1REQ(1) OpenSSL REQ(1)
2
6 openssl-req, req - PKCS#10 certificate request and certificate
7 generating utility
8
10 openssl req [-help] [-inform PEM|DER] [-outform PEM|DER] [-in filename]
11 [-passin arg] [-out filename] [-passout arg] [-text] [-pubkey] [-noout]
12 [-verify] [-modulus] [-new] [-rand file...] [-writerand file] [-newkey
13 rsa:bits] [-newkey alg:file] [-nodes] [-key filename] [-keyform
14 PEM|DER] [-keyout filename] [-keygen_engine id] [-digest] [-config
15 filename] [-multivalue-rdn] [-x509] [-days n] [-set_serial n] [-newhdr]
16 [-addext ext] [-extensions section] [-reqexts section] [-precert]
17 [-utf8] [-nameopt] [-reqopt] [-subject] [-subj arg] [-batch] [-verbose]
18 [-engine id]
19
21 The req command primarily creates and processes certificate requests in
22 PKCS#10 format. It can additionally create self signed certificates for
23 use as root CAs for example.
24
26 -help
27 Print out a usage message.
28 -inform DER|PEM
30 This specifies the input format. The DER option uses an ASN1 DER
31 encoded form compatible with the PKCS#10. The PEM form is the
32 default format: it consists of the DER format base64 encoded with
33 additional header and footer lines.
34 -outform DER|PEM
36 This specifies the output format, the options have the same meaning
37 and default as the -inform option.
38 -in filename
40 This specifies the input filename to read a request from or
41 standard input if this option is not specified. A request is only
42 read if the creation options (-new and -newkey) are not specified.
43 -passin arg
45 The input file password source. For more information about the
46 format of arg see the PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS section in openssl(1).
47 -out filename
49 This specifies the output filename to write to or standard output
50 by default.
51 -passout arg
53 The output file password source. For more information about the
54 format of arg see the PASS PHRASE ARGUMENTS section in openssl(1).
55 -text
57 Prints out the certificate request in text form.
58 -subject
60 Prints out the request subject (or certificate subject if -x509 is
61 specified)
62 -pubkey
64 Outputs the public key.
65 -noout
67 This option prevents output of the encoded version of the request.
68 -modulus
70 This option prints out the value of the modulus of the public key
71 contained in the request.
72 -verify
74 Verifies the signature on the request.
75 -new
77 This option generates a new certificate request. It will prompt the
78 user for the relevant field values. The actual fields prompted for
79 and their maximum and minimum sizes are specified in the
80 configuration file and any requested extensions.
81 If the -key option is not used it will generate a new RSA private
83 key using information specified in the configuration file.
84 -rand file...
86 A file or files containing random data used to seed the random
87 number generator. Multiple files can be specified separated by an
88 OS-dependent character. The separator is ; for MS-Windows, , for
89 OpenVMS, and : for all others.
90 [-writerand file]
92 Writes random data to the specified file upon exit. This can be
93 used with a subsequent -rand flag.
94 -newkey arg
96 This option creates a new certificate request and a new private
97 key. The argument takes one of several forms. rsa:nbits, where
98 nbits is the number of bits, generates an RSA key nbits in size. If
99 nbits is omitted, i.e. -newkey rsa specified, the default key size,
100 specified in the configuration file is used.
101 All other algorithms support the -newkey alg:file form, where file
103 may be an algorithm parameter file, created by the genpkey
104 -genparam command or and X.509 certificate for a key with
105 appropriate algorithm.
106 param:file generates a key using the parameter file or certificate
108 file, the algorithm is determined by the parameters. algname:file
109 use algorithm algname and parameter file file: the two algorithms
110 must match or an error occurs. algname just uses algorithm algname,
111 and parameters, if necessary should be specified via -pkeyopt
112 parameter.
