NSS tools : crlutil¶

Name

crlutil — List, generate, modify, or delete CRLs within the NSS security
database file(s) and list, create, modify or delete certificates entries
in a particular CRL.

Synopsis

crlutil [options] arguments

Description

The Certificate Revocation List (CRL) Management Tool, crlutil, is a
command-line utility that can list, generate, modify, or delete CRLs
within the NSS security database file(s) and list, create, modify or
delete certificates entries in a particular CRL.
The key and certificate management process generally begins with creating
keys in the key database, then generating and managing certificates in the
certificate database(see certutil tool) and continues with certificates
expiration or revocation.
This document discusses certificate revocation list management. For
information on security module database management, see Using the Security
Module Database Tool. For information on certificate and key database
management, see Using the Certificate Database Tool.
To run the Certificate Revocation List Management Tool, type the command
crlutil option [arguments]
where options and arguments are combinations of the options and arguments
listed in the following section. Each command takes one option. Each
option may take zero or more arguments. To see a usage string, issue the
command without options, or with the -H option.

Options and Arguments

Options

Options specify an action. Option arguments modify an action. The options

and arguments for the crlutil command are defined as follows:

-G

Create new Certificate Revocation List(CRL).

-D

Delete Certificate Revocation List from cert database.

-I

Import a CRL to the cert database

-E

Erase all CRLs of specified type from the cert database

-L

List existing CRL located in cert database file.

-M

Modify existing CRL which can be located in cert db or in
arbitrary file. If located in file it should be encoded in ASN.1
encode format.

-G

Arguments

Option arguments modify an action and are lowercase.

-B

Bypass CA signature checks.

-P dbprefix

Specify the prefix used on the NSS security database files (for
example, my_cert8.db and my_key3.db). This option is provided as a
special case. Changing the names of the certificate and key
databases is not recommended.

-a

Use ASCII format or allow the use of ASCII format for input and

output. This formatting follows RFC #1113.

-c crl-gen-file

Specify script file that will be used to control crl
generation/modification. See crl-cript-file format below. If
options -M|-G is used and -c crl-script-file is not specified,
crlutil will read script data from standard input.

-d directory

Specify the database directory containing the certificate and key
database files. On Unix the Certificate Database Tool defaults to
$HOME/.netscape (that is, ~/.netscape). On Windows NT the default
is the current directory.
The NSS database files must reside in the same directory.

-i crl-import-file

Specify the file which contains the CRL to import

-f password-file

Specify a file that will automatically supply the password to
include in a certificate or to access a certificate database. This
is a plain-text file containing one password. Be sure to prevent
unauthorized access to this file.

-l algorithm-name

Specify a specific signature algorithm. List of possible

algorithms: MD2 | MD4 | MD5 | SHA1 | SHA256 | SHA384 | SHA512

-n nickname

Specify the nickname of a certificate or key to list, create, add
to a database, modify, or validate. Bracket the nickname string
with quotation marks if it contains spaces.

-o output-file

Specify the output file name for new CRL. Bracket the output-file
string with quotation marks if it contains spaces. If this
argument is not used the output destination defaults to standard
output.

-t crl-type

Specify type of CRL. possible types are: 0 - SEC_KRL_TYPE, 1 -

SEC_CRL_TYPE. This option is obsolete

-u url

Specify the url.

