
#use wml::openssl-macros area=docs page=SSL_CTX_set_verify

<title>Documents, SSL_CTX_set_verify(3)</title>

<h1>SSL_CTX_set_verify(3)</h1>

#use wml::imp::generic

{:
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<!-- INDEX BEGIN -->

<UL>

	<LI><A HREF="#NAME">NAME</A>
	<LI><A HREF="#SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</A>
	<LI><A HREF="#DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</A>
	<LI><A HREF="#NOTES">NOTES</A>
	<LI><A HREF="#BUGS">BUGS</A>
	<LI><A HREF="#RETURN_VALUES">RETURN VALUES</A>
	<LI><A HREF="#EXAMPLES">EXAMPLES</A>
	<LI><A HREF="#SEE_ALSO">SEE ALSO</A>
</UL>
<!-- INDEX END -->

<HR>
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="NAME">NAME</A></H1>
<P>
SSL_CTX_set_verify, SSL_set_verify, SSL_CTX_set_verify_depth,
SSL_set_verify_depth - set peer certificate verification parameters

</P>
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</A></H1>
<PRE> #include &lt;openssl/ssl.h&gt;
</PRE>
<PRE> void SSL_CTX_set_verify(SSL_CTX *ctx, int mode,
                         int (*verify_callback)(int, X509_STORE_CTX *));
 void SSL_set_verify(SSL *s, int mode,
                     int (*verify_callback)(int, X509_STORE_CTX *));
 void SSL_CTX_set_verify_depth(SSL_CTX *ctx,int depth);
 void SSL_set_verify_depth(SSL *s, int depth);
</PRE>
<PRE> int verify_callback(int preverify_ok, X509_STORE_CTX *x509_ctx);
</PRE>
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</A></H1>
<P>
<CODE>SSL_CTX_set_verify()</CODE> sets the verification flags for <STRONG>ctx</STRONG> to be <STRONG>mode</STRONG> and specifies the <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG> function to be used. If no callback function shall be specified, the NULL
pointer can be used for <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG>.

</P>
<P>
<CODE>SSL_set_verify()</CODE> sets the verification flags for <STRONG>ssl</STRONG> to be <STRONG>mode</STRONG> and specifies the <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG> function to be used. If no callback function shall be specified, the NULL
pointer can be used for <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG>. In this case last <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG> set specifically for this <STRONG>ssl</STRONG> remains. If no special <STRONG>callback</STRONG> was set before, the default callback for the underlying
<STRONG>ctx</STRONG> is used, that was valid at the the time <STRONG>ssl</STRONG> was created with
<A HREF="../ssl/SSL_new.html#">SSL_new(3)</A>.

</P>
<P>
<CODE>SSL_CTX_set_verify_depth()</CODE> sets the maximum <STRONG>depth</STRONG> for the certificate chain verification that shall be allowed for <STRONG>ctx</STRONG>. (See the BUGS section.)

</P>
<P>
<CODE>SSL_set_verify_depth()</CODE> sets the maximum <STRONG>depth</STRONG> for the certificate chain verification that shall be allowed for <STRONG>ssl</STRONG>. (See the BUGS section.)

</P>
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="NOTES">NOTES</A></H1>
<P>
The verification of certificates can be controlled by a set of logically
or'ed <STRONG>mode</STRONG> flags:

</P>
<DL>
<DT><STRONG><A NAME="item_SSL_VERIFY_NONE">SSL_VERIFY_NONE</A></STRONG><DD>
<P>
<STRONG>Server mode:</STRONG> the server will not send a client certificate request to the client, so the
client will not send a certificate.

</P>
<P>
<STRONG>Client mode:</STRONG> if not using an anonymous cipher (by default disabled), the server will
send a certificate which will be checked. The result of the certificate
verification process can be checked after the TLS/SSL handshake using the <A HREF="../ssl/SSL_get_verify_result.html#">SSL_get_verify_result(3)</A> function. The handshake will be continued regardless of the verification
result.