113 dsa:filename generates a DSA key using the parameters in the file
115 filename. ec:filename generates EC key (usable both with ECDSA or
116 ECDH algorithms), gost2001:filename generates GOST R 34.10-2001 key
117 (requires ccgost engine configured in the configuration file). If
118 just gost2001 is specified a parameter set should be specified by
119 -pkeyopt paramset:X
120 -pkeyopt opt:value
122 Set the public key algorithm option opt to value. The precise set
123 of options supported depends on the public key algorithm used and
124 its implementation. See KEY GENERATION OPTIONS in the genpkey
125 manual page for more details.
126 -key filename
128 This specifies the file to read the private key from. It also
129 accepts PKCS#8 format private keys for PEM format files.
130 -keyform PEM|DER
132 The format of the private key file specified in the -key argument.
133 PEM is the default.
134 -keyout filename
136 This gives the filename to write the newly created private key to.
137 If this option is not specified then the filename present in the
138 configuration file is used.
139 -nodes
141 If this option is specified then if a private key is created it
142 will not be encrypted.
143 -digest
145 This specifies the message digest to sign the request. Any digest
146 supported by the OpenSSL dgst command can be used. This overrides
147 the digest algorithm specified in the configuration file.
148 Some public key algorithms may override this choice. For instance,
150 DSA signatures always use SHA1, GOST R 34.10 signatures always use
151 GOST R 34.11-94 (-md_gost94), Ed25519 and Ed448 never use any
152 digest.
153 -config filename
155 This allows an alternative configuration file to be specified.
156 Optional; for a description of the default value, see "COMMAND
157 SUMMARY" in openssl(1).
158 -subj arg
160 Sets subject name for new request or supersedes the subject name
161 when processing a request. The arg must be formatted as
162 /type0=value0/type1=value1/type2=.... Keyword characters may be
163 escaped by \ (backslash), and whitespace is retained. Empty values
164 are permitted, but the corresponding type will not be included in
165 the request.
166 -multivalue-rdn
168 This option causes the -subj argument to be interpreted with full
169 support for multivalued RDNs. Example:
170 /DC=org/DC=OpenSSL/DC=users/UID=123456+CN=John Doe
172 If -multi-rdn is not used then the UID value is 123456+CN=John Doe.
174 -x509
176 This option outputs a self signed certificate instead of a
177 certificate request. This is typically used to generate a test
178 certificate or a self signed root CA. The extensions added to the
179 certificate (if any) are specified in the configuration file.
180 Unless specified using the set_serial option, a large random number
181 will be used for the serial number.
182 If existing request is specified with the -in option, it is
184 converted to the self signed certificate otherwise new request is
185 created.
186 -days n
188 When the -x509 option is being used this specifies the number of
189 days to certify the certificate for, otherwise it is ignored. n
190 should be a positive integer. The default is 30 days.
191 -set_serial n
193 Serial number to use when outputting a self signed certificate.
194 This may be specified as a decimal value or a hex value if preceded
195 by 0x.
196 -addext ext
198 Add a specific extension to the certificate (if the -x509 option is
199 present) or certificate request. The argument must have the form
200 of a key=value pair as it would appear in a config file.
201 This option can be given multiple times.
203 -extensions section
205 -reqexts section
206 These options specify alternative sections to include certificate
207 extensions (if the -x509 option is present) or certificate request
208 extensions. This allows several different sections to be used in
209 the same configuration file to specify requests for a variety of
210 purposes.
211 -precert
213 A poison extension will be added to the certificate, making it a
214 "pre-certificate" (see RFC6962). This can be submitted to
215 Certificate Transparency logs in order to obtain signed certificate
216 timestamps (SCTs). These SCTs can then be embedded into the pre-
217 certificate as an extension, before removing the poison and signing
218 the certificate.
219 This implies the -new flag.
221 -utf8
223 This option causes field values to be interpreted as UTF8 strings,
224 by default they are interpreted as ASCII. This means that the field
225 values, whether prompted from a terminal or obtained from a
226 configuration file, must be valid UTF8 strings.