CRL Generation script syntax

CRL generation script file has the following syntax:
* Line with comments should have # as a first symbol of a line
* Set “this update” or “next update” CRL fields:
update=YYYYMMDDhhmmssZ nextupdate=YYYYMMDDhhmmssZ
Field “next update” is optional. Time should be in GeneralizedTime format
(YYYYMMDDhhmmssZ). For example: 20050204153000Z
* Add an extension to a CRL or a crl certificate entry:
addext extension-name critical/non-critical [arg1[arg2 …]]
Where:
extension-name: string value of a name of known extensions.
critical/non-critical: is 1 when extension is critical and 0 otherwise.
arg1, arg2: specific to extension type extension parameters
addext uses the range that was set earlier by addcert and will install an
extension to every cert entries within the range.
* Add certificate entries(s) to CRL:
addcert range date
range: two integer values separated by dash: range of certificates that
will be added by this command. dash is used as a delimiter. Only one cert
will be added if there is no delimiter. date: revocation date of a cert.
Date should be represented in GeneralizedTime format (YYYYMMDDhhmmssZ).
* Remove certificate entry(s) from CRL
rmcert range
Where:
range: two integer values separated by dash: range of certificates that
will be added by this command. dash is used as a delimiter. Only one cert
will be added if there is no delimiter.
* Change range of certificate entry(s) in CRL
range new-range
Where:
new-range: two integer values separated by dash: range of certificates
that will be added by this command. dash is used as a delimiter. Only one
cert will be added if there is no delimiter.
Implemented Extensions
The extensions defined for CRL provide methods for associating additional
attributes with CRLs of theirs entries. For more information see RFC #3280
* Add The Authority Key Identifier extension:
The authority key identifier extension provides a means of identifying the
public key corresponding to the private key used to sign a CRL.
authKeyId critical [key-id | dn cert-serial]
Where:
authKeyIdent: identifies the name of an extension critical: value of 1 of
0. Should be set to 1 if this extension is critical or 0 otherwise.
key-id: key identifier represented in octet string. dn:: is a CA
distinguished name cert-serial: authority certificate serial number.
* Add Issuer Alternative Name extension:
The issuer alternative names extension allows additional identities to be
associated with the issuer of the CRL. Defined options include an rfc822
name (electronic mail address), a DNS name, an IP address, and a URI.
issuerAltNames non-critical name-list
Where:
subjAltNames: identifies the name of an extension should be set to 0 since
this is non-critical extension name-list: comma separated list of names
* Add CRL Number extension:
The CRL number is a non-critical CRL extension which conveys a
monotonically increasing sequence number for a given CRL scope and CRL
issuer. This extension allows users to easily determine when a particular
CRL supersedes another CRL
crlNumber non-critical number
Where:
crlNumber: identifies the name of an extension critical: should be set to
0 since this is non-critical extension number: value of long which
identifies the sequential number of a CRL.
* Add Revocation Reason Code extension:
The reasonCode is a non-critical CRL entry extension that identifies the
reason for the certificate revocation.
reasonCode non-critical code
Where:
reasonCode: identifies the name of an extension non-critical: should be
set to 0 since this is non-critical extension code: the following codes
are available:
unspecified (0), keyCompromise (1), cACompromise (2), affiliationChanged
(3), superseded (4), cessationOfOperation (5), certificateHold (6),
removeFromCRL (8), privilegeWithdrawn (9), aACompromise (10)
* Add Invalidity Date extension:
The invalidity date is a non-critical CRL entry extension that provides
the date on which it is known or suspected that the private key was
compromised or that the certificate otherwise became invalid.
invalidityDate non-critical date
Where:
crlNumber: identifies the name of an extension non-critical: should be set
to 0 since this is non-critical extension date: invalidity date of a cert.
Date should be represented in GeneralizedTime format (YYYYMMDDhhmmssZ).

Usage

The Certificate Revocation List Management Tool’s capabilities are grouped
as follows, using these combinations of options and arguments. Options and
arguments in square brackets are optional, those without square brackets
are required.
See “Implemented extensions” for more information regarding extensions and
their parameters.
* Creating or modifying a CRL:

crlutil -G|-M -c crl-gen-file -n nickname [-i crl] [-u url] [-d keydir] [-P dbprefix] [-l alg] [-a] [-B]

* Listing all CRls or a named CRL:

crlutil -L [-n crl-name] [-d krydir]

* Deleting CRL from db:

crlutil -D -n nickname [-d keydir] [-P dbprefix]

* Erasing CRLs from db:

crlutil -E [-d keydir] [-P dbprefix]

* Deleting CRL from db:

crlutil -D -n nickname [-d keydir] [-P dbprefix]

* Erasing CRLs from db:

crlutil -E [-d keydir] [-P dbprefix]

* Import CRL from file:

crlutil -I -i crl [-t crlType] [-u url] [-d keydir] [-P dbprefix] [-B]