-secretkeyid id]
21 [-econtent_type type] [-inkey file] [-passin arg] [-rand file(s)]
22 [cert.pem...] [-to addr] [-from addr] [-subject subj] [cert.pem]...
23
25 The cms command handles S/MIME v3.1 mail. It can encrypt, decrypt, sign
26 and verify, compress and uncompress S/MIME messages.
27
29 There are fourteen operation options that set the type of operation to
30 be performed. The meaning of the other options varies according to the
31 operation type.
32 -encrypt
34 encrypt mail for the given recipient certificates. Input file is
35 the message to be encrypted. The output file is the encrypted mail
36 in MIME format. The actual CMS type is <B>EnvelopedData<B>.
37 -decrypt
39 decrypt mail using the supplied certificate and private key.
40 Expects an encrypted mail message in MIME format for the input
41 file. The decrypted mail is written to the output file.
42 -sign
44 sign mail using the supplied certificate and private key. Input
45 file is the message to be signed. The signed message in MIME format
46 is written to the output file.
47 -verify
49 verify signed mail. Expects a signed mail message on input and
50 outputs the signed data. Both clear text and opaque signing is
51 supported.
52 -cmsout
54 takes an input message and writes out a PEM encoded CMS structure.
55 -resign
57 resign a message: take an existing message and one or more new
58 signers.
59 -data_create
61 Create a CMS Data type.
62 -data_out
64 Data type and output the content.
65 -digest_create
67 Create a CMS DigestedData type.
68 -digest_verify
70 Verify a CMS DigestedData type and output the content.
71 -compress
73 Create a CMS CompressedData type. OpenSSL must be compiled with
74 zlib support for this option to work, otherwise it will output an
75 error.
76 -uncompress
78 Uncompress a CMS CompressedData type and output the content.
79 OpenSSL must be compiled with zlib support for this option to work,
80 otherwise it will output an error.
81 -EncryptedData_encrypt
83 Encrypt suppled content using supplied symmetric key and algorithm
84 using a CMS EncrytedData type and output the content.
85 -sign_receipt
87 Generate and output a signed receipt for the supplied message. The
88 input message must contain a signed receipt request. Functionality
89 is otherwise similar to the -sign operation.
90 -verify_receipt receipt
92 Verify a signed receipt in filename receipt. The input message must
93 contain the original receipt request. Functionality is otherwise
94 similar to the -verify operation.
95 -in filename
97 the input message to be encrypted or signed or the message to be
98 decrypted or verified.
99 -inform SMIME|PEM|DER
101 this specifies the input format for the CMS structure. The default
102 is SMIME which reads an S/MIME format message. PEM and DER format
103 change this to expect PEM and DER format CMS structures instead.
104 This currently only affects the input format of the CMS structure,
105 if no CMS structure is being input (for example with -encrypt or
106 -sign) this option has no effect.
107 -rctform SMIME|PEM|DER
109 specify the format for a signed receipt for use with the
110 -receipt_verify operation.
111 -out filename
113 the message text that has been decrypted or verified or the output
114 MIME format message that has been signed or verified.
115 -outform SMIME|PEM|DER
117 this specifies the output format for the CMS structure. The default
118 is SMIME which writes an S/MIME format message. PEM and DER format
119 change this to write PEM and DER format CMS structures instead.
120 This currently only affects the output format of the CMS structure,
121 if no CMS structure is being output (for example with -verify or
122 -decrypt) this option has no effect.
123 -stream -indef -noindef
125 the -stream and -indef options are equivalent and enable streaming
126 I/O for encoding operations. This permits single pass processing of
127 data without the need to hold the entire contents in memory,
128 potentially supporting very large files. Streaming is automatically
129 set for S/MIME signing with detached data if the output format is
130 SMIME it is currently off by default for all other operations.
131 -noindef
133 disable streaming I/O where it would produce and indefinite length
134 constructed encoding. This option currently has no effect. In
135 future streaming will be enabled by default on all relevant
136 operations and this option will disable it.