227 -nameopt option
229 Option which determines how the subject or issuer names are
230 displayed. The option argument can be a single option or multiple
231 options separated by commas. Alternatively the -nameopt switch may
232 be used more than once to set multiple options. See the x509(1)
233 manual page for details.
234 -reqopt
236 Customise the output format used with -text. The option argument
237 can be a single option or multiple options separated by commas.
238 See discussion of the -certopt parameter in the x509(1) command.
240 -newhdr
242 Adds the word NEW to the PEM file header and footer lines on the
243 outputted request. Some software (Netscape certificate server) and
244 some CAs need this.
245 -batch
247 Non-interactive mode.
248 -verbose
250 Print extra details about the operations being performed.
251 -engine id
253 Specifying an engine (by its unique id string) will cause req to
254 attempt to obtain a functional reference to the specified engine,
255 thus initialising it if needed. The engine will then be set as the
256 default for all available algorithms.
257 -keygen_engine id
259 Specifies an engine (by its unique id string) which would be used
260 for key generation operations.
261
263 The configuration options are specified in the req section of the
264 configuration file. As with all configuration files if no value is
265 specified in the specific section (i.e. req) then the initial unnamed
266 or default section is searched too.
267 The options available are described in detail below.
269 input_password output_password
271 The passwords for the input private key file (if present) and the
272 output private key file (if one will be created). The command line
273 options passin and passout override the configuration file values.
274 default_bits
276 Specifies the default key size in bits.
277 This option is used in conjunction with the -new option to generate
279 a new key. It can be overridden by specifying an explicit key size
280 in the -newkey option. The smallest accepted key size is 512 bits.
281 If no key size is specified then 2048 bits is used.
282 default_keyfile
284 This is the default filename to write a private key to. If not
285 specified the key is written to standard output. This can be
286 overridden by the -keyout option.
287 oid_file
289 This specifies a file containing additional OBJECT IDENTIFIERS.
290 Each line of the file should consist of the numerical form of the
291 object identifier followed by white space then the short name
292 followed by white space and finally the long name.
293 oid_section
295 This specifies a section in the configuration file containing extra
296 object identifiers. Each line should consist of the short name of
297 the object identifier followed by = and the numerical form. The
298 short and long names are the same when this option is used.
299 RANDFILE
301 At startup the specified file is loaded into the random number
302 generator, and at exit 256 bytes will be written to it. It is used
303 for private key generation.
304 encrypt_key
306 If this is set to no then if a private key is generated it is not
307 encrypted. This is equivalent to the -nodes command line option.
308 For compatibility encrypt_rsa_key is an equivalent option.
309 default_md
311 This option specifies the digest algorithm to use. Any digest
312 supported by the OpenSSL dgst command can be used. This option can
313 be overridden on the command line. Certain signing algorithms (i.e.
314 Ed25519 and Ed448) will ignore any digest that has been set.
315 string_mask
317 This option masks out the use of certain string types in certain
318 fields. Most users will not need to change this option.
319 It can be set to several values default which is also the default
321 option uses PrintableStrings, T61Strings and BMPStrings if the pkix
322 value is used then only PrintableStrings and BMPStrings will be
323 used. This follows the PKIX recommendation in RFC2459. If the
324 utf8only option is used then only UTF8Strings will be used: this is
325 the PKIX recommendation in RFC2459 after 2003. Finally the nombstr
326 option just uses PrintableStrings and T61Strings: certain software
327 has problems with BMPStrings and UTF8Strings: in particular
328 Netscape.
329 req_extensions
331 This specifies the configuration file section containing a list of
332 extensions to add to the certificate request. It can be overridden
333 by the -reqexts command line switch. See the x509v3_config(5)
334 manual page for details of the extension section format.
335 x509_extensions
337 This specifies the configuration file section containing a list of
338 extensions to add to certificate generated when the -x509 switch is
339 used. It can be overridden by the -extensions command line switch.
