sslintro¶
Note
This page is part of the OLD SSL Reference that we are migrating into the format described in the MDN Style Guide. If you are inclined to help with this migration, your help would be very much appreciated.
Upgraded documentation may be found in the NSS reference
Overview of an SSL Application
- `Chapter 1
<#chapter_1_overview_of_an_ssl_application>`__ Overview of an SSL Application
SSL and related APIs allow compliant applications to configure sockets for authenticated, tamper-proof, and encrypted communications. This chapter introduces some of the basic SSL functions. Chapter 2, “Getting Started With SSL” illustrates their use in sample client and server applications.
An SSL application typically includes five parts:
Although the details differ somewhat for client and server applications, the concepts and many of the functions are the same for both.
WARNING: Some of the SSL header files provided as part of NSS 2.0 include both public APIs documented in the NSS 2.0 documentation set and private APIs intended for internal use by the NSS implementation of SSL. You should use only the SSL APIs (and related certificate, key, and PKCS #11 APIs) that are described in this document, the SSL Reference. Other APIs that may be exposed in the header files are not supported for application use.
` <#initialization_2>`__ Initialization¶
Initialization includes setting up configuration files, setting global defaults, and setting up callback functions. Functions used in the initialization part of an application can include the following:
PR_Init. Initializes NSPR. Must be called before any other NSS functions.`PK11_SetPasswordFunc<pkfnc.html#1023128>`__. Sets the global callback function to
obtain passwords for PKCS #11 modules. Required.
NSS_Init. Sets up configuration files and performs other tasks required to run Network
Security Services.
NSS_Initis not idempotent, so call it only once. Required.
SSL_OptionSetDefault. Changes default values for all subsequently opened sockets as long
as the application is running (compare with mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1087792 which only configures the socket that is currently open). This function must be called once for each default value that needs to be changed. Optional.
mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1228530,
mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1100285, mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1105952, or mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1104647. These functions tell the library which cipher suites are permitted by policy (for example, to comply with export restrictions). Cipher suites disabled by policy cannot be enabled by user preference. One of these functions must be called before any cryptographic operations can be performed with NSS.
mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1084747. Enables all ciphers chosen by user
preference. Optional.
Initializing Caches¶
SSL peers frequently reconnect after a relatively short time has passed. To avoid the overhead of repeating the full SSL handshake in situations like this, the SSL protocol supports the use of a session cache, which retains information about each connection, such as the master secret generated during the SSL handshake, for a predetermined length of time. If SSL can locate the information about a previous connection in the local session cache, it can reestablish the connection much more quickly than it can without the connection information.
By default, SSL allocates one session cache. This default cache is called the client session ID cache, (also known as the client session cache, or simply the client cache). The client cache is used for all sessions where the program handshakes as an SSL client. It is not configurable. You can initialize the client cache with the function mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1138601.
If an application will use SSL sockets that handshake as a server, you must specifically create and configure a server cache, using either mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1143851 or mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1142625. The server cache is used for all sessions where the program handshakes as an SSL server.
mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1138601. Clears all sessions from the client
session cache. Optional.
mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1143851. Sets up parameters for a server
session cache for a single-process application. Required for single-process server applications.
mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1142625. Sets up parameters for a server
cache for a multi-process application. Required for multi-process server applications. You can use either this function or mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1143851, not both.
` <#configuration_2>`__ Configuration¶
The configuration portion of an SSL-enabled application typically begins by opening a new socket and then importing the new socket into the SSL environment:
PR_NewTCPSocket. Opens a new socket. A legal NSPR socket is required to be passed to
SSL_ImportFD, whether it is created with this function or by another method.
SSL_ImportFD. Makes an NSPR socket into an SSL socket. Required. Brings an ordinary NSPR
socket into the SSL library, returning a new NSPR socket that can be used to make SSL calls. You can pass this function a model file descriptor to create the new SSL socket with the same configuration state as the model.
It is also possible for an application to import a socket into SSL after the TCP connection on
that socket has already been established. In this case, initial configuration takes place in the
same way: pass the existing NSPR file descriptor to SSL_ImportFD and perform any additional
configuration that has not already been determined by the model file descriptor.
Configuration functions control the configuration of an individual socket.
PR_GetSocketOption. Retrieves the socket options currently set for a specified socket.
Optional.
PR_SetSocketOption. Sets the socket options for a specified socket., including making it
blocking or nonblocking. Optional.
mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1086543. Sets a single configuration
parameter of a specified socket. This function must be called once for each parameter whose settings you want to change from those established with
SSL_OptionSetDefault. Optional.
mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1217647. For servers only. Configures the
socket with the information needed to handshake as an SSL server. Required for servers.
mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1087792. For clients only. Records the
target server URL for comparison with the URL specified by the server certificate. Required for clients.
