ne_ssl_clicert_read(3) SSL client certificate handling

Other Alias

ne_ssl_clicert_name, ne_ssl_clicert_encrypted, ne_ssl_clicert_decrypt, ne_ssl_clicert_owner, ne_ssl_clicert_free

SYNOPSIS


#include <ne_ssl.h>

ne_ssl_client_cert *ne_ssl_clicert_read(const char *filename);
const char *ne_ssl_clicert_name(const ne_ssl_client_cert *ccert);
int ne_ssl_clicert_encrypted(const ne_ssl_client_cert *ccert);
int ne_ssl_clicert_decrypt(ne_ssl_client_cert *ccert, const char *password);
const ne_ssl_certificate *ne_ssl_clicert_owner(const ne_ssl_client_cert *ccert);
void ne_ssl_clicert_free(ne_ssl_client_cert *ccert);

DESCRIPTION

The ne_ssl_clicert_read function reads a client certificate from a PKCS#12-formatted file, and returns an ne_ssl_client_cert object. If the client certificate is encrypted, it must be decrypted before it is used. An ne_ssl_client_cert object holds a client certificate and the associated private key, not just a certificate; the term "client certificate" will used to refer to this pair.

A client certificate can be in one of two states: encrypted or decrypted. The ne_ssl_clicert_encrypted function will return non-zero if the client certificate is in the encrypted state. A client certificate object returned by ne_ssl_clicert_read may be initially in either state, depending on whether the file was encrypted or not.

ne_ssl_clicert_decrypt can be used to decrypt a client certificate using the appropriate password. This function must only be called if the object is in the encrypted state; if decryption fails, the certificate state does not change, so decryption can be attempted more than once using different passwords.

A client certificate can be given a "friendly name" when it is created; ne_ssl_clicert_name will return this name (or NULL if no friendly name was specified). ne_ssl_clicert_name can be used when the client certificate is in either the encrypted or decrypted state, and will return the same string for the lifetime of the object.

The function ne_ssl_clicert_owner returns the certificate part of the client certificate; it must only be called if the client certificate is in the decrypted state.

When the client certificate is no longer needed, the ne_ssl_clicert_free function should be used to destroy the object.

RETURN VALUE

ne_ssl_clicert_read returns a client certificate object, or NULL if the file could not be read. ne_ssl_clicert_encrypted returns zero if the object is in the decrypted state, or non-zero if it is in the encrypted state. ne_ssl_clicert_name returns a NUL-terminated friendly name string, or NULL. ne_ssl_clicert_owner returns a certificate object.

EXAMPLES

The following code reads a client certificate and decrypts it if necessary, then loads it into an HTTP session. 

ne_ssl_client_cert *ccert;
ccert = ne_ssl_clicert_read("/path/to/client.p12");
if (ccert == NULL) {
   /* handle error... */
} else if (ne_ssl_clicert_encrypted(ccert)) {
   char *password = prompt_for_password();
   if (ne_ssl_clicert_decrypt(ccert, password)) {
      /* could not decrypt! handle error... */
   }
}
ne_ssl_set_clicert(sess, ccert);

AUTHOR

Joe Orton <[email protected]>

Author.

COPYRIGHT


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