OpenSSL Documentation

OpenSSL is a powerful open-source toolkit for implementing secure communication. It provides functionalities such as encryption, decryption, and SSL/TLS protocols. ServBay comes with OpenSSL pre-installed, and this document will detail the installation, configuration, and usage methods of OpenSSL.

Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• Installation and Configuration
  • Installation
  • Configuration
• Basic Usage
  • Generate Private and Public Keys
  • Generate Certificate Signing Request (CSR)
  • Self-Signed Certificate
• Certificate Management
  • View Certificate Information
  • Convert Certificate Format
• Encryption and Decryption
  • Symmetric Encryption
  • Asymmetric Encryption
• Frequently Asked Questions
  • 1. OpenSSL Command Cannot Run
  • 2. Generated Certificate is Invalid
  • 3. Encryption or Decryption Failure
• Summary

Installation and Configuration

Installation

OpenSSL is pre-installed on ServBay, so no additional installation is required.

Configuration

The OpenSSL configuration file is typically located in the /Applications/ServBay/package/common/openssl/3.2 directory (for Intel chips in /Applications/ServBay/package/common/openssl/1.1.1u), with the default configuration file being openssl.cnf. You can modify the configuration file as needed to adjust the behavior of OpenSSL.

Example configuration file content:

[ req ]
default_bits        = 2048
default_keyfile     = privkey.pem
distinguished_name  = req_distinguished_name
attributes          = req_attributes
x509_extensions     = v3_ca

[ req_distinguished_name ]
countryName         = Country Name (2 letter code)
countryName_default = US
stateOrProvinceName = State or Province Name (full name)
localityName        = Locality Name (eg, city)
0.organizationName  = Organization Name (eg, company)
organizationalUnitName = Organizational Unit Name (eg, section)
commonName          = Common Name (eg, fully qualified host name)
commonName_max      = 64

[ req_attributes ]
challengePassword   = A challenge password
challengePassword_min = 4
challengePassword_max = 20

[ v3_ca ]
subjectKeyIdentifier=hash
authorityKeyIdentifier=keyid:always,issuer
basicConstraints = CA:true

Basic Usage

OpenSSL provides a rich set of command-line tools for various encryption and certificate management tasks. Here are some basic usage examples:

Generate Private and Public Keys

Generate RSA Private Key

openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out private_key.pem

Generate Public Key from Private Key

openssl rsa -pubout -in private_key.pem -out public_key.pem

Generate Certificate Signing Request (CSR)

Generate CSR

openssl req -new -key private_key.pem -out request.csr

Self-Signed Certificate

Generate Self-Signed Certificate

openssl req -x509 -days 365 -key private_key.pem -in request.csr -out certificate.crt

Certificate Management

View Certificate Information

View CSR Information

openssl req -text -noout -verify -in request.csr

View Certificate Information

openssl x509 -text -noout -in certificate.crt

Convert Certificate Format

PEM to DER

openssl x509 -outform der -in certificate.pem -out certificate.der

DER to PEM

openssl x509 -inform der -in certificate.der -out certificate.pem

Encryption and Decryption

Symmetric Encryption

Encrypt File Using AES

openssl enc -aes-256-cbc -salt -in plaintext.txt -out encrypted.txt

Decrypt File Using AES

openssl enc -d -aes-256-cbc -in encrypted.txt -out decrypted.txt

Asymmetric Encryption

Encrypt File Using Public Key

openssl rsautl -encrypt -inkey public_key.pem -pubin -in plaintext.txt -out encrypted.txt

Decrypt File Using Private Key

openssl rsautl -decrypt -inkey private_key.pem -in encrypted.txt -out decrypted.txt

Frequently Asked Questions

1. OpenSSL Command Cannot Run

• Solution: Check if OpenSSL is correctly installed and ensure the configuration file path is correct. If the issue persists, refer to the error log for more information.

2. Generated Certificate is Invalid

• Solution: Verify that the certificate request file (CSR) and configuration file information are correct. Make sure all required fields are filled out.

3. Encryption or Decryption Failure

• Solution: Ensure the keys and algorithms being used are correctly matched. Check the input file and output file paths for accuracy.

Summary

OpenSSL is a powerful and flexible toolkit suited for various secure communication and encryption tasks. By following this document, you can learn how to install, configure, and use OpenSSL on ServBay for certificate management and data encryption.