Callbacks and helper functions allow you to specify such things as how authentication is accomplished and what happens if it fails.
SSL_SetPKCS11PinArg. Sets the argument passed to the PKCS #11 password callback function.
Required.
SSL_AuthCertificateHook. Specifies a callback function used to authenticate an incoming
certificate (optional for servers, necessary for clients to avoid “man-in-the-middle” attacks). Optional. If not specified, SSL uses the default callback function, mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1088888.
SSL_BadCertHook. Specifies a callback function to deal with a situation where
authentication has failed. Optional.
SSL_GetClientAuthDataHook. Specifies a callback function for SSL to use when the server
asks for client authentication information. This callback is required if you want to do client authentication. You can set the callback function to a standard one that is provided, mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1106762.
SSL_HandshakeCallback. Specifies a callback function that will be used by SSL to inform
either a client application or a server application when the SSL handshake is completed. Optional.
` <#communication_2>`__ Communication¶
At this point the application has set up the socket to communicate using SSL. For simple encrypted and authenticated communications, no further calls to SSL functions are required. A variety of additional SSL functions are available, however. These can be used, for example, when interrupting and restarting socket communications, when the application needs to change socket parameters, or when an application imports a socket into SSL after the TCP connection on that socket has already been established.
Communication between SSL sockets always begins with the SSL handshake. The handshake occurs automatically the first time communication is requested with a socket read/write or send/receive call. It is also possible to force the handshake explicitly with mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1133431 or repeat it explicitly with mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1232052.
Once the SSL sockets have been configured, authentication and encryption happen automatically whenever you use the communication functions from the NSPR library.
A server application typically uses these functions to establish a connection:
PR_Bind PR_Listen PR_Accept PR_GetSockName
A client application typically uses these functions to establish a connection:
PR_GetHostByNamePR_EnumerateHostEntPR_ConnectPR_GetConnectStatusWhen an application imports a socket into SSL after the TCP connection on that socket has already
been established, it must call mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1058001 to
determine whether SSL should behave like an SSL client or an SSL server. Note that this step
would not be necessary if the socket weren’t already connected. For an SSL socket that is
configured before it is connected, SSL figures this out when the application calls PR_Connect
or PR_Accept. If the socket is already connected before SSL gets involved, you must provide
this extra hint.
Functions that can be used by both clients and servers during communication include the following:
PR_Send or PR_WritePR_Read or PR_RecvPR_GetErrorPR_GetPeerNamePR_SleepPR_MallocPR_FreePR_PollPR_NowPR_IntervalToMillisecondsPR_MillisecondsToIntervalPR_ShutdownPR_CloseAfter establishing a connection, an application first calls PR_Send, PR_Recv,
PR_Read, PR_Write, or SSL_ForceHandshake to initiate the handshake. The application’s
protocol (for example, HTTP) determines which end has responsibility to talk first. The end that
has to talk first should call PR_Send or PR_Write, and the other end should call
PR_Read or PR_Recv.
Use mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1133431 when the socket has been prepared
for a handshake but neither end has anything to say immediately. This occurs, for example, when
an HTTPS server has received a request and determines that before it can answer the request, it
needs to request an authentication certificate from the client. At the HTTP protocol level,
nothing more is being said (that is, no HTTP request or response is being sent), so the server
first uses mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1232052 to begin a new handshake and
then call SSL_ForceHandshake to drive the handshake to completion.
Functions Used by Callbacks¶
An SSL application typically provides one or more callback functions that are called by the SSL or PKCS #11 library code under certain circumstances. Numerous functions provided by the NSS libraries are useful for such application callback functions, including these:
`CERT_CheckCertValidTimes <sslcrt.html#1056662>`__`CERT_GetDefaultCertDB <sslcrt.html#1052308>`__`CERT_DestroyCertificate <sslcrt.html#1050532>`__`CERT_DupCertificate <sslcrt.html#1058344>`__`CERT_FindCertByName <sslcrt.html#1050345>`__`CERT_FreeNicknames <sslcrt.html#1050349>`__`CERT_GetCertNicknames <sslcrt.html#1050346>`__`CERT_VerifyCertName <sslcrt.html#1050342>`__`CERT_VerifyCertNow <sslcrt.html#1058011>`__`PK11_FindCertFromNickname <pkfnc.html#1035673>`__`PK11_FindKeyByAnyCert <pkfnc.html#1026891>`__`PK11_SetPasswordFunc <pkfnc.html#1023128>`__PL_strcpyPL_strdupPL_strfreePL_strlen` <#cleanup_2>`__ Cleanup¶
This portion of an SSL-enabled application consists primarily of closing the socket and freeing
memory. After these tasks have been performed, call
mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1061858 to close the certificate and key
databases opened by mozilla_projects_nss_ssl_functions_sslfnc#1067601, and PR_Cleanup
to coordinate a graceful shutdown of NSPR.