</P>
<DT><STRONG><A NAME="item_SSL_VERIFY_PEER">SSL_VERIFY_PEER</A></STRONG><DD>
<P>
<STRONG>Server mode:</STRONG> the server sends a client certificate request to the client. The
certificate returned (if any) is checked. If the verification process
fails, the TLS/SSL handshake is immediately terminated with an alert
message containing the reason for the verification failure. The behaviour
can be controlled by the additional SSL_VERIFY_FAIL_IF_NO_PEER_CERT and
SSL_VERIFY_CLIENT_ONCE flags.

</P>
<P>
<STRONG>Client mode:</STRONG> the server certificate is verified. If the verification process fails, the
TLS/SSL handshake is immediately terminated with an alert message
containing the reason for the verification failure. If no server
certificate is sent, because an anonymous cipher is used, SSL_VERIFY_PEER
is ignored.

</P>
<DT><STRONG><A NAME="item_SSL_VERIFY_FAIL_IF_NO_PEER_CERT">SSL_VERIFY_FAIL_IF_NO_PEER_CERT</A></STRONG><DD>
<P>
<STRONG>Server mode:</STRONG> if the client did not return a certificate, the TLS/SSL handshake is
immediately terminated with a ``handshake failure'' alert. This flag must
be used together with SSL_VERIFY_PEER.

</P>
<P>
<STRONG>Client mode:</STRONG> ignored

</P>
<DT><STRONG><A NAME="item_SSL_VERIFY_CLIENT_ONCE">SSL_VERIFY_CLIENT_ONCE</A></STRONG><DD>
<P>
<STRONG>Server mode:</STRONG> only request a client certificate on the initial TLS/SSL handshake. Do not
ask for a client certificate again in case of a renegotiation. This flag
must be used together with SSL_VERIFY_PEER.

</P>
<P>
<STRONG>Client mode:</STRONG> ignored

</P>
</DL>
<P>
Exactly one of the <STRONG>mode</STRONG> flags SSL_VERIFY_NONE and SSL_VERIFY_PEER must be set at any time.

</P>
<P>
The actual verification procedure is performed either using the built-in
verification procedure or using another application provided verification
function set with
<A HREF="../ssl/SSL_CTX_set_cert_verify_callback.html#">SSL_CTX_set_cert_verify_callback(3)</A>. The following descriptions apply in the case of the built-in procedure.
An application provided procedure also has access to the verify depth
information and the <CODE>verify_callback()</CODE> function, but the way
this information is used may be different.

</P>
<P>
<CODE>SSL_CTX_set_verify_depth()</CODE> and
<CODE>SSL_set_verify_depth()</CODE> set the limit up to which depth
certificates in a chain are used during the verification procedure. If the
certificate chain is longer than allowed, the certificates above the limit
are ignored. Error messages are generated as if these certificates would
not be present, most likely a X509_V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_GET_ISSUER_CERT_LOCALLY
will be issued. The depth count is ``level 0:peer certificate'', ``level 1:
CA certificate'', ``level 2: higher level CA certificate'', and so on.
Setting the maximum depth to 2 allows the levels 0, 1, and 2. The default
depth limit is 9, allowing for the peer certificate and additional 9 CA
certificates.

</P>
<P>
The <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG> function is used to control the behaviour when the SSL_VERIFY_PEER flag is
set. It must be supplied by the application and receives two arguments: <STRONG>preverify_ok</STRONG> indicates, whether the verification of the certificate in question was
passed (preverify_ok=1) or not (preverify_ok=0). <STRONG>x509_ctx</STRONG> is a pointer to the complete context used for the certificate chain
verification.

</P>
<P>
The certificate chain is checked starting with the deepest nesting level
(the root CA certificate) and worked upward to the peer's certificate. At
each level signatures and issuer attributes are checked. Whenever a
verification error is found, the error number is stored in <STRONG>x509_ctx</STRONG>
and <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG> is called with <STRONG>preverify_ok</STRONG>=0. By applying X509_CTX_store_* functions <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG> can locate the certificate in question and perform additional steps (see
EXAMPLES). If no error is found for a certificate, <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG> is called with <STRONG>preverify_ok</STRONG>=1 before advancing to the next level.