137 -content filename
139 This specifies a file containing the detached content, this is only
140 useful with the -verify command. This is only usable if the CMS
141 structure is using the detached signature form where the content is
142 not included. This option will override any content if the input
143 format is S/MIME and it uses the multipart/signed MIME content
144 type.
145 -text
147 this option adds plain text (text/plain) MIME headers to the
148 supplied message if encrypting or signing. If decrypting or
149 verifying it strips off text headers: if the decrypted or verified
150 message is not of MIME type text/plain then an error occurs.
151 -noout
153 for the -cmsout operation do not output the parsed CMS structure.
154 This is useful when combined with the -print option or if the
155 syntax of the CMS structure is being checked.
156 -print
158 for the -cmsout operation print out all fields of the CMS
159 structure. This is mainly useful for testing purposes.
160 -CAfile file
162 a file containing trusted CA certificates, only used with -verify.
163 -CApath dir
165 a directory containing trusted CA certificates, only used with
166 -verify. This directory must be a standard certificate directory:
167 that is a hash of each subject name (using x509 -hash) should be
168 linked to each certificate.
169 -md digest
171 digest algorithm to use when signing or resigning. If not present
172 then the default digest algorithm for the signing key will be used
173 (usually SHA1).
174 -[cipher]
176 the encryption algorithm to use. For example triple DES (168 bits)
177 - -des3 or 256 bit AES - -aes256. Any standard algorithm name (as
178 used by the EVP_get_cipherbyname() function) can also be used
179 preceded by a dash, for example -aes_128_cbc. See enc for a list of
180 ciphers supported by your version of OpenSSL.
181 If not specified triple DES is used. Only used with -encrypt and
183 -EncryptedData_create commands.
184 -nointern
186 when verifying a message normally certificates (if any) included in
187 the message are searched for the signing certificate. With this
188 option only the certificates specified in the -certfile option are
189 used. The supplied certificates can still be used as untrusted CAs
190 however.
191 -no_signer_cert_verify
193 do not verify the signers certificate of a signed message.
194 -nocerts
196 when signing a message the signer's certificate is normally
197 included with this option it is excluded. This will reduce the size
198 of the signed message but the verifier must have a copy of the
199 signers certificate available locally (passed using the -certfile
200 option for example).
201 -noattr
203 normally when a message is signed a set of attributes are included
204 which include the signing time and supported symmetric algorithms.
205 With this option they are not included.
206 -nosmimecap
208 exclude the list of supported algorithms from signed attributes,
209 other options such as signing time and content type are still
210 included.
211 -binary
213 normally the input message is converted to "canonical" format which
214 is effectively using CR and LF as end of line: as required by the
215 S/MIME specification. When this option is present no translation
216 occurs. This is useful when handling binary data which may not be
217 in MIME format.
218 -nodetach
220 when signing a message use opaque signing: this form is more
221 resistant to translation by mail relays but it cannot be read by
222 mail agents that do not support S/MIME. Without this option
223 cleartext signing with the MIME type multipart/signed is used.
224 -certfile file
226 allows additional certificates to be specified. When signing these
227 will be included with the message. When verifying these will be
228 searched for the signers certificates. The certificates should be
229 in PEM format.
230 -certsout file
232 any certificates contained in the message are written to file.
233 -signer file
235 a signing certificate when signing or resigning a message, this
236 option can be used multiple times if more than one signer is
237 required. If a message is being verified then the signers
238 certificates will be written to this file if the verification was
239 successful.
240 -recip file
242 the recipients certificate when decrypting a message. This
243 certificate must match one of the recipients of the message or an
244 error occurs.
245 -keyid
247 use subject key identifier to identify certificates instead of
248 issuer name and serial number. The supplied certificate must
249 include a subject key identifier extension. Supported by -sign and
250 -encrypt options.
251 -receipt_request_all -receipt_request_first
253 for -sign option include a signed receipt request. Indicate
254 requests should be provided by all receipient or first tier
255 recipients (those mailed directly and not from a mailing list).
256 Ignored it -receipt_request_from is included.
257 -receipt_request_from emailaddress
259 for -sign option include a signed receipt request. Add an explicit
260 email address where receipts should be supplied.