340 prompt
342 If set to the value no this disables prompting of certificate
343 fields and just takes values from the config file directly. It also
344 changes the expected format of the distinguished_name and
345 attributes sections.
346 utf8
348 If set to the value yes then field values to be interpreted as UTF8
349 strings, by default they are interpreted as ASCII. This means that
350 the field values, whether prompted from a terminal or obtained from
351 a configuration file, must be valid UTF8 strings.
352 attributes
354 This specifies the section containing any request attributes: its
355 format is the same as distinguished_name. Typically these may
356 contain the challengePassword or unstructuredName types. They are
357 currently ignored by OpenSSL's request signing utilities but some
358 CAs might want them.
359 distinguished_name
361 This specifies the section containing the distinguished name fields
362 to prompt for when generating a certificate or certificate request.
363 The format is described in the next section.
364
366 There are two separate formats for the distinguished name and attribute
367 sections. If the prompt option is set to no then these sections just
368 consist of field names and values: for example,
369 CN=My Name
371 OU=My Organization
372 emailAddress=someone@somewhere.org
373 This allows external programs (e.g. GUI based) to generate a template
375 file with all the field names and values and just pass it to req. An
376 example of this kind of configuration file is contained in the EXAMPLES
377 section.
378 Alternatively if the prompt option is absent or not set to no then the
380 file contains field prompting information. It consists of lines of the
381 form:
382 fieldName="prompt"
384 fieldName_default="default field value"
385 fieldName_min= 2
386 fieldName_max= 4
387 "fieldName" is the field name being used, for example commonName (or
389 CN). The "prompt" string is used to ask the user to enter the relevant
390 details. If the user enters nothing then the default value is used if
391 no default value is present then the field is omitted. A field can
392 still be omitted if a default value is present if the user just enters
393 the '.' character.
394 The number of characters entered must be between the fieldName_min and
396 fieldName_max limits: there may be additional restrictions based on the
397 field being used (for example countryName can only ever be two
398 characters long and must fit in a PrintableString).
399 Some fields (such as organizationName) can be used more than once in a
401 DN. This presents a problem because configuration files will not
402 recognize the same name occurring twice. To avoid this problem if the
403 fieldName contains some characters followed by a full stop they will be
404 ignored. So for example a second organizationName can be input by
405 calling it "1.organizationName".
406 The actual permitted field names are any object identifier short or
408 long names. These are compiled into OpenSSL and include the usual
409 values such as commonName, countryName, localityName, organizationName,
410 organizationalUnitName, stateOrProvinceName. Additionally emailAddress
411 is included as well as name, surname, givenName, initials, and
412 dnQualifier.
413 Additional object identifiers can be defined with the oid_file or
415 oid_section options in the configuration file. Any additional fields
416 will be treated as though they were a DirectoryString.
417
419 Examine and verify certificate request:
420 openssl req -in req.pem -text -verify -noout
422 Create a private key and then generate a certificate request from it:
424 openssl genrsa -out key.pem 2048
426 openssl req -new -key key.pem -out req.pem
427 The same but just using req:
429 openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout key.pem -out req.pem
431 Generate a self signed root certificate:
433 openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout key.pem -out req.pem
435 Example of a file pointed to by the oid_file option:
437 1.2.3.4 shortName A longer Name
439 1.2.3.6 otherName Other longer Name
440 Example of a section pointed to by oid_section making use of variable
442 expansion:
443 testoid1=1.2.3.5
445 testoid2=${testoid1}.6
446 Sample configuration file prompting for field values:
448 [ req ]
450 default_bits = 2048
451 default_keyfile = privkey.pem
452 distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
453 attributes = req_attributes
454 req_extensions = v3_ca
455 dirstring_type = nobmp
457 [ req_distinguished_name ]
459 countryName = Country Name (2 letter code)
460 countryName_default = AU
461 countryName_min = 2
462 countryName_max = 2
