NAME

       CA.pl - friendlier interface for OpenSSL certificate programs

SYNOPSIS

       CA.pl -? | -h | -help

       CA.pl -newcert | -newreq | -newreq-nodes | -xsign | -sign | -signCA | -signcert | -crl | -newca
       [-extra-cmd extra-params]

       CA.pl -pkcs12 [-extra-pkcs12 extra-params] [certname]

       CA.pl -verify [-extra-verify extra-params] certfile...

       CA.pl -revoke [-extra-ca extra-params] certfile [reason]

DESCRIPTION

       The CA.pl script is a perl script that supplies the relevant command line arguments to the openssl
       command for some common certificate operations.  It is intended to simplify the process of certificate
       creation and management by the use of some simple options.

OPTIONS

       ?, -h, -help
           Prints a usage message.

       -newcert
           Creates  a  new  self signed certificate. The private key is written to the file "newkey.pem" and the
           request written to the file "newreq.pem".  This argument invokes openssl req command.

       -newreq
           Creates a new certificate request. The private key is  written  to  the  file  "newkey.pem"  and  the
           request written to the file "newreq.pem".  Executes openssl req command below the hood.

       -newreq-nodes
           Is like -newreq except that the private key will not be encrypted.  Uses openssl req command.

       -newca
           Creates  a  new  CA  hierarchy for use with the ca program (or the -signcert and -xsign options). The
           user is prompted to enter the filename of the CA certificates (which should also contain the  private
           key)  or  by hitting ENTER details of the CA will be prompted for. The relevant files and directories
           are created in a directory called "demoCA" in the current directory.   openssl  req  and  openssl  ca
           commands are get invoked.

       -pkcs12
           Create a PKCS#12 file containing the user certificate, private key and CA certificate. It expects the
           user  certificate and private key to be in the file "newcert.pem" and the CA certificate to be in the
           file demoCA/cacert.pem, it creates a file "newcert.p12". This command can thus be  called  after  the
           -sign  option.  The  PKCS#12 file can be imported directly into a browser.  If there is an additional
           argument on the command line it will be used as the "friendly name" for  the  certificate  (which  is
           typically displayed in the browser list box), otherwise the name "My Certificate" is used.  Delegates
           work to openssl pkcs12 command.

       -sign, -signcert, -xsign
           Calls  the  ca  program  to  sign  a  certificate  request.  It expects the request to be in the file
           "newreq.pem". The new certificate is written to the file "newcert.pem" except  in  the  case  of  the
           -xsign option when it is written to standard output. Leverages openssl ca command.

       -signCA
           This  option  is  the same as the -signreq option except it uses the configuration file section v3_ca
           and so makes the signed request a valid CA certificate. This is useful when creating intermediate  CA
           from a root CA.  Extra params are passed on to openssl ca command.

       -signcert
           This  option  is  the  same as -sign except it expects a self signed certificate to be present in the
           file "newreq.pem".  Extra params are passed on to openssl x509 and openssl ca commands.

       -crl
           Generate a CRL. Executes openssl ca command.

       -revoke certfile [reason]
           Revoke the certificate contained in the specified certfile. An optional reason may be specified,  and
           must   be   one   of:   unspecified,  keyCompromise,  CACompromise,  affiliationChanged,  superseded,
           cessationOfOperation, certificateHold, or removeFromCRL.  Leverages openssl ca command.

       -verify
           Verifies certificates against the CA certificate for "demoCA". If no certificates  are  specified  on
           the command line it tries to verify the file "newcert.pem".  Invokes openssl verify command.

       -extra-req | -extra-ca | -extra-pkcs12 | -extra-x509 | -extra-verify <extra-params>
           The  purpose  of these parameters is to allow optional parameters to be supplied to openssl that this
           command executes. The -extra-cmd are specific to the  option  being  used  and  the  openssl  command
           getting  invoked. For example when this command invokes openssl req extra parameters can be passed on
           with the -extra-req parameter. The openssl commands being invoked per option  are  documented  below.
           Users should consult openssl command documentation for more information.

EXAMPLES

       Create a CA hierarchy:

        CA.pl -newca

       Complete certificate creation example: create a CA, create a request, sign the request and finally create
       a PKCS#12 file containing it.

        CA.pl -newca
        CA.pl -newreq
        CA.pl -signreq
        CA.pl -pkcs12 "My Test Certificate"

DSA CERTIFICATES

       Although  the CA.pl creates RSA CAs and requests it is still possible to use it with DSA certificates and
       requests using the req(1) command directly. The following example shows the steps that would typically be
       taken.

       Create some DSA parameters:

        openssl dsaparam -out dsap.pem 1024

       Create a DSA CA certificate and private key:

        openssl req -x509 -newkey dsa:dsap.pem -keyout cacert.pem -out cacert.pem

       Create the CA directories and files:

        CA.pl -newca

       enter cacert.pem when prompted for the CA file name.

       Create a DSA certificate request and private key (a different set of parameters can optionally be created
       first):

        openssl req -out newreq.pem -newkey dsa:dsap.pem

       Sign the request:

        CA.pl -signreq

NOTES

       Most of the filenames mentioned can be modified by editing the CA.pl script.

       If the demoCA directory already exists then the -newca command will not overwrite it and will do nothing.
       This can happen if a previous call using the -newca option terminated  abnormally.  To  get  the  correct
       behaviour delete the demoCA directory if it already exists.

       Under  some  environments it may not be possible to run the CA.pl script directly (for example Win32) and
       the default configuration file location may be wrong. In this case the command:

        perl -S CA.pl

       can be used and the OPENSSL_CONF environment variable changed  to  point  to  the  correct  path  of  the
       configuration file.

       The script is intended as a simple front end for the openssl program for use by a beginner. Its behaviour
       isn't  always  what  is  wanted. For more control over the behaviour of the certificate commands call the
       openssl command directly.

SEE ALSO

       x509(1), ca(1), req(1), pkcs12(1), config(5)

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright 2000-2017 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.

       Licensed under the OpenSSL license (the "License").  You may not use this file except in compliance  with
       the   License.   You  can  obtain  a  copy  in  the  file  LICENSE  in  the  source  distribution  or  at
       <https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.

1.1.1f                                             2025-02-05                                        CA.PL(1SSL)