</P>
<P>
The return value of <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG> controls the strategy of the further verification process. If <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG> returns 0, the verification process is immediately stopped with
``verification failed'' state. If SSL_VERIFY_PEER is set, a verification
failure alert is sent to the peer and the TLS/SSL handshake is terminated.
If <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG> returns 1, the verification process is continued. If <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG> always returns 1, the TLS/SSL handshake will not be terminated with respect
to verification failures and the connection will be established. The
calling process can however retrieve the error code of the last
verification error using
<A HREF="../ssl/SSL_get_verify_result.html#">SSL_get_verify_result(3)</A> or by maintaining its own error storage managed by <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG>.

</P>
<P>
If no <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG> is specified, the default callback will be used. Its return value is
identical to <STRONG>preverify_ok</STRONG>, so that any verification failure will lead to a termination of the
TLS/SSL handshake with an alert message, if SSL_VERIFY_PEER is set.

</P>
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="BUGS">BUGS</A></H1>
<P>
In client mode, it is not checked whether the SSL_VERIFY_PEER flag is set,
but whether SSL_VERIFY_NONE is not set. This can lead to unexpected
behaviour, if the SSL_VERIFY_PEER and SSL_VERIFY_NONE are not used as
required (exactly one must be set at any time).

</P>
<P>
The certificate verification depth set with SSL[_CTX]_verify_depth() stops
the verification at a certain depth. The error message produced will be
that of an incomplete certificate chain and not
X509_V_ERR_CERT_CHAIN_TOO_LONG as may be expected.

</P>
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="RETURN_VALUES">RETURN VALUES</A></H1>
<P>
The SSL*_set_verify*() functions do not provide diagnostic information.

</P>
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="EXAMPLES">EXAMPLES</A></H1>
<P>
The following code sequence realizes an example <STRONG>verify_callback</STRONG> function that will always continue the TLS/SSL handshake regardless of
verification failure, if wished. The callback realizes a verification depth
limit with more informational output.

</P>
<P>
All verification errors are printed, informations about the certificate
chain are printed on request. The example is realized for a server that
does allow but not require client certificates.

</P>
<P>
The example makes use of the ex_data technique to store application data
into/retrieve application data from the SSL structure (see <A HREF="../ssl/SSL_get_ex_new_index.html#">SSL_get_ex_new_index(3)</A>,
<A HREF="../ssl/SSL_get_ex_data_X509_STORE_CTX_idx.html#">SSL_get_ex_data_X509_STORE_CTX_idx(3)</A>).