261 -receipt_request_to emailaddress
263 Add an explicit email address where signed receipts should be sent
264 to. This option must but supplied if a signed receipt it requested.
265 -receipt_request_print
267 For the -verify operation print out the contents of any signed
268 receipt requests.
269 -secretkey key
271 specify symmetric key to use. The key must be supplied in hex
272 format and be consistent with the algorithm used. Supported by the
273 -EncryptedData_encrypt -EncrryptedData_decrypt, -encrypt and
274 -decrypt options. When used with -encrypt or -decrypt the supplied
275 key is used to wrap or unwrap the content encryption key using an
276 AES key in the KEKRecipientInfo type.
277 -secretkeyid id
279 the key identifier for the supplied symmetric key for
280 KEKRecipientInfo type. This option must be present if the
281 -secretkey option is used with -encrypt. With -decrypt operations
282 the id is used to locate the relevant key if it is not supplied
283 then an attempt is used to decrypt any KEKRecipientInfo structures.
284 -econtent_type type
286 set the encapsulated content type to type if not supplied the Data
287 type is used. The type argument can be any valid OID name in either
288 text or numerical format.
289 -inkey file
291 the private key to use when signing or decrypting. This must match
292 the corresponding certificate. If this option is not specified then
293 the private key must be included in the certificate file specified
294 with the -recip or -signer file. When signing this option can be
295 used multiple times to specify successive keys.
296 -passin arg
298 the private key password source. For more information about the
299 format of arg see the PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS section in openssl(1).
300 -rand file(s)
302 a file or files containing random data used to seed the random
303 number generator, or an EGD socket (see RAND_egd(3)). Multiple
304 files can be specified separated by a OS-dependent character. The
305 separator is ; for MS-Windows, , for OpenVMS, and : for all others.
306 cert.pem...
308 one or more certificates of message recipients: used when
309 encrypting a message.
310 -to, -from, -subject
312 the relevant mail headers. These are included outside the signed
313 portion of a message so they may be included manually. If signing
314 then many S/MIME mail clients check the signers certificate's email
315 address matches that specified in the From: address.
316 -purpose, -ignore_critical, -issuer_checks, -crl_check, -crl_check_all,
318 -policy_check, -extended_crl, -x509_strict, -policy -check_ss_sig
319 Set various certificate chain valiadition option. See the verify
320 manual page for details.
321
323 The MIME message must be sent without any blank lines between the
324 headers and the output. Some mail programs will automatically add a
325 blank line. Piping the mail directly to sendmail is one way to achieve
326 the correct format.
327 The supplied message to be signed or encrypted must include the
329 necessary MIME headers or many S/MIME clients wont display it properly
330 (if at all). You can use the -text option to automatically add plain
331 text headers.
332 A "signed and encrypted" message is one where a signed message is then
334 encrypted. This can be produced by encrypting an already signed
335 message: see the examples section.
336 This version of the program only allows one signer per message but it
338 will verify multiple signers on received messages. Some S/MIME clients
339 choke if a message contains multiple signers. It is possible to sign
340 messages "in parallel" by signing an already signed message.
341 The options -encrypt and -decrypt reflect common usage in S/MIME
343 clients. Strictly speaking these process CMS enveloped data: CMS
344 encrypted data is used for other purposes.
345 The -resign option uses an existing message digest when adding a new
347 signer. This means that attributes must be present in at least one
348 existing signer using the same message digest or this operation will
349 fail.
350 The -stream and -indef options enable experimental streaming I/O
352 support. As a result the encoding is BER using indefinite length
353 constructed encoding and no longer DER. Streaming is supported for the
354 -encrypt operation and the -sign operation if the content is not
355 detached.
356 Streaming is always used for the -sign operation with detached data but
358 since the content is no longer part of the CMS structure the encoding
359 remains DER.
360
362 0 the operation was completely successfully.
363 1 an error occurred parsing the command options.
365 2 one of the input files could not be read.
367 3 an error occurred creating the CMS file or when reading the MIME
369 message.