463 localityName = Locality Name (eg, city)
465 organizationalUnitName = Organizational Unit Name (eg, section)
467 commonName = Common Name (eg, YOUR name)
469 commonName_max = 64
470 emailAddress = Email Address
472 emailAddress_max = 40
473 [ req_attributes ]
475 challengePassword = A challenge password
476 challengePassword_min = 4
477 challengePassword_max = 20
478 [ v3_ca ]
480 subjectKeyIdentifier=hash
482 authorityKeyIdentifier=keyid:always,issuer:always
483 basicConstraints = critical, CA:true
484 Sample configuration containing all field values:
486 RANDFILE = $ENV::HOME/.rnd
488 [ req ]
490 default_bits = 2048
491 default_keyfile = keyfile.pem
492 distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
493 attributes = req_attributes
494 prompt = no
495 output_password = mypass
496 [ req_distinguished_name ]
498 C = GB
499 ST = Test State or Province
500 L = Test Locality
501 O = Organization Name
502 OU = Organizational Unit Name
503 CN = Common Name
504 emailAddress = test@email.address
505 [ req_attributes ]
507 challengePassword = A challenge password
508 Example of giving the most common attributes (subject and extensions)
510 on the command line:
511 openssl req -new -subj "/C=GB/CN=foo" \
513 -addext "subjectAltName = DNS:foo.co.uk" \
514 -addext "certificatePolicies = 1.2.3.4" \
515 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout key.pem -out req.pem
516
518 The header and footer lines in the PEM format are normally:
519 -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
521 -----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
522 some software (some versions of Netscape certificate server) instead
524 needs:
525 -----BEGIN NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
527 -----END NEW CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
528 which is produced with the -newhdr option but is otherwise compatible.
530 Either form is accepted transparently on input.
531 The certificate requests generated by Xenroll with MSIE have extensions
533 added. It includes the keyUsage extension which determines the type of
534 key (signature only or general purpose) and any additional OIDs entered
535 by the script in an extendedKeyUsage extension.
536
538 The following messages are frequently asked about:
539 Using configuration from /some/path/openssl.cnf
541 Unable to load config info
542 This is followed some time later by...
544 unable to find 'distinguished_name' in config
546 problems making Certificate Request
547 The first error message is the clue: it can't find the configuration
549 file! Certain operations (like examining a certificate request) don't
550 need a configuration file so its use isn't enforced. Generation of
551 certificates or requests however does need a configuration file. This
552 could be regarded as a bug.
553 Another puzzling message is this:
555 Attributes:
557 a0:00
558 this is displayed when no attributes are present and the request
560 includes the correct empty SET OF structure (the DER encoding of which
561 is 0xa0 0x00). If you just see:
562 Attributes:
564 then the SET OF is missing and the encoding is technically invalid (but
566 it is tolerated). See the description of the command line option
567 -asn1-kludge for more information.
568
570 OpenSSL's handling of T61Strings (aka TeletexStrings) is broken: it
571 effectively treats them as ISO-8859-1 (Latin 1), Netscape and MSIE have
572 similar behaviour. This can cause problems if you need characters that
573 aren't available in PrintableStrings and you don't want to or can't use
574 BMPStrings.
575 As a consequence of the T61String handling the only correct way to
577 represent accented characters in OpenSSL is to use a BMPString:
578 unfortunately Netscape currently chokes on these. If you have to use
579 accented characters with Netscape and MSIE then you currently need to
580 use the invalid T61String form.
581 The current prompting is not very friendly. It doesn't allow you to
583 confirm what you've just entered. Other things like extensions in
584 certificate requests are statically defined in the configuration file.
585 Some of these: like an email address in subjectAltName should be input
586 by the user.
587
589 x509(1), ca(1), genrsa(1), gendsa(1), config(5), x509v3_config(5)
590
592 Copyright 2000-2018 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.
593 Licensed under the OpenSSL license (the "License"). You may not use
595 this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy
596 in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at
597 <https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.
5981.1.1d 2019-10-03 REQ(1)