</P>
<PRE> ...
 typedef struct {
   int verbose_mode;
   int verify_depth;
   int always_continue;
 } mydata_t;
 int mydata_index;
 ...
 static int verify_callback(int preverify_ok, X509_STORE_CTX *ctx)
 {
    char    buf[256];
    X509   *err_cert;
    int     err, depth;
    SSL    *ssl;
    mydata_t *mydata;
</PRE>
<PRE>    err_cert = X509_STORE_CTX_get_current_cert(ctx);
    err = X509_STORE_CTX_get_error(ctx);
    depth = X509_STORE_CTX_get_error_depth(ctx);
</PRE>
<PRE>    /*
     * Retrieve the pointer to the SSL of the connection currently treated
     * and the application specific data stored into the SSL object.
     */
    ssl = X509_STORE_CTX_get_ex_data(ctx, SSL_get_ex_data_X509_STORE_CTX_idx());
    mydata = SSL_get_ex_data(ssl, mydata_index);
</PRE>
<PRE>    X509_NAME_oneline(X509_get_subject_name(err_cert), buf, 256);
</PRE>
<PRE>    /*
     * Catch a too long certificate chain. The depth limit set using
     * SSL_CTX_set_verify_depth() is by purpose set to &quot;limit+1&quot; so
     * that whenever the &quot;depth&gt;verify_depth&quot; condition is met, we
     * have violated the limit and want to log this error condition.
     * We must do it here, because the CHAIN_TOO_LONG error would not
     * be found explicitly; only errors introduced by cutting off the
     * additional certificates would be logged.
     */
    if (depth &gt; mydata-&gt;verify_depth) {
        preverify_ok = 0;
        err = X509_V_ERR_CERT_CHAIN_TOO_LONG;
        X509_STORE_CTX_set_error(ctx, err);
    } 
    if (!preverify_ok) {
        printf(&quot;verify error:num=%d:%s:depth=%d:%s\n&quot;, err,
                 X509_verify_cert_error_string(err), depth, buf);
    }
    else if (mydata-&gt;verbose_mode)
    {
        printf(&quot;depth=%d:%s\n&quot;, depth, buf);
    }
</PRE>
<PRE>    /*
     * At this point, err contains the last verification error. We can use
     * it for something special
     */
    if (!preverify_ok &amp;&amp; (err == X509_V_ERR_UNABLE_TO_GET_ISSUER_CERT))
    {
      X509_NAME_oneline(X509_get_issuer_name(ctx-&gt;current_cert), buf, 256);
      printf(&quot;issuer= %s\n&quot;, buf);
    }
</PRE>
<PRE>    if (mydata-&gt;always_continue)
      return 1;
    else
      return preverify_ok;
 }
 ...
</PRE>
<PRE> mydata_t mydata;
</PRE>
<PRE> ...
 mydata_index = SSL_get_ex_new_index(0, &quot;mydata index&quot;, NULL, NULL, NULL);
</PRE>
<PRE> ...
 SSL_CTX_set_verify(ctx, SSL_VERIFY_PEER|SSL_VERIFY_CLIENT_ONCE,
                    verify_callback);
</PRE>
<PRE> /*
  * Let the verify_callback catch the verify_depth error so that we get
  * an appropriate error in the logfile.
  */
 SSL_CTX_set_verify_depth(verify_depth + 1);
</PRE>
<PRE> /*
  * Set up the SSL specific data into &quot;mydata&quot; and store it into th SSL
  * structure.
  */
 mydata.verify_depth = verify_depth; ...
 SSL_set_ex_data(ssl, mydata_index, &amp;mydata);
                                             
 ...
 SSL_accept(ssl);       /* check of success left out for clarity */
 if (peer = SSL_get_peer_certificate(ssl))
 {
   if (SSL_get_verify_result(ssl) == X509_V_OK)
   {
     /* The client sent a certificate which verified OK */
   }
 }
</PRE>
<P>
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="SEE_ALSO">SEE ALSO</A></H1>
<P>
<A HREF="../ssl/ssl.html#">ssl(3)</A>, <A HREF="../ssl/SSL_new.html#">SSL_new(3)</A>,
<A HREF="../ssl/SSL_CTX_get_verify_mode.html#">SSL_CTX_get_verify_mode(3)</A>,
<A HREF="../ssl/SSL_get_verify_result.html#">SSL_get_verify_result(3)</A>,
<A HREF="../ssl/SSL_CTX_load_verify_locations.html#">SSL_CTX_load_verify_locations(3)</A>,
<A HREF="../ssl/SSL_get_peer_certificate.html#">SSL_get_peer_certificate(3)</A>,
<A HREF="../ssl/SSL_CTX_set_cert_verify_callback.html#">SSL_CTX_set_cert_verify_callback(3)</A>,
<A HREF="../ssl/SSL_get_ex_data_X509_STORE_CTX_idx.html#">SSL_get_ex_data_X509_STORE_CTX_idx(3)</A>,
<A HREF="../ssl/SSL_get_ex_new_index.html#">SSL_get_ex_new_index(3)</A>



</P>
:}