370 4 an error occurred decrypting or verifying the message.
372 5 the message was verified correctly but an error occurred writing
374 out the signers certificates.
375
377 The smime utility can only process the older PKCS#7 format. The cms
378 utility supports Cryptographic Message Syntax format. Use of some
379 features will result in messages which cannot be processed by
380 applications which only support the older format. These are detailed
381 below.
382 The use of the -keyid option with -sign or -encrypt.
384 The -outform PEM option uses different headers.
386 The -compress option.
388 The -secretkey option when used with -encrypt.
390 Additionally the -EncryptedData_create and -data_create type cannot be
392 processed by the older smime command.
393
395 Create a cleartext signed message:
396 openssl cms -sign -in message.txt -text -out mail.msg \
398 -signer mycert.pem
399 Create an opaque signed message
401 openssl cms -sign -in message.txt -text -out mail.msg -nodetach \
403 -signer mycert.pem
404 Create a signed message, include some additional certificates and read
406 the private key from another file:
407 openssl cms -sign -in in.txt -text -out mail.msg \
409 -signer mycert.pem -inkey mykey.pem -certfile mycerts.pem
410 Create a signed message with two signers, use key identifier:
412 openssl cms -sign -in message.txt -text -out mail.msg \
414 -signer mycert.pem -signer othercert.pem -keyid
415 Send a signed message under Unix directly to sendmail, including
417 headers:
418 openssl cms -sign -in in.txt -text -signer mycert.pem \
420 -from steve@openssl.org -to someone@somewhere \
421 -subject "Signed message" | sendmail someone@somewhere
422 Verify a message and extract the signer's certificate if successful:
424 openssl cms -verify -in mail.msg -signer user.pem -out signedtext.txt
426 Send encrypted mail using triple DES:
428 openssl cms -encrypt -in in.txt -from steve@openssl.org \
430 -to someone@somewhere -subject "Encrypted message" \
431 -des3 user.pem -out mail.msg
432 Sign and encrypt mail:
434 openssl cms -sign -in ml.txt -signer my.pem -text \
436 | openssl cms -encrypt -out mail.msg \
437 -from steve@openssl.org -to someone@somewhere \
438 -subject "Signed and Encrypted message" -des3 user.pem
439 Note: the encryption command does not include the -text option because
441 the message being encrypted already has MIME headers.
442 Decrypt mail:
444 openssl cms -decrypt -in mail.msg -recip mycert.pem -inkey key.pem
446 The output from Netscape form signing is a PKCS#7 structure with the
448 detached signature format. You can use this program to verify the
449 signature by line wrapping the base64 encoded structure and surrounding
450 it with:
451 -----BEGIN PKCS7-----
453 -----END PKCS7-----
454 and using the command,
456 openssl cms -verify -inform PEM -in signature.pem -content content.txt
458 alternatively you can base64 decode the signature and use
460 openssl cms -verify -inform DER -in signature.der -content content.txt
462 Create an encrypted message using 128 bit Camellia:
464 openssl cms -encrypt -in plain.txt -camellia128 -out mail.msg cert.pem
466 Add a signer to an existing message:
468 openssl cms -resign -in mail.msg -signer newsign.pem -out mail2.msg
470
472 The MIME parser isn't very clever: it seems to handle most messages
473 that I've thrown at it but it may choke on others.
474 The code currently will only write out the signer's certificate to a
476 file: if the signer has a separate encryption certificate this must be
477 manually extracted. There should be some heuristic that determines the
478 correct encryption certificate.
479 Ideally a database should be maintained of a certificates for each
481 email address.
482 The code doesn't currently take note of the permitted symmetric
484 encryption algorithms as supplied in the SMIMECapabilities signed
485 attribute. this means the user has to manually include the correct
486 encryption algorithm. It should store the list of permitted ciphers in
487 a database and only use those.
488 No revocation checking is done on the signer's certificate.
490
492 The use of multiple -signer options and the -resign command were first
493 added in OpenSSL 1.0.0
4941.0.0e 2009-09-30 CMS(1)