SSL_CTX_SESS_SET_GET_CB(3ossl)

💅 SSL_CTX_SESS_SET_GET_CB(3ossl) — the OpenSSL manual page, bestie edition 🎀

okay so this is the OpenSSL manual page for SSL_CTX_SESS_SET_GET_CB(3ossl) and honestly? it's giving "server-side external session caching" and it ate. no cap. let's get into it ✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

SSL_CTX_sess_set_new_cb, SSL_CTX_sess_set_remove_cb, SSL_CTX_sess_set_get_cb, SSL_CTX_sess_get_new_cb, SSL_CTX_sess_get_remove_cb, SSL_CTX_sess_get_get_cb — these six iconic little functions provide callback functions for server side external session caching. periodt. 👑

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

#include <openssl/ssl.h>

void SSL_CTX_sess_set_new_cb(SSL_CTX *ctx,
                             int (*new_session_cb)(SSL *, SSL_SESSION *));
void SSL_CTX_sess_set_remove_cb(SSL_CTX *ctx,
                                void (*remove_session_cb)(SSL_CTX *ctx,
                                                          SSL_SESSION *));
void SSL_CTX_sess_set_get_cb(SSL_CTX *ctx,
                             SSL_SESSION (*get_session_cb)(SSL *,
                                                           const unsigned char *,
                                                           int, int *));

int (*SSL_CTX_sess_get_new_cb(SSL_CTX *ctx))(struct ssl_st *ssl,
                                             SSL_SESSION *sess);
void (*SSL_CTX_sess_get_remove_cb(SSL_CTX *ctx))(struct ssl_ctx_st *ctx,
                                                 SSL_SESSION *sess);
SSL_SESSION *(*SSL_CTX_sess_get_get_cb(SSL_CTX *ctx))(struct ssl_st *ssl,
                                                      const unsigned char *data,
                                                      int len, int *copy);

look at those function-pointer return types, they're literally so extra and I respect it 💅

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

• SSL_CTX_sess_set_new_cb() — sets the callback function that gets called whenever a new session was negotiated. cute? iconic? yes. 🎀
• SSL_CTX_sess_set_remove_cb() — sets the callback function that gets called whenever a session is removed by the SSL engine. like, for example, this can happen because a session is considered faulty or has become obsolete because of exceeding the timeout value. she's expired, she's gone, bye 😭
• SSL_CTX_sess_set_get_cb() — sets the callback function that gets called whenever a TLS client proposed to resume a session but the session could not be found in the internal session cache (see SSL_CTX_set_session_cache_mode(3)). oh and — TLS server only. noted. 🫶
• SSL_CTX_sess_get_new_cb(), SSL_CTX_sess_get_remove_cb(), and SSL_CTX_sess_get_get_cb() — these retrieve the function pointers set by the corresponding set callback functions. and if a callback function has not been set, the NULL pointer is returned. no callback, no pointer, no problem 💀

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🌈 NOTES 🌈

okay this is the part where it gets juicy, pay attention bestie 😌

In order to allow external session caching, synchronization with the internal session cache is realized via callback functions. Inside these callback functions, session can be saved to disk or put into a database using the d2i_SSL_SESSION(3) interface. like, your callback is basically the bouncer between OpenSSL and your storage era. 💾✨

💖 the new_session_cb story 💖

The new_session_cb() is called whenever a new session has been negotiated and session caching is enabled (see SSL_CTX_set_session_cache_mode(3)). new_session_cb() is passed the ssl connection and the nascent ssl session sess. 🐣

Since sessions are reference-counted objects, the reference count on the session is incremented before the callback, on behalf of the application. so you already got a +1, lol.

• If the callback returns 0, the session will be immediately removed from the internal cache and the reference count released. she's leaving, no hard feelings 👋
• If the callback returns 1, the application retains the reference (for an entry in the application-maintained "external session cache"), and is responsible for calling SSL_SESSION_free() when the session reference is no longer in use. you own it now, bestie, so free it when you're done — don't be that person 🙈

also important, highkey: note that in TLSv1.3, sessions are established after the main handshake has completed. The server decides when to send the client the session information and this may occur some time after the end of the handshake (or not at all). This means that applications should expect the new_session_cb() function to be invoked during the handshake (for <= TLSv1.2) or after the handshake (for TLSv1.3). It is also possible in TLSv1.3 for multiple sessions to be established with a single connection. In these case the new_session_cb() function will be invoked multiple times. multiple!! sessions!! one!! connection!! the way TLSv1.3 does the absolute most 😭🔥

In TLSv1.3 it is recommended that each SSL_SESSION object is only used for resumption once. One way of enforcing that is for applications to call SSL_CTX_remove_session(3) after a session has been used. one session, one resumption, no reusing, we're classy here. 💅

🍓 the remove_session_cb story 🍓

The remove_session_cb() is called whenever the SSL engine removes a session from the internal cache. This can happen when the session is removed because it is expired or when a connection was not shutdown cleanly. It also happens for all sessions in the internal session cache when SSL_CTX_free(3) is called. 💀

remove_session_cb() is passed the ctx and the ssl session sess. It does not provide any feedback. she's an icon, she's a legend, she does not take questions. 🫶

🧚 the get_session_cb story 🧚

The get_session_cb() is only called on SSL/TLS servers, and is given the session id proposed by the client. get_session_cb() is always called, even when session caching was disabled — yeah, even then, she shows up. 🔥

get_session_cb() is passed the ssl connection and the session id of length length at the memory location data.

now here's the copy situation, listen up:

• By setting the parameter copy to 1, the callback can require the SSL engine to increment the reference count of the SSL_SESSION object.
• setting copy to 0 causes the reference count to remain unchanged.
• If get_session_cb() does not write to copy, the reference count is incremented and the session must be explicitly freed with SSL_SESSION_free(3). so like, say something or the default kicks in and now it's your job to free it. communicate, bestie 😭

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🌟 RETURN VALUES 🌟

SSL_CTX_sess_get_new_cb(), SSL_CTX_sess_get_remove_cb() and SSL_CTX_sess_get_get_cb() return different callback function pointers respectively. different! each one! matching! their! setter! we love a matching set 👑✨

🎀 SEE ALSO 🎀

ssl(7), d2i_SSL_SESSION(3), SSL_CTX_set_session_cache_mode(3), SSL_CTX_flush_sessions(3), SSL_SESSION_free(3), SSL_CTX_free(3) — go read these next, iykyk, the lore goes deep 🦋

👑 COPYRIGHT 👑

Copyright 2001-2020 The OpenSSL Project Authors. All Rights Reserved.

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0 (the "License"). You may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You can obtain a copy in the file LICENSE in the source distribution or at <https://www.openssl.org/source/license.html>.

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and that's the whole page, bestie 🫶 this one's from 3.5.6, dated 2026-04-07, brought to you by the SSL_CTX_SESS_SET_GET_CB(3ossl) manual page. go cache those sessions externally, slay, and remember: if you set copy, you own the free. love u, bye 💖🌷