Ubuntu Manpage: pkcs11-provider - An OpenSSL provider that allows to directly interface with pkcs11 drivers.

Provided by: pkcs11-provider_0.3-1build2_amd64

NAME

       pkcs11-provider - An OpenSSL provider that allows to directly interface with pkcs11 drivers.

DESCRIPTION

       Starting  with  version  3.0  the  OpenSSL project introduced a new modular system to extend OpenSSL that
       replaces the deprecated Engines modules.

       Providers(1) are loaded via configuration directives in  the  openssl  configuration  file  (or  directly
       loaded by applications).

       The pkcs11 provider allows applications linked to openssl to use keys and cryptographic operations from a
       hardware or software token via their PKCS#11(2) driver and the use of pkcs11 URIs(3).

       The pkcs11 provider can be configured to be automatically loaded via openssl.cnf

CONFIGURATION

       Configuration options recognized by the provider

   pkcs11-module-path
       A file path to the pkcs11 driver to be used

       Default: If compiled with p11-kit defaults to its proxy driver, otherwise none.

       NOTE: See also PKCS11_PROVIDER_MODULE in the environment variables section.

       Example:

       pkcs11-module-path = /usr/lib64/opensc-pkcs11.so

   pkcs11-module-init-args
       Non-standard initialization arguments some pkcs11 driver may need.  Generally not used, but some software
       tokens like NSS’s softokn require this.

       Default: None

       Example:

       pkcs11-module-init-args = configDir=/etc/pki/token

   pkcs11-module-token-pin
       The  user  PIN  to  be  used  with  the  token.   If  a  PIN  is not set in configuration it can be asked
       interactively (if the application uses  prompters),  or  it  can  be  specified  together  with  the  key
       identifiers in the pkcs11 URI directly.  When a file is specified the file must be a text file containing
       just the PIN on the first line and a terminator.

       Default: None

       Example:

       pkcs11-module-token-pin = file:/etc/pki/pin.txt

              cat /etc/pki/pin.txt
              123456

   pkcs11-module-allow-export
       Whether the pkcs11 provider will allow to export public keys through OpenSSL.   OpenSSL  often  tries  to
       export public keys from non-default providers to the default provider, and then use OpenSSL own functions
       to handle whatever operation is associated with the public key.  This  option  can  be  useful  to  force
       public  key operations to be executed on the token, for example in case the pkcs11 is an accelerator that
       has better performance on signature checking or asymmetric encryption than OpenSSL’s code.

       Default: 0 (Allow Export)

       Example:

       pkcs11-module-allow-export = 1 (This disallows export of public keys)

   pkcs11-module-cache-keys
       Whether the pkcs11-provider should ask the token to cache token keys in the session.   This  is  used  in
       some  tokens  as  a performance optimizations.  For example software tokens that store keys encrypted can
       keep a copy of the key in the session to speed up access.  Or Networked HSMs  that  allow  exporting  key
       material can cache the key in the session instead of re-requesting it over the network.

       Two options are available: * true * false

       Default:  true  (Note:  if the token does not support session caching, then caching will be auto-disabled
       after the first attempt)

       Example:

       pkcs11-module-cache-keys = false (Disable any attempt of caching keys in the session)

   pkcs11-module-cache-pins
       Whether the pkcs11-provider should cache a pin entered interactively.  This is useful to allow starting a
       service  and  providing the pin only manually, yet let the service perform multiple logins as needed, for
       example after forking.

       Only one option is currently available: * cache: Caches the PIN

       Default: unset (No caching)

       Example:

       pkcs11-module-cache-pins = cache (Will cache a pin that has been entered manually)

   pkcs11-module-cache-sessions
       Allows to tune how many pkcs11 sessions may be kept open and cached for rapid  use.   This  parameter  is
       adjusted  based  on  the maximum number of sessions the token declares as supported.  Note that the login
       session is always cached to keep the token operable.

       Default: 5

       Example:

       pkcs11-module-cache-sessions = 0 (Disables caching)

   pkcs11-module-login-behavior
       Whether the pkcs11 provider will attempt to login to the token when a public key is being requested.

       Three options are available: * auto: Try without but fallback to login behavior if no keys  are  found  *
       always:  Always  login  before  trying to load public keys (this is required by some HSMs) * never: Never
       login for public keys

       Default: “auto”

       Example:

       pkcs11-module-login-behavior = always (Always tries to login before loading public keys)

   pkcs11-module-load-behavior
       Whether the pkcs11-provider immediately loads an initializes the pkcs11 module as soon as  OpenSSL  loads
       the  provider  (generally  at application startup), or defer initialization until the first time a pkcs11
       key is loaded (or some other operation explicitly requiring the pkcs11 provider is requested).

       Only one option is available: * early: Loads the pkcs11 module immediately

       Default: unset (Loads only at first use)

       Example:

       pkcs11-module-load-behavior = early (Loads pkcs11 module immediately at application startup)

   pkcs11-module-quirks
       Workarounds that may be needed to deal with some tokens and cannot be autodetcted yet are not appropriate
       defaults.

   no-deinit
       It  prevents  de-initing  when OpenSSL winds down the provider.  NOTE this option may leak memory and may
       cause some modules to misbehave if the application intentionally unloads and reloads them.

   no-operation-state
       OpenSSL by default assumes contexts with operations in flight can be easily  duplicated.   That  is  only
       possible  if  the  tokens  support  getting and setting the operation state.  If the quirk is enabled the
       context duplication is not performed.

       Default: none

       Example:

       pkcs11-module-quirks = no-deinit no-operation-state (Disables deinitialization)

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

       Environment variables recognized by the provider

   PKCS11_PROVIDER_MODULE
       This variable can be used to set a different pkcs11 driver to be used.  It is useful when an  application
       needs  to  use  a  different driver than the rest of the system.  This environment variable overrides the
       pkcs11-module-path option sets in openssl.cnf

       Example:

       PKCS11_PROVIDER_MODULE = /usr/lib64/opensc-pkcs11.so

   PKCS11_PROVIDER_DEBUG
       This variable can be set to obtain debug information.  Two sub-options can be specified: file, level

       The normal debug_level is 1, if a  higher  level  is  provider  then  additional  information  (like  all
       supported  mechanism  info  for  each  slot) is printed in the specified debug file.  The comma character
       separates options, and the colon character is used to separate an option and  its  value.   There  is  no
       escape character, therefore the characters `,' and `:' cannot be used in values.

       Examples:

       PKCS11_PROVIDER_DEBUG=file:/tmp/debug.log

       PKCS11_PROVIDER_DEBUG=file:/dev/stderr,level:2

EXAMPLES

       openssl.cnf:

              HOME = .

              # Use this in order to automatically load providers.
              openssl_conf = openssl_init

              [openssl_init]
              providers = provider_sect

              [provider_sect]
              default = default_sect
              pkcs11 = pkcs11_sect

              [default_sect]
              activate = 1

              [pkcs11_sect]
              module = /usr/lib64/ossl-modules/pkcs11.so
              pkcs11-module-path = /usr/lib64/pkcs11/vendor_pkcs11.so
              pkcs11-module-token-pin = /etc/ssl/pinfile.txt
              activate = 1

NAME

DESCRIPTION

CONFIGURATION

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

EXAMPLES

SEE ALSO